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
Bried 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
there are also professional tea leaf readers who will brew a cup for you, allow you to drink it, and read your leaves for you.
Over the years the oral transmission of the methods and "rules" of tea leaf reading travelled to the North America, Australia, New Zealand, and other regions that were populated by English-speaking colonists. In the United States, close contact between enslaved people of African descent 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.
Learn from Books and Web Sites
The information in my article on How To Read Tea Leaves will help you get started.