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Another new month means another new birthstone to look at. Today we will look at October's stone, the very pretty opal.

It is said that this stone was created when the creator came to earth on a rainbow. Where his foot touched the stones came alive and sparkled with the colors of the rainbow. In the East opals are sacred and are thought to contain the spirit of truth. In ancient Greece the stone was thought to give foresight. But if this gift was used for wrongdoing it would cause bad luck in love and disappointments in enterprises. The Romans viewed it as a symbol of hope purity. In the middle ages it was used to treat ailments of the eye. Blond women wore them in there hair to keep their hair from going gray. It was also thought that the stone could make one invisible. The Arabs thought the opal was formed by lightening strikes. Some stories say that they could ward off lightening.