Week number two of our featured crystals brings us to, and we're "happy" to announce this, Citrine
Citrine: A Brief History
The crystal Citrine (derived from the Latin citrina which means “yellow”), actually belongs to the Quartz Family, and is another semi-precious stone steeped in history that dates back thousands of years. Because it is a member of the quartz family, it had the similar ability to be carved into different shapes, like other forms of quartz. Thanks to ferric impurities within the stone, it can be found in a beautiful variation of gold, yellow, and orangish hues. Both its beauty and hardness were reason enough for its use in intaglio.
Citrine was in especially high demand in the 19th Century; with large pieces of the stone used in Art Deco jewelry and is one of November’s birthstones. Thousands of years ago, Citrine was referred to as chrysolitus (Greek for “golden stone”) in the Old Testament of the Bible and was studded in Aaron’s breastplate. It was popular for its warm hues and used to decorate tools, especially during the Hellenistic Age in Greece. Scottish weapon makers adorned their dagger handles with citrine in 17th century Europe and even made entire handles out of it if large enough pieces were found. It lost some of its popularity to diamonds but regained it again in part due to Queen Victoria’s love for gemstones and citrine being one of her favorites.
There are two kinds of citrine: natural and heat treated. The Citrine that most of us know and love are like ones described and pictured above: bright and vibrant yellow, or even a deep, almost brown, orange. Those pieces are more common and created when amethyst is treated with heat to bring out those brighter or deeper colors. Natural Citrine (pictured below and bottom of page), however, has the tendency of being a much softer hue of yellow.
Welcome to (possibly) your first Hot Topic/Debate in the crystal world! Just like any other debate in a similar vein, there are some people who want their crystals to be all natural. To a certain degree, we understand. We don’t like or carry anything that is “color enhanced” (with the exception of fairy stones and a few types of obsidian) and we definitely don’t like and won’t accept anything that is completely fake. But we do like that you can find “wands” in most kinds of popular crystals and appreciate the purpose those serve. Polished/tumbled stones are a “man made” process and many people like the smoothness of those. And who doesn’t like a good crystal skull! Clearly “man-made” but beautiful. There are also a handful of crystals that are completely “man-made” and they also serve a purpose to some people. So when it comes to Citrine and the fact that something as simple as heat from your own oven could transform your piece of Amethyst to a lovely piece of Citrine…we’re OK with that. And more importantly, we’re OK if you’re NOT OK with that…because we also carry natural Citrine for those individuals.
The bottom line is that whether you use natural citrine or heat treated, it’s widely accepted that they generally serve the same purpose. GENERALLY. The type of crystal (chemical makeup) and the color are what most are looking for. The color is what typically has an association with certain chakras and its purported abilities in healing along with its makeup.
Citrine: Metaphysical Uses
With its bright yellows to deep, brownish/orange colors, the crystal Citrine offers us clues to some of its purposes by what it reminds us most of: the Sun. Many of us go about our day without ever contemplating the ubiquitous sphere of light in our sky. Without fail it has brought us every morning we’ve ever experienced and painted every night sky we’ve gazed upon. If it was not here, we would not be here. It has been proven that the Sun improves our mood and it is literally life giving. It is for those reasons that we tend to refer to citrine as the “Happy Stone”. Though it has many different uses and purposes (and even different nicknames) we’d like to focus on the main one we use it for to start.
Like the sun with its beautiful, warm rays of light, Citrine helps us be happy. It let’s us know we are worthy of happiness. Similar to the Vitamin D that the sun gives us which improves our mood, Citrine’s bright rays seem to penetrate deep into our psyche and soul and infuse us with positivity. It’s a Chakra healer and energy balancer. It opens and energizes the Solar Plexus (get it? SOLAR?) and Navel Chakras. By doing so it helps direct your personal power, increase and properly place your creativity, and enhances your physical body by strengthening your decisiveness.
Citrine is also known as the “Merchant’s Stone” or the “Success Stone” and is associated with wealth and abundance. Because of those properties it is always a good idea to have some form of Citrine on you in order to manifest abundance in your own life. You can carry a tumbled stone, wear a bracelet or pendant made of Citrine, or even use Citrine in an abundance or money grid. We like to keep Citrine close to our cash register in our shops and you may even notice an actual piece of it directly on top or even jingling around in the spare change compartment as it opens.
Citrine is also linked to the creative process so whether you use natural or heated Citrine, it can be used to activate the imagination specifically through the second, third, and sixth chakras. Clarity of the mind, visualization, establishing goals, and flow of ideas are a few other properties of Citrine. This is especially strong when used during meditation.
Because Citrine is associated with the sacral chakra, it can be used in stimulating an increase in sexual and creative fertility. Similar to the conception of life, ideas can take on life of their own with the aid of Citrine. With it also linking to the root chakra, it can bring the physical energy up to meet the emotional and at the same time raise all energy levels. Most people experience energy blocks in these areas and this is where Citrine can be a serious asset. And with the solar plexus being the main energy distributor, because of Citrine’s association and link with it, it will bring up all energy levels and increase circulation.
A few suggestions on decorative placement of Citrine within your home and/or office: place it on a bedside table (or even under the mattress) in order to bring more intimacy and light into the space, display some on your desk at work in order to incite creativity and prosperity, wear a form of Citrine as a reminder that you are worthy of happiness and light in this world.
If you would like either form of Citrine, you can come in to any of our locations, show us this email, and we'll give you 15% off either choice. That includes large cathedrals and any other shape and size of Citrine.
