FORTUNES IN CUPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20508, 8 March 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

FORTUNES IN CUPS.

WOMEN'S • LATEST - CRAZE.

QUAINT SIGNS AND SYMBOLS-

'Women have found.a-new method .of gratifying their desire to probe the future. Afternoon tea cups and saucers decorated with signs and symbols for telling fortune are the latest craze at smart tea parties in England. Some tea sets contain as many as 40 symbols of good and bad luck, ranging from sudden riches •to being crossed in love.

" These divining cups are .in great demand,'' it was stated recently by the manager of - a West End firm. "Women are buying them because they tell fortunes in a much simpler way than the old method. On the.outside of the cup is the figure of Lu Tung Pin, the patron saint of fortune tellers for centuries. In his hand he carries the glorified fly-swatter which from time to time he used to brush away the clouds. The inside of the cup contains 37 symbols, each designating a. definite future occurrence. when tea leaves are.left, clinging to them. A boat foretells a voyage; by . water, a wheel a land journey, ■ bamboo signifies good health or recovery, from illness, and the arrow promises news from , a friend who has been away for a long time. The writing-brush bespeaks, coming literary success, the peony is a symbol of happy fortune, and the frog is. an omen of money to be made. Around the 'rim of.'the saucer are 12 animals, all important creatures.in fortune-telling as done by the Chinese. "To, tell your fortune with, the "divining cup" you ■ drink the tea, invert the cup on the saucer, and note toward which of the animals on the saucer the- glorified flv-swatter of'Lu Tung Pin points. This determines the general character of your fortune for the next month. This .done, therest.of,the..fortune is read on. the.tea leaves clinging about the characters inside the cup.