I Just Had My Tea Leaves Read For The First Time: Here's What Happened

I've always found divination to be mysterious and alluring: I'm big on tarot cards and have even dabbled in palm reading—but aside from its brief stint in the Harry Potter series, tea leaf reading has never really come across my radar.

So when I had the opportunity to get a (virtual) tea leaf reading with Sandra Mariah Wright and Leanne Marrama, authors of Reading the Leaves: An Intuitive Guide to the Ancient Art and Modern Magic of Tea Divination, I was interested and eager to give it a go.

Before my call with Wright and Marrama, I read up on tea reading—or tasseography—and found that it likely originated in China before spreading across India and Europe. Interpreting the hidden messages in loose tea leaves really took off in the Victorian era, and it remains a popular divinatory tool today.

To start, Wright and Marrama first asked me what I wanted to get out of the reading. I kept it relatively simple, asking for clarity around three of the most common topics in divination: my career, my health, and my love life. I held these intentions in my mind as I sipped my cup, with the idea being that I was creating a physical connection between myself and the tea as I went.

When I told Wright and Marrama I saw a manatee too, they advised shutting out negativity from other people; manatees are kind and gentle—but everyone needs boundaries. "Don't worry about the expectations of others," they said. "This isn't about their life; it's about your life and what you want from it."

Picking up on the marine theme yet? Water is a sure sign of emotions, and they said the number of sea critters in my reading indicated a lot of emotional stirring in my life, processing through old memories and baggage, and healing to move forward.

Before the reading started, I was nervous, not gonna lie. Any time you're having your future interpreted, there's an element of dreading bad news. And while my reading turned out pretty positive, the ladies insisted that readings aren't necessarily "good" or "bad." They serve as a catalyst for self-reflection more than anything else: "The reason you're looking in that cup is to see where you need to empower yourself and make change."

And indeed, what I was told did give me plenty to think about. Mostly, I felt reassured that I was on the right track in my career and health, and validated, as recent months have been particularly tumultuous. This showed up through a very watery theme, but I received messages of good luck and healing to reassure me.

With 1 as the Magician in tarot, I felt empowered by the reminder of my ability to manifest in all areas of my life. And as far as love goes, the manatee got me thinking that perhaps I needed to think about displaying more authenticity if I want to find someone who can appreciate who I truly am.

But perhaps my favorite thing about the whole process was how fun, and honestly easy, it all was. That's the beauty of divination: It's intuitive work, and we all have access to intuition. "When you explore your intuition, you kick-start it; you open up your imagination," Wright and Marrama said to me. "And if you get more in touch with your gut, you're gonna make better decisions for yourself."