Just like any other crystal, citrine needs to be cleansed and recharged regularly. Today we will answer the questions whether it is safe to leave your citrine in the sun, as well as other (safe) methods of charging your crystal.
Citrine cannot be in the sun. The sunlight causes the stone to fade. Better ways to charge citrine are by burying it, moonlight, or using selenite.
Continue reading if you want to know more about why citrine is better left out of the sun, as well as the alternative methods of cleansing and recharging. At the bottom of this page you’ll find a quick overview of the citrine traits, such as element, chakra, zodiac, and benefits.
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Also Read: Can Citrine Be In Salt?
Can Citrine Be In The Sun? (Explained)
Citrine needs to be cleansed and charged regularly, like any other crystal. Our crystals store the energies of their environment and overtime, the negative energy can build up. Additionally, the positive energy can get depleted. As a result, your crystal may not be as effective as you would like it to be.
There are many crystals that can be charged by leaving them in the sun. Even though citrine carries the power of the sun, it is also prone to fading. This leaves you with a pale-yellow stone rather than the bright color we know and love.
Citrine is a type of quartz, and all quartz is sensitive to the UV light from the sun. How fast your citrine fades, differs per crystal. Some will be fine when left in the sun for a little bit, whereas others can start changing color after a significantly longer time. Unfortunately, you will only know when it is already too late. Therefore, I personally keep my stone out of the sun altogether.
Luckily, the fading of the stone will not change the vibrations. If you (accidentally) leave your stone in the sun and the color changes it will still be just as useful as it was before.
If you still choose to charge your citrine using sunlight, leave it behind a window. Glass filters out most of the UV light, decreasing the chances of the stone changing color. For this same reason, your citrine will most likely be fine as long as you keep it inside.
When wearing the stone, you might be better off wearing it during cloudier days. If this is not possible, I would at least avoid wearing it whilst sunbathing.
- Also Read: The Complete Guide To Wearing Citrine
If you want to keep citrine out of the sun, like I do, there are plenty of other methods you can use to charge your citrine without losing the beautiful yellow color. I’ll describe some of them below.
How Long Should I Leave My Citrine In The Sun?
Ideally you would avoid sun altogether. If you choose to charge your citrine in the sun anyway, never leave it for more than 3 hours. This will keep fading to a minimum.
You could also choose to charge your citrine in the morning sun, rather than midday. This is a lot gentler, which makes your stone less likely to fade.
Again, there are many other ways to charge your citrine that protect its color.
Other Ways To Charge Citrine
Just like any other crystal, citrine needs to be charged. Whereas many stones can be charged in sunlight, this is not recommended for citrine. Better options are either moonlight, soil, or selenite.
Before charging it, make sure your citrine is already cleansed. This makes sure you have removed all the negative vibrations, before charging it with positive energy.
- Also Read: What Chakra Is Citrine?
Moonlight
This is my personal favorite way of charging crystals in general, as it is safe for all of them. No need to worry about fading. As the moon’s light is really just a reflection of the rays of the sun, it is a lot softer.
When charging your citrine during a full moon, it is best to leave it directly on the ground – crystals like to be grounded after all. If this isn’t possible, it is a good idea to leave it on a natural surface like wood.
If you’re worried about someone stealing your crystals you could also leave them inside, on the windowsill. The moon’s energy won’t be as powerful here, but it will still let enough light through to fully charge your crystals.
The moon is at its strongest on the day before, during and after a full moon. You can leave your crystals out during any one of these days to charge them. There is no need to leave them out on all 3 of those days. One night, for about 7 hours is plenty to leave them full of energy!
Please note that some crystals cannot handle water. If you choose to leave them outside, please make sure that they are either covered, or can deal with a bit of rain. We don’t want your crystal to dissolve or otherwise get damaged in potential rain. Luckily, citrine (just like any other type of quartz) is safe in water. In fact, it will love the extra cleanse!
Return To The Earth
This method is especially useful if you have a citrine that was previously owned by someone else, or if you haven’t used in a while. It is very likely that the crystal has absorbed so much energy that it simply needs to be returned to the earth for a little while. This is the perfect place to recharge – it is where they come from after all.
To charge your citrine this way, simply bury your citrine. Before burying it, it is a good idea to set an intention for this crystal: why are you burying it? What would you like to get out of it once you dig it back up again?
You can leave the crystal for a few days, weeks, or even months, depending on what the energy feels like to you. If you feel a lot of heavy energy whilst holding the crystal, it might be a good idea to leave it buried for a while.
It is also a good idea to mark where you buried the crystal, so you actually know where to dig it back up again. It is really easy to forget where exactly you put the crystal after a few weeks. We don’t want you digging holes in your entire yard, trying to find your stone. ????
Quick reminder that this may not be a suitable solution for all crystals – the ground may get wet in the time that it is buried which can cause problems. If you bury your Selenite for example, you may have nothing to dig up later on, as Selenite dissolves in water. Citrine is perfectly fine in water though, so it’s not a problem for this stone.
Selenite
Speaking of Selenite, you can use this crystal to charge your citrine also! Selenite is often described as liquid light and has lots of good energy to share with your citrine.
Charging your stones with Selenite is probably the easiest way. This is because you don’t need to ‘activate’ your selenite before you want to charge your citrine. Selenite is always working for you!
Selenite slabs are ideal for charging your stones. The general rule is that the more contact your citrine has with the selenite, the faster and more thoroughly it will recharge it. Leave your crystal on the slab for around 24 hours.
If you don’t have a selenite slab or plate you could also use a stone. In this case, make sure the selenite is of at least the same size, if not bigger, than your citrine.
How To Cleanse Citrine
Charging is done to give your crystal new positive energy, but you first need to remove the negative energy. This is where cleansing your citrine is helpful.
Whereas I personally charge my crystals once a month during a full moon, I cleanse the stones I regularly use every week.
Apart from the weekly cleanse, it is also a good idea to cleanse your citrine after you first get it. This is to remove the energies of all the other people that have handled the crystal before it found you. After all, you don’t want their energy to get mixed with yours.
Running Water
The easiest way of cleansing is by using running water. If you have access to a stream, you can leave it here for an hour. If not, cleansing your citrine is by holding it under running water for a few minutes works just fine.
The water will wash away the negative energies and leave you with a clean crystal, ready to be recharged. This method works best for polished stones but is not recommended for rough stones or geodes. Additionally, this won’t work for stones that are sensitive to water, like malachite and selenite.
Salt Water
To cleanse your citrine extra thoroughly, you could also submerge it in salt water. Ideally, this would be water directly taken from the sea, but if this is not an option for you, regular water with added (sea) salt will work just fine. Simply place your citrine in a bowl with the water and leave it for 24 hours.
Please note that salt can be very abrasive and has the potential to leave your crystal dull after using it regularly. Therefore, I personally wouldn’t recommend this method. Luckily, this won’t affect their vibrations and you’ll be able to use it just the same.
Smoke Cleansing
Smoke cleansing is generally used to cleanse a person’s energy field, rooms or objects (like crystals!). It effectively removes negative energy and leaves you with a nice clean space or crystal.
Just like with any other type of cleansing and recharging setting an intention is essential. Ensure your energy is light by thinking positively and making sure your desires are clear.
For smoke cleansing you need herbs of your choice. Simply light them and blow out the fire. Then, take a deep breath and state your intention out loud. Now you can waft the smoke over the crystals you want to cleanse, or lift the crystals over the smoke for however long you feel like.
I always recommend opening a window so the smoke can leave the room and take all the negative energies with it.
NOTE: Beware that using the term ‘smudging’ and the practice of burning white sage/palo santo is commonly used in the spiritual community. This is a specific type of smoke cleansing used by Native Americans, and which was illegal up until about 40 years ago. We recommend using a form of smoke cleansing that is appropriate for you and your culture.
Citrine Overview
Chakra: Sacral | Solar Plexus
Element: Fire | Air
Zodiac: Libra | Gemini | Aries | Leo
Benefits: Positive energy | Confidence | Success | Joy | Intellect | Motivation
For when you need to recharge yourself. Filled with the power of the sun, this stone gives you positive energy that makes you confident and fearless. This is also the crystal of wealth and success, as well as joy and intellect.
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