Published May 2014 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 8 minutes
Bloodstone, also known as Heliotrope, is a famous variety of Jasper that is typically dark green with vivid red spots. Sometimes it has additional colors, such as yellow or purple, and may be known as “Plasma Bloodstone” or “Fancy Jasper.” Bloodstone has a long historical record as a healing stone, dating all the way back to the ancient Greeks. It is a beautiful talismans for Christians and according to myth its spots of blood date back to the crucifixion. Energetically it is a powerful stone of courage and calmness. It it helps us stay grounded during difficult situations, and to process harsh memories and emotions. It is recommended for anyone suffering from PTSD.
Bloodstone Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Bloodstone is the stone of the Spiritual Warrior. It awakens us to our true spiritual calling and grounds that life in the material world. With Bloodstone we don’t just have spiritual ideals, we authentically live them. It helps us to trust ourselves to do what is right and to live with great integrity. Bloodstone asks us to be willing to pay the price to know Truth and to attain Freedom. It reminds us that while the path ahead may be fraught with difficulty and we may at times lose heart, we must go keeping going. In order to be victorious, we must fight for what is right even when it’s not fun or easy. Bloodstone helps us take one step and then another, and to trust that, in the end, all will be well.
Vibrations | Bloodstone |
---|---|
Chakra | Root |
Element | Earth |
Numerology | 4 and 6 |
Zodiac | Aries, Pisces and Libra |
Emotional Healing Properties
Bloodstone has a very calm and steady energy. It is a fantastic choice for anyone taking on a leadership role. It teaches us that a true leader leads from the front, is willing to make personal sacrifices and takes responsibility when things go wrong. Likewise, a true leader is kind (if not always nice!) and looks out for the wellbeing of others. Bloodstone soothes fear, irritability, aggressiveness, impatience, and loneliness. It encourages us to be more self-sufficient and independent, while also being willing to support and help others. Bloodstone gives us courage to face unpleasant situations boldly and is especially useful during times of crisis when quick and sensible action is needed. If we need to set our own emotions aside for a moment, Bloodstone can help us do that in a healthy way. When the moment passes, Bloodstone reminds us to tend to our own emotional needs and make sure we are healthy so we can confidentially tackle another day. Bloodstone celebrates loyalty and true friendship. It asks us to be the friend that other people need and to be the kind of person that other people can frankly admire.
Mental Healing Properties
Bloodstone helps us to stay grounded, in control of ourselves and able to respond correctly to new and shifting situations. It is a fantastic stone for combatting the effects of PTSD. Bloodstone helps us figure out how to be the master of our thoughts and to stay in the present rather than being yanked into the past. It reminds us to be here now, fully in the present, and awake to its inherent possibilities. Bloodstone gently but firmly councils us that there is no shame in being traumatized. That the guilt for that pain belongs firmly on the shoulders of whatever created the trauma. But Bloodstone also reminds us that staying traumatized – if we have an opportunity to heal – is a choice. If we have been blessed with a chance to heal, we must be brave enough to go into the shadows of our mind, fight our inner demons, and return to the light victorious.
Physical Healing Properties
Bloodstone is recommended for anyone who needs to manifest a warrior’s courage and determination in order to strengthen and heal the physical body. It encourages us to take our healing journey seriously and to be actively involved. It is especially good for people who tend to avoid doctors or gyms. Bloodstone helps us to be realistic about our body and its current and future needs, and to boldly do what needs to be done. It is an exceptionally good talisman for wounded warriors who suffer from PTSD, particularly men who might struggle to acknowledge mental healthcare needs. Bloodstone dismisses any sense of shame and instead pushes us to treat our body and mind with honor. Unsurprisingly, Bloodstone has long been associated with healing the circulatory system, heart and anything to do with blood.
Geology of Bloodstone
Where does Bloodstone come from?
Bloodstone is a green and red jasper that is primarily mined in India. Additional deposits are found in Brazil, Bulgaria, South Africa, and the United States.
Mining and Treatments
Bloodstone is mined in tandem with other precious and semi-precious stones in artisanal mines. It is typically mined from primary deposits which still have their original relationship with the host rock.
All Bloodstone is fully natural, enhanced only by cutting and polishing.
Bloodstone
Mineral Family
Bloodstone is a famous variety of Jasper and a Silicate mineral. Silicates are minerals which contain the elements Silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and Oxygen (a colorless gas). Together, these two elements form a tetrahedron – a shape similar to a pyramid – with a Silicon atom in the center and Oxygen atoms at each of the four corners. These tetrahedra connect with other chemical structures, in six different ways, to form various minerals and rocks. There are six main groups of Silicate minerals, and these main groups are further subdivided into secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Feldspar. The Quartz family can be further divided into two categories, macrocrystalline and microcrystalline, all of which can be colorless or appear in every shade of the raimbow. Macrocrystalline quartz has well-formed crystals that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye, for example, Amethyst or Clear Quartz. Microcrystalline quartz has crystals so small they can only be seen through a microscope. These are typically grouped together under the name Chalcedony, or it’s subcategories Agate and Jasper.
Bloodstone’s energy works well with its family – other true Jaspers. Try it in combination with Brecciated Jasper, Desert Jasper, Mookaite Jasper, Picture Jasper, Red Jasper, and Yellow Jasper.
Bloodstone Formation and Crystal Associates
Bloodstone, like other Silicate minerals, forms in the cavities of lava rocks and other extrusive igneous rocks. Following volcanic activity, magma and lava are slowly transformed into igneous rocks broken up with cracks, fissures, other hollows. Jasper is formed long afterwards, when silica-bearing water permeates the rocks and begins to fill these crevices. As the water flows, it picks up an assortment of other trace minerals which give Jasper its coloring and patterns. If the trace minerals are microscopic, the Jasper will take on a uniform color, as is the case with Red Jasper, or it may take on a multicolored appearance such as Desert Jasper. If the trace minerals are larger, able to be viewed with the naked eye, the Jasper will be spotted, as in the case of Bloodstone.
Bloodstone’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Carnelian and Serpentine
Mineralogy | Bloodstone |
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Chemical Formula | SiO2 |
Cleavage | None |
Color | Green and red, may have occasional yellow or white inclusions |
Crystal System | Hexagonal/trigonal |
Form/Habit | Cryptocrystalline |
Fracture | Conchoidal |
Hardness – Mohs Scale | 7 |
Luminescence | None |
Luster | Vitreous/earthy |
Mineral Family | Tectosilicates |
Specific Gravity | 2.7 |
Streak | White |
Transparency | Opaque |
History of Stone
Bloodstone is one of the most commonly used healing crystals, with a long and detailed historical tradition. It has been known by a wide variety of names throughout history, including Heliotrope, Plasma, Green Jasper, Green Chalcedony, Blood Jasper, and Babylonian Jasper. Today it is typically called either Bloodstone, referencing the drops of bright red, or Heliotrope, which comes from the Greek word for “solstice” and is thought to refer to its healing powers. For centuries it has been lauded for bringing courage, strength, and mental health.
It was first described by the ancient Greek historian/philosopher Damigeron in his work De Virtutibus Lapidum (The Virtues of Stones). He described Bloodstone’s incredible power stating, “Now, if it is put in a silver basin full of water and placed against the sun, it turns to it and makes it as if bloody and cloudy…the air becomes cloudy with thunder and lightning and rain and stones, so that even those experienced in the power of the stone are frightened and perturbed, such divine powers does this stone have.” Damigeron went on to call Bloodstone, “a preserver of health…offers protection against deception.” It was thought to be particularly good for detecting poison.
Although Bloodstone is a fairly common stone today, at one point it was considered quite rare. According to the Leyden Papyrus (ca. 250 CE), “The world has no greater thing; if any one have this with him, he will be given whatever he asks for; it also assuages the wrath of kings and despots, and whatever the wearer says will be believed. Whoever bears this stone, which is a gem, and pronounces the name engraved upon it will find all doors open, while bond and stone walls will be rent asunder.” During the Middle Ages, Bloodstone was thought to be capable of making a person invisible. This power was referenced in the 12th century by Dante in The Divine Comedy, when he saw the damned in hell, “No hope of hiding-hole or heliotrope.”
Bloodstone has long been used against hemorrhaging. Europeans routinely pressed the stone against wounds. Spanish conquistadors later reported that Native Americans used Bloodstone for the same purpose. In 1574, Franciscan Frier Bernardino de Sahagun described how the Native Americans used Bloodstone during an outbreak of the plague, “The stone must be wet in cold water, and the sick man must take it in his right hand, and from time to time wet him with cold water. In this sort, the Indians do use them. And as touching the Indians, they have it for certain, that touching the same stone in some part where the blood runneth, that it doth restrain and in this they have great trust, for that effect hath been seen.” Europeans and Native Americans also had independent traditions for cutting Bloodstone into the shape of hearts for healing purposes.
One of the most famous legends associated with Bloodstone is a Christian one. Bloodstone was said to originally have been pure green Jasper which had formed at the foot of the cross. When drops of blood fell from Jesus Christ, they splattered on the stone marking it forever. Christian artists routinely used the stone for carving religious icons. The most extraordinary examples were carved so that the red spots appeared to flow from wounds on Christs face and body.
“The Crucifixion of Jesus” by Titan
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