One of the perks of sipping your tea loose-leaf style is the ability to turn a regular conversation into a session of fortune-telling! Whether you have a cursory interest in reading tea leaves or you are a full-fledged devotee of divination, a pinch of tea leaves and some hot water can easily become a fun way of turning tea time into a parlor game. Next time you sit down for a cup, impress your friends with your knowledge of tasseography, the art of interpreting patterns in tea leaves also known as tasseomancy or tassology.
When you reach the end of your cup of tea, leave a tiny bit of water at the bottom to allow the leaves a bit of movement. The “consultant” is the person whose fortune is being told. The consultant should grasp the cup by the handle using his or her left hand and move it in a circle rapidly three times (left to right). Some of the leaves will cling to the side of the cup while others will stick to the bottom. Turn the cup over onto a saucer, draining out excess water.
After the last bits of water have been separated out, reveal its contents by flipping the cup back over. Different sections of the cup describe different areas of the consultant’s life. The rim represents the present, the side represents the near-future and the bottom contains predictions for the distant future. The handle of the cup represents the consultant, so the nearer to the handle certain images appear, the more likely they are to have an affect on the consultant in the not-too-distant future.
Using keen observation skills and a good dose of intuition and imagination, scour the tea leaves for meaningful symbols. Here’s a rundown on some of the most common omens.
ACORN”Continued health”improved health.
ANCHOR”Lucky symbol. Success in business or in love. If blurred or indistinct just the reverse.
HEART”A lover. If close to a ring, marriage to the present lover. If indistinct, the lover is fickle.
HEAVENLY BODIES”(Sun, Moon, Star)”Good luck”great happiness and success.
OWL”Indicates sickness or poverty. Warning against starting a new venture.
PALM TREE ”Good omen. Success in any undertaking. Single people learn of marriage. MOON (crescent)”Prosperity, fame. If cloudy, difficulties will be solved.
ELEPHANT”Good Luck”good health”happiness.
TRIANGLES”Unexpected good fortune.
BIRDS”Good Luck. If flying, good news from the direction it comes. If at rest a fortunate journey.
In addition, it’s common for letters to appear in tea leaves. These may represent key persons like a loved one, or even an enemy. Using the position of symbols in the cup (their location in either the ‘past,’ ‘present ‘ or ‘future’ section of the cup as well as their distance or proximity to each other) you can start building a narrative about upcoming challenges or developments in the consultant’s life and even predict if they’ll happen sooner rather than later.