Bloodstone
green jasper/chalcedony with hematite inclusions
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, and one of the very few stones whose Christian folklore is fully explicit, the red was said to be blood fallen at the crucifixion. Before that the Greeks called it heliotrope and believed it turned the sun red in water. People carry it for courage, protection and grounding.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
6.5-7 Mohs
Formula
SiO2 + Fe2O3
Family
chalcedony
Where it comes from
India (Deccan Traps), Brazil, Australia, Scotland (Isle of Rum), USA
What it is
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, and one of the very few stones whose Christian folklore is fully explicit, the red was said to be blood fallen at the crucifixion. Before that the Greeks called it heliotrope and believed it turned the sun red in water. The Deccan Traps of India supply the classic material.
What it is confused with
green-jasper, moss-agate, unakite, serpentine, dyed-jasper
Dark, nearly black-green opaque chalcedony flecked with irregular blood-red to rust-orange spots and streaks of hematite. The red marks are discrete, irregular and sit at random, not banded, not concentric, not evenly distributed, and vary from pinhead specks to broad smears. Body colour is a deep chrome-to-olive green with a waxy luster; thin edges may transmit dark green. Material with no red spots at all is properly called plasma.
How to tell
Scratches glass. Red spots should be opaque hematite embedded in the body, visible in three dimensions on a broken edge; dyed imitations show red only in surface fissures. Unakite has pink feldspar in discrete grains and a granular igneous texture, not a waxy one.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Bloodstone is a chalcedony, 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Bloodstone for every sign
Aries
The Greeks called it heliotrope.
The Greeks called it heliotrope. They believed it turned the sun red when dropped into water, and Christian folklore later reassigned the flecks to the crucifixion, which is unusually explicit as these things go. The flecks are hematite in dark green chalcedony from the Deccan Traps.
Taurus
Greek writers called it heliotrope.
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, and the Deccan Traps of India supply the classic material. Greek writers called it heliotrope and believed it turned the sun red when dropped into water. Medieval Christian tradition assigned the red to the crucifixion, which is unusually explicit.
Gemini
Same stone, two stories, and the second one won.
The Greeks called it heliotrope and believed it turned the sun red when dropped into water. Christian folklore later reassigned the red flecks to the crucifixion, though they are hematite out of the Deccan Traps. Same stone, two stories, and the second one won.
Cancer
The story attached itself to the spatter and stayed.
Medieval Christian tradition held that the red spots were blood fallen at the crucifixion. They are hematite scattered at random through dark green chalcedony from the Deccan Traps, and pieces with no red at all get called plasma instead. The story attached itself to the spatter and stayed.
Leo
The Greeks thought it could turn the sun red.
The Greeks called it heliotrope and held that dropped in water it would turn the sun red. The red specks are hematite, spattered at random through dark green chalcedony, most of it from the Deccan Traps. Medieval Christians kept the stone and renamed the specks as blood from the cross.
Virgo
A broken edge shows the spots continuing into the body.
Greek writers called it heliotrope and held that it turned the sun red when dropped into water. The red is hematite sitting in three dimensions inside dark green chalcedony, so a broken edge shows the spots continuing down into the body. Dyed imitations keep their colour in the surface cracks.
Libra
The Greeks held it turned the sun red in water.
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, the red marks scattered at random with no banding and no pattern to them. The Greeks called it heliotrope and held that it turned the sun red when dropped into water. Christian tradition later gave the spots a much more specific source.
Scorpio
The red was said to be blood fallen at the crucifixion.
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, and one of very few stones whose folklore is stated outright rather than implied. The red was said to be blood fallen at the crucifixion. Before that the Greeks called it heliotrope and held that it turned the sun red in water.
Sagittarius
The Greeks called it heliotrope and thought it turned the sun red.
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite. Medieval Christians said the red was blood fallen at the crucifixion, and the Greeks before them called it heliotrope and thought it turned the sun red in water. India's Deccan Traps supply most of it, the Isle of Rum the rest.
Capricorn
One of few stones whose folklore is completely explicit.
Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, and one of very few stones whose Christian folklore is completely explicit about what the red is supposed to be. Before that the Greeks called it heliotrope and held that it turned the sun red in a basin of water. The Deccan Traps still supply the classic material.
Aquarius
That is a testable claim and it fails.
Greek writers called it heliotrope and claimed it turned the sun red when placed in water. That is a testable claim and it fails. The red is hematite, scattered at random through dark green chalcedony, never banded and never even.
Pisces
They believed it turned the sun red in water.
The Greeks called it heliotrope and believed it turned the sun red when placed in a bowl of water. The red is hematite, scattered without pattern through dark green chalcedony, never banded and never even. Medieval Christian tradition gave the same spots a very different explanation.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
fire
Planet
Mars
Chakra
root, heart
Signs
aries, pisces, scorpio, libra
What tradition says
In crystal lore, bloodstone is associated with courage, vitality and endurance under trial; medieval Christian tradition attributes the red inclusions to the blood of Christ, and it remains an alternative March birthstone.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Very durable. Warm water and soap.
Common questions
What does bloodstone mean?
Bloodstone is carried for courage, protection and grounding. Dark green chalcedony spattered with hematite, and one of the very few stones whose Christian folklore is fully explicit, the red was said to be blood fallen at the crucifixion.. Tradition links it to the root, heart chakra.
Is bloodstone real or fake?
Bloodstone is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Scratches glass. Red spots should be opaque hematite embedded in the body, visible in three dimensions on a broken edge; dyed imitations show red only in surface fissures.
Can bloodstone go in water?
A short rinse is fine for bloodstone, then dry it.
Common · dark green with red spots, olive-green, green with yellow flecks
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
From the Grimoire
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works