Amulets



Bloodstone

Carnelian is a red-colored variety of chalcedony that for many centuries has been known as "bloodstone" and credited with the power to stem loss of blood from wounds or excessive menstrual flow. Although some have declared that its name was derived from the Latin carne, "flesh," most authorities maintain that the origin of the bloodstone's common European version, carnelian, lies in the word cor, "heart."

The blood redness of carnelian made it highly desired among ancient Egyptians who

used it to represent the blood or virtue of the goddess Isis and placed it within the body cavity of a mummy. The Egyptian jewelers also favored the bloodstone as an addition to their heart amulets and proclaimed it as a symbol of the heart-soul of the goddess.

Carnelian is called the Mecca stone by many Muslims and is carried by them as an object that may assist in fulfilling all wishes for perfect happiness. While many authorities state that the "sardis" mentioned as the first stone in the breastplate of Aaron, Moses's brother, was a ruby, others suggest that it was a carnelian, or bloodstone.


Some bloodstones are greenish in color, with bright red flecks of jasper within them that look like flecks of blood. In folk medicine it matters little which bloodstone one employs, for in the mind of the practitioner, the stone is certain to halt the flow of blood and promote healing. And for the practical magician, the use of a bloodstone in rituals and incantations is believed to greatly increase the realization of all desires.


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