Why do you need to charge the ingredients? To hopefully help answer that I give this image – a candle is just a candle, until it is set atop a cake and has Happy Birthday chanted. It now knows its purpose is to manifest the wish of the person who blows its flame out.
If you are using items you prepared and stored safely you may be able to skip this first bit. However, go with your intuition and if you feel the need, clear spell ingredients of any unwanted residual energy.
Before starting this process, you will want to ensure you are not depleting your own energy, you can choose whether to connect yourself with earth, water, or air energy, simply by feeling your feet on the ground, or the air moving across your skin. For water visualise being surrounded by it. You can use visualisation to connect to all three.
The method you use for cleansing will depend on what the item is, although some techniques can be used on anything –
Salt – either buried in it (throw away the salt afterwards) or in salt water.
Sunlight or moon light.
Buried in soil.
Sound – clapping your hands, ringing a bell, drumming, speaking, chanting, singing.
Smoke – the object moved through it.
Air or breath (as in literally blowing the stale energy from the item whilst visualising that energy being taken away to be transmuted into useful energy.
Charging is basically giving the object its purpose, and can also be called empowering, programming, or enchanting. The object will have its own energy, so you will need to inform it why you are using it, what you want it to achieve for you.
No matter which method you use, the energy of your own focused intention is the key to the process.
Both sunlight and moonlight double as charging agents, so you can actually clear and charge at the same time. If you do, ensure if you’re charging for a specific goal, that you focus that intention into the item when you lay it out under light of the of your choice.
Holding the object in your hands, holding your hands over the item or placing your hands on it while it rests on a surface. This is an easy and effective way to transfer your power to it.
Using your breath to empower the item.
Speaking words of intention can really help you keep your focus, if you are poetic you could make up a little rhyme to express your desire, but just one word said with feeling can be enough, any words said with conviction are perfect. For example, you can find this or a variation of it on many sites –
I charge this [name the object] through the Universal power to bring [name the magical purpose] into my life. As I will it, so it will be.
If you are asking for a Deity or other being (ancestor/guide/animal) to assist with the spell, you can request Their help to charge the item.
You can watch a chat about this here -
Sources and further reading/information –
Spells and Charms by Rachel Patterson