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.
I want to preface this post by saying that I mean no offense to Christian or Pagan friends. This was a fun Halloween activity. There is not science (or in my case faith) behind this method of divination.
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The veil between our world and Faerie is said to be thinnest on the night of All Hallow's Eve. So, finding time to myself while James took the kids out, I decided to try something different. I probably did it all wrong, but it was still interesting.
There is some debate over methods of preparing the tea as well as how to interpret the symbols. When I mentioned to my friends I might do this, they all asked the same thing, "What do you want to find out?" I went into it openly and did a general reading, rather than looking for specific answers.
It's such a personal, intuitive thing. I think you learn more about where your mind is and get insight into your own responses more than anything else. Some things in my cup were unmistakeable, but the interpretation is subjective. I chose not to rely on the standard symbol meanings passed down by my ancestors from medieval Briton, but rather thought of why my eyes would draw those images into my imagination.
Because the meanings are so personal, I'm not going to share here what I saw in the cup, but I did it twice and I saw the same thing in the bottom both times! The meaning of what I saw is dismal if I go by standard interpretations, but it is something that has personal meaning which is probably why my imagination found it.
Also, interesting tid-bit for my family, when you first look into the cup, the image that immediately stands out to you is supposed to be your defining characteristic. I saw a FROG.
I've always wanted to learn to read my tea leaves. I guess I'll stick to my tarot cards.
ReplyDeleteNo, you should try this! It's so fascinating and you can find plenty of resources online. I've never done tarot cards. I'll leave that to my mother in law...
DeleteI consider myself a good interpreter of dreams...and though this is not from a dream, the FROG is a bad omen. Think of an old person, full of desease (possibly warts) but only on the outside. They have thick skin (possibly going to be around for a long time) to make your life miserable, if you let them. The bulgy eyes mean the exact opposite of what they represent; they are constantly watchful of you. Their leap means they will not hesitate to "jump" on you at anytime...no warning. And their tongue...well, you already know. They'll cut you and anybody else in half in person or with their gossip...and eat you up as if you were nothing but a mere fly on the wall that shouldn't have been there in the first place.
DeleteNow that I take a good look at your teacup, from what I can see, it looks more like a bat. Same as frog, but maybe more tenacious...wants to keep you close.
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