The mere mention of the term fortune-telling brings the picture of a gypsy sitting in front of an orb or a tarot card reader with her assortment of cards. But did you know that the tea that you drink can tell a lot of stories about your future?
Tasseography or the art of reading tea leaves uses one of the simplest ingredients – tea leaves – in order to gain insight into the near future.
Tea reading – the history
Drinking tea has been a popular habit for centuries. Herbology also talks about the varied benefits of drinking different types of teas. In Ancient China the art of tea leaf reading was introduced centuries ago. The name comes from the French word Tasse which translates to cup and the Greek word graph which means writing. The process involves reading the pattern of tea leaves formed in the cup after the person drinks from it.
The steps followed-
- The choice of tea leaves is one of the most important steps. High-quality loose leaf tea with full-shaped leaves is essential.
- Boiling water is poured into the cup with tea leaves. The leaves are then allowed to fully soak and the tea is then consumed without straining the decoction.
- The tea drinker then leaves behind a teaspoon of liquid in the cup. The reader would then overturn the cup onto the dish and allow all of the liquid to drain completely with the cup placed upside down for a few minutes.
- Once the cup is picked again the shapes formed on the dish by the tea leaves would be studied.
- The position of the pattern, as well as the shapes, formed and the size of each of those shapes would all indicate different aspects of the future. Each symbol formed is associated with a different interpretation.
Few important things to remember while reading tea leaves
- Circular and light colored cups are preferred. There are also special Tasseography cups in the market that make reading tea leaves simpler.
- As the tea leaves soak, make sure that you focus on the question for which you are seeking an answer. Use these few minutes to clear your mind in order to get a better picture of the results.
- It is advised to use your weaker hand to hold the cup to get the best results.
- Before leaving the cup upside down it is recommended to swirl the cup thrice (clockwise for men and anti-clockwise for women).
- The handle is said to represent the seeker and the bottom of the cup is said to depict the far future. Symbols closer to the handle would mean a direct impact on the seeker. Symbols closer to the rim are events prone to occur in the near future. The more you move towards the center of the cup, the more distant the future is!
If you try to read the symbols yourself, you might take some time to get a hang of it. Be patient and rotate the cup in order to perceive the symbols from various angles. There is no right or wrong way to pick out symbols. The ones that you can see are the answers that you seek.
The whole process might seem unbelievable in the first go. But it definitely is a great mental exercise. So it is totally worth giving it a shot. You get to clear out your thoughts and focus on the one thing that you wish to have answers for. Whether you believe the results or not, you are sure to feel relaxed once a tea reading session is done. Track your results and find out if they turn out to be right.
