Selenarium · Coffee ground reading
Coffee Ground Reading: what the symbols in your cup mean
Coffee ground reading is the reading of the shapes the grounds leave on the walls and the bottom of the cup. I will tell you what every shape means and what it actually shows. The grounds are a mirror of your own thoughts, and I will show you how to read that mirror honestly.
How to read coffee grounds
Coffee ground reading has a proper name, tasseography, and a very plain ritual behind it. Brew the coffee Turkish style, with no filter, because the grounds are the whole point. Drink it and leave a mouthful of liquid with the grounds at the bottom. Take the cup in your left hand and swirl it three times clockwise so the grounds spread up the walls. Turn the cup over onto the saucer in one quick movement and give it a minute or two to drain. Then lift it and look at the patterns left on the walls and the bottom.
Where to look in the cup
By the handle. The handle is you and your home. Signs beside it are read as being about you, your family and the people closest in.
Opposite the handle. The far side from the handle is about other people and about circumstances coming at you from outside.
Near the rim. The top of the cup, right at the edge, is the time just ahead: days and weeks.
Toward the bottom. The lower a sign sits, the further off in time or the deeper in the past. The bottom is the most distant and the deepest of all.
Large and clear. Big, distinct shapes carry more weight than small blurred ones. Start your reading with those.
Symbols and what they mean
Heart
the meaning of a heart in the cup
Ring
the meaning of a ring in the cup
Tree
the meaning of a tree in the cup
Flower
the meaning of a flower in the cup
Star
the meaning of a star in the cup
Sun
the meaning of the sun in the cup
Moon
the meaning of the moon in the cup
Bird
the meaning of a bird in the cup
Dog
the meaning of a dog in the cup
Snake
the meaning of a snake in the cup
Fish
the meaning of a fish in the cup
House
the meaning of a house in the cup
Mountain
the meaning of a mountain in the cup
Road
the meaning of a road in the cup
Cross
the meaning of a cross in the cup
Anchor
the meaning of an anchor in the cup
Ship
the meaning of a ship in the cup
Key
the meaning of a key in the cup
Person
the meaning of a human figure in the cup
Eye
the meaning of an eye in the cup
Horseshoe
the meaning of a horseshoe in the cup
Crown
the meaning of a crown in the cup
Butterfly
the meaning of a butterfly in the cup
Spider
the meaning of a spider in the cup
Candle
the meaning of a candle in the cup
Letter
the meaning of a letter in the cup
Money
the meaning of money in the cup
Chain
the meaning of a chain in the cup
Cat
the meaning of a cat in the cup
Mushroom
the meaning of a mushroom in the cup
Circle
the meaning of a circle in the cup
Triangle
the meaning of a triangle in the cup
Square
the meaning of a square in the cup
Lines
the meaning of lines in the cup
Dots
the meaning of dots in the cup
Letters
the meaning of letters in the cup
Numbers
the meaning of numbers in the cup
Horse
the meaning of a horse in the cup
Lion
the meaning of a lion in the cup
Elephant
the meaning of an elephant in the cup
Angel
the meaning of an angel in the cup
Clock
the meaning of a clock in the cup
Hand
the meaning of a hand in the cup
Knife
the meaning of a knife in the cup
Ladder
the meaning of a ladder in the cup
Dragon
the meaning of a dragon in the cup
Owl
the meaning of an owl in the cup
Eagle
the meaning of an eagle in the cup
Bell
the meaning of a bell in the cup
Castle
the meaning of a castle in the cup
Bridge
the meaning of a bridge in the cup
Door
the meaning of a door in the cup
Umbrella
the meaning of an umbrella in the cup
Jug
the meaning of a jug in the cup
Wallet
the meaning of a wallet in the cup
Wings
the meaning of wings in the cup
Nest
the meaning of a nest in the cup
What to keep in mind
The grounds set in random blots, and what you make out in them is whatever is already on your mind, the same way it goes with clouds and ink stains. That is the whole truth of it: coffee cup reading works as a mirror of your thoughts. Whatever you saw tells you what you have been thinking about. I do not prophesy anybody's fate out of a cup.
Coffee ground reading is part of folk culture and a form of self-reflection, not medicine and not financial advice. The shapes in the cup are a prompt to think, and nothing you see there settles anything in your life.
FAQ
How do you read coffee grounds?
Brew unfiltered coffee, drink it and leave a mouthful with the grounds at the bottom. Swirl the cup three times and turn it over onto the saucer. A couple of minutes later lift it and read the patterns: shapes by the handle are about you, shapes at the rim about the days just ahead, shapes on the bottom about what is far off.
Does coffee ground reading really come true?
The grounds set in random blots and no future is written into them. Something else does work: once you have made out a sign, you start noticing the thing it named in your own life. It is a mirror of your attention, and there is no sentence passed in it.
What do the symbols in coffee grounds mean?
Every shape carries a folk reading: a heart is love, a road is change, a snake is worry. What matters more is which sign jumped out at you, because that is the one telling you what is on your mind. All 45 symbols are broken down below.
Which side of the cup do you read from?
From the handle. The handle is you and your home, the far side is other people. Nearer the rim is the days just ahead, toward the bottom is the distant and the deep. Large clear shapes carry more weight than small ones.
The grounds reflected one minute over a cup. The chart of the sky holds your whole reflection.
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