(Phaseolus spp.)
Planet: Mercury
Element: Air
Energies: Money, sex
Lore:
Beans were a major part of the diets of many Mesoamerican cultures,including the Maya and the Aztecs. They’re still an important food throughout Latin America. Plutarch states that beans were given in sacrifice to Harpocrates (the GraecoRoman deity) in the month of Mesore. Apollo was also offered beans in sacrifice. The Egyptian king Ramses III offered 11,998 jars of shelled beans to the deities on one occasion.
Several ancient religions forbade priests and priestesses to eat beans. The Romans offered beans to the dead at certain festivals. The Greeks and Romans also used beans for ballots: white beans for yes, black beans for no. Apollo was offered beans in sacrifice. Beans were long thought to promote sexual desire if eaten. The famous English herbalist Culpeper recommended them for this purpose, while a father
of the Church, Saint Jerome, forbade nuns to eat beans because they “tickled the genitals.”
In England, insanity was thought to be the result of sleeping overnight in a bean field.
The white flowered beans, however, have long been sacred to the Goddess and were revered by many peoples.
Colonists learned the art of cooking Boston baked beans from American Indians.
Magical uses:
Add beans to diets designed to increase wealth. If you make your own baked beans, add a touch of ginger, maple syrup, and other money attracting foods during their preparation, and visualize as you mix and cook. Or, eat beans with the appropriate visualization to increase your interest in sexual activity. Hot chili with beans is a protective dish.
