Citrine Description
Almost all of the Citrine available is artificially produced from the much more abundant variety of Quartz we all know as Amethyst. However, our Citrine crystals are of exceptional quality, naturally unique, and hand-chosen. These natural Citrine crystals come directly from the mines near Antsirabe, Madagascar.
Healing and Meaning
Natural Citrine is a premier stone of manifestation, imagination, and personal will. Carrying the power of the sun, it is warm and comforting, energizing, and life-giving. It stimulates the chakras like the sunlight of spring, clearing the mind and stirring the soul to action. Natural Citrine activates, opens, and energizes the Solar Plexus and Sacral Chakras, directing personal power, creativity, and intelligent decisiveness to enhance the physical body. Citrine’s foremost energy is to aid in manifestation of hopes. Citrine is the birthstone of November, and the 13th wedding anniversary gemstone.
Citrine’s frequency awakens creativity and imagination, and sustains the process of transforming dreams and wishes into tangible form. With its pure yellow energy, Citrine encourages the fullness of life, fresh beginnings, and new pursuits. When one is totally attuned to the creative Life Force, simply clarifying, defining, and projecting what is wanted will draw those purposes toward the person like a powerful magnet. It is very important to use this power of attraction only for the highest good. Otherwise what is drawn will become attachments that will eventually bring loss and sorrow to the possessor.
Natural Citrine does not hold or accumulate negative energy, but rather transmutes, dissipates, and grounds it, making it extremely protective for the environment. It works out problems on both the physical and subtle levels, transforming negative thoughts and feelings into positive ones. Meditation with Citrine is highly recommended.
Citrine opens the higher mind to accept joy in one’s life, releasing anger and negative feelings, deep-seated fears, and destructive tendencies. An excellent crystal for overcoming depression, Citrine reduces the sensitivity to criticism, and inspires creativity and self-expression. It raises self-esteem, and by letting go of the past, allows one to move forward optimistically, enjoying new experiences and explorations.
Citrine is one of only three crystals on Earth that are said to never need re-tuning or cleansing. The other two are thought to be Selenite and Kyanite.
The Science behind Citrine
Genuine natural citrine is extremely rare. Almost all of the citrine available is artificially induced from the much more abundant variety of quartz we all know as amethyst because there is so little left of the natural stone.
When amethyst is slowly heated to high temperatures, some of the naturally occurring interstitial iron ions (Fe²+, Fe³+) within the crystal that make amethyst appear purple transfers charge or are moved from their original position. This charge transfer causes the crystal matrix to realign very slightly, and the realignment of the citrine crystal matrix changes the way light is refracted within the crystal structure, changing the light that appeared in the shorter, purple wavelength of amethyst to the longer, yellowish-orange to reddish-brown wavelength.
The light golden-yellow to honey-yellow of naturally occurring citrine was never amethyst to begin with. Mineralogists generally consider the transparent to translucent yellow hue of natural citrine to be due to a combination of Aluminum- based and irradiation induced color centers, along with trace amounts of Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) uniformly mixed within the Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) matrix as the crystal formed. The more Iron Oxide present in the mix during crystallization, the more the crystal shows the yellow color. Rarely, natural Citrine may display smoky phantoms, indicating that the crystal was exposed to variable amounts of gamma radiation from trace minerals within the surrounding rock matrix. Note: Neither Citrine, Smokey Quartz or Amethyst are radioactive.
Whereas most deep purple amethyst occurs in short, rather stubby crystals, naturally occurring, high-quality Citrine crystals can grow to long, well-formed, trigonal columnar shapes in the same manner as clear Quartz or Smoky Quartz. Natural Citrine is often mistaken for Imperial Topaz when faceted or tumbled, but is much rarer than Imperial Topaz. High quality, natural citrine only occurs in small areas at a few places on earth, such as San Cristobal, Columbia; Antananarivo and Antsirabe, Madagascar; Salamanca, Spain; and Dauphine, France.
The name Citrine comes from the French word citron, meaning “lemon”.
Citrine has been used as a gem in Greece as far back as 300 B.C., and because of its color, is sometimes (mistakenly) referred to as Gold Topaz, Madeira or Spanish Topaz, or Safranite.
Citrine, like all crystalline quartz varieties, measures a 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale.
Exposure to ultraviolet light will cause the color of citrine to eventually fade over months to years. In order to preserve the best of the golden-yellow citrine color, storing your citrine in places where UV light will directly shine on it, or wearing citrine crystals outside a lot on sunny days, is not recommended.