Reading Tea Leaves

Tasseography or Tasseomancy is the ancient art of fortune telling by reading tealeaves; it began in China thousands of years ago, but is also associated with eastern European ‘gypsies’ and became popular with the Scottish and Irish.

How to prepare for the reading

It may sound obvious but you need to use a loose-leaf tea with as little dust as possible. A black tea would be perfect for this, such as Ceylon Coolbawn. You can either brew a pot of tea and, without straining, pour it into the cup, or put a teaspoon of the leaves directly into the cup and pour boiled water over them. You can drink the liquid (whilst thinking of the question you want answered!) or just drain it away, keeping the leaves in the cup (you need to leave a little liquid in order to help the leaves swirl around). Begin by holding the cup in your left hand and using your right hand to cover the top, swirl it around three times in a clockwise direction. This should disperse the leaves enough to provide a reading.

What do you see?

It is said if there are few leaves left in the cup you have a tidy mind and disciplined life, whereas a cup with many leaves means you lead a rich, full, busy life. The position of the symbols also determines their significance, for example if the leaves are on the rim of the cup they are of high importance and could represent a life-changing event. Symbols on the sides of the cup are significant but not life changing, and symbols on the bottom are subject to change.

You are looking for symbols, patterns, letters or numbers, but remember it is about interpretation and what you may see as a one legged kangaroo might be seen as the Statue of Liberty by someone else! Below is a list of some of the most common and interesting symbols, together with their meanings.

Symbol	Meaning
Acorn:	Wealth
Apple:	Prosperity
Axe:	Danger ahead
Bottle:	Possible disease
Broken eggs:	Difficulties at work
Broken necklace:	A love affair is heading for a fall
Butterfly:	Happiness
Harp:	Romance is in store
Hat:	Expect a payrise
Kangaroo:	A holiday
Ladder:	Business Success
Leaf:	A birth or new lease of life
Oak tree:	Health
Oyster:	Love
Question mark:	Suspicious morals
Shark:	You're going bankrupt
Vase:	You have a secret admirer

Patterns can also be read, for example straight lines mean a definite occurrence, whereas curved or wavy lines signify the possibility of change. A huge clump of leaves indicates trouble, if it is situated near the handle of the cup it is your fault, and if on the opposite side, it’s someone else’s fault.

When looking into the cup if you imagine it as a clock face with the handle pointing to 9 o’clock you can gauge time scales of particular events. If 9 o’clock is the present, then 12 o’clock is 3 months time, 3 o’clock would be 6 months and 6 o’clock would signify events happening in 9 months time.

So why not give it a go, sit your friends and family down and make a night of it (head scarves and incense optional!) And let us know if your predictions come true…

Charlotte Jewer
Teaologist