October
Birthstones & FlowersOctober ~ Opal, Tourmaline ~ Hope
For their color fireworks, opals are unrivaled. Wear an opal and you capture lightning and rainbows, all in the same stone. Black opals are most prized. Their dark backgrounds make reds look like burning embers. Roll the stone back and forth to show off its other brilliant colors. Next in value are crystal opals, loved for their many layers and flashes of color. Most affordable are white and milky opals, whose light backgrounds produce softer hues. Napoleon gave Josephine a fiery opal called "The Burning of Troy." Queen Victoria often gave opals as wedding gifts. Blonde women believed opals would keep their hair eternally golden.Also Tourmaline: Tourmaline encompasses a large family of stones including Black, Blue, Cat's Eye, Green, Opalized, Red, and Watermelon. Tourmalines are found in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and USSR. Tourmaline is said to be a cleanser that works hard to purify one's entire existence. (Information provided by the New Age Club.)
Your Flower(s)
Calendula (better known as the marigold) and cosmos represent October. The word officinalis means medicinal, and Calendula means throughout the months - meaning that the plant flowers for many months. Calendula likes full sun but does poorly in hot weather. It is used in beds and borders, and the dried heads are used to flavor soups and for coloring butter. Flower pics provided by ArtToday.
