Quick Specs
- Botanical Name: Vicia faba
- Common Names: Mojo wish beans, African wishing beans, fava beans (ritual grade)
- Form: Whole dried beans
- Size/Quantity: 1 lb
- Best for: Wish-granting, luck, mojo bags, hoodoo petition work, St. Joseph altars
Mojo Wish Beans in Hoodoo and African American Folk Magic
Vicia faba, the broad bean or fava bean, has a magical history that predates the American hoodoo tradition by centuries. Ancient Romans left fava beans as offerings to the dead and used them in certain purification rites. The black books of Saint Cyprian of Antioch, a grimoire tradition spanning Southern European and Latin American magical practice, include multiple workings involving fava beans, including spells for invisibility, persuasion, and spiritual power. A single bean held in the mouth, or seven beans used in a specific sequence, appears repeatedly across Saint Cyprian’s documented spells as a vehicle for focused intention and spiritual transmission.
In American hoodoo and African American folk magic, these beans became mojo wish beans, carried in flannel bags or pockets as a focus for specific desires. The most common working involves carrying one bean for each wish, focusing your intention on the bean daily for seven days, then disposing of it in a running stream or open field to release the wish into motion. In New Orleans, a practice with Sicilian roots places mojo wish beans on Saint Joseph’s Day altars in mid-March; the beans are then distributed to loved ones for luck and to honor the saint’s role as a provider. Browse my hoodoo and conjure supplies for the full range of rootwork materials that complement mojo bean practice.
How to Work with a Pound of Mojo Wish Beans
A pound of mojo wish beans is enough for sustained practice across many workings: individual wish beans carried for focused intentions, beans given away as luck gifts to friends and family following the St. Joseph’s tradition, beans placed in mojo bags alongside complementary materials for luck and prosperity, and beans used in group rituals where each participant carries one. The traditional advice is to carry one bean per wish and to focus on the wish actively, not passively, for the seven-day working period.
These beans are ritual-grade dried Vicia faba, not food-grade fava beans for cooking. The distinction matters for how they’re packaged and handled, not because there is an inherent difference between the plant varieties. Store them in a cool, dry place away from pests. They are robust and will hold their working integrity for years when properly kept. Mojo bags containing a wish bean pair well with other luck and prosperity herbs and can include complementary items like a piece of lodestone, a coin, and a pinch of five-finger grass.
How to Use Mojo Wish Beans
Three traditional methods for working with mojo wish beans in hoodoo, luck, and wish-granting practice.
- Carry a Seven-Day Wish Bean
Select one bean for each wish you are working on. Hold the bean each morning for seven consecutive days, focusing clearly on your desire. On the seventh day, release the bean into a running stream or open field away from foot traffic.
- Build a Luck and Prosperity Mojo Bag
Place one or two mojo wish beans in a small red flannel bag alongside a pinch of five-finger grass, a piece of lodestone, and a coin. Carry it in your pocket. Feed the bag weekly by holding it and reaffirming your clear intention.
- Create a St. Joseph’s Day Luck Gift
Following the New Orleans tradition with Sicilian roots, place mojo wish beans in a small pouch for each person you want to gift with luck near St. Joseph’s Day in March. Include a brief note explaining the working for the recipient.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock mojo wish beans because they represent a specific and well-documented strand of American folk magic with roots that run deeper than most people realize, reaching back through New Orleans to Sicilian Catholic tradition and further back into European and African bean-magic that predates the New World entirely. The 1 lb quantity is practical for a practitioner who works with these beans regularly, gives them as gifts, or runs group workings around St. Joseph’s Day or other luck-focused occasions. Pair them with everything you need for a complete working in my mojo bags and pouches collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mojo wish beans are dried Vicia faba used in hoodoo as a vehicle for wish-granting and focused intention. The working involves carrying one bean per wish and focusing on it daily for seven days before releasing it into running water.
In New Orleans, following a Sicilian Catholic practice, mojo wish beans are placed on Saint Joseph’s Day altars on March 19th and given to loved ones as luck charms. They carry the blessing of Saint Joseph as provider and protector.
Yes. One or two wish beans are a traditional addition to luck mojo bags in hoodoo. They combine well with five-finger grass, lodestone, and a small coin. The bag is carried in a pocket and fed regularly with intention or prosperity oil.
They are the same plant, Vicia faba, sold as ritual-grade material rather than food-grade cooking beans. The magical tradition treats the bean as a curio. Store in a cool dry place. They keep their working integrity for years with care.
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