What is a bloodstone crystal? | IFLScience
the mineral Heliotrope, commonly known as bloodstone, is a type of quartz that has attracted a rich stream of stories and legends dating back at least to Roman time. Perhaps the most interesting thing about these is that it’s easy to test at least one, and yet people continue to believe in it nonetheless.
Heliotrope is primarily green with small red spots. The stains look so much like blood that Christian legend attributes the stone to the vital fluids dripping from Jesus on the cross. Those who told this tale were unaware of the relative abundance of bloodstone in Australia or the Americas, but it might be interesting to see how they explained the stones coming from the Middle East to Eastern Europe or India.
What is the composition of bloodstone?
Bloodstone is a form of silica or silicon dioxide. As the two most common elements in the Earth’s crust, oxygen and silicon combine frequently, making up most of the sand on beaches, for example. Sometimes, however, instead of forming white grains or translucent rocks, the pair can combine with traces of other elements to take on distinct crystal colors and shapes while still belonging to the quartz family. The dominant green of bloodstone is one. The noun is used to refer to either jasper or green chalcedony. Red spots are invasions hematite;A form of iron oxide (Fe2a3), which stand out well in the background.
The distinctive red-green color of bloodstone. Image credit: vvoe/Shutterstock.com
Pliny the Elder and the History of the Bloodstones
Medieval Christians were not the first to associate the stone with blood and imbue it with magical powers. Pliny the Elder books: When a stone is dropped into a vessel of water and bright sunlight falls on it, it in its reflection of the sun’s rays changes it to the color of blood. This is especially true of the Ethiopian variety.”
After the Enlightenment, many readers of this Manifesto instinctively want to grab the Bloodstone and throw it into the water. Pliny evidently did not feel this need and simply repeated the story despite the ease with which it could be disproved.
On the other hand, he at least poured scorn on the charlatans who claimed that joining the stone to the heliotrope and casting spells could make the wearer invisible. Heliotrope plants get their name from the way the flowers follow the sun during the day. The mineral is named after them, because, in the words of Pliny: “The same stone catches the light of the sun like a mirror and reveals an eclipse, showing the passage of the moon under the disk of the sun.” What this actually means is anyone’s guess, because if a solar eclipse does happen, you don’t really need a stone to alert you.
In the context of stories like these, it’s easy to dismiss the practice of Roman soldiers who wore the stone into battle and believed it would slow bleeding if they were stabbed.
However, the Aztecs attributed similar properties, particularly in powdered form, to the stone and hematite may have had astringent effects that limited blood loss. Iron oxide is used in calamine astringent today, although its contribution is thought to be different. Of course, it would have been better for the soldiers to obtain purer samples of iron oxide, and there are certainly better options today, but their faith may not have been completely deceived.
Modern mythology of the healing powers of blood stones
There is much less evidence of crystal healers beliefs That “bloodstone can be used to improve concentration and strengthen decision-making.”
Actually the addition: “associated with base chakraBloodstone is a powerful healing stone that protects the mind from the stresses of everyday life. It’s perfect for those who find it hard to relax and who think about things for longer than they should be,” totally unfounded. We’ll definitely think about how improbable and uncertain the statement is for longer than it should be.
Of course, you don’t need to believe any of these things to think bloodstone is beautiful and want it for aesthetic or historical reasons. However, online prices indicate that you will be paying a premium because others do.