 Indian Blood Stone
Frequently mistaken for a Jasper - Blood Stone is actually a type of
chalcedony. It has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale.
Bloodstone is one of the birthstones for March, and is also
known as heliotrope. It is a form of the abundant mineral quartz - specifically
cryptocrystalline quartz. Cryptocrystalline quartz is a mass
of tiny quartz crystals formed together in large lumps that show no external
crystal form, yet each of the component crystals that make up the mass
is a genuine crystal. This quartz variety is also called chalcedony.
Green chalcedony spotted with flecks of red is known as bloodstone. Bloodstone
is found embedded in rocks, or as pebbles in riverbeds. The best sources
of this stone are India, Brazil, and Australia, but. Blood Stone is found
around the world, from Australian to Brazil, to China to the U.S. This
particular lot of stone is from India.
According to legend, bloodstone was believed to have formed during the
crucifixion of Christ. The story is that a Roman soldier thrust
his spear into Christ’s
side and drops of blood fell on some pieces of dark green jasper lying
at the foot of the cross, and thus bloodstone was created. Because of
this, Bloodstone
became a favored material for carving religious subjects, particularly
the Crucifixion. Italian
artist Matteo del Nassaro (around 1525) made particular good use of the
colouring in the stone by crafting “The Descent from the
Cross” so that
the spots of red in the bloodstone represented the wounds of Christ and
drops of blood.
Before that, the Babylonians used this stone to make seals and amulets,
and it was also a favorite with Roman gladiators. In the Middle Ages,
applying "like-to-like" reasoning, bloodstone was believed to hold
particular healing powers for blood related disorders, including stopping
nosebleeds, and to treat tumors and stop all types of hemorrhage. Ancient
alchemists used it to treat blood disorders, including blood poisoning
and the flow of blood from a wound. Bloodstone was also believed to draw
out the venom of snakes.
Metaphysically - Blood Stone is considered a stone of courage.
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