Prior to getting a tea leaf reading from Tabitha Dial over at Tarot and Tea Leaf Readings, I didn’t know much about the practice. Okay, I still don’t know much about the practice, but my perspective has definitely shifted. Tea leaf reading, or tasseography, is a cross-cultural divinatory practice that I’d seen done before, heard about through my childhood, but never delved into. So I had no idea what to expect from Tabitha.

I asked her about the trajectory of my book writing and publishing endeavors, but also kept open to any related messages that might come through. For my reading, she sent over a five-page single-spaced write-up accompanied by four large, full-color photographs. Tabitha used loose leaf black tea and as the leaves were steeping in the water, a strawberry symbol formed at the bottom of the cup. You can see it quite clearly here:

It even seems to have its own aura or halo. Neat. Tabitha interprets the strawberry as a fruit of love, which expresses the theme of what writing and publishing is to me in my life, and I agree. She also wrote, “The connection to home seems important.” True. The connection to home is my wish for it to become a financially sound enough pursuit that I can spend more time at home.

I agree with Tabitha’s observation that the strawberry seems to appear prominently in this reading, and so I take that as a cue to be receptive to recurring signs or omens that include strawberries.

After she poured out the tea to read the residual leaves, Tabitha saw a fruit bat (more fruit themes coming through) near the rim of the teacup. The fruit bat’s wings were outstretched in flight. This reading took place on August 9, 2015, just one week before BATS (Bay Area Tarot Symposium). Hum. Interesting.

Yet back to addressing my question, Tabitha noted that the bat could indicate long nocturnal hours working on writing. Funny she should mention that. Normally I tend to be a morning writer, and I wake up at the crack of dawn, brew my coffee, and do my writing before I head in to the office for work. However, lately that has not been enough. There is just too much writing to get done, so I was thinking about extending my waking hours into the night as well, so that I could get substantive writing time both in the wee morning hours and wee late hours. Before I reached any conclusions, I got Tabitha’s reading. Fascinating how thoughts and vibrations commingle.

Per Chinese symbology, the bat also symbolizes prosperity because the character for “bat” (蝠, Fú) is similar to the character for “prosperity” (福, Fú), and both are pronounced the same. According to the Chinese, homophones are synchronicities that they pay attention to and interpret. Since “bat” sounds like “prosperity” in Chinese, it only makes sense (according to this line of logic) that a bat represents prosperity. So I interpreted the bat symbol here as meaning good luck and fortune in writing endeavors. Hey, I’m an optimist. The teacup is half full, not half empty, for me.

Tabitha touched upon the same meaning as well. She noted that to her, the bat symbolized harvest, and that the harvest would yield greater and greater results. Yay! Tabitha also pointed out the dots along the rim of the teacup, toward the handle. Dots symbolize money. Double yay.

However, not all is sunshine and rainbows. Below the bat, in the realm of the present, there was a stern looking face. I’ve circled the face in red for your easy identification. It is just below the bat, and the in-flight bat seems to be looking down at the face. Tabitha saw that as “facing” something, and she may be right. There may be some facing of truths or even confrontations involved before I can achieve the promises of the fruit bat.

At the bottom of my teacup, Tabitha saw another bat, though she commented that it also resembled a rabbit wearing wings. What’s more, the “W” that she noted appeared at the bottom of my cup could be a sign of validation that I am on the right track, i.e., W for Writer. (Or W for Woo? Since I write about Woo nowadays?)

There was also an armadillo or a wolf howling at the moon, so Tabitha asked me what my connection was to the southwest. At this time, I’m not quite sure. My in-laws are residing in Texas, though I don’t know if Texas really counts as the southwest. Southern California maybe? The Hubby is embarking on a road trip with is parents across the southwest, which will take place in late September. I had intended that time home alone to allow me to really catch up on my writing. I wondered if that had any bearing in all this.

I confess that I myself couldn’t make out these images in the teacup, so I had to follow behind Tabitha’s interpretation and let her guide me. I’ve never been good with the creativity and imagination needed to see messages from abstract forms. I’m just awful at scrying. I’m better with fields like astrology, numerology, feng shui, etc. Even with tarot, I don’t necessarily scry with the cards, as some practitioners do.

Now, one thing I found really…resonant, for lack of a better word– Tabitha noted that the symbols taken together seemed to indicate writing related to a combination of “instruction and divination, and history” that “reflects on the divinatory traditions of a single region.” I think that fully characterized my second book on Fu sigil crafting.

Tabitha provided insight, clear messages, easy to follow along photographs, and a comprehensive answer to my question. I can’t believe how much she was able to get out of the bottom of a teacup. It’s pretty amazing I have to say, and a lot of what she said was specific. That was the most impressive part– how specific she was able to get with her details. I’ve always been a skeptic of tea leaf reading, but Tabitha has opened my mind. Now I am compelled to reconsider my preconceived notions on the art and am interested in learning more for myself.

You can order a tarot or tea leaf reading from Tabitha through her Etsy, here. A regular Tea Leaf Reading by Tabitha is $16 and the Creative Spark Reading is $20. Treat yourself to an amazing, memorable experience or– even better– treat a friend. Tabitha is a prolific writer and generously provides loads of cool info through her blog and social media, so be sure to follow Tabitha on Instagram, Twitter (@TabithaDial), and her Facebook page.