be puzzling to beginners. A good deal of practice is necessary before
the tea-leaf symbols can be accurately interpreted at a glance. That,
however, will come later, and in time it will be as easy as reading a
book.

If you wish to be a proficient reader of the tea-leaves, practise
constantly this interpretation of the shapes and positions of the
leaves. Take a cup and follow out the simple instructions for the
turning and draining of it, and then carefully study the result.

It is an excellent plan to make a rough copy of the leaves as they
present themselves to you in each cup, making notes of the various
meanings.

Do not feel dismayed if, when you begin looking at the tea-leaves, you
are unable to discover in them anything definitely symbolic. It is
certain that nothing will be found if the seer is feeling nervous! Keep
a calm, open mind, and do not be in a hurry, for it is under such
conditions only that a clear reading of the leaves will be possible. In
some cases the symbols are more easily read than in others. Much depends
upon the consultant.

The gift of imagination (by no means to be confused with invention) is
of the greatest possible importance in discerning the symbols which are
of such endless shapes and variety. The seer has to find in the forms of
the tea-leaves a resemblance, sometimes it may be but a faint one, to
natural objects, _e.g._, trees, houses, flowers, bridges, and so
forth. Figures of human beings and animals will frequently be seen, as
will squares, triangles, circles, and also the line of fate.