How to Read Tea Leaves
It's good to have this very useful method of divination clearly explained, in this book from the 1920s, as the author promises that "those who can tell fortunes are always assured of social success".
The symbolism of tea-leaf reading seems to be very specific and extraordinary: Cecily Kent provides pictures of the contents of sample tea cups to help. Eg:
As the interpretation section observes, "The symbols here speak for themselves and need no explanation”.
This cup was "turned", it says, by a well-known authoress, and its sinister appearance is accounted for by the fact that she was mentally arranging a murder for her new book at the time of the reading. Could this be... Agatha Christie's cup of tea?
This example is a bit more helpful:
Interpretation: doll plus toadstool equals a warning against a bad habit of gossiping when feeling bored in society – the stuffed head of the deer showing the distress caused by such unguarded talk.
The combination of symbols you really want is is a Rhinoceros, an Overcoat, a Steamer and a Large Letter I. This means a voyage to India, through which much will happen which will lead to you becoming famous.
I hope that's clear now.
You can still buy a paperback version of this book here
