Filigree & Chintz
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Contact
  • Policies
  • Photo Album
  • Filigree and Chintz Creations
  • Blog

Tasseography

10/30/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
One of my favorite book and movie franchises, Harry Potter touches on the mystical art of Tea Leaf Reading (Tasseography). Harry is in his Divination class, with professor Trelawny played by one of my favorite actors Emma Thompson when she looks into his teacup and sees a very grim icon of the black dog! An omen of death!!! 
The term Tasseography derives from the french word "tasse" (cup) and "ology" meaning the study of. The first evidence of western tasseography can be traced back to medieval Europe when fortune tellers used the splatters of molten metal, lead, and waxes to predict the future. In the seventeenth century, china had successfully established trade routes to the western world and the practice of tasseography evolved to use tea leaves in their readings. European practitioners even developed specially printed pottery to help the seers in their efforts to forecast the future. 
Picture
With this tool, readers will ask you to drink from the cup with loose tea leaves. When all the liquid is gone they will read your cup starting from the present to the future using the symbols of the cup to guide them. Most readers see symbols in the tea leaves against the white background of the cup while some will see images and symbols in reverse formed in the white and negative spaces between the leaves.  
    I was lucky enough to be treated to a tea leaf reading in Boston, Massachusetts. It was definitely one of the most unique tea experiences I have ever had and an experience I would highly recommend. Below is a photo of my cup! 
Picture
Thanks for checking out this blog entry! Have a very happy and safe halloween!

1 Comment

Camellia Sinensis

10/24/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Camellia sinensis is the plant that is harvested to create the lovely beverage that we all adore, Tea! White tea, Yellow tea, Green tea, Oolong tea, Pu-ehr, and Black tea are all made out of this plant. Different processing methods yield the different types of teas. The Camellia sinensis plant is native to east, south, and southeast china. Tea leaves have been cultivated in china for about 5000 years. China is believed to have the oldest tea traditions in the world. Green tea is the beverage of choice in china, and was first documented in writing around 600B.C. Now, Tea is grown all over the globe in tropical and subtropical regions. Here in the United States we even have a lovely tea farm in Charleston South Carolina, which i'm hoping we get to visit soon. 
0 Comments

    Nathallie Strickland

    Owner and founder of Filigree and Chintz. 

    Archives

    December 2015
    September 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.