When I was a little boy, some of my favorite memories happened at our kitchen table.
Women would come to visit my mom, Angela: friends, neighbors, my aunts. Mom would put on a pot of coffee, and they’d sit and talk for hours. But I knew the real magic happened when the cups were almost empty.
Each woman would finish her coffee, make a wish, and turn her cup upside down on the saucer. Then everyone would go quiet while my mom picked it up and looked inside.
I’d stand on my tiptoes, trying to see what she saw. To me, it looked like coffee grounds. To my mom, it was a whole story.
“To my mom, the grounds in a cup were never just grounds. They were a story waiting to be noticed.”
The baby in the cup
One afternoon, Mom turned over a friend’s cup and smiled. She tilted it so we could all see. The grounds had formed the clear shape of a tiny baby.
“There’s a baby coming,” she said. “Very soon.”
Not long after, the news arrived. A baby was on the way.
The heart and the ring
Another afternoon, a neighbor knocked on our door in tears. She and her longtime boyfriend had just had a terrible fight, and she was ready to give up on the relationship for good.
Mom didn’t say much at first. She sat her down at the kitchen table and poured her a cup of coffee. When the cup was nearly empty, Mom asked her to make a wish and turn it over.
Then she lifted the cup and went quiet. Right there in the grounds were a heart and, just beside it, a ring.
Mom looked at her and said, “Don’t give up yet. Give it one more chance.”
Three months later, they were engaged. She came running over to tell my mom, still amazed. “It was right there in my cup,” she kept saying. “It was right there the whole time.”
That’s how it went, week after week. Engagements, new jobs, news from far away, and messages from loved ones who had passed. The women would gasp, laugh, and sometimes cry. I watched it all, and even then, I knew my mom had a gift.
Looking back, those coffee mornings were some of my first lessons in what Spirit can do. You can read more about my mom, Angela, and the gifts she shares.
How my mom taught me to read a cup
You don’t need a special set of cards or years of experience to try reading your coffee cup. You need a little patience, a quiet moment, and an open mind.
Here’s how to try it at home, the way I learned at that kitchen table:
- Make coffee with grounds left in. Unfiltered coffee, like Greek or Turkish coffee, works best. You want a little thick sediment at the bottom.
- Choose a plain, light-colored cup. A pale cup makes the dark grounds easier to see.
- Sip slowly and focus on a question or wish. You might have something specific on your mind, or you might simply want to see what catches your attention. Leave a little coffee and grounds at the bottom.
- Place the saucer over the cup. Make your wish, then turn the cup over onto the saucer, toward you.
- Give the grounds a few minutes to settle. Let the cup rest so the remaining grounds can leave patterns along the sides.
- Lift the cup and look. Before you search for a symbol guide, notice what jumps out at you first.
What do you see before you have time to second-guess yourself? That first impression is a good place to begin.
Where the shapes appear
There isn’t one universal way to read every cup. My mom taught me to look at where the shapes appear and consider how they connect with the person’s question and the rest of the pattern.
- Near the rim: Something connected to the present or coming soon.
- Along the sides: Something developing in the near future, or a situation still unfolding.
- At the bottom: Something further away, deep-rooted, or connected to the past.
Treat these as a way to organize the story, not a strict calendar. A shape near the rim may feel immediate, while one at the bottom may point to something that has been sitting with you for a while. The cup’s handle can also help you orient yourself: some readers use it to represent the person holding the cup or their home and closest surroundings.
Common shapes and what they can suggest
Symbols don’t have to look perfect. A bird might be only a few strokes of grounds, and a heart might be a shape you notice only after turning the cup slightly. Look at the whole picture, and pay attention to what the symbol brings up for you.
- Bird: A message, news, or something on the move.
- Ring: Commitment, a promise, or a relationship milestone.
- Heart: Love, affection, or an important emotional connection.
- Baby: A new beginning, fresh possibility, or, as in my mom’s reading, a baby on the way.
- Road or path: A journey, a choice, or movement toward something new.
- Tree: Family, roots, growth, or something that takes time to flourish.
- Key: A solution, a new opportunity, or a door opening.
- Flower: A joyful moment, kindness, or something worth celebrating.
The same shape can mean something different depending on what surrounds it. A road beside a bird might suggest news connected to a journey. A heart near a ring may bring relationships or commitment to mind. Let the shapes speak together instead of treating each one like a separate answer.
Trust what you notice
The first time you read your own cup, you may wonder whether you’re seeing something real or simply looking too hard. Don’t be scared if the shapes aren’t obvious. You’re learning to observe, and you don’t need to get everything “right” for the experience to be meaningful.
Your intuition is the real gift. Start with what you notice, ask yourself what it reminds you of, and let the rest come naturally. You may see a bird and think of someone who has been trying to reach you. You may see a path and realize you’re already considering a change. That moment of recognition is part of the reading.
And remember, you don’t have to make a major life decision based on a shape in a cup. Use the experience as a gentle prompt to reflect, listen to yourself, and stay open to the moments and messages that matter to you.
Join me and my mom for a special reading
People often ask whether my mom and I ever read together. We do, once a year, and it’s a special chance to experience our gifts side by side.
On Friday, October 30, at 8:30 PM EST, my mom and I are hosting our once-a-year dual mediumship event. For two hours, we’ll give readings side by side: my mediumship and her psychic insight, her tea leaves and her cards. You can join us from anywhere.
It’s almost sold out, so if you’d like to spend that evening with us, reserve your seat here.
Maybe you’ll even get to see a cup read live, the way I watched it from my tiptoes at that kitchen table all those years ago.
And if you want to go further on your own path, you can join one of my online readings or see where I’m appearing at a live event. If you’d rather learn about heaven, the afterlife, and your own abilities at your own pace, my books and my courses are there for you. Take the next step that feels right for you.
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