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Peace Symbols - BloodStones
By peace | May 9, 2006
Jasper is an ornamental rock made up of microcrystalline Quartz. Jasper is opaque and may come in a variety of colors such as shades of red, yellow, green, grayish, and brown. It may also come in combinations of these colors with very decorative bands. It may also contain impurities and other elements. A variety of green Jasper that contains iron oxide, which gives it red spots, is known as Bloodstone.
Jasper is generally polished to give it extra shine. Since it can come as large stones and is relatively soft, it is easy to carve into decorative shapes and figures. Jasper is known by many names that are descriptive of its colors or bands. Leopard Jasper has a tan color with spots. Green Jasper comes in light to dark green.
Some forms of Jasper have been ground up and used as medicine. It has a hardness rating of 6.5 - 7.0 Mohs.
Jasper is found worldwide and is one of the starsign stones for Virgo.
Picture of Yellow Jasper : A strong protection gemstone, jasper sustains and supports during times of stress. Jasper is one of the oldest known gemstones. It is mentioned in the Bible several times. Jasper is a strong securing gemstone. It is a stability gemstone. It is a powerful protection against things that are not good for you and it eases emotional stresses, making it a wonderful gemstone to have in your home.
Bloodstone, gree
n jasper dotted with bright red spots of iron oxide, was treasured in ancient times and long served as the birthstone for March. This attractive chalcedony quartz is also known as Heliotrope because in ancient times polished stones were described as reflecting the sun: perhaps the appearance of the gem reminded the ancients of the red setting sun reflected in the ocean.
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 bloo
dstone says that it was first formed when some drops of Christ’s blood fell and stained some jasper at the foot of the cross. A beautiful example of carved bloodstone with the seal of the German Emperor Rudolf II can be seen at the Louvre museum in Paris.
Even today, finely powdered bloodstone is used as a medicine and aphrodisiac in India. Perhaps that explains why today it is difficult to find fine specimens of bloodstone on the market. Bloodstone is mined in India, Australia, and the United States.
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