A fun beginner’s guide to reading the symbols found in tea leaves!

The ancient practice of tasseomancy, or tea leaf reading, originated in ancient China and became popularized throughout Europe by the Romani, who were renowned for their fortune-telling skills, and eventually became a widespread practice of divination around the world. It is one of the easiest forms of divination to learn—all it takes is tea leaves, some hot water, and a creative mind!

Tea leaf reading is a form of fortune-telling that uses the symbols and images left in a cup by the tea leaves after the liquid is gone. Those images—much like the shapes we see in cloud formations—can be interpreted by the tea leaf reader. It is a special and intimate form of divination since the questioner must hold the cup in their hands and drink from it. It allows for the innermost aura of the questioner to enter into the warmly held cup of tea, and for the cup itself to have close contact with the boundaries of the questioner’s body. This easy-to-use guide will teach you all the basics of getting started with this simple form of fortune casting:

How to properly prepare a cup of tea How to interpret different surfaces of the interior of the cup The meanings of over 500 common symbols and images Common astrological and tarot-related symbols How to modify the practice using coffee grounds instead of tea

This A-to-Z guide will help you discover the meaning(s) of almost any shape you find at the bottom of a tea cup, from anvils and anteaters to yachts and the zodiac signs.