Tasseography, also known as tasseomancy, is defined as a divination method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments. We'll be focusing on tea and coffee here.
And just to put a finer point on it, divination is any form of fortune telling. Let's dive in!
Tea as we know it was introduced to the South in the late 18th century, whereas coffee didn't come along until the mid-19th century. That doesn't mean that people weren't working with herbs and making their own preparations of local plants before that point in time. Plant allies have been with us since the dawn of time to assist us with all that ails us. For more information on herbs of the South, check out The Southern Botanic Oracle.
Most people immediately think of sweet tea and sugar-loaded lattes when it comes to tea and coffee, but hot herbal decoctions and black coffee is where it all begins. It takes a particular flavor palate to enjoy a steaming cup of unsweetened herbal tea or black coffee, but the spiritual benefits of working with it far outweigh the taste. That's not to say you can't get the same benefits out of a sweetened cup of tea or coffee, but there is definitely something about tasting a plant in its original form without making any alterations to it short of grinding and adding water that hits differently.
Tea (I'll be referring to all herbs you can drink as tea) has many benefits both physically and spiritually. The warmth of a cup of tea or coffee has its own type of comforting sensation, but outside of that there are teas for a variety of different uses. There are a variety of teas to assist with divination, grounding, protection, drawing money, luck, love, etc. If you are seeking the answer to a specific type of question you would want to use herbs that correspond to your question. For example, if you have a question related to your love life, you might want to use a combination of green tea and rose petals.
In order to actually practice tasseography, you would need to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sip it slowly while meditating on your question. For coffee, you likely won't have grounds in your cup until you reach the last cup of a drip pot. For tea, if you're using a tea strainer or tea pot instead of putting the tea directly into your cup, simply take a spoonful of tea and add it to the last bit of liquid in your cup. When you reach the bottom of the cup, swirl the last swallow of liquid around before tipping your cup upside down over a plate to get rid of the excess liquid. Look at the patterns left behind in the cup to find the answer to your question.
