Tasseography – or tea-leaf reading – has become a popular topic in blogs, including T Ching’s. While I love to read people’s descriptions of the art of tasseography, I have had a difficult time actually finding a place in Los Angeles that offers tea-leaf reading, which is too bad because I would love to interview a tea-leaf reader for my “Supernatural” course. I was thinking about researching Taoist face reading when my professor, knowing how much I love tea, suggested I learn about tea-leaf reading. (She knows me better than I realized!) Personally, I would love to explore this art.
I am planning on doing some archival research and even have a few tasseography books on hold at the library, but I would still love some suggestions on real, live tea-leaf readers. One aspect of tasseography that makes it so interest
ing is its subjectivity. Without seeing how a tea-leaf reader makes sense of the leaves, I may have little luck eliciting information from a tasseography book. I am more than ready to get my own tea-leaf reading done (or witness someone else’s reading)!
You may have guessed that I am writing this article for selfish reasons. I recognize that my audience is knowledgeable about all things tea related and that some of you may have even gone to tea-leaf readers yourselves. Basically, I would love to hear some suggestions. Do any of you know any tea-leaf readers in West Los Angeles, Hollywood, or the San Fernando Valley (specifically people whose knowledge of tea-leaf reading has been passed down in their families)?
So, my T Ching audience, what is your experience with tea-leaf reading? Have you ever visited a tea-leaf reader, or given a reading yourself? I ask you because I always have the best of luck getting relevant – and timely – replies.
I think it would be most interesting to have my tea leaves read. I’m eager to see what info comes back to you. I have a vague recollection that the Republic of Tea had something written about tea leaf readings – so a visit to their site might be revealing.
This sounds like a fun project!
Will your research also address the question of whether there is any reason to believe that this particular brand of fortune-tellers can actually do what they claim? Or will you take a more anthropological perspective and just treat it as quaint superstition?
I will definitely look into the Republic of Tea–thanks! And I am planning on taking an anthropological perspective, although not about a “quaint superstition” because tea reading may actually provide results for people, regardless of whether they are “real” or not.
What kind of results? Do you mean like a placebo effect? Or like self-fulfilling prophecies? Or perhaps just light entertainment?
Hi Eelis, you can say the results are something like that for the people who get their tea leaves read, but I wouldn’t know, as I haven’t talked to any of them yet.
Eelis, do you have any experience in this realm? Because–if so–I would like to talk to you.
Has anyone found some people who do tea leaf readings? I am eager to find one however I do not want to get scammed.