For centuries, humans have been trying to tell the future from the world around us. From the ancient Chinese oracle bones to divination methods using the I Ching, almost anything can be used. But have you thought of using tea leaves?
Before tea leaf reading, or tasseography, came into vogue, people used things like molten metal, hot wax, or entrails to divine the future [1]. But those are dangerous and frankly, the entrails probably smell. Tea is a much more palatable medium so if you’re trying to figure out if love is in your future, grab your cup and some loose tea leaves.
Make your tea, making sure your tea leaves are not in any tea infuser. Drink your tea, focusing on the question in your mind. When you’ve got a little bit of tea left, swirl the cup three times from left to right and pour out the rest of the liquid. Since we’re talking about love, these are the symbols to look for:
- Anchor: A clearly formed anchor not only foretells good luck in business but in love as well. On the other hand, a badly formed anchor has the opposite meaning.
- Angels: Good news, especially when it comes to love!
- Hearts: Hearts are always very positive. If the heart is near a ring, then marriage is coming.
- Mushrooms: Love out for these if you’re trying to see a future with your partner. A mushroom is a symbol of the separation of lovers following a fight.
- Owls: Owls are not a positive sign – they normally forewarn you of bad things, such as deceit in love. Beware your future dates!
- Ring: Obviously, rings are good. If you can see a letter near the ring, that’s the name of your future spouse. Rings near the rim of the cup mean that marriage, or love, is close, while rings at the bottom of the cup mean that you still have some time to go.
- Swan: If you see a swan, good luck and a happy love life are coming your way.
Of course, if you’re planning to ask a non-love related question, here are some things you can look out for:
- Crowns: Crowns symbolise success and honour.
- Dogs: Dogs are a tricky one. If they’re near the rim of the cup, they symbolise good friends. If they’re in the middle, they symbolise unfaithful friends, and if the dog is at the bottom of the cup, watch out because you have secret enemies in your life.
- Birds: Birds indicate good luck.
- Dots: Dots tend to symbolise money.
Now, you may have multiple symbols in your cup, some good and some bad. To get a sense of what the leaves are trying to tell you, try to connect the symbols you find into a story. Some people also divide the cup into sections and interpret the symbols based on where they fall, but ultimately, reading the tea leaves depends on your personal preferences and the story that you see.
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