When we think about the ancient art of tea-leaf reading, or tasseography, we imagine Romani gypsies with purple scarves on their heads, huddled over a once-steaming cup of tea, swirling the tea leaf remains till they settle, creating mystical symbols that hold meaning and coveted secrets-waiting-to-be-told about our lives.
While certainly not as popular a form of divination as tarot readings and clairvoyance, tasseography still holds appeal in its own right due to its accessibility, ease of divining, and stronger connection between the "medium" used and the querent. There is certainly something special, and both thrilling and calming, about sipping a delightful warm beverage that also connects you to your future.
Setting your Intentions and Selecting Your Tools for Tasseography
Tasseography can be done using loose tea leaves, as well as coffee grounds. Both beverage types were used by the Romani (tasseography is actually a form of divination that has been practiced around the world). If a hot cup of coffee is your choice of beverage for your tasseography readings, Arabic / Turkish coffee grounds are best as it produces thicker sediments, making the reading and interpretation much easier.
To begin, decide on your intention for the day, or for the reading. What would you like to bring into your life or to know about? As you think about your intention, brew your tea of choice. Green and black teas are best as, much like the Arabic / Turkish coffee grounds, it will be easier to see the symbols.
I will be talking primarily about tea, however you can use the same practice for coffee.
Select a mug that you are drawn to that day, or that aligns with your intention. It is preferable to use a white or light colored mug to make it easier to see the symbols in the sediments. However, if you have a white or light colored plate, you can work with any mug of your choice. There are also mugs available that are created specifically for tasseography readings. We'll get into those in a moment.
Drinking Your Tea or Coffee for Tasseography
Once your tea is at a boil, fill your mug with the flavorful brew. Make sure not to strain your tea, you want the loose leaves in your mug for divining when you're done! State your intentions, or focus on your question for a moment. Then enjoy your tea and go about your morning or day. If you are drinking with friends or family, enjoy your time with them over your hot cuppa.
If you’re not sure where to buy loose leaf teas that will work well for tasseography, and you don’t mind caffeine, you can get some delicious black teas here. Black and green teas a recommended. Certain herbal teas can work too if that’s what you prefer. I like to keep my caffeine intake low, so I often drink herbal teas myself.
This is an assorted pack of high to low caffeine, black and herbal, loose leaf teas I sometimes get. I will say, many in this pack aren’t the best for tea leaf reading. The lavender chamomile, for example, has little flower puffs in it that make it hard to divine. The nutty almond cream has almonds in it, and the Maui mango has pieces of mango. But if you are new to herbal teas it is a nice tester set. I quite like the blueberry wild child. And it does come with black and green teas for divining.
Understanding the Subconscious
As you sip the warm tea, your sips, where on the rim you sip, how you may or may not swirl you tea as you drink, other movements you make, etc. are all guided by your subconscious to move the tea leaves around and arrange them into the shapes that will later be read. This works much like pendulum dowsing, or how the subconscious is involved in selecting where you cut a tarot deck, or how you "randomly" select the cards that will make up your reading.
For more on how the subconscious plays into the magick of these tools, watch my magick of tarot video. There truly is magick in all aspects of a tarot reading, from beginning to end, from cutting the deck to the actual interpretation.
Preparing Your Tea Leaves for Interpretation in Tasseomancy
As you near the end of your tea, swirl the leaves around. If you are using a white or light colored mug and you are drinking tea, drink the final drops. What will be left are the loose leaf sediments ready to be interpreted!
If you are using a dark mug, or you are drinking coffee, swirl the final sediments around in your mug. Then cover your mug with a white or light covered plate or saucer. Flip the saucer and mug over so that the plate is upright, with the cup upside down. Remove the cup, swirl if needed, and start divining your leaves or grounds!
Earlier I mentioned that there are tasseography-specific mugs and saucers. These mugs have symbols within it, often of the zodiac. Tasseographers use these specially marked cups and saucers for further divining. If you are a serious tasseographer and would like to check one out or purchase one, you can see a tasseography tea cup and saucer set here.
Interpreting Your Sediments With Tasseography
Now that you have your sediments at the bottom of your mug or on your saucer, take a look at the leaves and grounds. Take your time, and allow your imagination to run free. What symbols do you see? What stories may be coming alive in your leaves? Start taking note of any symbols you see. While you do this, pay attention to any associations that come to mind. A star could represent luck, or a wish fulfilled. A tree might represent growth, new life. A dog may represent friendship or loyalty. An arrow, unpleasant news. A horse, a lover.
There are certainly lists of common symbols and their meanings. But trust your intuition and imagination. When it comes to many forms of divination, and intuitive practices such as journeying in shamanism, there are no definite rules for interpretation. While many symbols have a general or collective significance, each person identifies with those symbols individually, so there is also a personal significance. We find this with dream interpretation as well. Dreaming of your teeth falling out could represent a significant loss in your life. Or, it could just be fears of the dentist appointment you have tomorrow.
Some Tasseography Interpretation Guidelines
If you would like some guidelines here are a few.
The clearer the symbol, the more important that symbol is in the context of other fuzzier symbols
If the sediments don't show many symbols or are muddled, this could represent the state of mind the querent is in their life
The symbols don't need to be exact images of a moon, tree, heart, etc. If the leaves simply suggest these things, that is more than enough
In contexts where this makes sense, sometimes the dark leaves are read as representing the male, and the lighter leaves representing the female
The handle of the cup is considered the center, or the home. The reading can be done in relation to this home.
Time: If the leaves are close to the brim, the event is immediate
Location: The closer the leaves are to the home, the closer the event will be
Past and Future: Top half represents events to come, bottom half represents events that have passed
Yes and No: Symbols on the left half represent a No or negative events, symbols on the right indicate a Yes or positive events
Symbols can include: people, animals, objects, locations, thoughts, feelings, names, words
While it is difficult to do a tea leaf reading remotely, if you are looking for some psychic guidance, feel free to book a 1-1 tarot or psychic reading with me here!