Zodiac Sign

Libra

September 23 – October 22 · Air · Venus (traditional), some modern schools maintain Venus

Traditional BirthstoneOpal (in ancient Roman and Sanskrit traditions), Peridot

Modern BirthstoneOpal / Tourmaline

ElementAir

Ruling PlanetVenus (traditional), some modern schools maintain Venus

Associated crystals

OpalOpen in the Dictionary Rose QuartzOpen in the Dictionary Green AventurineOpen in the Dictionary Lapis LazuliOpen in the Dictionary PeridotOpen in the Dictionary

Associated herbs

RoseOpen in the Dictionary GeraniumOpen in the Dictionary Lemon VerbenaOpen in the Dictionary MintOpen in the Dictionary CorianderOpen in the Dictionary

Source Tradition

In Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, Libra is the second house of Venus and the seat of Saturn's exaltation, part of the Air-triplicity (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius). The Roman writer Pliny the Elder described opal as combining 'the fire of the carbuncle, the brilliant purple of the amethyst, and the sea-green of the emerald.' In Sanskrit texts, opal (upala) was associated with Venus. Tourmaline was added as a modern October alternate in 1912, with the current dual listing formalized in 1952.

Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I; Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XXXVII; Jewelers of America, 1912 and 1952 updatesExplore sourcing notes in the Appendix