Tea-leaf reading dates back thousands of years to China. In the 17th century, the Dutch introduced tea into the West. Western diviners took to tea-leaf reading following an earlier Middle Ages tradition of interpreting symbols in molten lead and melted wax. 18th century Italians claimed to have created coffee ground divination, and today, coffee grounds are sometimes substituted for tea leaves in divination.
How to Perform a Tea-Leaf Reading
Tea-leaf readings can be performed for oneself or for another. A specific question can be addressed through the reading or the focus can be on the future in general. The practice calls for a few simple supplies: hot water, a teacup, saucer, and loose tea—not tea bags. Chinese tea is said to provide the best results.
After the tea is prepared, the reader (or the person for whom the divination is being performed) drinks the tea, making sure to leave a small amount of liquid at the bottom of the cup that covers the leaves. Next, the cup is turned three times clockwise and then overturned onto the saucer dish to drain the remaining tea. Lifting the cup, the reader can interpret the patterns in the leftover leaves.
Shapes and Meanings
Tea leaves farthest from the cup’s rim, at the bottom, are interpreted as events occurring in the distant future, while leaves closest to the rim of the cup symbolize events in the immediate future. Various shapes, patterns, and meanings emerge out of the leaves; paying attention to intuition, gut feelings, and personal interpretations should take precedence over any “book definition” of tea leaf interpretations.
Some of the “book definitions” can, however, be helpful when beginning to read tea leaves. Numerous shapes are possible to uncover in the leaves: animals, numbers, lines, letters, and objects. Cups represent harmony and love; straight lines indicate careful planning and peace of mind; initials and numbers can signify people, places, or events; a bell, a wedding; a cross, hardship; a heart, love; a house, security; a dog, friendship; a key, opportunity; and so on.
Tasseography Today
Today tea-leaf reading is performed in America and Europe, and it is often associated with witches and gypsy fortune telling. Modern witches employ a variety of divinatory methods ranging from Tarot cards, rune stones, scrying bowls, I Ching, palmistry, numerology, and tea-leaf reading. Diving the future does not mean the revealed information is “fixed” to occur; often what is shown through divination are probabilities that can always change with human choice and free will.
For more introductory information on tea-leaf reading, one can explore related books such as Joseph F. Conroy’s, The World in Your Cup: A Handbook in the Ancient Art of Tea Leaf Reading, or Jacqueline Towers', Simply Tea Leaf Reading.
References
Adams, Anton and Mina Adams. The Learned Arts of Witches and Wizards: History and Traditions of White Magic. New York: Barnes and Noble Inc, 1998.
Dunwich, Gerina. The Wiccan’s Dictionary of Prophecy and Omens. Secaucus: Carol Publishing Group, 1999.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. 2nd Edition. New York: Checkmark Books, 1999.
