Read Ebook: Telling Fortunes By Tea Leaves: How to Read Your Fate in a Teacup by Kent Cicely
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Clearly defined symbols that stand out separately are of more importance than such as are difficult to discern. Clusters of shapeless leaves represent clouds marring the effect of an otherwise fortunate cup.
Journeys are shown by lines or dots formed by the dust and smaller leaves of the tea. The length and direction of the journey may be known by the extent of the line and, roughly speaking, the point of the compass to which it leads, the handle in this case representing south. If the line of dots ascends sharply to the brim of the cup, a journey to a hilly country will be taken.
Supposing the consultant to be at home, and the dots form a line from the handle all round the cup and back to the handle, it signifies a journey for a visit and the return. If the line were to stop before reaching the handle again, with an appearance of a house where the line ends, a change of residence might safely be predicted. A wavy line shows indecision as to arrangements. Crosses upon the line indicate that there will be vexation or delay in connection with the journey. Large flat leaves some distance apart along the line stand for important stations to be passed through.
For some consultants there seems very little of interest to be read in their cup. There are no events, merely trivialities. It is therefore difficult to find anything that could be considered as "future," when it seems to be just a dead level "present," the daily life, nothing more. It is sad for those who have such a dull life, but there is usually some sign, a small happening such as a parcel, or a visit from a friend. These must be made the most of. The pleasure of anticipation will add to the realisation.
A confused looking tea-cup, without any definite symbols, just a muddle of tea-leaves, is useless for the purpose of divination, beyond giving an indication of the state of the consultant's mind, so vague and undecided in its character that it obscures everything. Tell such a one the reason for the failure of divining, and recommend a more reliable state of mind. Then let them try their "fortune" again in a few months, when it may be found quite different.
It is of course a great mistake to be always "looking in the tea-leaves," as some foolish people do twice a day. It is sure to lead to contradictions though there is no harm in the habit of "looking in the cup" each morning as others do, for finding the events likely to happen in the course of the day. This is as permissible as the reading of the cards each morning for the day's events by those who consider it a safeguard, remembering that to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Some people use the tea-cup simply for the purpose of asking a definite question, such as, "Is the sum of money I am expecting coming soon?" When this is the case, the consultant should be told before turning the cup in the hand to concentrate the thoughts on this one point, as in the case of wishing while shuffling the cards for a definite wish. Then the seer must look only for the signs that will give the answer to the question, ignoring all other points. This is necessary for the giving of a satisfactory answer to the question asked.
DIVINATION BY TEA-LEAVES AS AN AMUSEMENT AND AS A MORE SERIOUS STUDY
The need for patience cannot be too strongly impressed upon those who are beginning to learn the language of tea-leaves. Some of the most interesting symbols are very minute, and will certainly be missed by the seer who is in a hurry.
When tea-leaf reading is indulged in merely as an amusement to while away a few moments after a meal, a hasty glance at the cup, or cup and saucer, will suffice. The seer will just note the chief features, such as a journey, a letter, a parcel, or news of a wedding, and pass on to the next cup. But this is far from being a really interesting method of divination by tea-leaves, wherein so much knowledge is to be found, and so much useful information gained.
Those who closely study this fascinating subject will certainly be well rewarded by a deep personal interest, in addition to the pleasure they give to others.
It is wonderful how rapidly converts are made to this form of divination. Some who in the past have been heard scornfully to assert that they "have no belief in tea-leaves," become the most regular inquirers. Moreover, these sceptics have proved to be very efficient students.
There is always a satisfaction in persuading another to one's own point of view. The more obstinate the opposition, the more glorious the final conquest!
It is a rare occurrence nowadays to meet with three people in the course of a day, and not to find that one at least is deeply interested in fortune-telling in some of its various forms.
Quite recently I had a letter from a girl who has gone on a visit to British Columbia, asking me if I would "do the cards" for her, as she could not find anyone in her vicinity who was particularly good at divination. She went on to say that "there is a perfect rage for fortune-telling out here, and everyone is keen on it." Another instance of this universal popularity was given to me by a friend who had recently been to America. She was amazed at the numbers of women whom she saw absorbed in the reading of their tea-cups each day of the voyage.
The male sex holds aloof and leaves us to "perform these follies." Some ascribe it to man's superiority. Or as briefly summed up by a delightful member of their sex, who when declaiming against the possibility of the future being made visible, said, "With all apologies to you, I must say I am not so profoundly stupid as to believe in these things; it cannot be anything more than rot."
It is remarkable how such protests die away when clairvoyant evidence, either by cards, tea-leaves, or other means, has accurately predicted some event of the distant future that at the time appeared absurd and impossible of happening.
Woman may lawfully claim superiority with regard to her intuitive faculty, and thus she is well equipped for exercising her divinatory powers.
Who need be dull or bored when the language of symbolism remains to be learned? Perhaps I should say, studied; for completely learned it can never be, seeing that fresh events are constantly occurring in the world, and new symbols appear representing each.
There are few things more fascinating than personal discovery, and those who become students of divination by tea-leaves, or cards, may safely be promised a taste of this pleasing sensation of achievement. It is limited to the few to discover the marvels of radium, or the discomforts of the South Pole, but a fragment of their glory is shared by those who find new evidence of the far-reaching knowledge of symbolism.
SOME HINTS FOR DIVINERS
REMARKABLE INSTANCES OF PROPHECY BY THE TEA-LEAVES
"For a man's mind is sometimes wont to tell him more than seven watchmen that sit above in a high tower."
Symbolism is a wide subject with many branches. Who can expect to master even its alphabet in a moment? To those who cannot accept the symbols in the tea-leaves on the authority of past experience, reaching over several centuries, I would recommend a careful study of their cups for, say, three months. Let them make notes of such signs as appear and beside them place their meanings and predictions.
At the end of this time, compare all that has taken place with these notes, and I think there will be no further lack of faith in the tea-leaf symbols.
Before very many years have passed the language of symbolism by cards, tea-leaves, crystal gazing, etc., will probably be almost universally understood. The day will undoubtedly come when it will be accepted as naturally as the English language, and we shall cease to worry ourselves as to the why and wherefore of it all.
It is important that those who are learning the art of divination by tea-leaves should realise the necessity for consistently attributing the same meanings to the symbols. Do not be tempted to change their interpretation for what may seem a more probable, or pleasant, prediction for your client. It is a fatal mistake.
Remember that you are dealing with conditions and events of the future which are outside the limited knowledge of the normal mind, whose power of vision is limited to physical sight.
A simple instance of what may occur, should you thus change the meanings of the symbols, will suffice to show the folly of such a practice.
A consultant comes to have her "fortune read." She is known to you personally, and you are aware that she is anxious to hear a hopeful report of someone dear to her who is ill. The tea-leaf symbols are obstinately unfavourable, and display ominous signs of forthcoming sorrow. If you gloss over this fact completely, and predict a rapid recovery from the illness, what becomes of your client's faith in the power of foretelling the future? Certain it is that the symbols would be right in their verdict, and you would be wrong.
It is usually easier to prophesy smooth things rather than unpleasant facts, but to do this in the face of obvious contradictions will lead to disaster in foretelling the future.
Divination by tea-leaves or cards has the candour to be frankly disagreeable when necessary. This is one great argument in favour of its unerring truthfulness. There is no means by which symbols may be coaxed into proclaiming false statements.
The most practised clairvoyant may occasionally make mistakes in her reading of the symbols, but no genuine seer should ever deliberately give a wrong interpretation of them to please her consultant. The business of the diviner is to give what she believes to be a correct and unprejudiced translation of the symbols before her.
It is sometimes a vexed question as to what extent information of a gloomy nature, which may appear in a divination, should be given to a client. Some are in favour of withholding such matter altogether, whilst others announce it frankly without modification. It seems impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule. There are so many things to be taken into account, and each case should be treated on its merits and according to its peculiar circumstances. There are some who would fret themselves ill at the least mention of coming misfortune, others would be the better prepared to meet it by having been warned of its approach.
One rule can be safely made for guidance on this point. Do not minimise danger when a timely warning may avert an accident, or other misfortune, nor should symbols of ill omen be exaggerated. As students become proficient, they will find many meanings in the tea-leaves in addition to those which they learn from this book. Much will depend upon circumstances and individual temperaments.
These personally discovered meanings should be carefully noted and verified with events as they occur.
It is necessary to remember that divination by the tea-cup is by no means limited to personal information. Forthcoming public events are frequently revealed. This adds largely to the interest and usefulness of the divination. It is important to point out this to consultants, so that they may not be too ready to fix the whole reading of their cups to purely personal matters. It will be found that public news is usually foretold in the cups of those who seek information of the future as a regular practice.
For those who rarely do so, private affairs alone will appear, probably without even a forecast of the weather to be expected within the next few days.
It is a curious fact that the wider knowledge should seem to be reserved for those who practise divination constantly, but so it is.
Some remarkable instances of the accurate foretelling of public events, which have quite recently been brought to my notice, may be interesting.
For some weeks before the coal strike of 1920 was declared, a pickaxe was seen on several occasions in the cups of two persons, both of whom read their tea-leaves regularly. This symbol, as will be seen in the dictionary which follows, stands for "labour trouble and strikes." A spade was also in evidence at intervals, a further sign of "trouble and unrest." So that it was through no fault of the tea-leaves if some of us were not in the superior position of knowing all about the strike before it came to pass.
The symbols already mentioned would of course apply equally to railway disturbance, and some time before the threat of a strike was announced, these symbols appeared again, together with an engine, and a signal at the angle of "Danger." This seemed ominous. But within a few days the signal was evident once more; but on this occasion set at "All Clear." So it was easy to decide that the threatened strike would not take place. The accuracy of this prediction by means of the tea-leaves was shortly afterwards made evident.
Again, a week before there seemed to be even a hope of a settlement of the coal strike, a mining shaft presented itself in one of the tea-cups which had previously been indicating the strike. This symbol appeared at the top of the cup standing out clearly by itself, evidently predicting the miners' return to work within a short time. There was no need to depend upon information from the newspapers as to the end of the strike, for here in the tea-leaves was all necessary evidence of the fact.
Another very remarkable instance of symbolism was given to me by a friend a short time ago. On Monday morning, October 26th, 1920, the three following symbols appeared in her cup:--
A vulture resting on a rock. An eagle. A monkey.
In the evening of that day the death of King Alexander of Greece was announced.
It will be seen, on referring to the dictionary, that an eagle and a vulture signify "the death of a monarch." The monkey who lay at the bottom of the cup, apparently dead, was of course the third symbol as having caused the King's death. It was particularly gratifying that these signs should have appeared in my friend's cup for she is a mathematical genius, and rejects every symbol which she cannot recognise at once. She was so struck by these signs that she called them to the attention of her mother, who also immediately perceived and identified them. The only regrettable omission was that the cup was not photographed. It would have been valuable evidence for the wonders of the tea-leaves.
This same friend had another interesting experience. The head of an Indian appeared in her cup, with other signs pointing to news of a personal nature. She was puzzled, for, as far as she knew, there was no one in India from whom she would be in the least likely to hear.
Very shortly afterwards, however, her mother went on a visit to London. There she quite unexpectedly met someone who had recently come from India, and who had brought back messages of remembrance and affection from a girl who my friend had no idea was in India at that time. Hence the Indian in her tea-cup!
Whilst on this subject, I am reminded of another occasion when India was represented in the tea-leaves. I was looking into my tea-cup one day, when I saw most clearly depicted two natives creeping stealthily, their attitude making this evident. In their hands were what appeared to be knives, and they were making towards a figure that was unmistakably that of an officer. He was standing upon what looked like a raised platform with a barricade round him. He held a revolver in his hand.
I am quite aware that some may think this a tall tale for the tea-leaves to relate! But fortunately my reading of the cup was witnessed by two others, one of them being a man, who, although interested in psychic subjects, despises the tea-leaves! Without remarking upon what I saw, I suggested that he should look at my cup and see what he made of it. Without a moment's hesitation he said, "There is an officer defending himself against some natives who are about to attack him."
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