Tea Leaf Reading
MANDY CARR
Tasseography( also known as tasseomancy or tassology) is a divination or fortune telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments. The terms derive from the French word tasse( cup), which in turn derives from the cognate Arabic word tassa, and the Greek suffixes- graph( writing),-logy( study of), and- mancy( divination). There is no scientific evidence that the future can be determined through interpretation of these patterns.
The first inklings of Western tasseography can be traced to medieval European fortune tellers who developed their readings from splatters of wax, lead, and other molten substances. This evolved into tea-leaf reading in the seventeenth century, a short time after Dutch merchants introduced tea to Europe via trade routes to China.
Scotland, I reland, W ales and E ngland h ave produced a number of practitioners and authors on the subject, and English potteries have crafted many elaborate tea cup sets specially designed and decorated to aid in fortune-telling. Cultures of the Middle East that practice divination in this fashion usually use left-over coffee grounds from Turkish coffee / Lebanese coffee / Greek coffee turned over onto a plate.
The Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology, Fifth Edition, Vol. 2 edited by J. Gordon Melton, notes: After a cup of tea has been poured, without using a tea strainer, the tea is drunk or poured away. The cup should then be shaken well and any remaining liquid drained off in the saucer. The diviner now looks at the pattern of tea leaves in the cup and allows the imagination to play around the shapes suggested by them. They might look like a letter, a heart shape, or a ring. These shapes are then interpreted intuitively or by means of a fairly standard system of symbolism, such as: snake( enmity or falsehood), spade( good fortune through industry), mountain( journey of hindrance), or house( change, success).
Melton ' s described methods of pouring away the tea and shaking the cup are rarely seen; most readers ask the querent to drink the tea off, then swirl the cup. Likewise, his notion that readers give intuitive interpretations reflects his unfamiliarity with teacup reading; most readers use the standard symbols that have been handed down through several generations. There are, however, many who prefer to read by feel and intuition, as stated by Melton. It is traditional to read a cup from the present to the future by starting along the rim at the handle of the cup and following the symbols downward in a spiral manner, until the bottom is reached, which symbolizes the far future. Most readers see images only in the dark tea leaves against a white or neutral background; some will also read the reverse images formed by seeing the symbols that form in the white negative spaces, with a clump of dark leaves forming the background. Some people consider it ill-advised for one to attempt tasseography using tea from a cut-open tea bag or to use a symbol dictionary. The reasons for these prohibitions are practical: tea-bag tea is cut too finely to form recognizable figures in the cup and tea-leaf reading has its own historic system of symbolism that does not correspond exactly with other systems, such as symbolic dream divination.
International Spiritual Medium and Pet Psychic / Animal Communicator.
My areas of expertise are Mediumship, Public demonstrations, tutoring, Spiritual Healing and Animal Communicating( passed & living). As well as Spiritual clearances for the more problematic Spirits and also Paranormal investigations.
I have been Clairvoyant since being a small child and at a young age I was fearful of my gift as there was no explanation from anybody and a lack of understanding. When I suffered a severe trauma as I approached my late teens my world turned upside down and brought back my gift with a vengeance. This led me to learn more about it and embrace it because i accepted it was never going to go away. I joined a development circle which helped me to see that my experiences were nothing to fear. I also realised that I was not limited to human Spirits but also that I could link with pets both passed and still living and communicate via telepathy, images and feelings with them.
My journey has led me to want to help others to understand their experiences and how to accept them as a positive gift. I now run a development group in Sheffield UK as well as an international online development group on Facebook.
I have been featured in the d aily Mail, Chat magazine, Pick Me Up magazine and italkFM radio in Spain.
Nothing pleases me more than giving readings and bringing comfort & reassurance to those in need whether it bring tears, laughter, reassurance or closure. Spirit really are wonderful beings who only have love, advice and guidance and above all our best interests at heart.
www. thepet-psychic. com
www. cheekyangelsmagazine. webs. com MAY / JUNE 2013 10