1 INTRODUCTION TO THE ART OF TEA LEAF DIVINATION
It’s highly likely that there have never been so many people eager to know, to whatever extent is humanly possible, what tomorrow holds as there are at the present moment. The greatest of all wars, which separated so many from those they love and created a deep uncertainty as to what the future might hold, is responsible for this sudden increase in our natural human curiosity about the future. A keen interest in any form of divination is the inevitable result of uncertain times, all in the hope that some glimmer of light might brighten the darkness and obscurity of the future.
Unfortunately, this desperate need for foreknowledge of coming events or information about the well-being of friends and relatives has led to an abundant supply of so-called fortune-tellers who trade on the anxiety and fear of their neighbors and make a living at their expense.
There is an axiom, which centuries of experience demonstrate is as sound as any of Euclid’s, that the moment an exchange of money enters into the business of reading the future, the accuracy of the fortune being told disappears. The fortune-teller no longer possesses the singleness of mind or purpose necessary to give a clear reading of the symbols he or she consults. The payment they are receiving is suddenly the first thing on their mind, and this is more than enough to obscure their mental vision and to bias their judgment. This applies to the very highest and most conscientious of fortune-tellers—even those who are truly adept at foreseeing the future when there is no money at stake. The majority of so-called fortune-tellers are charlatans, with only the smallest amount of any actual knowledge of some form of divination: whether by the cards, coins, dice, dominoes, palms, crystal, or any other way. The taint of the money they hope to receive clouds whatever gift or intuition they possess, and so their judgments and prognostications are precisely as valuable as the potions of a quack doctor. They are very different from the Scottish Highlander who stands at the door of his cottage at dawn and carefully notes the signs and omens he observes in the sky, the actions of animals, and the flight of birds, and from them catches a glimpse into the coming events of the day. They differ also from the spae-wife,1 who, manipulating the cup from which she’s enjoyed her morning tea, looks at the various forms and shapes of the leaves and dregs, and deduces from whom she will receive a letter today; or whether she is likely to go on a journey, or to hear news from across the sea, or to make a nice profit for her goods. In these instances, the taint of money is completely absent. No Highland spae-wife or seer would ever dream of taking a fee for looking into the future on behalf of another person.
If we are equipped with the requisite knowledge and a little skill and intuition, we are best able to tell our own fortunes. We cannot pay ourselves for our own prognostications, and without money to taint it, our judgment is unbiased. One of the simplest, most inexpensive, and—as the experience of nearly three centuries has proved—most reliable forms of divination is reading fortunes in teacups. Although it isn’t the oldest form of divination, since tea was not introduced to Britain until the middle of the seventeenth century, and for many years was too rare and costly to be used by the majority of the population, the practice of reading the tea leaves doubtless descends from the somewhat similar form of divination known to the Greeks as “??taß??,” which involved divining the future of love by examining the splash made by wine thrown out of a cup into a metal basin. A few spae-wives still practice this method by throwing out the tea leaves into the saucer, but reading the symbols as they are originally formed in the cup is the better method.
After reading this book and following the principles shared here, anyone can quickly learn to read the fortunes that the tea leaves foretell. It’s important to understand, however, that teacup fortunes are horary, meaning they deal with events in the coming hours or full day at the most. The immediately forthcoming events cast their shadows, so to speak, within the circle of the cup. The tea leaves can be consulted as a daily practice and will reveal many of the happenings of daily life, based on the skill and intuition of the seer. Adepts like the Highland women can and do foretell events with remarkable accuracy. Practice and a knowledge of the significance of the various symbols is all that is necessary in order to become proficient and to tell your fortune with skill and judgment.
There is, of course, a scientific explanation behind all the forms of divination practiced. Everyone carries in themselves their own destiny. Events do not happen to people by chance, but are invariably the result of some past cause. For instance, a man becomes a soldier who had never intended to pursue a military career. This doesn’t happen to him by chance, but because of the prior occurrence of the Great War in which his country was engaged. The outbreak of war is similarly the result of other causes, none of which happened by chance, but were created by still other occurrences. It is the same with the future. What you do today happens as a result of something that has been done in the past, and will, in time, become the cause of something in the future. The mere act of doing something today sets in motion forces that will inevitably bring about some entirely unforeseen event.
This event is not decreed by fate or providence, but rather by the person whose actions lead to a future event that she doesn’t foresee. In other words, we decree our own destiny and shape our own ends by our actions, whether providence intervenes or not. If this is true, it follows that we carry our destiny within us, and the more powerful our mind and intellect the more clearly this is the case. Therefore, it’s possible for a person’s mind, formed as the result of past events over which she had no control, to foresee what will occur in the future as the result of deliberate actions. Since only a few people have the ability to see what is about to happen in a vision or by means of the “second sight,” the symbols in the tea leaves provide a medium through which to interpret the future. The method or nature of the symbol is unimportant—dice or dominoes, cards or tea leaves. What matters is that the person shaking the dice, shuffling the dominoes, cutting the cards, or turning the teacup is by these very actions transferring the shadows of coming events, all of which have been predetermined by her own actions, from the vague corners of her mind into a new form. Now all that is required is for someone to read and interpret these symbols correctly in order to ascertain what is likely to happen. This is where singleness of purpose and freedom from ulterior motives are necessary in order to avoid error and to form a true and clear judgment.
This is the logical explanation behind the little-understood forms of divination that aim to shed light on the occult. Of all these forms, divination by tea leaves is the simplest, truest, and most easily learned.
Even if the student doesn’t deeply believe in the accuracy of what he sees in the cup, reading of the tea leaves is a fun diversion for the breakfast table. The woman who finds a lucky sign such as an anchor or a tree in her cup, or the man who discovers a pair of heart-shaped leaves in conjunction with a ring, will have a little bit of encouragement for their day, even if they only consider the symbols to be harmless superstition.
Regardless of whether the tea leaves are being consulted seriously or as a game, follow the methods in the following chapters carefully and trust that the pictures and symbols formed in your cup are correct.
2 READING TEA LEAVES
The best kind of tea to use for readings is undoubtedly China tea,1 the original tea imported to Western nations and still the best for all purposes. Cheaper mixtures contain so much dust and so many fragments of twigs and stems that they are useless for divination, since the tea will not form clear symbols or pictures.
The best shape of cup to employ is one with a wide opening at the top and a bottom that is not too narrow. Cups with almost perpendicular sides are very difficult to read, because the symbols cannot be seen clearly, and the same is true of small cups. A plain-surfaced breakfast cup is perhaps the best option. The interior should be white and have no pattern printed upon it, as this confuses the clearness of the picture presented by the leaves, as does any fluting or unusual shape.
The ritual of tea leaf reading is very simple. First brew yourself a cup of loose-leaf tea and allow the tea to float freely in the cup, without using a strainer or tea ball. Begin by drinking the contents of your cup, leaving only about half a teaspoon of the liquid remaining with the tea leaves. Take the cup by the handle in your left hand, holding it rim upward, and turn it three times from left to right (clockwise) in one fairly rapid swinging movement. Then very slowly and carefully invert it over the saucer and leave it there for a minute, so all of the tea drains away into the saucer.
If you are approaching the practice seriously, keep your mind focused on your future as you brew and drink the tea and upend the cup. Focus your intention and will on ensuring that the symbols forming under the guidance of your hand and arm (which is of course directed by your brain and thus connected to the future you hold within yourself) correctly represent what is destined for you in the coming day.
The “willing” of the tea is similar to “wishing” when cutting the cards in another time-honored form of fortune-telling. But if you are approaching the leaves as a fun pastime instead of seeking the future in your reading, you can be less intentional in your practice.
Once the tea has drained from the cup, flip it over and you can begin to interpret the meaning of the tea leaves that have remained on the interior of the cup. Hold the cup in one hand and rotate it carefully in order to read the symbols without disturbing them. As long as the remains of the tea have been properly drained away the symbols will remain stable.
The handle of the cup represents the person who is consulting the reading, similar to the “house” in tarot reading. Symbols that are positioned near to the handle are chronologically closer—whether they represent a journey away from home, a message, or visitors to be expected—while symbols that are further from the handle indicate events that are further in some way. This is one of the reasons why reading leaves in the cup, instead of the saucer, is so useful.
The bottom of the cup represents the more remote future foretold, the events on the sides of the cup are not so far distant, and symbols near the rim indicate occurrences that will happen very soon. The closer the symbols are to the handle in all three cases, the closer they are to being fulfilled. So a symbol found at the rim of the cup right next to the handle will happen imminently, while a symbol at the bottom of the cup opposite the handle will happen furthest in the future.
If the cup has been properly swirled and drained, the tea leaves will be distributed around the bottom and sides of the cup. The fortune can be told equally well regardless of whether there are many leaves or only a few. Of course, there must be some tea leaves in order to create symbols, so the leaves must be allowed to float freely in the tea when it is brewed. There is nothing better than one of the plain old-fashioned earthenware teapots, both for the purpose of preparing a proper cup of tea and for divining the future.
3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR READING THE CUP
The leaves scattered around the teacup may appear random and accidental, but their arrangement is caused by the movement of the arm when the cup is upended, which is in turn controlled by the mind of the consultant. The scattered leaves will form lines and circles of dots, small clusters, and groups of leaves in patches, all of which will look like a meaningless, random jumble.
Carefully notice all the shapes and figures formed inside the cup. It can be helpful to look at the symbols from different angles to help reveal their meaning. At first it may be difficult to make out what the shapes really are, but as you look at them longer the meaning of each will become clearer. The various symbols in the cup must all be considered together in a general reading. Bad indications will be balanced by good ones; some good ones will be strengthened by others, and so on.
It’s now the task of the seer—whether the consultant or another person for whom you are reading—to note what the tea leaves look like. This part of the process is a bit like seeing pictures in the clouds, as children do everywhere. You will see trees, animals, birds, anchors, crowns, coffins, flowers, as well as squares, triangles, and crosses. Each of these possesses, as a symbol, some fortunate or unfortunate significance. The size of each symbol indicates its relative importance. For instance, if you saw a symbol indicating that you would receive an inheritance, if the symbol itself is small you know the inheritance will also be modest, but if the symbol is larger your inheritance will also be significant. If the leaves grouped together form the shape of a crown alongside the symbol for inheritance, you might be led to believe that a title would accompany your inheritance. Chapter 4 contains a list of the meanings of common symbols to help you interpret them.
There are several general principles to know before you can accurately read the leaves. Isolated leaves or groups of a few leaves or stems frequently form letters or numbers. These letters and numbers should be read in tandem with the other symbols that surround them. If the letter L is seen near a small square or oblong leaf, which indicates that the reader will receive a letter or package, it means that the last name of the person who mailed the package begins with L. If these two symbols appear near the handle at the rim of the cup, the package will arrive soon; if they appear near the bottom of the cup its delivery will be delayed. If the sign of a letter is accompanied by the appearance of a bird flying toward the “house” (the handle of the cup representing the reader) it means the reader will receive a message; if it is flying away from the house the consultant will be the one sending the message. Birds flying always indicate news of some sort.
Smaller fragments of tea frequently form lines of dots in the cup. These indicate a journey. The length of the line shows the extent of the trip and the direction of the line indicates which direction the reader will be traveling toward. In this case the handle of the cup indicates south. If the consultant is at home and lines lead from the handle around the cup and back to the handle, it shows that they will return. If they end before returning toward the handle it indicates that the consultant will move, particularly if there is a symbol resembling a house near the end of the journey. If the consultant is away from home, lines leading to the handle show a return home. If the line of dots is free from crosses or other symbols of delay, their return trip will be speedy; otherwise it will be postponed. A number may indicate the number of days spent traveling.
A cluster of dots surrounding a symbol always indicate the receipt of money in some form or other, depending on the nature of the symbol. A number positioned near a symbol indicating an inheritance or gift can indicate the amount of the inheritance or the number of gifts to be expected.
You will find that in order to read a fortune with any real accuracy or to read a genuine forecast you cannot be in a hurry. The seer must not only study the general appearance of the horoscope displayed before her and decide what each group of leaves resembles—each of which have a separate significance—but must also balance the bad and the good, the lucky and unlucky symbols, and find a middle ground. For instance, a large bouquet of flowers (a fortunate sign), would outweigh one or two very small crosses (an unfortunate sign), which in this case would merely signify some small delay in the consultant’s coming success. In contrast, one large cross in a prominent position would be a warning of disaster that would be hardly, if at all, mitigated by the presence of some small, isolated flowers, regardless of how lucky those signs may be individually. This is the same principle used by astrologers, when, after computing the aspects of the planets toward each other, the Sun and Moon, the ascendant, midheaven, and the significator of the native, they balance the good aspects against the bad, the strong against the weak, the benefics against the malefics, and find an average. In a similar way the lucky and unlucky signs in a teacup must be balanced in order to find the average. Symbols that stand out clearly by themselves have more weight and importance than ones that are hard to discern in the midst of a cloudlike mass of leaves. When these clouds obscure or surround a sign, whether lucky or unlucky, they weaken its force. In teacup reading, however, it is important to remember that the fortune being told is restricted to a single day, unlike in astrology, which deals with the whole life.
If you’re only looking for a lighthearted pastime instead of a predicative reading, you can focus solely on the meaning of the symbols and not worry about these more detailed interpretations. In those cases, the seer will just glance at the cup, note the sign for a letter arriving soon, or that for a journey to the coast, or a gift that will soon arrive, or an offer of marriage, and move on to another cup.
You will find that when you examine some cups, they will present no features of interest, or will be so clouded and muddled that you won’t be able to find any clear meaning at all. In those cases, the seer shouldn’t waste any time over them. Either the consultant has not concentrated his or her attention on the business at hand when turning the cup, or his destiny is so obscured by the indecision of his mind or the vagueness of his ideas that it can’t manifest itself through symbols. People who consult the tea leaves too frequently often find this muddled state of things in their cups. Once a week will be often enough to look into the future, although there is something to be said for the Highland custom of examining the leaves from your morning cup of tea in order to catch a glimpse into the events of the day. To “look in the cup” three or four times a day, as some silly people do, is simply to ask for contradictions and confusion, and is often the sign of inactive, empty minds.
The teacup can also be used to ask what is known to astrologers as “a horary question,” such as “Will I hear from my lover in France, and when?” In this case the attention of the consultant when turning the cup must be concentrated solely on this single point, and the seer will consider the symbols formed by the tea leaves solely within the context of the question in order to give a definite and satisfactory answer.
Copyright © 2022 by Leanne Marrama and Sandra Mariah Wright
