The Amazing Bloodstone
I received a wonderful lot of Bloodstones (some for personal use, others for sale @ GrayMist Creations). Some of these have a blue tinted banding, others have a gold banding and some have the typical red spots associated with Bloodstone. I had only seen a few Bloodstones and was intrigued by the color variations so I decided to do a little research.
During my researching on Bloodstone I found some interesting information. The first fact I learned was the name for this stone is Heliotrope. Heliotrope is also any of a genus (Heliotropium) of herbs or shrubs of the borage family. (1)
Bloodstone is a form of chalcedony (quartz and moganite) with the most common form having inclusions of iron oxide or red jasper. But not all Bloodstone is green with red drops. Bloodstone can display blue, brown and even yellow banding. If the banding or spots are yellow it is called “plasma”. (2)
Other Interesting Information about Bloodstone
· Bloodstone is the birthstone for March
· “Medieval Christians often used bloodstone to carve scenes of the crucifixion and martyrs, leading it to also be dubbed martyr's stone. The legend of the origin of bloodstone says that it was first formed when some drops of Christ's blood fell and stained some jasper at the foot of the cross” (3)
· HealingCrystals.com has a wonderful article on bloodstone HERE.
References
1 Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotrope_(mineral)
2 Merriam-Webster - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heliotrope3 Gemstone Gifts Handmade Jewelry -
3. Gemstone Meanings - http://www.gemstonegifts.com/stones/bloodstone.htm
