Do Talismans Need to Be Charged? What the Traditions Say, and Why My Talismans Are Not
Perhaps you have just received a talisman, and the first thing you read online was a list of instructions: leave it under the full moon, pass it through sage smoke, hold it against your heart and repeat your intention until you feel it is charged. And perhaps a small doubt came with those instructions. If a talisman needs all this to work, what was it before? And what happens if you forget?
It is a good question, and the honest answer is that it depends on the tradition your talisman comes from. In this article I want to explain what "charging" a talisman really means, how the different traditions do it, why the talismans I create are never charged, cleansed or programmed after they are made, and how you can meet yours for the first time.
Do talismans need to be charged?
It depends on how the talisman was born. In the traditions where a talisman receives its force through a rite, a prayer, a precise moment in the sky or the energy of the person who makes it, that act of charging is what turns an object into a talisman. In the oracle tradition, which is the one my jewels come from, nothing is added afterwards: a talisman born from a channel already carries its force when it is finished, so it does not need to be charged, cleansed or activated. It opens when you connect with it, by resonance.
How are talismans charged? Five traditions
To charge a talisman is to place a force, an intention or a blessing into an object, so that it carries more than its form. Different traditions do it in different ways, and each one is a real path with its own masters and its own logic. Here are the most common ones.
Through projected energy and intention
Some practitioners project energy into a jewel with their hands, in a way close to Reiki, while holding a clear intention for the person who will wear it. In this family, the talisman will carry real energy only if the person who projects it truly has that gift and that power. It is not something the mind can do on its own.
Through prayer and ceremony
In many cultures, a talisman is blessed through prayers, chants or a ceremony. In Bali, where my pieces are made, offerings and ceremonies are part of daily life, and objects are often blessed in this way. The blessing gives the object its sacred function.
Europe has its own memory of this. At the Cutlery Museum of Albacete, in Spain, a city with centuries of cutlery tradition, I discovered that the master cutlers used to recite a kind of ritual prayer in their workshops, invoking the forces of fire, water and earth to forge the best metal for their knives and blades, and asking God to bless the object they were shaping. They also engraved symbols and words on the blades, as protection.
Through the stars
In the astrological tradition, a talisman is made at a precise moment in the sky, such as an eclipse or a planetary alignment, so that it receives the quality of that moment. The medieval handbook of this art, the Picatrix, times the making of talismanic images by the passage of the Moon through its twenty-eight lunar mansions.
Through what is placed inside
Some talismans are hollow, and the maker fills them with herbs, perfumes, written words or spells before closing them. The jewel then becomes a container for everything that was placed inside it with intention.
Through the hands that make it
There is also a quieter tradition that I find very beautiful. Think of the women who embroider sacred geometric patterns on clothes or carpets. All over the world, these women pass on a wisdom hidden in their designs. Their patterns carry a meaning, but they also carry energy, because these women put their heart, their soul and their intention into every thread and every gesture.
My teacher, an Andean shaman, explained to me that in her lineage the weavers call the Ñusta of weaving, a feminine force of nature, before they begin to turn the wool into thread, and again each time they return to their work. This feminine force does not only protect the work; it becomes woven into the fabric itself.
The same can happen when someone engraves a word or a symbol into an object or a jewel with full presence.
All these ways are real, and I respect them. In each of them, the force comes from something that is added to the object, at the moment it is made or after.
Why are Unna talismans not charged?
My talismans belong to another family, the oracle tradition. An oracle opens a door between two levels of consciousness and lets something pass through her. She does not produce the force, and she does not project it.
This is what happens when I create a piece. I enter a deep, receptive state, the same state I enter when I channel the goddesses through sacred dance, and I receive the vision of the jewel and its codes. I draw them and explain them to my silversmith, who makes the piece by hand. My hands do not touch the metal, and when the jewel is finished, its vibration is already there. I discover it at the same time as everyone else.
I am also very careful not to involve my mind. I do not decide which energy a piece should carry, I do not hold an intention while it is being made, and I perform no ritual on it, neither before nor after. The energy is not mine. It passes through me, and I channel only the Divine Feminine: the goddesses and the feminine masters.
So there is nothing to add. An Unna talisman leaves the workshop complete, and it reaches you exactly as it was born, unused, without Reiki, ceremonies, smudging or programmed intentions. This is why it does not need to be charged, cleansed or activated before you wear it. If you want to see how this began, I told the story of the first rings of the Goddess Codex in What Is a Talisman?.
Can energy really pass through an object?
The rational mind finds this difficult, and I understand why. But human traditions have always recognised that some places and some people can transmit something that cannot be measured. Pilgrims have reported experiences in temples and sacred sites for thousands of years. In India, people still seek the darshan of a saint or a master, the blessing of seeing and being seen, and shaktipat, the transmission of spiritual energy through a look, a touch, a word or a thought. Some accounts say shaktipat can even pass through an object, such as a flower or a fruit, and it is always described as grace: it cannot be forced.
A talisman born from a channel works in a similar way. It opens a portal of transmission, and the woman who wears it receives by resonance, according to what she is ready to receive. You do not need to believe this to read on. But the women who feel it, and many feel warmth or a vibration even when they do not consider themselves sensitive, recognise immediately what I am describing.
How to meet your talisman for the first time
You do not need to activate your talisman: it opens the first time you wear it. But a quiet first meeting can help you feel it more clearly. This is what I suggest.
Find a quiet place where you can be alone, and take off any other jewels you are wearing.
Hold your talisman in one hand.
Stand with your feet grounded, barefoot if you can. Relax your body, keep your knees and shoulders soft, close your eyes and breathe deeply at your own pace.
Wait, without expecting anything, for one to five minutes, and simply notice whether something subtle is happening:
Is your breath changing? Does it become wider or tighter, faster, or does it stop for a moment?
Is there a subtle movement, a vibration or a tingling?
Is there a change in your temperature, a colour, a sensation, a feeling, an emotion or an image?
Does it feel pleasant or uncomfortable? Scan your whole body.
Do not try to understand it with your mind. Open to the experience without judgment, and afterwards wear your talisman as you like, following your intuition.
What if the first meeting feels uncomfortable?
It can happen, and in my experience it is part of the path. Discomfort often means the talisman is clearing something, or showing you a place where you are not yet aligned. My advice is to go through it without fear. We usually want to avoid what feels uncomfortable, yet it is often right behind that discomfort that the gift is waiting, the elixir of the jewel. Some women go through a period of clearing; when it is complete, the energy feels different, and the most beautiful part of the talisman opens. Always follow your intuition, though: if you ever feel a strong, clear "no", take the piece off and come back to it another day.
Will I always feel the energy of my talisman?
Not always in the same way, and this is natural. In my experience, the first contact with a piece is often the strongest. At the beginning, the energy can feel intense, until the information settles into your field. Then it integrates step by step, and you may feel it less, because it has become part of you.
Each talisman works differently, and each woman lives it differently too. One feels heat in her heart, another feels her feet and her connection to the earth, another feels something open at the top of her head, and another receives an insight or an image. What I have seen again and again is that the heart is always involved, because every piece I create works through the heart.
Where does your intention belong?
Your intention belongs to you, and it has a beautiful place in your relationship with a talisman, as long as it is in harmony with what the talisman already carries.
Once you wear an Unna talisman, you can use it as a reminder. Each time you touch it, see it or put it on, you can remember the quality you want to live: the strength of Sekhmet, the beauty and sensuality of Bastet, the abundance of the Great Mother, the priestess you are in your everyday life. The jewel becomes an anchor for your own intention. It does not do the work for you, but it walks with you while you do it.
What you cannot do is program a piece against its nature. You can set your intention with it, but you cannot turn its frequency into something it is not.
The difference you can feel
Charging is a real and ancient art, and the traditions that practise it deserve respect. My path is simply a different one. I do not fill my jewels with power after they are made. I receive them, already alive, and I let them reach the woman who recognises them.
If you have a talisman and you have always wondered whether you were doing something wrong by not charging it, I hope this article brings you some peace. And if you wear one of my pieces, write to me on Instagram and tell me what you felt the first time you held it. I love to hear it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to cleanse an Unna talisman before wearing it?
No. Unna talismans are sent to you unused, without any ceremony, Reiki or projected intention, so there is nothing to cleanse or charge before you wear them. The metal is also pure from the start: the silver and gold in my studio are bought new from a known source, or come only from melting down our own pieces. Recycled metal usually carries a long story whose origin no one knows, and for energetic reasons I want every talisman to begin from metal whose origin we know.
How do I activate my Unna talisman?
You do not need to activate it: it opens the first time you wear it. If you would like to feel it more clearly, follow the short first meeting described above in "How to meet your talisman for the first time".
How do you charge a talisman?
It depends on the tradition: with projected energy, prayer or ceremony, at a precise astrological moment, or by placing herbs and written words inside it. Talismans from the oracle tradition, like Unna's, are not charged, because their force arrives with their creation.
Can I program my talisman with an intention?
You can simply talk to your talisman and share your intention with it, and you can use it as a reminder of your own intention, which can be very powerful. You can also build a relationship with your goddess by connecting with your talisman and following your intuition. What you cannot do is program it against its own frequency.
For more questions, visit our FAQ.
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