I have a confession to make. I have been having a love affair with Citrine for almost two decades now, and we are very happy together. Holding one is like touching the sun itself. Its energy is like crystallized sunbeams that vitalize your cells, outlook, energy, and entire being. Citrine can burn through clouds of negative energy, thoughts, and emotions like a laser, clearing the way for your soul to shine through.

It is also a genie in a bottle crystal, a wish granter. If it wasn’t for Citrine, I don’t think I would be a professional crystal healer today. I needed to manifest enough money to be able to quit my job and get my crystal healing certification. I sat and meditated with a large, radiant Citrine crystal one day, and I asked for a money miracle. A month later, I got one—an unexpected infusion of cash, big enough to allow me to pursue my dreams! Many people have similar stories. As long as your wish is aligned with your highest good and path, Citrine can help speed up its manifestation.

You can never have too many Citrine crystals, and luckily Citrine is affordable and readily available. Once you have a stockpile of Citrine crystals, the question is this: How do you work with them to get results? Here are my top suggestions.

1. Program Citrine to manifest abundance or whatever your heart desires. Citrine has been historically recognized a powerful magnet for money and prosperity. Because it is one of the best crystals for activating the solar plexus chakra, Citrine enhances your ability to manifest anything you truly want—love, health, a new home, etc. The best way I have found to manifest something fast is to program a Citrine crystal with my desired outcome. Because Citrine belongs to the quartz family, it can hold thought-forms or intentions that you place in them, amplify them, and constantly transmit a magnetic energy to bring them into your life. This is due to the missing lattice theory, which states that the structure of quartz occasionally has a missing silicate atom. This space acts as a black hole, which can hold and store the energy of your intent.

Here’s a simple method for programming a Citrine crystal that works like a charm. Think about what it is that you would like to manifest, and write it down in the form of a present tense affirmation—as if you already have it. (An example, “I now make a fortune doing what I love.”) It is also a good idea to add this phrase to the end of your affirmation: “This, or something better, manifests easily if it is for my highest good.”

Cleanse the Citrine using sage, running water, sound, sunlight, or whatever method you prefer. Hold the Citrine crystal in your dominant hand, and speak or mentally project your affirmation into the crystal. Repeat the affirmation several times until you feel a click or shift, or you get the message that the crystal has taken the program. Normally, a crystal will be successfully programmed after you repeat the affirmation between eight and twelve times.

Once programmed, you can keep the Citrine in your energy field (in your pockets or within two feet of your body), allowing it to continuously affect your energy and consciousness. Perhaps the most powerful way to benefit is to spend some regular time meditating with it. You can place the Citrine on your solar plexus chakra, located a couple of inches above the navel, and visualize your affirmation coming true. Picture it in vivid detail and feel all of the positive emotions associated with manifesting exactly what you want. The next thing you know, it will be so!

2. Take a Cleansing Citrine Bath. Citrine is a secret weapon for clearing all forms of negative energy that might be affecting you: lower thoughts and emotions, EMF’s from technology, attachments, entities, and psychic debris in your aura and energy system. Citrine can absorb and then transmute this negative energy into positive energy. Wearing Citrine jewelry or placing Citrine over the chakras will help to clear your bio-system. But perhaps my favorite method is to take a cleansing Citrine bath. It is a pleasant and effective way to treat all of your chakras and your entire aura simultaneously. All you really need is one Citrine crystal and access to a bathtub, but a few cups of salt and a few drops of purifying essential oil is also a nice touch.

Program a Citrine crystal with the following intention, “All of my chakras, meridians, subtle bodies, and my aura and entire bio-energetic system is now completely cleansed of all negative energy.” Once you have programmed your Citrine with this intention, you can reuse it for future baths with no need to reprogram it.

Fill the bathtub with warm water. Place the Citrine in the tub, and allow it to charge the water with your cleansing intention. (Make sure that it is not scalding hot to avoid damaging the Citrine.) You can add Epson or sea salt, which also helps to absorb negative energy. There are many essential oils that also have a purifying effect, such as Frankincense, Juniper, Lavender, Rosemary, and Sage. Adding a few drops can enhance the experience. Soak and relax in the tub for about 20 minutes, and when you emerge you will be crystal clear and sparkly.

3. Create a Citrine grid for positive energy and protection in your home or office. Citrine will radiate positive, elevating energy wherever you place it, while clearing and protecting your space. A beautiful idea is to create a simple grid with Citrine crystals. A crystal grid is a network of stones placed into a pattern and activated with your intention. Building one creates a powerful force field that structures and patterns the energy of your environment, positively affecting all who are exposed to it. You could create a crystal grid around your house, in your yard. You might feel like you just need to grid one specific room of your home or office, or perhaps you want to grid all of the rooms individually. You will need a Citrine crystal for each corner and a Selenite wand or a terminated (pointed) Clear Quartz crystal to activate the grid.

Here’s how to grid a room in your home or office. Cleanse all of the crystals before you begin, and then place one Citrine crystal in each corner of the room. Hold the Selenite or Quartz in your dominant hand, and state your intention for the grid: “I activate this grid to keep the energy of this room clear, high, positive, and protected at all times.” Use the Selenite or Quartz crystal as a wand to connect all of the crystals in your grid. Start at one corner, and point it at the Citrine crystal. Then walk around the perimeter of the room while pointing the wand at the floor, and pause for a second at each Citrine in the network. Do this three times. Your grid will stay activated as long as the crystals remain in place. Enjoy the good vibes!

4. Give your body and energy a boost. Have you been burning the candle at both ends? If you are feeling drained and fatigued, Citrine can revitalize you. It is a vibrant energy source that can recharge your batteries, since it boosts your metabolism, endocrine system, and all physical body systems. Put down the Starbucks, and try this simple Citrine technique to rev you up:

Place a Citrine crystal directly over your root chakra, located at the base of your spine or pubic bone area. Your root chakra regulates your physical body, stamina, vitality, and general energy levels. Placing Citrine there for at least fifteen minutes will give this chakra and your body a boost. If your adrenals are fatigued, or if your thyroid function is low, you could also place a Citrine directly over these glands for fifteen minutes. After you do this exercise, I suggest wearing Citrine jewelry or keeping it in your pockets to sustain your energy levels throughout the day.

5. Awaken your crown chakra and intuitive abilities. Citrine manifests in the golden ray, which is a crown chakra color. Located at the top of your head, the crown chakra is the gateway to your higher self, higher dimensions, and source energy. Citrine has a natural activating effect on the crown chakra, and when placed there it will strengthen your spiritual connection and higher dimensional access. Citrine also boosts the endocrine system, so it can be used to activate the pineal and pituitary glands. When these glands are activated to a higher level, your psychic and intuitive abilities are enhanced.

There’s a simple Citrine meditation you can do to awaken your spiritual connection and abilities. Lie down, and place a Citrine crystal at the crown chakra. Relax and come into a meditative space, then visualize golden light from the higher dimensions pouring into the top of your head. Intend that it is flowing into the pituitary gland, located in the center of your head, and also into the pineal gland, located above and behind the pituitary gland. Call in your higher self, and ask to receive a spiritual activation that is perfect for you. Meditate for about fifteen minutes, and be open to receiving any messages, visions, and impressions.

6. Use Citrine as a natural anti-depressant. Are you experiencing grief, emotional pain, and sadness from a recent loss? Maybe disappointing life situations have left you feeling emotionally heavy, suck, numb, or hopeless. Do not despair, because Citrine can help if you feel like you are shrouded in a grey cloud. Citrine can shine its bright light into the darkest corners of your emotional body, transmuting lower emotional states and restoring your hope and optimism.

If you are feeling blue, place a Citrine crystal over the heart chakra, located at the center of your chest. Hold your hands over the Citrine, breathe, and hold the intention that any negative energy and emotions are being completely absorbed and transformed by the Citrine. If you are sensitive to energy, you will probably feel this happening. Leave the Citrine in place for about fifteen minutes, and feel yourself becoming lighter with each passing minute. I also suggest wearing a Citrine pendant over the heart chakra to continuously beam energetic support and healing into the emotional body.

7. Wear Citrine jewelry when you need to shine. We all have those moments in life when we need to dazzle others with our brilliance and light. Perhaps you have a big presentation to give at work, a job interview, an important social event, or a first date. If you have a golden opportunity knocking on your door, and you need to project your best, most confident self, adorn yourself with Citrine jewelry. Citrine has a way of banishing anxiety and self-doubt. It helps you tap into your personal power and makes you to feel confident, capable, and enthusiastic. It can electrify your personality, enlivening your words and energy so that others are completely charmed. I used to get very anxious when doing public speaking in front of hundreds of people, until I started wearing a Citrine ring. Thanks to Citrine, I have learned to feel at home and shine on stage, and it can do the same for you.

As you can see, Citrine is one of the brightest stars in the mineral kingdom. Perhaps that is why I have an overabundance of Citrine crystals in my collection—more than any other crystal I own. With so many reasons and ways to work with it, I can absolutely justify my Citrine obsession. It is one addiction that I wholeheartedly recommend to you, and I know you’ll thank me for it.