If you told somebody in this day and age that you believe your destiny can be seen from the bottom of your coffee mug or tea cup they would probably say!’you can what?’ But don’t worry; they would definitely contemplate your sanity. The crazier part is that people have actually embraced tea leaf reading as a believable fortune telling ritual for hundreds of years. This is probably due to the fact that psychiatrists didn’t exist and there weren’t any prescriptions being handed out to treat delusions or downright stupidity. Tea leaf readings originated in Asia and spread primarily from China. In ancient times it isn’t all that hard to believe that sane people could be suckered into this practice because there wasn’t a window such as the internet or television to post in your face how crazy and unlikely to be real a practice like this is, I mean come on, people still ‘knew’ the world was flat. So who could to say that the remaining useless crap at the bottom of your cup wasn’t a window to the universe? At the very most a tea leaf reading gathering should be done only by people that are less than gullible and see it as something of a hobby or social session for fun, not somebody who uses it as a ‘crystal ball to view the future’ or has Ms. Cleo on speed dial. If you won’t be biting off your fingernails during the preparation process because you just can’t wait to find out what lays ahead on the road of life for you, then by all means you should invite some friends over, boil some water and throw some loose tea leaves in without the use of a strainer, and find a comfy environment to take a load off in and serve some hot tea. Take a few moments to take in the pleasant aroma and sip the tea while engaging in peaceful conversation. For giggles, you can leave a little tea in your cup to mix around and see where the tea leaves settle. With very little light-hearted research you can find out the tea leaf meanings of the settled leaves and see what ‘destiny will bring you’.

Tea Leaf Reading can be a pleasant and relaxing experience for friends.

- Joe Rodgers