Tasseography - The Lost Art of Reading Tea Leaves
As a method of divination, the art of tea leaf reading, or tasseography to give it its official name, is probably not the first one people think of in these modern times. It's out of fashion, probably because stupid as this sounds, we don’t really use loose tea anymore! No, we use tea bags and unfortunately you can't perform the art of tasseography with a sealed round tea bag!
Also, there are simply too many other methods of fortune telling to choose from and tasseography has fallen from popularity. Reading with a pristine deck of cards or swinging a pretty pendulum asking yes/no questions is a lot more appealing to most folks than loose tea leaves, cold tea and peering into the bottom of a tea cup. This is something your Gran did, and is one tradition that is not being handed down with the generations.
Tasseography is actually a very difficult medium to use and takes some practice, high intuition and skill. Where the symbols are placed as well as what the symbols are all play a part in an accurate reading.
So, let's try and reintroduce this lost art and get people reading tea leaves again! So, what do you do?
Step 1: Beginning
Loose tea is much better than simply splitting open a teabag because the leaves are bigger in loose tea. Any tea is fine, it doesn’t have to be a specialty tea, you can use anything. So follow the directions on your loose tea packet and make a cup of tea! A cup is better than a mug simply because of the size and width.
Step 2: Focus and Tuning In
As tea leaf reading relies on a high degree of intuition and psychic ability, you must focus and find your centre before reading the leaves. Sit in a place where you won't be disturbed or distracted. Then begin to relax and connect to the level of concentration that you need. Do this while your tea is brewing
While you sip your tea, think about your question and what you want to ask of the tea leaves. Sip slowly and concentrate. Keep thinking about your question as you drink and when you have a small amount of tea left in your cup you are ready to cast your reading.
Step 3: Casting the Tea Leaves
Move your cup until the liquid that is left is moving and the tea leaves are separating and circulating. Some will begin clinging to the sides of your cup. Then softly turn your cup upside down to tip out the tea that is left. As you turn your cup right side up again, hopefully what you will be left with is a good pattern of tea leaves all over your cup.
(The techniques involved in tasseography can require some practice, so if at first you don't succeed try again! Eventually the casting technique will become second nature).
Part 2 of this feature here
As a method of divination, the art of tea leaf reading, or tasseography to give it its official name, is probably not the first one people think of in these modern times. It's out of fashion, probably because stupid as this sounds, we don’t really use loose tea anymore! No, we use tea bags and unfortunately you can't perform the art of tasseography with a sealed round tea bag!
Also, there are simply too many other methods of fortune telling to choose from and tasseography has fallen from popularity. Reading with a pristine deck of cards or swinging a pretty pendulum asking yes/no questions is a lot more appealing to most folks than loose tea leaves, cold tea and peering into the bottom of a tea cup. This is something your Gran did, and is one tradition that is not being handed down with the generations.
Tasseography is actually a very difficult medium to use and takes some practice, high intuition and skill. Where the symbols are placed as well as what the symbols are all play a part in an accurate reading.
So, let's try and reintroduce this lost art and get people reading tea leaves again! So, what do you do?
Step 1: Beginning
Loose tea is much better than simply splitting open a teabag because the leaves are bigger in loose tea. Any tea is fine, it doesn’t have to be a specialty tea, you can use anything. So follow the directions on your loose tea packet and make a cup of tea! A cup is better than a mug simply because of the size and width.
Step 2: Focus and Tuning In
As tea leaf reading relies on a high degree of intuition and psychic ability, you must focus and find your centre before reading the leaves. Sit in a place where you won't be disturbed or distracted. Then begin to relax and connect to the level of concentration that you need. Do this while your tea is brewing
While you sip your tea, think about your question and what you want to ask of the tea leaves. Sip slowly and concentrate. Keep thinking about your question as you drink and when you have a small amount of tea left in your cup you are ready to cast your reading.
Step 3: Casting the Tea Leaves
Move your cup until the liquid that is left is moving and the tea leaves are separating and circulating. Some will begin clinging to the sides of your cup. Then softly turn your cup upside down to tip out the tea that is left. As you turn your cup right side up again, hopefully what you will be left with is a good pattern of tea leaves all over your cup.
(The techniques involved in tasseography can require some practice, so if at first you don't succeed try again! Eventually the casting technique will become second nature).
Part 2 of this feature here
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