Cicely Kent

Cicely Kent is best known as the author of Telling Fortunes by Tea Leaves, a practical guide to tasseography that was first published in 1922 and later preserved by Project Gutenberg. She is also credited with Telling Fortunes by Cards, another handbook on popular fortune-telling methods.

Very little reliable biographical information about her appears to be widely available today. What can be confirmed from accessible sources is her connection to a small group of early 20th-century books that introduced readers to everyday forms of divination in a clear, usable style.

That scarcity of personal detail gives her work an extra layer of mystery. Even so, her books have endured because they capture a long-running fascination with symbols, chance, and the idea that meaning can be found in ordinary rituals like sharing tea or laying out cards.