Sometimes, I’m approached and asked to do something that witches and folk magicians have been doing for ages. I’m asked to glimpse into someone’s life, both past and future.
I usually tell them the same thing; to come have tea with me.
We sit and drink and chat. Sometimes in anticipation, they down their cup quickly. I look into it and see a story. I tell them a tale and they go on their way.
Despite not being as popular these days, reading by tea leaves has been one of my favorite methods of divination for a long time. It’s old fashioned, quaint, and yet still deeply mystical.
We think of little old women sipping on cups set atop saucers in a warm kitchen. We think of old wooden tables lined with thin lace fabric. We think of the prospects hidden among a bunch of wet leaves at the bottom of a cup.
This is folk magic.
I was taught to do it in a very simple way. For whomever you are to read, they will drink from the cup at least once. It’s better if they drink the whole cup, but it isn’t necessary. The drinking helps to bring messages.
The person will think of what they wish to know as they sip. If it is a general glance over their life, they may relax and simply sip.
The tea will be drunk until a shallow puddle of water and leaves lay at the bottom. At that point, they will swish their cup three times, lay the saucer above the cup, grip them together, and flip them quickly. The cup shall be left turned for several minutes until all water has drained away.
After drying, the cup’s prospects are revealed. The reader will look across the cup, making out symbols and narratives. They will interpret them to their own views. No book or symbol dictionary will tell the tale better.
Let the words spill out of your mouth like the tea from the cup. Let their fate come from you. Tell their tale.
Sometimes, when the message isn’t clear, another form of divination can be paired with it. Making out signs from smoke, from flames, or water can help to clarify the fortune in the cup.
Don’t be afraid to be honest. Some fates are bad. Some fates are tragic. These too have to spill from the mouth, or the person might be blindsided by something they might’ve avoided. Cups of losses can be of as much use as cups of fortune.
There are many fates to be told at a kitchen table. A story of heartbreak and rage plays itself across the blue painted porcelain. A sordid tale of a mischievous love affair ensues in a terra cotta mug. A future of great wealth and gain spills itself over the saucer. A budding friendship blooms under a glass stein.
Whether a cup of fortune or a cup of loss, will you drink a cup of fate?
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