Citrine
Also Yellow quartz, Madeira citrine
Transparent pale lemon through golden to a smoky madeira brown; most stones on sale are heat-treated amethyst and carry a faint reddish cast.
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Hardness
- 7 Mohs
- Handling
- Safe in water and hard enough for daily wear. Most citrine sold is heat-treated amethyst, which is not a fault but is worth knowing. Prolonged strong sunlight pales the colour, so do not keep it on a windowsill.
- In water
- Safe
What it is held to be for
Citrine is the tradition's stone of the open hand. It belongs to the Sun and, in later folk practice, to trade: dealers called it the merchant's stone and kept it in the till rather than wearing it. The lapidary line groups it with the yellow stones held to lift a heavy mood and steady anyone who has to ask other people for money.
Folk tradition
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Sun, Mercury
- Element
- Fire
- Signs
- Leo, Gemini
- Chinese phase
- Earth
- Year animal
- Ox, Dragon
- Centre
- Solar plexus Manipura
- Sephirah
- Hod
How it is used
Carried loose in a pocket, or kept in the drawer, tin or till where money is handled, rather than worn as jewellery. Some hold it at the desk while doing accounts or writing an invoice.
Today
Put a citrine where you keep your money. Handle it once, name aloud one thing you intend to earn, and leave it there.
A longer working
On a Sunday morning, in daylight, empty the place where you keep money: purse, tin, or the drawer with the bills in it. Wipe it out. Set the citrine at the back. Say plainly what the money is for, whether that is rent, a debt or a journey. Put everything back in front of the stone. Leave it a month, then take the stone out, hold it, and say what actually came.
Works with
- Herb
- Calendula
- Incense
- Frankincense