TASSEOGRAPHY
What is Tea Leaf Reading (Tasseography)?
Tea leaf reading (tasseography) interprets the shapes formed by the pattern of tea leaves left inside a finished teacup to read signs concerning love, work, and the near future. It originates in China, where tea itself was born, and later developed into a distinctive custom in Britain.
Overview
- System
- Form Reading (reads from the shapes left by tea leaves)
- Origin
- China (arose alongside the tradition of tea) → developed further in Britain
- What You Need
- A photo of a finished teacup showing the pattern of the leaves
- Best For
- Love, work, life, timing
- Time Frame
- Near term, 90 days
Origins & History
Tea leaf reading is believed to have arisen in China not long after tea itself came into being.
The custom traveled to Britain along with tea-drinking culture, and by the late 19th century it had become so embedded in popular culture that British and American porcelain makers produced dedicated teacup-and-saucer sets printed with divinatory patterns. Coffee reading is a sister practice that shares the same method of reading the shapes left by grounds or leaves.
How It Works
- 01Drink a cup of tea brewed with loose leaves, unstrained, leaves and all.
- 02With a small amount of leaves and moisture left in the bottom of the cup, swirl it gently and then tip it to drain the liquid.
- 03Observe the pattern left by the leaves inside the cup, for example by photographing it.
- 04Interpret the shapes formed by the pattern as resembling people, animals, or symbols, and read the timing of events from their position (closer to the rim or closer to the bottom of the cup).
What It Reveals
Tea leaf reading is well suited to reading relatively short-term signs, such as prospects in love or work in the near future. At the same time, interpreting the patterns depends heavily on the reader’s own sensibility, and as with coffee reading, it should be noted that there are limits to how consistently the same shapes can be interpreted.
Related Methods
References
- Wikipedia: Tasseography (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasseography)