“Just like clear quartz has inclusions of aluminum and lithium, that’s what helps create the kind of golden smoky color you see in natural citrine,” explains Ashley Leavy, founder and educational director of the Love and Light School of Crystal Therapy. There’s also heat-treated citrine, she adds, which is commonly called “fake citrine” or “baked amethyst.” Heat-treated citrine is amethyst, another variety of quartz, that’s been heated to change its color from purple to shades of yellow, amber, etc. Even if it’s heat-treated, Yulia Van Doren, author of Crystals: The Modern Guide to Crystal Healing and founder of Goldirocks, tells mbg that doesn’t mean your citrine is not a potent crystal. In fact, many common gemstones are heat-treated, such as topaz, she says, adding, “It’s the industry standard that quartz which is orange or yellow is called citrine.” There’s also something called Kundalini citrine, she notes, which isn’t a specific variety but rather a specific formation, called the abundance formation. “[The abundance formation] is one large crystal surrounded by smaller crystals around the base. It’s specifically used or connected with wealth and prosperity and abundance and manifesting,” she explains. “Visualize love and light all around you. Place it atop your business card on your desk as a reminder throughout the day to vibrate at your highest level,” she says. In particular, though, Van Doren likes to pair citrine with amethyst or rose quartz, given that they often have the same origin. She says it can work well with grounding crystals like black tourmaline, smoky quartz, and hematite too. And according to Leavy, sodalite also makes a great companion to citrine. “They’re not quite opposite each other on the color wheel, but fairly close,” she tells mbg, adding they have a really nice balance of energies. “Whereas citrine has this really vibrant energy, sodalite has a quality that’s very calming—so it helps you kind of stay present and think things through instead of just taking rash action,” she explains. Just be mindful about leaving your crystal out in the sunlight for a refresh, Leavy notes, as this can cause citrine to fade. If you are going to charge it in the sun, limit it to 15 minutes to be safe. Beyond that, you can charge it in ways that are specific to whatever intention you set. If you’re using your citrine for self-confidence, for example, you could charge it on top of a photo of yourself, Leavy suggests. Along with wearing it on your hands, Leavy says you can also wear it as a pendant over your heart if you wanted to inspire self-love. Or perhaps if mental clarity is what you’re needing, you could wear it as earrings. It’s ultimately all up to you and your intention here.
