19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An imaginative divination tool with a user-friendly format, December 3, 2000
This review is from: Tea Leaf fortune Cards (Paperback)
Have trouble finding images, or making sense out of the scattered tea leaves in your teacup? Here's a neat little tool, based on the concept of tea leaf reading. It provides the actual images, rather than have readers figure out for themselves what they're seeing in their teacup, and then try to figure out exactly what each image is supposed to mean to them. Tea leaf readings might be good for the psychic adept, but bad for novices, or occasional dabblers.
I remember a time before I discovered Tarot, when I used dice, a regular deck of cards, or fortune board games to fortell possible future events (I still do). These cards bring back to me a certain nostalgia. Tarot can get very deep and esoteric in interpretation. These cards are more concerned with the everyday, mundane events and matters that make up most of our lives. This round deck of 200 cards consists of 182 symbol cards, 12 month cards (for a yearly spread), and 6 astral house cards (which focus on issues or areas of your life, such as wealth, love, career, etc.). The symbol cards are pleasantly illustrated by Shawna Alexander and diverse in symbology. There are objects such as an ax, candle, key and so on. There are body parts such as an ear, eye, hand, etc. There are people, young man, older man, fair woman, etc. There are landmasses (mountain, moon, sun), animals, plants, and events (like a handshake, sunrise, teardrops). Besides short, concise interpretations of the cards in the book, provided by author Hepburn, she also includes a brief, one-line description on the cards themselves. Hepburn is a life-long student/practitioner of tea leaf reading and other ancient systems and her knowledge is apparent in her thoughtful interpretations of the symbology, her attempts to cover so many of the circumstances we may encounter in life, and the clever construction of the readings she provides.
There are six astral house cards for an astral house spread which allows readers to focus in on a single area of their lives (love, marriage, career, wealth, success and happiness). This spread is the one I have the most problems with. First, I wish other important areas were covered. What immediately comes to mind is an astral house for children, health, home, travel and dreams. Also, the layout is just a bit too vague for me. The first row of the reading related to events which could transpire in two days, weeks, months or years...the second row, three days, weeks, months, or years...and the third row, four days, weeks, months, or years from now. It may have been better to structure it more concisely. But I believe the creative reader will be able to modify this approach to better suit their needs.
The yearly spread is truly wonderful...with four cards for every month card. The cards do not correspond to a given week in the month, but are taken in context together. The same holds true for the weekly spread...each card does not necessarily correspond to a given day in that week, but are interpreted together to reflect what the focus will be in the week ahead. But, clearly, one can take these cards and come up with any variety of ways in which to use them. I've been thinking about a seasonal approach...or, a card, or 3 cards a day. The only other problem I have with the deck is that there are so many cards, making it difficult to shuffle, which is why I choose to use a spread them out on the table approach, rather than actual shuffling.
There is one minor flaw with the deck, which I didn't grade them down for because I think it's self-explanatory. The butterfly card doesn't have an interpretation in the book...I double-checked this. But the card is pretty clear. Changes will be coming into the seeker's life and will be good or bad depending upon the cards that surround the butterfly.
Novices and dabblers will love this deck, which speaks to them in the simple language of life's every day concerns, rather than spouting some esoteric mumbo-jumbo. Experienced readers will also thoroughly enjoy the divinatory potential these cards provide. I highly recommend the deck, and hope that perhaps the author will expand upon them further, if future editions are published.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better and Easier than Tarot, March 14, 2001
This review is from: Tea Leaf fortune Cards (Paperback)
I just had my fortune read by Rae Hepburn, the author of Tea Leaf Fortune Cards, at a bookstore. What a trip! She was doing readings using the Tea Leaf Fortune Cards. I had to wait about two hours, but it was worth it. Talk about accurate! She used the Astral House method and in the couple of minutes it took to lay out the cards, it was like she knew all about me.
I bought a kit to use at home because she made it look so easy. And you know what...it is easy. I have tried all kinds of divination methods and this is by far the easiest and most accurate. Don't take my word for it...try them for yourselves. You'll thank me.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow! Is this kit accurate!, May 16, 2001
This review is from: Tea Leaf fortune Cards (Paperback)
I have been using this kit for a few months now and am amazed at how accurate it is. In fact, I have gotten to depend on it so much that I divine my weekly fortune without fail so that I know what kind of a week it is going to be.
I think the reason Tea Leaf Fortune Cards are so accurate is because there are 200 cards and each card has a very different meaning, unlike Tarot which doubles up and triples up on its meanings so that you have a hard time knowing exactly what the cards are saying. These cards are also quick and easy to read as the meanings are printed on each card. They're really great.
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