Parmigiano-Infused Beans as Manifestation Ritual✨

Calling in wealth, health, and prosperity for 2026💫

Lucky Parm Beans from the „Yule“ section of Cheese Magic (recipe below)

Hello and welcome to a new year!

I hope you all had a joyful holiday season and are finding a little respite in the stillness that January brings. Winter in the northern hemisphere calls for hibernation, and while most of us still have to work, our wary souls require as much rest as we can get. Though popular culture asks us to begin a new calendar year with resolutions or challenges, our energy is often as scarce as the daylight. The long nights offer the opportunity for reflection, gratitude, and the setting of goals, rather than taking action to accomplish them.

One of my favorite accomplishments of 2025 was completing Poet‘s Astrology School, an excellent 6-month fundamentals course. One of my goals of this year is to weave my newfound planetary knowledge into my work here. That‘s just what this dispatch is about: channeling the auspicious energies currently brewing up in the sky into a tried and true ritual recipe from Cheese Magic: Lucky Parm Beans.

Steenbok by Pyke Koch via The Library of Esoterica: Astrology

The sun is in currently in Capricorn, the cardinal earth sign associated with endurance, achievement, and the perserverance required to get the job done. We also have Venus, the planet of love, Mars, the planet of action, and Mercury, the planet of communication, in the sign of the sea goat. All of this means that it is an excellent time to plan out your longterm goals. What do you want to accomplish this year? What are your dreams for this lifetime?

Meanwhile, Jupiter is in Cancer, the cardinal water sign that sits opposite to Capricorn. Here, the planet of good fortune asks us to investigate our emotional selves. What do we need in order to feel safe?

Parm beans, ready for cooking. I used thyme for this batch, rather than the sage called for in the recipe.

Take a moment over the next couple of days to sit in the quiet of the post-holiday slumber. Reflect on these questions, and when you feel that you have a solid grasp on your goals, make the recipe below. Beans are associated with luck, wealth, and prosperity. Together with these planetary energies they will help you bring your dreams to fruition.

Wishing all of you a lucky new year! Cheesus bless you and yours.

🖤 Erika

Lucky Parm Beans (from Cheese Magic)

These lucky beans are infused with garlic, red pepper flakes, and sage for added protective energy, health benefits, and flavor. The magic ingredient is the leftover rind of Parmigiano Reggiano. While often discarded, the rind is capable of infusing broths, soups, and stews with a potent punch of rich, umami flavor. Serve with crusty bread, an extra drizzle of olive oil, and a generous heap of grated Parm. Remember: the more Parm you add, the closer you are to another delicious rind—the cycle continues, the wheel turns.

• 1 pound (455 g) dried beans, such as cannellini or lima (see note)

• 4 sprigs sage, leaves removed and chopped

• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• 2 two-inch (5-cm) pieces Parmigiano rind

• 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (if using Morton, then reduce to 1/2 a tablespoon)

• Lemon wedges, to serve

• Freshly grated Parm, to serve

• Crusty bread, to serve

Begin by cleansing your workspace and a large pot. You can use smoke, bells, soap, or whatever method you’d like. Imagine the leftover energy from the year that has passed rinsing away, making room for what is to come.

Rinse the beans well (see note). Add to a large mixing bowl and cover with 2 inches of water. Let soak for at least 4 hours or up to 12.

Drain the water and transfer the beans to a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of frresh water.

Add the sage, garlic, olive oil, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and several cracks of black pepper. Stir three times clockwise while envisioning yourself accomplishing your goal. Imagine this new year blossoming with blessings of health and wealth.

Bring the beans to a simmer over medium-low heat. Drop the rinds into the pot and stir three times clockwise, thanking the planets and all the ingredients for helping you manifest your dreams. Cover and let cook until the beans are al dente. This will take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the type of beans you’re using and how old they are.

Add the kosher salt and stir to incorporate. Cook until the beans are just tender, then taste and season as needed.

Remove the rind, and discard. Ladle the beans into a bowl with plenty of broth. Drizzle with more olive oil, squeeze the lemon wedges over top, and finish with grated Parm and more black pepper. Serve with the bread.

After eating, write down one small action you can take over the next month that can help you accomplish your goal. Start small, then add more actions to your list each month as the sunlight waxes.

Notes:

• Make sure to use authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. Their production standards are protected by the Italian government, so their quality is guaranteed, unlike cheaper imitations, which often lack the same depth of flavor.

• You can use any dried bean you have on hand, but I prefer creamy white beans like cannellinis. I use Christmas lima beans, because they’re beautiful and festive. I strongly discourage using canned beans, which will get mushy before they properly infuse the flavors.

• Wash your beans well before soaking, to rinse away debris and pebbles hiding in the mix. I recommend placing them inside a large bowl or pot and filling it with water. Swirl them around a little, drain, and repeat until the water is clear.