Instructions
From Mystic Tea Room
How Is The Knowledge Transmitted
Contents |
Learn From Family and Friends
Divination by means of tea leaf reading is a long-cherished form of domestic fortune telling. It may be performed at home for oneself, family, or friends. For generations, learning to read the leaves from a cherished old grandmother or auntie was a tradition kept alive in many families, particular those with a cultural connection to Scotland, Ireland, or England. In a similar way, the reading of coffess grounds was transmitted within families of Greek, Turkish, and Arabic descent.
Learn from Company-Issued Instruction Booklets
Brief instructions in tea leaf reading come primarily from two sources -- those issued by tea companies, as promotions for the drinking of tea, and those issued by pottery companies with their fortune telling tea cups, for the ease of understanding the unique designs and methods that are found on cups decorated with symbols from other divination systems, including astrology, cartomancy, numerology, and folkloric signs or omens.
Learn from a Professional Tea Leaf Reader
Over the years the oral transmission of the methods and "rules" of tea leaf reading travelled from Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales to North America, Australia, New Zealand, and other regions that were populated by English-speaking colonists. In the United States, close contact between enslaved African people and their "owners," led to a strong interest in these methods among African American diviners and mediums. After Emancipation, many Black women read tea leaves for clients, both Black and White.
When the Tea Room Movement took off in the early 20th century, the field for professional tea readers suddenly expanded. This was the era of the "free reading with every meal," a brief reading offered at many tea rooms in America.
Although the days of the subsidized "free reading areProfessional tea leaf readers who will brew a cup for you, allow you to drink it, and read your leaves for you; if you express interest, they may teach you how it is down, if you offer to pay for lessons..
- Tea Rooms
- Harry Roseland
Learn from Books, Cards, and Web Sites
The information in my article on How To Read Tea Leaves will help you get started.
