Tarot Spread For A Soul Who Feels Lost:

A Beginner’s Guide to Tea Leaf Reading

Hi there! If you’re here, that means you most likely don’t know how to read tea leaves, or perhaps you could use some more tips? Regardless, you’ll find all of that here! This guide will be pretty all-encompassing, so bear with me!

What is tea leaf reading?

Tasseography, better known as reading tea leaves, is the process of divination using tea leaves. When done properly, the tea leaves will show an image (even if vague) that will symbolize the answer to a question the reader asked. The image can tell the future or just give advice; depending on the question.

How does one read tea leaves?

This is definitely a more involved question, but here’s how I do it; step by step.

1. First, brew your cup of tea. It can be any flavor. But if you are reading for someone else, you may want to let them choose the flavor (I like to do this). However, if you can’t choose a flavor, black tea is pretty standard as the dark color of the tea makes it easier to read.

2. Now, drink your tea. If it is a loose leaf tea, try to drink as little of the leaves as possible. If it is a bag, leave the bag steeping in there and drink. Don’t drink it all, though, leave a little liquid in (not very much at all.)

3. At this point, if you used a tea bag, you’re going to want to open the bag and let the leaves pour into the little amount of liquid there is left.

4. Now, at this point I like to rotate the cup clockwise three times. You can rotate it any direction and as many times you want. You don’t even have to rotate it at all if you don’t want to.

5. Now, you’re going to place a saucer or plate over the top of the cup. Tip the cup over so that most of the liquid and leaves spill onto the plate/saucer.

6. Now, you will see some leaves left in the cup. These should make an image. Although it may be abstract, it’ll be there, even though it might take a while for you to see it.

7. Now it’s time for you to interpret your image. You can either look up the symbology of the image you saw or do your own interpretation based on your own personal associations.

8. Now focus on where the image is. Is it at the top, bottom, left, right, right by the handle? The placement shows what time the interpretation will happen. I will attach an infographic to give a better idea of what I’m talking about here.

And there you have it!! This is how I do my tea leaf readings. It does take some practice, but once you get a hang of it, you’ll only get better.

~Aster-Monroe

Basic Homesteading Skills

Crafts

quilting

embroidery

cross-stitch

knitting

crochet

sewing

Cooking and Baking

homemade bread

homemade butter

homemade extracts

dandelion jelly

Canning

26 canning recipes

canning jars 101

60 canning recipes

Gardening

edible trees to plant

what to plant to save the bees

cure and braid garlic

save seeds for next year

braid onions for long term storage

build a greenhouse

Animals

homemade chicken feed

raising mealworms for chickens

why to raise nigerian dwarf goats

Outdoors

starting a fire with sticks

trail signs

knotting

find true north without a compass

Medicine

homemade neosporin

all purpose healing salve

Spirit Work Links

Intro to Spirit Work- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643770909792043008/intro-to-spirit-work

Basics of Spirit Work- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643778359127572480/basics-of-spirit-work

Spirit Work Overview- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643751568941907968/spirit-work-do-you-qualif

Energy Work- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643778494025908224/spirit-work-basics-energy-work-and-discernment

House Rules- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643778287562326017/spirit-house-rules

Red Flags- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643778573010976768/spirit-work-red-flags

Terminology- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643769230503936001/spirit-work-terminology

Spirit Types- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643769321711157248/the-spirit-world

On Spirits/Thoughtforms/Tulpas- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643781863454949376/spirits-thoughtforms-and-tulpas

Servitors- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643781561301483520/creating-a-servitor

Servitor DNA- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643781688128929793/upon-request-i-was-to-explain-the-dna-of-my

Fae- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643778445519765504/on-fae-and-spirit-work-a-master-post

Energy Leeches- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643780169403908096/energy-parasites-leeches

Offerings- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643779087722283008/how-do-you-feel-about-leaving-offerings-in-the

Entity Masterlist- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643769554359746560/entity-masterlist

Basic Banishing- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643778609657610240/basic-guide-to-how-to-banish-an-entity

Ghost (Communication)- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643769432264638465/communicating-with-spirits-ghosts

Spirit Vetting- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643768271108177920/spirit-vetting-practices-by-elysium-conjure

More on Vetting- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643777949781344256/on-vetting-companions

Spirit Relations- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643769271356440577/working-with-spirits

Spirit Anchors- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643770195860684800/lets-talk-about-spirit-anchors

Hellhounds- https://adan-bonescrystals.tumblr.com/post/643769121895546880/hellhounds

How can you tell if a "magic" book is full of it? I'm sure with experience you can, but what about beginners?

Reading these books needs a good ‘bullshit detector’.  There are a few telling signs:

1) Look at the book’s bibliography. A bibliography can give you, if it’s a good one, the primary sources an author used, and can give you an idea of other books to read. A bad bibliography can save you time - if a book hasn’t got one, or it’s a very short one, or it references only other neo-pagan texts, it’s not going to be long on facts and you might be better off reading something else.

2) Magic and witchcraft aren’t inherently religious. If the book implies or states that a neo-pagan religion is necessary in order to practice witchcraft, it’s probably not worth the read.

3) If the book says it’s about a neo-pagan religion of some kind, but talks endlessly of spells instead, it’s probably a waste of your time if you’re looking for the religious practice first. Some neo-pagan faiths will involve practicing magic, but others don’t.

4) Neo-pagan books that talk about ancient matriarchal religions spanning Europe, a ‘Great Goddess’ and all that jazz, are based in the historical theories of Margaret Murray. They were all fairly thoroughly debunked, but it still lingers in neo-pagan circles.

5) Know that things like the ‘Triple Goddess’ and the Wheel of the Year are modern inventions - they aren’t ancient, and forcing ancient deities or practices into those concepts will not always work or be appropriate.

6) If the deities you’re reading about are described as being very different from their historical selves, it’s probably a good sign that author hasn’t done their home work very well. 

7) ‘The Burning Times’ did happen - but it was not a systematic genocide of a pagan religion or practitioners of magic. What you had was a mass hysteria created by the church, and taken advantage of by greedy people. They had no qualms in killing unloved neighbours or relatives for their property, with witchcraft as a scapegoat. Maybe a few witches died - but so did thousands of Christians who were unfortunate enough to be disliked, or without family, or to be a better farmer or gardener. ‘Nine Million’ is certainly hyperbole, and is not factually accurate.

8) Be aware of things that don’t fit: for example, we have what’s called the ‘potato test’. Potatoes are not native to Europe and were not discovered until explorers began invading South America. So an author that talks about an ancient Irish potato deity, for example, is absolutely full of it.

9) Authors who are patronizing and talk down to their readers, no matter the subject, should be tossed on their ears. You’re a beginner, perhaps, but you’re not stupid and you’re not a child. You don’t need the author to coddle you or ‘simplify’ the information - their assumption that you do is just rude. If you wouldn’t let someone talk to you like that in real life, why would you read a book that does the same thing?

10) Whenever you can, space your neo-pagan or magical reading out with primary sources and proper non-fiction history and anthropology texts. A primary source is going to give you the closest thing to being there, at whatever time and place you’re looking at. Academic texts can be a chore to get through, but they’re going to give you the grounding you need to have a detector of your own.

Read what you can get your hands on. At first, like you said, it’s hard to tell the gold from the dross, but you’ll get the hang of it. A couple of really awful books will give you a guideline, and you’ll find authors you can trust vs. authors you can’t.

Read critically. Don’t be afraid to be a skeptic.  Similar doesn’t equal same - cultures have similar concepts but it doesn’t make their gods or their practices the same thing with different names. If you think something sounds like horseshit or too good to be true, it probably is.

Good luck, and happy hunting. :>

Already am ❤️

Reblog if you are a woman and would date a transgender male

Trying to prove something to myself

green magick for the home

an apple can be used for a simple house blessing; cut an apple in half, and eat one half in your home. place the other outside, in the backyard or front porch, as an offering to good spirits for protection and warm energy.

bay leaves can be placed in the corners of a room to banish evil from it and protect those within it.

a cactus can be grown near a house to offer strong protection; even stronger protection is gained by planting cacti at all for corners of the home.

planting catnip in the garden, or hanging it above your door, will attract good spirits and good luck.

chamomile can be sprinkled about in the home to break curses and unwanted spells cast on or in the home.

cilantro brings peace and harmony to a home.

clover can be sprinkled around a home to banish unwanted spirits.

garlic can be hung in a home to bring its inhabitants closer together.

ivy plants can be hung to deter unwanted guests.

lavender can be burned and its ashes sprinkled about to cultivate rest and tranquility within the home.

orange peel can be placed in windowsills to bless the house with angel and sun energy.

peppermint can be burned as a smoke cleanser to remove illness and negative energy from a new home.

a sprig of pine can be hung in the home to bless it and its inhabitants.

sachets of saffron can bring happiness to the home.

thyme burned or hung inside brings good health to its residents.

I think next thursday is gonna be the best day of my entire life tbh

Basic Homesteading Skills

Crafts

quilting

embroidery

cross-stitch

knitting

crochet

sewing

Cooking and Baking

homemade bread

homemade butter

homemade extracts

dandelion jelly

Canning

26 canning recipes

canning jars 101

60 canning recipes

Gardening

edible trees to plant

what to plant to save the bees

cure and braid garlic

save seeds for next year

braid onions for long term storage

build a greenhouse

Animals

homemade chicken feed

raising mealworms for chickens

why to raise nigerian dwarf goats

Outdoors

starting a fire with sticks

trail signs

knotting

find true north without a compass

Medicine

homemade neosporin

all purpose healing salve

Let’s try this 🤞

May the 10 of Pentacles bless your account with more money than you can spend. 💵✨

**Reminder that "smudging" is part of a closed practice. Please call it smoke cleansing.