Tasseography, or the art of reading tea leaves, is the interpretation of the tea leaves that remain in the cup after drinking a cup of tea. This unique method of telling the future has been utilized throughout the ages with tea leaf reading considered the most popular for a number of centuries.
Many books and pamphlets have been printed about this process. This Taltos Fortune Telling Teacup, marketed in 1970, was one of the gift items sold in The Rosemary House. The symbols of the Zodiac grace the plate and the inside of the cup. The writing around the side of the teacup reads, Would'st thy fortune like to see? Perchance this cup will show it thee. On the bottom, it is marked Made in Japan, Fine china, International Collector's Guild.
The book that accompanies the teacup includes directions for the Reading, with the "reader" named as the person telling the fortune, and the "inquirer" is the one whose fortune is being told. In the introduction, it states that this teacup will provide an amusing pastime for those who enjoy a cup of tea with their friends. Is also cautions that not all of the predictions will come true, and that it should be considered a source of amusement and entertainment, and not to take the predictions too seriously.
The process includes drinking a cup of small, loose, leaf tea,but leaving about a teaspoonful of tea in the bottom of the cup. With the cup in the right hand, swish the tea leaves around three times in an anti-clockwise direction. Then turn the cup into the sauce and allow it to drain. The reader will pick up the empty cup and study the position of the tea leaves and determine the images that have been created from the leaves. These images are then interpreted and utilized to tell the fortune. The events that are nearest to the rim of the teacup will occur in the near future. The further the tea leaves are from the rim, the more distant in the future it will happen.
Please join us tomorrow as we continue our journey into fortune telling thru tea leaves.
