We’ve all heard stories about magic beans, but hoodoo workers knew there was some truth to them. Magic beans, aka mojo beans, were part of their daily rituals.
Many spiritualists refused to go anywhere without a few beans in their gris-gris bags as protective talismans.
Black turtle beans were used to remove obstacles and bring clarity. Cranberry, canary, and green pigeon beans attracted success and opportunity.
Fava beans manifested good luck. Pink beans (habichuelas rosadas) boosted one’s confidence and conjured romantic love.
Carrying a bean in one's pocket or wallet brought abundance and prosperity. Some hoodoo workers carried seven different beans, each with its own kind of manifestation.
After seven days, they’d take the beans to a nearby river. While saying their manifestations aloud, they would toss the beans over their left shoulder into the water. Within seven days their manifestations would come true.
Preserving the sacredness of beans provided our ancestors with accessible forms of resistance, spiritual sustenance, and lessons rooted in gratitude that they could pass down.
Many of us don’t carry magic beans but we do carry our ancestors’ magic, sprouting that magic everywhere we go.
Some beans, like soybeans, are as small as mustard seeds. So even if our faith is the size of a soybean, we can still move mountains with it.