365 Tarot Spreads: Revealing the Magic in Each Day - Sasha Graham 2014

Tea Leaf Reading Spread

On This Day

Tea absorbs odors around it. For odors on your hands—anything from garlic to fish—simply pour some cold tea over your fingers to remove the smell.

On this day in 1773, a midnight raid known as the Boston Tea Party took place. A group of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British ships, dumping 342 chests of tea into the harbor in an act of protest. The history of tea leaf reading began long before this famous act of defiance and continues in parlors and kitchens across the world today.

Summation of Spread

The Ace of Cups is related to tea leaf reading due to the gorgeous chalice depicted on the card. Understood as the font of inspiration—even as the Holy Grail—when this ace appears in a reading, it signifies an outpouring of emotion. What do you think you’d see if you peered inside the Ace of Cups?

Tea leaf readings are always performed with loose-leaf tea. The querent drinks the tea and swirls the cup. The reader, looking into the cup, spies patterns of leaves that often reveal lettered initials as well as numbers. Animal shapes appear, creating marvelous storylines. The Tea Leaf Reading Spread is based on the animal symbolism used in tea leaf reading.

Cast Your Cards

Brew a delicious cup of tea and cast your cards:

1. Snake: What role does sexuality play in my life?

2. Cat: What is the role of magic in my life?

3. Dog: How loyal am I to those I love?

4. Mouse: What element is at play that I am unaware of?

5. Horse: What will be the nature of my work for the next month?

6. Bird: What is the higher lesson I must learn?