Rogue and Wolf Ouija Mug
From Mystic Tea Room
The Rogue and Wolf Ouija Mug dates from around 2020 and was made in China for the British Goth apparel and lifestyle marketing company Rogue and Wolf. Like all Rogue and Wolf goods, it features somewhat jumbled bold black-and-white graphics borrowed from European and American originals, with wording in English. In the case of the Ouija Mug, we have an interlocking Sun and Crescent Moon; the symbols for a typical American spirit board, including the words "Yes," "No," and "Maybe;" the letters of the alphabet in a semi-script font, all in capital letters; and a series of numerals from 0 to 9, stacked in pairs (1-6, 2-7, 3-8, 4-9, 5-0). The cup, which holds more than a quart of liquid, was issued without a saucer.
The derivative quality of the art marks this set as the product of a designer familiar with older English or American symbol cups and saucers, but not particularly used to actually reading cups in a tasseomantic setting. To make a fine point of the difficulty with the Ouija Mug: No one would wish to drink a quart of tea to have a fortune told, and the tradition of telling fortunes from soup remains does not exist.
For similar contemporary Goth fortune telling designs made in China, in more useful sizes, see the offerings from the comparable Scottish online Goth company Killstar.
DIV-TLR-RWOM
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room
