How to Do a Double Divination: Tarot and Tea

Merry meet!

As a personal entry to this week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge :trophy:, I decided to combine methods of divination to get insights about a big event that is coming this week- my partner and I are packing up and moving out of our apartment :house_with_garden: :baggage_claim:

More details- skip over if you're just here for the spellwork!

When our housing contracted ended, we were hoping to head to the USA to visit family. Alas, current travel restrictions mean that is is currently impossible. As such, we’re staying with my partner’s family and will be in a bit of a limbo for the foreseeable future.

Things will be pretty up in the air for a while, so I wanted to do a very detailed reading to get a better idea of what to expect- in a general way, as I really don’t know what to expect in the coming months :sweat_smile:

I wanted to dip back into an area of magick that I love but haven’t been practicing much lately, and combine it with tarot.

This method is less a form of Cross-Checking (using a secondary divination method to double-check the reading used in your primary divination method) and more of a “double divination reading” (where different, although complimentary, specifics were asked of each of the divining tools).

Let’s jump in!

Doing a Double Divination Reading

The two methods of divination used in this reading are:

  • Tasseography :tea: (tea leaf readings)
    —> for an overall reading of the situation

  • Tarot :flower_playing_cards: (a basic 3-card spread as a self-reading )
    —> for specifics about the past, present, and future of the situation

Using loose-leaf tea leaves, I prepared and drank a cup of tea while focusing on the overall situation.

There are many different ways to go about tea leaf readings, and different traditions/practices read leaves in different ways. For this basic tea leaf reading, I did the following:

  • Drink your tea until there is just a bit of liquid left in the cup

  • While focusing on your question, turn your cup three times, swishing the liquid as you do so.

  • In one quick yet gentle movement, flip your cup and place it upside down over the saucer.

  • Place one hand over the upturned cup and focus intently on the question on your mind.

  • Tap three times.

  • Remove the cup- you can now read the arrangement of tea leaves on both the cup and the saucer.

Look into the cup and examine the saucer- do you see any shapes? Feel free to give tasseography a try for yourself! :tea:

Every diviner will likely see different things- and that’s okay! If you would like to see what I found in the leaves, feel free to click below:

Saucer Interpretation

When looking at the tea leaves on my saucer, I saw a bird of prey :eagle: swooping down to attack a rabbit/hare :rabbit2: .

The Dream Lookup Tool I usually use for symbolism says the following:

An Eagle Attacking a Hare:

Dreaming of an eagle hunting down and preying on a hare could be a symbol foretelling possible intimidation, threat or direct danger heading your way from an influential and dominant individual in your waking life. For example, this person could be your boss or direct supervisor at work, your landlord or a representative of the law. Alternatively, such a vision could be indicating that your current position in life is being strictly controlled or orchestrated by a person with significant power and resources. It is unlikely that you could change the status quo at the moment, as you may be greatly dependent on this person’s finances, influence or a similar factor important either directly to you or to the success of your current undertakings.

From Dream Lookup

Considering we are currently in limbo and at the mercy of the travel restrictions of two countries both with an eagle as their national symbol, this seems to fit right in with our current predicament :sweat_smile:

The eagle and hare appear in the middle/bottom of the cup, leading me to believe that the climax of this “attack” and the worst moment of the predicament will happen in a few weeks from now.

Cup Interpretation

When looking at the tea leaves in my cup, I saw quite the arrangement of animals! A waiting dog:service_dog: , a shark :shark: , and a snail riding a pig :snail: :pig2:

Dogs are symbols of obedience and loyalty. The dog sitting quietly seemed to me to be a sign of patience.

Sharks can be symbols of hidden dangers and lurking anxiety, as well as forces of immense power and antiquity. The appearance of a shark at the edge of the rim (the immediate present) could be a sign that something big is lurking closeby. Whether it is a huge problem or simply my own anxiety around the move remains to be seen.

As for the snail riding the pig… well, this one had me using my creativity :laughing:

Dream Lookup says the following:

Riding on a pig

Dream about riding on a pig could be a symbol for oddness and weirdness. You could be about to dedicate yourself for a while to the performance of some unusual or eccentric tasks or occupations

From Dream Lookup

And snails are symbols of being slow, having patience, carrying your home, travel, and protection.

Looks like it’s going to be a trial of patience, fighting against forces that may or may not be in my head, and living “on the go” for a bit.

Luckily, I’ve had plenty of practice for living on the road and traveling! :grin: :compass: Although travels in my past were usually more fast-paced than the next few months will be.

With the leaves read and a good overall idea about where the situation is heading, I drew three tarot cards.

The cards were drawn not with the intent to clarify what I learned in the tea leaf readings (which is what I would do if I was Cross-Checking) but rather with the related yet unique goal of gaining insight about different periods of time around the situation.

In my case, these cards are tied to one specific moment- the moment of the move :train2:

CARD 1: Leading up to the Situation

The Heirophant

CARD 2: The Moment of the Event

The Tower

CARD 3: The Post-Event Result

Nine of Pentacles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By combining two methods, it has helped me to dig deep into an upcoming event. I feel like I know more about what to expect overall, as well as details given for specific moments in time.

Have you ever done a Double Divination (using two divination methods simultaneously?)

  • Yes!
  • Not yet
  • No, and it’s not for me
0 voters

Feel free to share your thoughts on double divination, tasseography, tarot, and divination experiences!

Blessed be :heart:

14 Likes

Thanks for sharing this Tarot Spread. Look this is my result:

Summary: Happiness, protection from God and Joy is leading my situation. My moment of the event is creation. Post-event result is worries.

Oh God! Today I shared that ritual that created a ritual yesterday and I was extremely happy. Here is the link: Identify & Banish Chaotic Energy Ritual
Now I am getting worried that what worries are going to hit me?! I know now. I have to publish a magazine which I forgot! The NGO just contacted me. God, please bless me!..

Nice experience. Thanks for sharing @BryWisteria

6 Likes

I saw a cute little turtle in your cup!! (The 1st cup you pictured with the tea leaves).
But what a great entry!!! Thanks for your knowledge, I never did a tea reading bc I use a ball tea strainer and leave it in my cup. Maybe I’m weird :sweat_smile:

7 Likes

Wow, that got really in-depth. Maybe I just have problems seeing things in tea leaves, all I see is blots. LOL. I’m glad things will look up for you eventually though, I know it’s difficult to live in suitcases. Nine of Pentacles is in my mind, a happy and safe home, so you’ll find one eventually.

6 Likes

That’s beautiful, @Princess_Tara! Although it looks like the worries that were foretold came quickly for you- yikes! Hope the magazine publishing went well :pray: Thanks so much for sharing your reading! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

That’s an interesting find, @Christina4! :turtle: A turtle can embody patience, working through things slowly, long life, and carrying your home. Although I saw different things in the cup, it looks like the general meanings align very well :grin::+1: That’s the beauty of tasseography- we may all see different things, but it is still possible to get the same/very similar end result!

Agreed, @Amethyst- finding things in the leaves can be tricky! :fallen_leaf: Like most skills, practice helps to build the ability. Like finding shapes in the clouds as a child, or using basic shapes to build a picture for painting or drawing! :cloud: And thanks- I’m hoping the Nine of Pentacles symbolizes exactly that! :heart:

8 Likes

Hello @BryWisteria

I overcome my worries easily. Since tarot told me that something is going to worry me, I prepared myself, mentally, to face the trouble and I succeeded.

Annesha

8 Likes

I think that’s very strong of you to heed the warning your cards gave you, make yourself stronger, and face it head on @Princess_Tara! Great job overcoming your challenge! :blush: Tarot really can be a blessing and help us to be our best selves :pray::flower_playing_cards:

6 Likes

Hello @BryWisteria

Indeed, tarot is a blessing. I love Tarot and divination work.

6 Likes

In the cup I saw a person next to a horse on the lip of the cup a fish. On the saucer another horse but in motion

3 Likes

Merry meet @robin1,

I always really enjoy hearing what others see in the cup- and it sounds like we both spotted that fish on the lip of the cup! :fish: :grinning:

Thank you so much for sharing your reading interpretations :coffee: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Please make yourself at home here in the forum! :heart:

3 Likes