Blood Agate

Blood Agate is a trade name for deep red to reddish-brown agate whose intense color recalls dried blood. It is a chalcedony (cryptocrystalline quartz) colored by iron oxides, and material sold under the name ranges from richly banded stone to more uniform translucent red chalcedony.

The name is descriptive rather than a formal species, and "blood agate" overlaps in usage with terms like pigeon blood agate. It should not be confused with bloodstone, which is a green chalcedony spotted with red. Blood Agate is valued chiefly as a bold red lapidary and jewelry material.

Blood Agate forms when silica-rich groundwater fills cavities, vesicles, or fractures in volcanic and sedimentary host rock, depositing successive layers of microcrystalline quartz.

Its deep red coloration comes from iron oxides and hydroxides - chiefly hematite and goethite - incorporated during silica deposition or introduced by later iron-bearing solutions and oxidation. The most saturated reds develop where iron content is high. Such red agates occur in many agate-producing regions where iron-rich volcanic rocks weather and supply iron to circulating groundwater.

Look for a hard (Mohs 6.5-7) stone with deep red to reddish-brown color, frequently banded, that takes a high polish and shows a waxy to vitreous luster. Translucency at thin edges confirms agate rather than opaque jasper.

Its white streak and conchoidal fracture separate it from softer red minerals like rhodochrosite. Do not confuse it with bloodstone (green with red spots) - blood agate is dominantly red. Carnelian is more uniform orange-red and less banded, while red jasper is fully opaque and grainier.

Blood Agate is cut into cabochons, beads, tumbled stones, and small carvings and set into rings, pendants, and bracelets. Its durability and bold color make it suitable for everyday jewelry.

Collectors prize well-banded or richly colored specimens. In metaphysical traditions red agates are associated with vitality, courage, and grounding, though such properties are not scientifically supported.