THE IDEAL TEA CUP
You see that cup above? Or the cup at the beginning of the lesson? That’s the ideal cup for a tea-leaf reading. An opaque cup with sloping sides, a wide mouth with preferably a slightly pronounced lip, and no interior markings–you don’t want any illustrations inside the cup messing with your view of the leaves. The inside of the cup should be plain white or a pastel color. If you don’t have a tea cup like that, buy one. Or if you’re talented with clay, make one. Do not practice tea-leaf reading with a straight-sided cup. That’s for later, when you’re an expert.
An acceptable alternative is the cup in the picture above. This cup is an Edwardian era design, and features symbols along the rim of the cup, and planetary sigils further down in the cup. When using this cup, I assume any tea leaves which end up on one or more of the symbols or planet sigils indicate that sign or symbol’s energy is in play, apart from any shape the tea leaves may take. It’s like a tea cup with training wheels.
If you live within range of one of those shops where you can paint your own china, you could paint a tea-leaf-reading cup with Runes, Adinkra symbols, Ogham staves, or any other symbol system you choose.
PREPPING THE CUP FOR READING.
- Choose a non-dusty tea, such as Chinese, Indian, Earl Grey, or the Tea of Inquiry. Loose-leaf Yerbamate™ is highly dusty, so don’t use it. You will soon learn what sort of loose-leaf teas make for a good reading and which do not, but non-dusty is a must, because a tea with a lot of dust can muddy a reading. Do not cut open a tea-bag and use its contents, because tea-bag tea is minced too finely. Use specifically loose-leaf tea.
- Using a dessert spoon, pour the loose-leaf tea into the cup and fill it with boiled water. Stir gently, focusing on your question (if you have one). You may find that even half a dessert spoon is plenty. Personal experience taught me too much tea-leaf in the cup makes a reading difficult, if not impossible. You’ll soon learn how much is the correct amount.
- Drink the tea, either thinking thoughts of peace, about your specific question, or just generally about the near-future, until you have very little tea left in the bottom. Think ‘just enough tea to slosh the leaves along the sides.’ With experience, you’ll learn how much is the correct amount. Strive not to swallow any tea leaves while drinking your tea; keep your lips tight.
- Holding the cup handle in your non-dominant hand, sozzle the remaining tea in the cup three times counterclockwise, then turn it upside-down onto the saucer to drain. You should let it drain at least seven seconds, but really until you’re confident all the remaining tea is drained and the tea leaves are probably in-place in there.
- Turn the cup over and start reading. The handle represents the inquirer and their home environment, so all images are read in relation to the handle.