Map

element

Blood

Nature · Colors & materials

The fluid of a closed body. Offerings, kinship, and later humoral medicine have used it; those uses do not cancel one another.

  • Blood is used in Offerings.

    Some offerings open a body. Vedic, Greek, and Nahua gifts that use blood are still different gifts.

    used in · interpretive · culturally specific

  • Blood is associated with Red.

    Blood is the ordinary reason red is the color of a wound. The material fact is not a festival code.

    associated with · interpretive · documented

  • Blood is historically related to Bread.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, the Lord’s Supper takes broken bread to represent Christ’s body offered upon the cross, and poured wine to represent his blood shed for the salvation of men.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Blood is historically related to Cross.

    In Twining’s Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediæval Christian Art, Passion emblems combine the cross with the heart so that blood flows from the wounds into three cups.

    from Louisa Twining · Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediaeval Christian Art, 1852 (new ed. 1885)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Blood is used in Medicine.

    Blood is the craft’s oldest measure of what still lives. In medicine it is taken, staunched, and read — the closed body’s river turned to a sign the healer must answer.

    from SHOE.BLUE · SHOE.BLUE, 2026

    used in · interpretive · modern interpretation

  • Blood is used in Incense.

    Blood used in Incense. The fluid of a closed body. Aromatics burned as offering or perfume. The Atlas keeps their meeting local, without dissolving either into a single meaning.

    from SHOE.BLUE · SHOE.BLUE, 2026

    used in · interpretive · modern interpretation

  • Iron is associated with Blood.

    Blood tastes of iron because bodies use the metal. Later correspondences that join Mars, iron, and blood are a craft overlay on a material fact.

    associated with · interpretive · culturally specific

  • Pelican is historically related to Blood.

    In Twining’s Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediæval Christian Art, the pelican is the emblem of the passion and resurrection as it was supposed to bring its young to life with its own blood — the pelican is marked by that blood.

    from Louisa Twining · Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediaeval Christian Art, 1852 (new ed. 1885)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Altar is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, the priest burns incense on the altar of incense at the morning sacrifice between the sprinkling of the blood and the laying of the victim on the altar of burnt-offering — blood is sprinkled in that altar rite.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Sin offering is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, the high priest carries the blood of the sin-offering goat into the most holy sanctuary and sprinkles it seven times — the sin-offering’s blood is so sprinkled.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Paschal lamb is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, in the sacrifice of the paschal lamb its blood is sprinkled for a sacred sacrificial purpose — the lamb’s blood is so sprinkled.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Lancet is historically related to Blood.

    In Dunglison’s Medical Lexicon, capillary or local bloodletting is practised on the skin by means of leeches, the lancet, or cupping — the lancet is used in that bloodletting.

    from Robley Dunglison · Medical Lexicon, 1874 (and earlier PD eds.)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Hyssop is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, the priest dips the bunch of hyssop and cedar into water mingled with the bird’s blood and sprinkles the healed leper — hyssop is dipped in that blood mixture.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Cedar is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, cedar with hyssop is dipped into water that the blood of the bird may be mingled with it for sprinkling the leper — cedar is dipped with that blood.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Cup is historically related to Blood.

    In Twining’s Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediæval Christian Art, a twelfth-century Italian niello shows a cup receiving the blood which flows from the neck of the lamb — the cup takes that blood.

    from Louisa Twining · Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediaeval Christian Art, 1852 (new ed. 1885)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Peacock is historically related to Blood.

    In Twining’s Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediæval Christian Art, the peacock as passion emblem also alludes to the Resurrection, as it was supposed that it brought its young ones to life with its own blood — the peacock is joined with that blood.

    from Louisa Twining · Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediaeval Christian Art, 1852 (new ed. 1885)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Offering is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, consecration offerings put the blood of a ram on the right ear, thumb, and toe — the offering is sealed with that blood.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Wine is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, wine is called the pure blood of the grape, as when Judah is said to wash his garments in the blood of the grape.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

  • Atonement is historically related to Blood.

    In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, Leviticus teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood, and blood is given upon the altar to make atonement for souls, because the blood or life makes atonement for the soul.

    from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

Nahua tradition

Norse tradition

  • Blood appears in Norse tradition.

    Snorri’s Gylfaginning has Ymir’s blood become the sea and drown most of the frost-giants. A named blood in that cosmogony, not flood as the drowning event alone and not a sacrifice-blood dump.

    from Snorri Sturluson · Gylfaginning, c. 1220

    appears in · sourced · documented

Shinto

  • Blood appears in Shinto.

    The Kojiki has kami born from the blood that adheres to Izanagi’s sword when he kills the fire kami Kagutsuchi. Named blood as generative aftermath in that cosmogony, not eucharistic blood and not a generic violence dump.

    from Ō no Yasumaro (compiler); Donald L. Philippi (translation) · Kojiki, 712 CE; Philippi trans. 1968

    appears in · sourced · documented

Roman religion

  • Blood appears in Roman religion.

    Virgil’s Aeneid seats blood among sacrifice, battle, and kinship speech of Trojan and Italian war. A named blood in that epic, not a gore aesthetic dump and not Egyptian blood-weighing speech.

    from Virgil · Aeneid, 19 BCE (unfinished at the poet’s death)

    appears in · sourced · documented

Hellenic religion

  • Blood appears in Hellenic religion.

    The Iliad names blood throughout wounding, death, and the staining of armor and earth. A named blood in that epic, not a vampire dump and not sacrifice as a rite flatten alone.

    from Homer · Iliad, c. 8th–7th century BCE (this form)

    appears in · sourced · documented

Egyptian religion

  • Blood is historically related to Osiris.

    Plutarch’s On Isis and Osiris allegorizes wine as the blood of those who fought with the gods and ties blood/moisture speech to Osiris against Typhon — a named blood–Osiris figure under this source when wine as an id is unpublished, not a gore dump.

    from Plutarch · On Isis and Osiris, c. 100 CE

    historically related to · sourced · culturally specific

  • Blood appears in Egyptian religion.

    The Book of the Dead remembers enemies’ blood, protective blood speech, and Isis-knot blood memory among funerary powers — named blood presence in that corpus, not a Nahua offering dump and not a Plutarch Osiris-blood allegory restatement alone.

    from Raymond O. Faulkner (translation) · Book of the Dead, New Kingdom spells; Faulkner trans. 1972

    appears in · sourced · culturally specific

Astrology

  • Blood is used in Astrology.

    Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos describes temperament mixtures in the language of blood and the other humors among nativity speech. A named blood in that handbook, not offering-blood alone and not a gore dump.

    from Claudius Ptolemy · Tetrabiblos, c. 150 CE

    used in · sourced · documented

European folklore

  • Vampire is historically related to Blood.

    Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable seats the Vampire (after Dom Calmet) as a dead man who returns and sucks the blood of persons asleep, who then become vampires in turn — also the extortioner phrase. A named Vampire in that blood-taking speech, not a werewolf, and not a ghoul.

    from Ebenezer Cobham Brewer · Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1870 (and later PD editions)

    historically related to · sourced · documented

sources