Hematite
hematite
Iron oxide, the mineral that makes Mars red and rust red, named from the Greek for blood because of the streak it leaves. Polished it looks like machined steel; scratched it bleeds rust. People carry it for grounding, protection and boundaries. Tradition attaches it to the element earth, the root chakra, Mars.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
This one does not go in water. It dissolves.
Mineral facts
Hardness
5.5-6.5 Mohs
Formula
Fe2O3
Family
oxide
Where it comes from
Brazil, England (Cumbria, kidney ore), USA (Michigan, Minnesota), Italy (Elba), Switzerland (iron roses), Australia
What it is
Iron oxide, the mineral that makes Mars red and rust red, named from the Greek for blood because of the streak it leaves. Polished it looks like machined steel; scratched it bleeds rust. Humans have been grinding it into ochre for at least 164,000 years, which makes it arguably the oldest pigment in use.
What it is confused with
magnetite, hematine-magnetic-hematite, galena, black-obsidian, pyrite, steel
Heavy, mirror-bright silver-grey with a hard metallic luster that looks almost chrome-plated when tumbled. The decisive feature is the streak: rubbed on unglazed porcelain or rough concrete it leaves a rust-red to blood-red mark, no matter how silver the surface looks. Natural masses are botryoidal (kidney-shaped bubbles) or micaceous (specularite, a mass of glittering platelets). Noticeably dense in the hand. Rounded specimens may show a faint red-brown dust in crevices.
How to tell
The red streak is the whole test, hematite writes red, magnetite and galena write black-grey. Second test: hematite is only very weakly attracted to a magnet. Anything sold as 'magnetic hematite' that snaps to a fridge magnet is hematine, a manufactured barium-ferrite ceramic, not a mineral.
Natural hematite is untreated. The very common 'magnetic hematite' rings, beads and singing stones are hematine, a synthetic ferrite. If it is strongly magnetic and perfectly uniform, it is manufactured.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Hematite is a oxide, 5.5-6.5 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.
Hematite for every sign
Aries
Named from the Greek for blood for that reason.
Rub it on rough concrete and it leaves a rust-red streak, no matter how much like chrome the polished surface looks. Named from the Greek for blood for that reason. Humans have ground it into ochre for at least 164,000 years, which makes it the oldest pigment still in use.
Taurus
Polished it looks machined.
Humans have ground it into ochre for at least 164,000 years, which makes it arguably the oldest pigment still in use. Polished it looks machined. Scratched on concrete it writes rust red, and that streak is the whole identification, whatever the surface happens to be doing.
Gemini
It looks like chrome and it writes in red.
Polished, it looks machined out of chrome. Rub it on rough concrete and it writes rust red, which is where the name comes from and why people have been grinding it into ochre for at least 164,000 years. Anything sold as magnetic hematite is a manufactured ferrite called hematine.
Cancer
Whatever the surface looks like, it writes in red.
Named from the Greek for blood, because whatever the silver surface suggests, it writes rust red on rough stone. Iron oxide rusts, so water and salt pit the polish and stain it orange. People have been grinding this into ochre for at least 164,000 years.
Leo
The chrome finish bleeds rust the moment you scratch it.
Rub it on rough concrete and the silver leaves a rust-red streak, which is where the name comes from and why people have been grinding it into ochre for at least 164,000 years. Polished, it looks machined. Under the chrome finish it is the iron oxide that makes Mars red.
Virgo
Magnetic hematite is a manufactured ceramic, not a mineral.
Rub it on unglazed porcelain and it writes red, however chrome-plated the polish looks. That one streak separates it from magnetite and galena permanently. Anything sold as magnetic hematite that snaps to a fridge magnet is hematine, a manufactured barium ferrite ceramic.
Libra
Silver on the outside, red where it is rubbed.
Rub it on unglazed porcelain and the streak comes up blood red, however chrome the polished surface looks. That contradiction is the identification. Humans have been grinding it into ochre for at least 164,000 years, which makes it arguably the oldest pigment still in use.
Scorpio
Polished it looks like steel. Scratched it bleeds rust.
Iron oxide, named from the Greek for blood, because whatever the polished face looks like it leaves a rust-red streak on unglazed tile. Anything that snaps to a fridge magnet is hematine, a manufactured ceramic. Humans have ground the real one into ochre for at least 164,000 years.
Sagittarius
Rub it on tile and it writes rust red.
Rub it on unglazed tile and it writes rust red no matter how silver the surface looks, which is where the name comes from. Humans have been grinding it into ochre for at least 164,000 years. Cumbrian kidney ore is the handsome version.
Capricorn
Polished it looks like steel. Scratched, it writes red.
Polished, it looks like machined steel. Rubbed on unglazed tile it writes rust red every single time, which is the whole test and the reason it is named from the Greek for blood. People have been grinding it into ochre for at least 164,000 years.
Aquarius
If it is strongly magnetic, it is manufactured.
Rub it on unglazed porcelain and it leaves a rust-red streak, however chrome-plated the polished surface looks. That streak is both the identification and the etymology, since the name comes from the Greek for blood. If it is strongly magnetic it is hematine, a manufactured ferrite.
Pisces
Chrome on the outside, blood on the paper.
Water and salt both pit and stain the polished surface, because it is iron and iron does what iron does. Rub it on unglazed porcelain and it leaves a rust-red streak, which is where the name comes from. Chrome on the outside, blood on the paper.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Mars
Chakra
root
Signs
aries, capricorn, aquarius
What tradition says
In crystal lore, hematite is associated with grounding, with the blood and with boundaries; Roman soldiers reportedly rubbed it on themselves before battle, an attribution repeated widely and sourced thinly.
Care
- Do not put this one in water. It dissolves or spalls. Dust it dry.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Iron oxide rusts: prolonged water contact and salt both cause orange staining and pitting of the polished surface. Wipe dry. Brittle despite the metallic look — it chips and the chip shows dull red-grey inside.
Common questions
What does hematite mean?
Hematite is carried for grounding, protection and boundaries. Iron oxide, the mineral that makes Mars red and rust red, named from the Greek for blood because of the streak it leaves.. Tradition links it to the root chakra.
Is hematite real or fake?
Hematite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. The red streak is the whole test, hematite writes red, magnetite and galena write black-grey. Second test: hematite is only very weakly attracted to a magnet.. Natural hematite is untreated.
Can hematite go in water?
No. Hematite dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.
Common · silver-grey metallic, gunmetal, steel black, earthy red-brown
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
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FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works