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==Historia==

==Historia==

The first inklings of Western tasseography can be traced to medieval European fortune tellers who developed their readings from splatters of wax, lead, and other molten substances. This evolved into tea-leaf reading in the seventeenth century, a short time after Dutch merchants introduced tea to Europe via trade routes to China.

Escocia, Irlanda e Inglaterra han sido cuna de un buen número de adivinos y autores de escritos sobre el tema, y los ceramistas ingleses crearon sets de té especialmente diseñados y decorados para ayudar en la lectura de la fortuna. Ciertas culturas de Oriente Próximo que practican este tipo de adivinación normalmente usan platos hechos de posos de café turco usado.

==Método de la lectura de las hojas del té==

 

==Method of tea-leaf reading==

[[File:Tea leaf reading.jpg|thumb|An example of a tea leaf reading showing a dog and a bird on the side of the cup.]]

[[File:Tea leaf reading.jpg|thumb|An example of a tea leaf reading showing a dog and a bird on the side of the cup.]]

The ''Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology, Fifth Edition, Vol. 2'' edited by J. Gordon Melton, notes:

La ''Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology, Fifth Edition, Vol. 2'', editada por J. Gordon Melton, indica:

"After a cup of tea has been poured, without using a tea strainer, the tea is drunk or poured away. The cup should then be shaken well and any remaining liquid drained off in the saucer. The diviner now looks at the pattern of tea leaves in the cup and allows the imagination to play around the shapes suggested by them. They might look like a letter, a heart shape, or a ring. These shapes are then interpreted intuitively or by means of a fairly standard system of symbolism, such as: snake (enmity or falsehood), spade (good fortune through industry), mountain (journey of hindrance), or house (change, success)."

"Después de servir una taza de té, sin usar filtro, el té debe ser bebido o desechado. La taza debe ser entonces bien agitada y cualquier líquido sobrante debe ser escurrido en un plato aparte. Entonces el adivino debe observar los patrones de las hojas de té en la taza y permitir que la imaginación juegue con él y le sugiera formas. Debe poder apreciar una carta, una forma de corazón, o un anillo... Esas formas son interpretadas entonces de forma intuitiva o por medio de un sistema claro de simbolismo, tal como: serpiente (falsedad o traición), espada (buena suerte en los negocios), montaña (viaje de autoconocimiento), o casa (cambio, éxito)."

Melton's described methods of pouring away the tea and shaking the cup are rarely seen; most readers ask the querent to drink the tea off, then swirl the cup. Likewise, his notion that readers give intuitive interpretations reflects his unfamiliarity with teacup reading; most readers use the standard symbols that have been handed down through several generations. There are, however, many who prefer to read by feel and intuition, as stated by Melton.

Los métodos descritos por Melton de desechar el té y de agitar la taza son poco utilizados; la mayor parte de los lectores de posos suelen pedir a la otra persona que beba el té, y después remueva la taza. Además, su idea de que los videntes interpreten de forma intuitiva refleja su escasa familiaridad con la lectura de las tazas de té, ya que la mayoría de los lectores de posos usan los símbolos estandarizados que se han transmitido durante generaciones. Aunque hay quienes prefieren leer por medio del sentimiento y la intuición, como describe Melton.

It is traditional to read a cup from the present to the future by starting along the rim at the handle of the cup and following the symbols downward in a spiral manner, until the bottom is reached, which symbolizes the far future. Most readers see images only in the dark tea leaves against a white or neutral background; some will also read the reverse images formed by seeing the symbols that form in the white negative spaces, with a clump of dark leaves forming the background.  

La forma tradicional de leer una taza desde el presente hasta el futuro es empezando por el borde de la taza bajo el asa y siguiendo los símbolos en espiral, hasta llegar al fondo, que simboliza el futuro lejano. La mayoría de los videntes ven imágenes sólo en las hojas más oscuras sobre un fondo blanco o neutral; algunos también son capaces de leer imágenes en negativo, formadas en el fondo blanco bajo el fondo oscuro de las hojas.

Some people consider it ill-advised for one to attempt tasseography using tea from a cut-open tea bag or to use a symbol dictionary. The reasons for these prohibitions are practical: tea-bag tea is cut too finely to form recognizable figures in the cup and tea-leaf reading has its own historic system of symbolism that does not correspond exactly with other systems, such as symbolic dream divination.

Alguna gente considera como mala praxis tratar de leer el futuro mediante la taseografía usando té de una bolsa de té abierta, en lugar de té a granel, así como ayudarse de un diccionario de símbolos. Las razones de este rechazo son de índole práctica: las bolsas de té son demasiado finas como para crear formas definidas con los posos, y la lectura de las hojas de té tiene su propia historia y simbología, que no se corresponde exactamente con otros sistemas, como la adivinación a partir del significado simbólico de los sueños.

==Fortune telling tea cups==

==Tazas de té para adivinar el futuro==

Although many people prefer a simple white cup for tea leaf reading, there are also traditions concerning the positional placement of the leaves in the cup, and some find it easier to work with marked cups. Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing to the present, English and American potteries have produced specially decorated cup and saucer sets for the use of tea-leaf readers. Many of these designs are patented and come with instructions explaining their mode of use. Some of the most common were those that were given away with purchases of bulk tea.

Although many people prefer a simple white cup for tea leaf reading, there are also traditions concerning the positional placement of the leaves in the cup, and some find it easier to work with marked cups. Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing to the present, English and American potteries have produced specially decorated cup and saucer sets for the use of tea-leaf readers. Many of these designs are patented and come with instructions explaining their mode of use. Some of the most common were those that were given away with purchases of bulk tea.