A Guide to Tasseomancy: How to Read Tea Leaves
How does tasseography work?
Similar to other divination practices such as tarot, tea leaf reading is all about directing energy and focusing your intentions on the tea. The tea leaves help channel that energy towards answers based off of your experiences—whether they have occurred yet or not. Simply, the messages are within the shape, color, density, and position of the wet leaves.
Preparation
Choosing the right cup and tea
Pick a cup that is light colored or preferably white inside to not obscure the readings. Pick a tea cup that has an angled side, so you are able to clearly read the leaves. A cup with sides parallel to each other will be difficult and is not recommended.
As for tea, choose loose leaf black tea leaves or another loose tea that is not so grounded down finely. Tea from tea bags will not work, as they have been finely cut.
The biggest con of tea leaf reading is you will inevitably get loose tea leaves in your mouth or on your teeth if you try to use your teeth to strain the leaves.
Setting Up for Tea Leaf Divination
Once you have your cup and your tea, simply place your loose leaves into the cup and pour in your hot water.
I recommend spending a moment while the water cools to reflect on your question and intention at hand. Should I get a new job? Should I separate myself from somebody that hurts my growth in life? This is a great time to ponder your question.
This is just personal preference, but I like to gently wrap my finger around the handle or hold the cup during this moment, as I feel you directly transfer your energy to the cup.
Once you’ve settled on an intent and you have a very specific question to ask, begin sipping the tea. As you sip the tea, continue contemplating your question.
Finally, once there is about a tablespoon of liquid left in the cup, you can prepare the leaves for reading.
How to Read the Leaves
Reading the leaves in your tea cup
Hold your cup by the handle (with the handle facing your heart) and gentle swirl it 3 times. I prefer clockwise, but that is preference.
Next, carefully invert the cup upside down and place on your saucer for about 30 seconds to a minute so the remaining water is gone.
Not required, but another personal preference is I like to tap the bottom 3 times with my left pointer finger before flipping the tea cup back over for examination.
Now, hold the cup and examine the contents from multiple angles. Look for both shapes in the tea leaves as well as the spaces between them. You might see an assortment of letters, symbols, animals and objects in your tea cup. You can try reading the tea leaves clockwise, starting from the rim and left of the handle and then working your way in a spiral down. This could help with the timeline.
Typically, near the rim of the cup means the immediate future or present, the middle is the soon future and the bottom of the cup is the distant future.
The shapes you see are rarely perfectly formed, so it is important to follow your first hunch. Think of it as looking for shapes in clouds. Everyone will see something different.
Tea Leaf Interpreting
I highly recommend viewing Tea-Cup Reading and Fortune-Telling By Tea Leaves By A Highland Seer from 1881. It contains a guide to symbols and omens from those symbols in the tea. I will post below many of the common symbols and their general interpretations.
ACORN: improvement in health, continued health, strength, and good fortune.
ANCHOR: a lucky sign; success in business and constancy in love; if cloudy, the reverse must be read.
ANGEL: good news, especially good fortune in love.
APPLES: long life; gain by commerce.
ARCH: a journey abroad.
ARROW: a disagreeable letter from the direction in which it comes.
AXE: difficulties overcome.
BASKET: an addition to the family.
BAT: fruitless journeys or tasks.
BEAR: a long period of travel.
BIRDS: a lucky sign; good news if flying, if at rest a fortunate journey.
BOAT: a friend will visit the consultant.
BOUQUET: one of the luckiest of symbols; staunch friends, success, a happy marriage.
BRIDGE: a favorable journey.
BULL: slander by some enemy.
BUTTERFLY: success and pleasure.
CAMEL: a burden to be patiently borne.
CAR (MOTOR), and CARRIAGE: approaching wealth, visits from friends.
CASTLE: unexpected fortune or a legacy.
CAT: difficulties caused by treachery.
CATHEDRAL: great prosperity.
CATTLE: prosperity.
CHAIN: an early marriage; if broken, trouble in store.
CHAIR: an addition to the family.
CIRCLES: money or presents. They mean that the person whose fortune is read may expect money or presents.
CLOUDS: serious trouble; if surrounded by dots, financial success.
CLOVER: a very lucky sign; happiness and prosperity. At the top of the cup, it will come quickly. As it nears the bottom, it will mean more or less distant.
COFFIN: long sickness or sign of death of a near relation or great friend.
COMET: misfortune and trouble.
COMPASSES: a sign of travelling as a profession.
CROSS: a sign of trouble and delay or even death.
CROWN: success and honour.
DAGGER: favours from friends.
DASHES: lines that mean busy, brief travels
DOG: a favourable sign; faithful friends, if at top of cup; in middle of cup, they are untrustworthy; at the bottom means secret enemies.
DOVE: a lucky symbol; progress in prosperity and affection.
DRAGON: great and sudden changes.
DUCK: increase of wealth by trade.
EAGLE: honour and riches through change of residence.
ELEPHANT: a lucky sign; good health.
FALCON: a persistent enemy.
FERRET: active enemies.
FISH: good news from abroad; if surrounded by dots, emigration.
FLAG: danger from wounds inflicted by an enemy.
FLOWERS: good fortune, success; a happy marriage.
FOX: treachery by a trusted friend.
FROG: success in love and commerce.
GOAT: a sign of enemies, and of misfortune to a sailor.
GOOSE: happiness; a successful venture.
GUN: a sign of discord and slander.
HAMMER: triumph over adversity.
HAND: to be read in conjunction with neighboring symbols and according to what it points.
HARE: a sign of a long journey, or the return of an absent friend. Also of a speedy and fortunate marriage to those who are single.
HARP: marriage, success in love.
HAT: success in life.
HAWK: an enemy.
HEART: pleasures to come; if surrounded by dots, through money; if accompanied by a ring, through marriage.
HEAVENLY BODIES, SUN, MOON AND STARS, signifies happiness and success.
HORSE: desires fulfilled through a prosperous journey.
HORSE-SHOE: a lucky journey or success in marriage and choosing a partner.
HOUR-GLASS: imminent peril.
HOUSE: success in business.
HUMAN FIGURES must be judged according to what they appear to be doing. They are generally good and denote love and marriage.
KETTLE: death.
KEY: money, increasing trade, and a good husband or wife.
KITE: a sign of lengthy voyaging and travel leading to honor and dignity.
KNIFE: a warning of disaster through quarrels and enmity.
LADDER: a sign of travel.
LETTERS: shown by square or oblong tea-leaves, signifies news. Initials near will show surnames of writers; if accompanied by dots they will contain money; if unclouded, good; but if fixed about by clouds, bad news or loss of money.
LINES: indicate journeys and their direction, read in conjunction with other signs of travel; wavy lines denote troublesome journeys or losses therein.
LION: greatness through powerful friends.
MAN: a visitor arriving. If the arm is held out, he brings a present. If figure is very clear, he is dark; if indistinct, he is of light complexion.
MOON (as a crescent), prosperity and fortune.
MOUNTAIN, powerful friends; many mountains, equally powerful enemies.
MOUSE: danger of poverty through theft or swindling.
MUSHROOM, sudden separation of lovers after a quarrel.
NUMBERS depends on symbols in conjunction with them.
OAK, very lucky; long life, good health, profitable business, and a happy marriage.
OBLONG FIGURES, family or business squabbles.
OWL: an evil omen, indicative of sickness, poverty, disgrace, a warning against commencing any new enterprise. If the consultant be in love he or she will be deceived.
PALM-TREE: good luck; success in any undertaking. A sign of children to a wife and of a speedy marriage to a maid.
PEAR: great wealth and improved social position; success in business, and to a woman a wealthy husband.
PIG: good and bad luck mixed: a faithful lover but envious friends.
PINE-TREE: continuous happiness.
RABBIT: fair success in a city or large town.
RAT: treacherous servants; losses through enemies.
RAVEN: death for the aged; disappointment in love, divorce, failure in business, and trouble generally.
REPTILE: quarrels.
RING: a ring means marriage; and if a letter can be found near it, this is the initial of the future spouse. If clouds are near the ring, an unhappy marriage; if all is clear about it, the contrary. A ring right at the bottom means the wedding will not take place.
ROSE: a lucky sign betokening good fortune and happiness.
SCISSORS: quarrels; illness; separation of lovers.
SERPENT: spiteful enemies; bad luck; illness.
SHARK: danger of death.
SHEEP: success, prosperity.
SHIP: a successful journey.
SNAKES: are a sign of bad omen. Great caution is needed to ward off misfortune.
SPIDER: a sign of money coming to the consultant.
SPRIALS: a sign of creativity or energy in general
SQUARES: comfort and peace.
STAR: a lucky sign; if surrounded by dots foretells great wealth and honours.
STRAIGHT LINE, a journey, very pleasant.
SWALLOW: a journey with a pleasant ending.
SWAN: good luck and a happy marriage.
SWORD: dispute, quarrels between lovers; a broken sword, victory of an enemy.
TREES: a lucky sign; a sure indication of prosperity and happiness; surrounded by dots, a fortune in the country.
TRIANGLES: always a sign of good luck and unexpected legacies.
TWISTED FIGURES: disturbances and vexation; grievances if there are many such figures.
UMBRELLA: annoyance and trouble.
UNICORN: scandal.
WAGON: a sign of approaching poverty.
WAVY LINES: if long and waved, denote losses and vexations. The importance of the lines depends upon the number of them and if heavy or light.
WHEEL: an inheritance about to fall in. Inevitable change.
WOLF: beware of jealous intrigues.
WOMAN: pleasure and happiness; if accompanied by dots, wealth or children. Several women indicate scandal.
WORMS: indicate secret foes.
YACHT: pleasure and happiness.
