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Tasseography
Alternatively known as Tassology,
Tasseomancy, Kypomancy, Tea-Cup Reading
and Tea-Leaf Reading.
The art and practice of divining the past, the
present and the future by
using tea leaves, or by the interpretation of the shapes and forms that are
made by tea leaves that remain in the cup after the tea has been drunk.
This type of divination
is also performed by the reading of coffee grounds, especially in the
Middle Eastern tradition, or the reading of wine sediments (Oenomancy), a practice the
Romans were fond of.
The sediment left at the bottom of any drinking cup has always been
considered of great importance in predicting the drinker's future, no matter
what the original contents. Almost anything can therefore be used, and some
people prefer to use the dregs of their coffee or the lees of their wine,
interpreting them as for tea leaves.
Although generally associated with
Gypsy
fortune tellers, the practice of reading tea leaves actually dates back
thousands of years to the country of China where it was developed into a
mystical science. The ancient Chinese used to take divination
omens from the inside of
bells. Their handleless teacups, when inverted, looked like small bells, and
so teacups became associated with the bell
omens.
Tasseography depends largely upon the
diviner 's traditions and
psychic
intuition, like most divinatory techniques. Nevertheless, the general
agreement is that for true tea-leaf reading you need a teacup having a wide mouth and sloping sides, with a
inner surface smooth, free of decorations, either white or plain pastel
color, and some tea made with loose, large tea leaves, and just a little tea
dust. You should definitely not use tea bags.
The tea is then drunk or poured away. The cup should be shaken well and any
remaining liquid drained off in the saucer. The
diviner then interprets the pattern of tea leaves in the bottom of the
cup.
See
Diviner,
Divination,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Chakra Store,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Walker, Charles,
The Encyclopedia of the Occult,
Random House Value; (2)
Spence, Lewis,
An Encyclopedia of
Occultism,
Carol Publishing Group; (3)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing;
(4) Pickover, Clifford A.,
Dreaming the Future: The
Fantastic Story of Prediction, Prometheus Books; (5)
Dunwich, Gerina,
A Wiccan's Guide to Prophecy
and Divination, Carol Publishing Group; (6) Johnstone,
Jane and Pilkington, Maya (editors),
The Little Giant Encyclopedia of
Fortune Telling, Sterling.
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