Telling Fortunes by Tea Leaves

by Cicely Kent

This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

Genres: How To, Divination, Reference

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1922

Reviews

[Susan Molloy]

Sometimes there are books to read that are just pure fun and nothing more. This is one of them. Did you know that reading tea leaves goes beyond the gypsy characters in old movies, and moves into real life? Indeed, it is true.

This book (the publication date unknown via my Kindle version, but appears to be at least after 1920) outlines the ways to swirl the leaves around in a teacup, interpret the pattern(s) the leaves make, and go about your day, either in delightful joy or horrifying fear.

I suppose that reading tea leaves is taken seriously by some, just as looking into crystal balls and reading palms, but it might as well be prudent to add “cloud reading” and such.

Following are some of the most entertaining passages on interpreting splayed and twisted leaves:

“CHINAMAN.—There is someone who appears eager to serve you but in reality is far from being trustworthy.
“ARAB.—This symbol points to a need for caution in choosing your friends, or you may find yourself in the power of someone who will prove to be an undesirable companion.
“MEERSCHAUM PIPE.—You will be disturbed by some news from a man who has much influence in your life.
“NEPTUNE.—This planetary symbol indicates a condition of chaos.”

. . . and just one story related by the author, which shows one can interpret anything one wants:

“The head of an Indian appeared in her cup, with other signs pointing to news of a personal nature. She was puzzled, for, as far as she knew, there was no one in India from whom she would be in the least likely to hear. Very shortly afterwards, however, her mother went on a visit to London. There she quite unexpectedly met someone who had recently come from India, and who had brought back messages of remembrance and affection from a girl who my friend had no idea was in India at that time. Hence the Indian in her tea-cup!”

💥 Recommended for the entertainment value it gives.
🟣

[Hannah]

I checked this out from the library (technically I think I have the third printing from 1930 but I couldn’t find that as an option here and the first printing is listed as 1922) and it carries with it the kind of quaint charm one might expect from a book on tea leaf reading as a tool for telling fortunes in the 1920’s. The introductory chapters are clearly written and entertaining. The dictionary of symbols is nice but some entries are archaic - not many modern tea leaf readers probably would identify plum pudding in their reading for example (there also are some offensive terms that were commonly used/accepted during that time). At that back of the book there are twenty illustrations with their interpretations - mixed bag back here! The illustrations are kind of not helpful. It would have been more helpful perhaps if the symbols were identified. I get that people should be using their intuition and imagination but only some of the time could I see any of the symbols listed (though I could often see symbols that weren’t listed). The interpretations of what each cup meant though were interesting - even if I couldn’t see the symbols they claimed to be interpreting it was useful to see how they formulated the interpretation. Do I have a future as a tea leaf reader? I mean, it certainly won’t pay the bills but it’s fun to do. And in her concluding note Cicely Kent “safely promised to those who follow the simple instructions given in this book that within a short time they will find themselves encircled by a halo of popularity. For few things provide a more certain guarantee of this pleasant condition than that of being able to ‘tell fortunes.’ Divination by tea-leaves will bring those who study it deeply a fund of knowledge beyond the radius of normal understanding. For those who use it as a means of amusement only, it will give pleasure which is dependent upon nothing more difficult to obtain than a cup of tea! With this recommendation I will leave these pages, in the sincere hope that this little book may be of real value to those who desire to be initiated into the fascinating act of reading the future in a tea-cup.”

So call me enticed. Also anything that involved tea while also keeping me off of the tiny godforsaken screen of my phone is an A+ activity in my book.

Also, yes, I’m actually starting to read tea leaves. So if you wanna come over for tea and fortune telling sometime let me know.

[Heather]

Loved learning about the art of reading tea leaves and the different meanings of each symbol. However when it got to applying it with the section with the ilustrations I was at a loss to what blob was supposed to be an actual shape. Don't think this will be my divination medium.

[Anna]

Informative and a great reference to keep on hand!!

[Melissa Marsden]

Note that this book was first published in 1922. I read it as part of the historical research I am doing for a project. An interesting and pleasant read. General instructions on practice and method of tea-leaves reading. It also has a long section at the end on the symbols and their meanings, as well as some of the possible combinations. It mentions the Nelros Cup of Fortune too, which was the first time I heard of it.