====== Bloodstone ======
<div #singlebox>
---- dataentry gem----
latin_names: 
folk_names: Heliotrope, hematite (which is a different stone)
energy_tags: Projective
gender_tags: 
planet_tags: Mars
element_tags: Fire
deity_tags: 
effect_tags: Halting bleeding, healing, victory, courage, legal matters, wealth, strength, power, business, invisibility, agriculture
----
</div>
<ifauth @user>
===== Magical Uses =====
Because of its associations with blood, it is a popular stone with athletes. They wear it to increase physical strength and to win competitions. It is also worn to lengthen the life span.

The bloodstone that is worn lends courage, calms fears, and eliminates anger. It has long been used in spells designed to secure victory in court and legal matters.

Because it is green, it is utilized in wealth, money, and business spells. A bloodstone kept in the cash register draws money. Carried in the pocket or purse, or worn, it also attracts wealth. In this regard, since food and money are magically connected, it was a farmer's talisman in the Middle Ages, worn during planting to increase the yield of crops.

Women hung a bloodstone on the arm to prevent miscarriage and, later, on the thigh to ease childbirth.

For invisibility, the bloodstone was smeared with fresh heliotrope flowers and worn or carried. This was said to dazzle the eyes of the bearer's beholders. Today this ritual may be used for "magical invisibility"-when you wish to lie low and not attract attention to yourself.

In the thirteenth century, bloodstones were engraved with the figure of a bat. These talismans were worn by magicians to increase the effectiveness of spells and magical rites.
===== Ritual Lore =====
Bloodstone, a green chalcedony flecked with red spots, has been used in magic for at least three thousand years. In ancient Babylon, the stone was carried to overcome enemies and was used in ancient Egypt to open doors, break bonds, and even cause stone walls to fall.

Its most famous use is to halt bleeding. It was frequently carried by soldiers to either avoid wounds or as a magical first aid. When pressed on wounds, the stone caused the bleeding to stop. Though this was considered to be pure magic, the effect was probably due to the pressure and the cool temperature of the stone. Today it is still worn to keep the blood healthy and to help cure blood-related diseases. A bloodstone held to the nose is said to "lock" it, i.e., to stop the flow of blood.

It was also worn to cure fevers and as a general health-giving talisman.</ifauth>
===== Notes =====
==== Related Herbs ====
* [[herb:heliotrope]]