PEOPLE, obsessed with wealth, have made citrine – a crystal symbolising abundance and largess – a cornerstone of their endeavour to get rich.
ENLIGHTENING: Soon explaining aspects of the citrine money tree.
Citrine is a beautiful yellow stone and a more affordable alternative to the much dearer yellow sapphire or yellow diamond. Its huge demand has driven designers to come up with a myriad of motifs for the stone — from ornaments to jewelry pieces.
Citrine is believed to have the power to provide other benefits besides wealth and success as it also symbolises hope, youth, health and fidelity.
Explained Chai Chee Yu of HOJB (House of Ju Boa): “There are many benefits for the wearer (of the crystal). The trick is to wear it next to the skin — neck and wrist — where it can radiate its positive energy.”
He added that it’s a stone everyone should have.
According to Chai, most people buy the crystal mainly for wealth-related reasons. They have discovered keeping the stone or placing it at a specific area really helps in their finiancial pursuits.
“Some people prefer keeping the stone in their wallet or purse while others in designated areas such as the ‘wealth corner’ in their house or room,” he explained. The wealth corner is the farthest corner from the door.
The yellow quartz is said to benefit the wearer’s mental, emotional and physical well-being by lifting self-esteem and self-confidence, at the same time, removing destructive tendencies. It enhances individuality, improves motivation, activates creativity and encourages self-expression.
Chai said citrine brings out optimism and enthusiasm while enhancing the wearer’s concentration power. It awakens the higher mind and is, thus, excellent for overcoming depression and phobias.
The crystal is also believed to have the capacity to exude energy and invigorate the physical body.
“It is useful for those particularly sensitive to environmental and outside influences,” he explained.
Said to also have healing powers, citrine is highly beneficial in reversing degenerative diseases. It stimulates the digestive system, spleen and pancreas while negating hypertension, detoxifying the blood, activating the thymus, balancing the thyroid and fortifying the nerves.
Citrine helps relieve constipation, menstrual problems and menopausal symptoms, thus reducing hot flashes while balancing the hormones and alleviating fatigue. It is also said to be able to removes cellulite.
Its pale yellow hue makes the crystal a favourite for jewelry adornment. Crystal fanciers believe citrine jewelry can reduce “a bout of the blues.” Its golden tones, which reflect beautifully, make for an impressive display in rings, bracelets, earrings or necklaces
“For those who do not believe in its power, citrine quartz makes excellent jewelry pieces at very affordable prices,” Chai said.
Often cut as a gemstone, the natural crystal is a rare commodity because most citrines available in the market are not authentic. Citrines are transparent crystals of all sizes and shapes, often in geodes, pointed or clustered.
They are actually specimens of low grade, inexpensive amethyst or smoky quartz, artificially cooked at high temperature, to produce the more profitable orange yellow citrine.
While the natural citrine may have started out as amethyst, heat from nearby magmatic bodies may have caused the change to citrine.
Citrines whose colours have been produced by artificial means tend to have much more of an orange or reddish caste than those found in Nature, which are usually a pale yellow.
Easily scratched, the semi-precious stone should be stored in a soft satin or velvet pouch and in the dark as its colour is susceptible to change due to excessive exposure to sunlight.
The leading producer of the crystal is Brazil and the name is derived from Latin.