Citrine Cathedral from Brazil (No.888)

Citrine is a silicon dioxide mineral, a member of the Quartz group, it’s crystal system is trigonal and it’s yellow pigmentation is derived from iron.

It varies in shade from very pale yellow to a deep amber, nearly orange, with some specimens exhibiting brownish tinges.

The name Citrine comes from the French word citron, meaning lemon. Citrine was used as a gem in Greece and Rome through the first and second centuries A.D.

Much of the commercial Citrine on the market is heat-treated Amethyst. In general, the deep amber and orangish shades are heat treated. Natural Citrine’s are mostly a pale yellow colour. Deposit of natural Citrine have been found in Brazil, Africa, Madagascar, Spain, Russia, France, Scotland and the USA.

Heat Treated Citrine:

The more available variety of Citrine found on the market is the characteristic lemon-yellow to orange-yellow colour created by heating Amethyst crystals. Natural Citrine is less widely available and can be more expensive, so for marketing availability the Amethyst is heated to an extremely hot temperature and turned into to Citrine. 

The heated nature of Citrine can be very much associated to the metaphysical properties of the crystal. There is a great warmth to the Citrine which can bring an uplifting feeling and can be a great accompaniment to help rise the sprit. 

Heated Citrine can be normally referred to as a ‘Money Stone’, ’Stone of Abundance’ or simply ‘Good Fortune’ these terms can be very misleading and to some aspects do a disservice to what can be a very beautiful crystal.

Citrine works with the Solar Plexus Chakra.