First impressions....
OK...so last night I did my first reading with the TEA LEAF cards....such fun!
I read through the book and followed the author's advice by starting out with a "Coming Year" reading. She recommends this rather large, extensive spread because all the shuffling allows for your energies to be absorbed into the deck, and from that point forward, your readings will be more accurate. Sounds good to me! I figured it was a great way for me to "break in" the deck and try it out.
So the Coming Year spread involves laying out all 12 Month cards, clockwise, starting with the current month (August) in the 1 o'clock position. Each month represents approximately 30 days, so the August position starts with 8/18 (starts on the day after the reading date) and ends 9/17. September represents 9/18 through 10/17 and so on.
The fortune, or "picture" cards are shuffled and laid out in the same order, face down on top of the month card.
After laying out the first "set" of twelve cards, I shuffled again and dealt the next "set" on top of the others. This was repeated until there were four cards for each month.
I did want to mention briefly that I was surprised at how easy these cards are to shuffle! Although they are round, and combine to make a very thick deck, I simply divided them into two piles and shuffled half at a time, then cut both stacks and combined them again for more shuffling....worked like a charm!
Now....48 cards does sound pretty intimidating, and it certainly would be if this were a tarot reading! But with the Tea Leaf cards, the process is a bit different, and it was more like doing 12 mini-readings, one for each month of the coming year.
The author gives plenty of information and suggestions in the book about how best to read the cards, and some detailed information on each of the 182 fortune cards. Basically, the idea is to connect the four cards in whatever way makes sense, and read them together as the fortune or advice for that period of time. It was fun, and some cards are more challenging to connect than others. I really enjoyed the process of reading again with a non-tarot deck....there is so much freedom in figuring out the meanings because I am not limited by any set structure or rules.
I made sure that I journaled not only the cards chosen, but also my interpretation. And I chose not to consult the book for individual card meanings....I just went with the pictures (so sweet!) and words on the cards, and my gut feeling on how to connect them.
So that is my take on the Tea Leaf Fortune Cards....and I have to say that they honestly have exceeded my expectations, which is impressive since I tend to set the bar pretty high.
I look forward to offering readings here in the near future, as soon as I have some more time playing with them....so keep an eye on the Oracle Readings forum over the next few days.
Luna