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Thursday, April 7, 2022

F is for Fire Opals (Gemstone Folklore)

Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Gemstone Folklore. Because I love stories about shiny things. Read the introduction to the project here.

FIRE OPAL

Fire opals are a translucent, usually red-orange-yellow colored variant of opal. They are usually less colorful than other kinds of opal, but can be turned into very intensely beautiful gems.

The opal that turned into fire
Wanggumara people, Australia

This legend tells of a pelican that takes on a long and exhausting journey towards the north, seeking Cooper's Creek (original name not noted). He carries water in his pouch for the long flight. He is sent by a cleverman, who promises that the gold would turn into gold when it reaches the destination. However, along the way the pelican is attacked, and after that, water begins to leak from his beak, turning into gold. Blood that spills from his wound turns into opals. In the end, he lands on top of a hill called Bildimini, about 100 miles from Cooper's Creek. There he dies, the water and blood turning into rich deposits of gold and opals.
In another legend, later on another pelican takes on the same flight north, to bring news to the Wanggumara people about distant lands. It stops to rest on the same hill, and is amazed by the beautiful colors of the opal. The bird doesn't recognize what opal is, so it chips at it with its beak. The chipping create sparks, which set the dry grass on fire. The fire burns all the way down to the river, where the people discover how to cook fish. Thus, the first pelican brings people gold and opals, and the second brings the gift of fire.
(The legends don't specifically say fire opals, but since they are connected to fire, and born from blood, I made a jump.)

Sources
You can find two versions of this story in this book.

Do you know any beliefs attached to opals? 
Do you personally like them?


17 comments:

  1. Price doesn't always indicate how pretty the stones are.

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  2. I love opals! Did you know fossils here in Oz have turned into opals?

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  3. I always thought of opals as sort of clear white. Just goes to show how much I know about it. They look beautiful in photos.

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  4. I don't think I've seen a fiery opal... will have to check it out.

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  5. I love the rainbow effect of the fire opal.

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  6. I love fire opals, and most other kinds of opals. Six of my current ten ear piercings have opal jewelry.

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  7. I just Googled fire opals - they are lovely. I sort of always imagined opals to be blue-green

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  8. I love the transformative origins of blood turning to Opals. (And the clever connection between Opals and fire!)

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  9. Such a pretty gemstone!

    Ronel visiting for the A-Z Challenge My Languishing TBR: F

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  10. I love opals! I have heard that it's bad luck to wear them if they aren't your birthstone. I found them to be too soft, and the one in a ring I had broke in half when I knocked it on the bathtub cleaning. That wasn't a fire opal. I do have a fire opal. When my mother was 16 (born in 1919) her aunt took her to Mexico and bought her a silver ring with a fire opal. My mother had very thin fingers, and I haven't been able to wear it since I was quite young! It's gorgeous, red, yellow, orange, and blues with that opally-ness.

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  11. I don't think I've ever heard a tale with a pelican protagonist before. My grandmother believed opals were very unlucky. I have a fire opal, as well as a gorgeous green Australian opal.

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  12. I love the rainbow in that fire opal! what a beautiful gemstone!
    https://steampunkcowunicorn.wordpress.com/2022/04/07/f-is-for-fleeting-happy-as-a-clam/

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  13. There's a gift shop here that sells opal jewelry. I bought one of their rings once; I don't remember what happened to it but they are such pretty stones. It wasn't a fire opal. I felt so bad for the first pelican in the tale.

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  14. I'm always sad when brave animals in the legends end up dying éè

    @JazzFeathers
    The Old Shelter - Enter the New Woman

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  15. I had a blue, red and yellow opal ring but I washed my hands with it on and it went cloudy. That is because it was a Triplet, meaning it had a thin layer of opal above black stone and under a protective coating. If it had been a solid opal it would have been very valuable but I was still sorry to lose it.

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