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The practice of predicting the future with eggs has several names, including oomancy, oomantia, and ovomancy. Eggs have been used to prophesize about love, pregnancy, and death for centuries.
Ovomancy was a common practice among the superstitious during the era of the Salem witch trials. Puritan ministers warned that this was devilish sorcery and a sign of witchcraft.
Colcannon is a mashed potato dish with cabbage or kale mixed through it. In the past, cooks would hide a ring, a thimble, and a coin in the dish on Halloween. The person who finds the ring in their portion will be the next to be married, the person who gets the thimble will have to wait a little longer to find love, and the person who finds the coin can expect a great fortune.
The most traditional method is to drop raw egg whites into a glass of warm water and examine the shapes they make. For example, if you see the shape of a plow or a horse, then your future husband might be a farmer.
The blindfolded person grabs the first handful of kale that touches their hand, and then analyzes the stalks in the way that some people would read tea leaves. The kale stalks should provide them with information about their future love.
Hiding small metal objects in mashed potato is a choking hazard, so it isn’t practiced as much anymore, but supermarkets all over Ireland still sell special Halloween editions of barmbrack. A ring wrapped in baking paper is cooked into the traditional fruit cake and whoever gets the slice with the ring will have good luck, especially in love.
In British folklore, a pod that contained exactly nine peas was believed to be significant. If a kitchen maid came across such a pod, she would leave it on the lintel above the door. The next young bachelor to walk through the door would become her husband. This practice was known as "peasecod wooing."
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The readings usually went like this: the subject drinks a cup of black loose leaf tea, ideally in a light-colored cup for easy viewing. As they drink, they should think about the the question they have concerning their future. When they have finished drinking, they should stir the leaves at the bottom of the cup clockwise three times and turn the cup upside down, sometimes dumping the leaves onto the saucer.
Reading tea leaves to divine the future has been practiced all over the world for centuries. From Asia to the Middle East, some form of tasseography, as it’s known, has been performed using tea leaves or coffee grounds.
In ancient Rome, the Empress Livia Drusilla is said to have incubated a chicken’s egg using her own body heat, believing that the gender of the chick would predict the gender of her own unborn child.
The significance of the pea dates back to Norse mythology. One legend says that Thor wanted to punish mankind so he sent tons of peas to clog and pollute the wells and water sources. However, a few were dropped on the ground in the process, and peas started to grow on Earth.
The spread of this mystical practice throughout Europe has been linked to the Romani people. Romani fortune tellers would go door to door to offer their services, and were often invited to tea rooms to read the fortunes of the patrons.
The famous Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a poem on the subject called ‘Hallowe’en’ in 1785. It also references the practice of pulling oat stalks, which can inform whether or not the person in question will lose their virginity before marriage.
It’s not entirely known where this tradition came from, but it’s thought to be linked to the Scottish tradition of "kaling." This practice involved walking into a field of kale (a close relation to the cabbage) blindfolded around midnight on Halloween, when the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest.
In centuries past, the average person didn’t have access to crystal balls or looking glasses. They did, however, have access to vegetables! This is why so many of the superstitious traditions that developed amongst common people were based around simple, accessible food stuffs.
In the past, Halloween in the US started with a trick and finished with a treat. The night before Halloween was known as "Cabbage Night," and involved the mass plundering of cabbages!
How exactly do kale stalks tell us about the person we’re going to marry? According to this old Scottish tradition, the size and shape of the stalks indicate the size and shape of their beloved–short or tall, thick or thin! If there is earth still clinging to the stalk, this suggests that they’ll be wealthy. You can also split the stalk and taste it to guess their temperament. Is it bitter or sweet?
In Ireland, people still practice a more light-hearted form of prediction by hiding objects in food.
There are certain symbols to look out for when reading tea leaves. For example, if you spot the shape of an angel, this means you’ll receive good news. A circle indicates love or a wedding, a crescent moon means change is coming, and a bird suggests that there will be reason to travel soon.
The reading usually begins with the leaves closest to the rim of the cup, as these patterns will tell of events in the near future. As you get closer to the center, the symbols start to predict events further in the future.
Tasseography was first practiced in countries where tea grows and countries that were along the first tea trade routes. Modern tea leaf reading began in the 17th century when tea was first introduced to Europe from China.
Another way to use nuts to predict your luck in love is to throw a hazelnut onto a fire. If it bursts, that’s a sign of trouble on the horizon. If it doesn’t, you can expect harmony in your relationship.
Another old fortune-telling method practiced in the UK was the burning of various kinds of nuts. For example, you can take two chestnuts and roast them side by side over a fire. If they roll away from each other, this is a bad sign for love! If they stay in place, it’s a good omen for marriage.
Cromniomancy is a form of divination that uses the humble onion and has been practiced for centuries. One of the most popular methods is used to obtain guidance on matters of the heart. If you’re torn between two lovers, take an onion for each of them. The onion that sprouts first is the one you should choose.
In Germany, there’s an old New Year’s Eve tradition of making a sort of calendar out of an onion. Cut 12 slices of onion and set out one for each month. Sprinkle the slices with salt and see how much moisture appears on each one. The months with the most moisture will have the most rain that year!
One way to practice divination with an apple is to carefully peel the skin in one long piece. Drop it to the floor and see what shape it takes–it should resemble a letter which is the letter of your true love's first name.
In the 19th century, the results of the game were believed to reveal details about your future spouse. However, the history of apples in divination goes back a lot farther than that. They feature heavily in Greek mythology, and, of course, the Bible.
The tradition was to steal a cabbage in order to get the trick out of the way, so that Halloween night would be filled with treats.
Mysticism and New Age spirituality are on the rise. Astrology is a fundamental part of the Gen X vocabulary these days, and the market for crystals and tarot cards is booming across all age groups. We love our aesthetic witchcore trinkets, but some of the most valuable mystical objects can actually be found in the kitchen. From tea leaves to eggs, there are countless food products that have been used to tell fortunes for centuries. It was often the less-glamorous staples that became the foundations of such magical practices and traditions, simply because they were easily available.
Curious? Then click through the following gallery to find out all about the magical history of certain foods and how to use them to predict the future.
Kitchen magic: predicting the future using food
Kitchen divination has a lengthy history in cultures around the world
LIFESTYLE Mysticism
Mysticism and New Age spirituality are on the rise. Astrology is a fundamental part of the Gen X vocabulary these days, and the market for crystals and tarot cards is booming across all age groups. We love our aesthetic witchcore trinkets, but some of the most valuable mystical objects can actually be found in the kitchen. From tea leaves to eggs, there are countless food products that have been used to tell fortunes for centuries. It was often the less-glamorous staples that became the foundations of such magical practices and traditions, simply because they were easily available.
Curious? Then click through the following gallery to find out all about the magical history of certain foods and how to use them to predict the future.