12 Aug Bloodstone: Meaning, Uses, & Healing Properties
In This Article
- What Is Bloodstone?
- History
- Meaning
- Benefits & Healing Properties Of Bloodstone
- Is Bloodstone Water Safe?
- How To Use Bloodstone
- How To Cleanse & Charge Bloodstone
- Who Should Use Bloodstone Crystals?
- Is Bloodstone Toxic?
- Are There Any Negative Effects Of Using Bloodstone?
- Where Can I Buy A Bloodstone?
- How To Tell If Bloodstone Is Real?
- The Bottom Line: Is Bloodstone Right For Me?
What Is Bloodstone?
Bloodstone is a variety of dark green chalcedony. Also called Heliotrope, which is a direct Greek translation of the words sun stone, it is streaked with red spots and veins that resemble blood, hence its other name! Bloodstone is found embedded in rocks and riverbeds in countries such as India, Brazil, Australia, Germany, the United States, Italy, and South Africa.
History
The discovery of Bloodstone is unclear, but it was used by the ancient Babylonians to make amulets and lucky charms known as talismans. However, according to the Bible, Bloodstone was first created when the blood of Jesus Christ dripped onto the jasper below him when he was crucified on the cross.
It was also used by Ancient Romans and Ancient Greeks to bring good luck to athletes. The Romans also believed that the stone had the ability to slow bleeding and protect against the bites of venomous animals, whilst the Ancient Egyptians believed that Bloodstone could make people stronger and more stealthy in battle, and maybe even invisible to their enemies.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Bloodstone was worn by Christians as a tribute to Christ’s sacrifice. It has also been connected with the ability to control the weather, predict the future, win legal battles, and increase creativity. Nowadays, it is considered a semi-precious gemstone that is fairly popular and inexpensive but still just as powerful.
Meaning Of Bloodstone
Also known as Blood jasper, the Martyr’s stone, and Christ’s stone, Bloodstone is connected with the lower chakras and works to align them with the heart chakra – but it is particularly aligned with the root chakra.
It can also serve as an alternative birthstone for the month of March and is associated with the Aries zodiac, as well as the elements of Earth, fire, and the planet known as the planet of war in astrology, Mars.
Benefits & Healing Properties Of Bloodstone
Let’s take a look at how using Bloodstone can benefit different areas of our lives.
Bloodstone & The Chakras
As mentioned above, Bloodstone is associated with the lower chakras; the root chakra, the sacral chakra, and the solar plexus chakra. The root chakra, also known as the base or first chakra governs our connection to the physical and natural world, helps us take care of our basic daily needs, and makes us feel safe and secure.
The sacral chakra governs our sexuality, creativity, and sense of adventure, and our solar plexus is responsible for our sense of purpose in life, as well as our happiness and our self-esteem.
Bloodstone can help to rebalance these chakras and also align them with the heart; which controls our ability to love ourselves and others – it is essentially a great stone for all of the chakras that ensure a good connection to the physical realm.
Physical Health
As its name would suggest, Bloodstone is great at improving the health of blood; improving blood flow and circulation, healing blood disorders, reducing the likelihood of blood clotting, and regulating the menstrual cycle, as well as improving PMS symptoms and even upping the purification levels in your blood.
In India, Bloodstone is used as a treatment to stop bleeding by placing it on wounds and injuries after dipping it in cold water, which may have some scientific basis because it contains iron oxide, which is an effective astringent.
It is also rich in iron which boosts the energy levels and immune system, protecting you from common colds and flu, and it is commonly used in childbirth thanks to its ability to bring strength and courage. Other health benefits include helping with high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, bone health, liver disorders, heart disease, weight loss, hot flashes, and oral health.
Wellbeing
Bloodstone is an emotional stabilizer and mood booster. It builds inner strength, courage, and resilience and roots you in the present moment, assuring you that you’re supposed to be wherever you are, making you feel secure in your sense of purpose in this life and encouraging you to seek connection with others and overcome trauma from the past.
Spirituality
Spiritually, Bloodstone can align our mind, body, and spirit and bring an overall sense of harmony to our lives. It also stimulates dreaming, so it is a great stone for dreamwork and lucid dreaming.
Bloodstone is known to protect us and our homes from negative energies and toxic vibes, which is perfect for people who absorb the energy easily of others or frequently spend time in negative or draining environments. It can also draw out unwanted emotions which can help with grief and depression.
Relationships
Because Bloodstone aligns the lower chakras with the heart, it is a good stone for attracting new love and making meaningful connections with others. It’s also great for improving existing relationships, upping your sexual energy, and purging out toxic people from your life.
Success
As mentioned above, Bloodstone resonates the most with the base chakra, which relates to security in the physical world – including financial security. It also resonates with the solar plexus chakra and sacral chakra which brings us into alignment with our life purpose and increases creativity, so it’s a great stone for following your dreams, coming up with new ideas, and manifesting abundance and wealth in your chosen field.
At Home
The Bloodstone’s ability to protect against negative energy makes it an ideal stone to have around the home. It can be used to foster a light, peaceful environment, which is great for people that struggle to relax and toxic family dynamics.
Is Bloodstone Water Safe?
Water is a great tool for enhancing spiritual practices like crystal healing. It’s also great for cleansing our crystals, but not all of them can be used with water.
Whether or not a crystal is safe to put in the water depends on how highly they score on the Mohs Hardness scale. This is a scientific scale that ranks the hardness of a mineral from one to ten by testing its resistance against others.
Anything that scores above a 5 on the Mohs scale is generally safe to be used with water, and Bloodstone scores a 6-7, so it is considered a water-safe crystal.
How To Use Bloodstone
There are several ways in which you can use this crystal to utilize its metaphysical properties in your life.
Meditation
Using your Bloodstone during meditation is a great way to connect with it, particularly for grounding meditations and those that focus on the lower chakras. You can hold it or keep it next to you while you meditate; you may find that chanting grounding or healing affirmations helps, as well as visualizing your lower chakras coming into alignment.
Keep It Close
Bloodstone makes attractive jewelry, so try wearing a piece of Bloodstone jewelry to keep it close to your chakras for deep inner healing and re-alignment, or carry a smaller stone around with you in your pocket or purse if you’re not into wearing it.
At Home
Keeping your Bloodstone somewhere central or important in your home will transform the environment and keep the atmosphere clear of bad energy. The bedroom is a good place to keep your Bloodstone to allow its healing properties to work on you as you sleep.
Alternatively, you can leave it in a glass of water overnight and spritz the crystal-infused water around your home to dissolve any negative vibes.
Crystal Bath
Another great way to use your Bloodstone crystal is with water. To absorb its fabulous properties through your skin, try taking a crystal bath. You can do this by putting the stone in the bottom of your tub when you go for a dip. This is especially good for those looking to use the stone for its physical healing properties.
How To Cleanse & Charge Bloodstone
If you are at all familiar with using crystals, you probably know that you need to cleanse and charge them around once a month to keep them vibrating at a high frequency. So, let’s take a look at the best ways to cleanse and charge Bloodstone gems.
Cleansing Your Bloodstone
Cleansing your crystals on a regular basis gets rid of any negative energy that they’ve absorbed from their surroundings. This is especially important for Bloodstone because it is so absorbent.
The most common way to cleanse Bloodstone is by bathing it in the light of the full moon. You can do this by putting it outside or leaving it on your window sill on the night of the next full moon, or if you don’t want to wait until then, you can also run it under the tap for a few minutes, bathe it in some salt water, sage it, or place it next to a cleansing crystal like Selenite.
Charging Your Bloodstone
Charging your crystals re-fills them with positive energy. The most popular method of crystal charging is putting them in direct sunlight, but you can also bury them in the Earth for a day.
Who Should Use Bloodstone Crystals?
Anybody can benefit from the healing energies of Bloodstone, and we highly recommend it for anyone who is looking to heal, rebalance, or activate their lower chakras and bring their mind, body, heart, and soul into alignment. It’s also a great stone for anybody who is born in the month of March, anyone who soaks up negativity easily, or anyone who needs more stability in their life.
Is Bloodstone Toxic?
According to the gemstone toxicity table, Bloodstone is completely safe to handle. However, we don’t recommend consuming it in any capacity – including the drinking of Bloodstone-infused water, as it can have some adverse effects on the body.
Are There Any Negative Effects Of Using Bloodstone?
The Bloodstone crystal specifically doesn’t have any negative side effects, but crystals in general can cause negative symptoms when something in your energies don’t align for some reason, or when they’ve absorbed too much negativity from their previous environment.
This can include nausea, headaches, stomach upsets, nightmares, and bad luck. If you experience any of these, try cleansing and charging your Bloodstone, and if that doesn’t work, just stop using it and move on to a different stone. Crystals with similar energies that you could try include Hematite, Garnet, Red Jasper, and Black Obsidian.
Where Can I Buy A Bloodstone?
Bloodstone is available to buy at a lot of crystal stores and online retailers, as it is a pretty popular stone. However, we recommend sticking to popular and reputable websites. Some stores sell fake Bloodstones that are just pieces of painted glass, so be sure to stick to websites you feel safe using and buy from sellers with good ratings and reviews from previous customers.
How To Tell If Bloodstone Is Real?
There are a few easy ways to tell a real Bloodstone from a fake one; if it’s too perfect and symmetrical looking, for example, it’s probably fake. Real crystals also tend to be heavier than replicas, but the best way to know for sure is to perform a scratch test using the Mohs hardness scale. If you rub the stone on some porcelain and it leaves red marks, it’s the real thing.
The Bottom Line: Is Bloodstone Right For Me?
Bloodstone is a truly unique stone with a mysterious and powerful history and lots of great health benefits and healing properties. If you think it’s right for you or you’re looking to balance your lower chakras – why not add it to your collection?