From the "Law and Magic" blog, I found the following hilarious entry:
"I was poking around, looking for an update on that storyabout the fellow who got Italian store clerks to turn over money to him by using hypnosis, and came across this story about Jemima Packington, who lives in Worcestershire, who throws asparagus on the floor (or, I suppose any flat surface would do--why not?) and who then uses the patterns the stalks make to tell fortunes. She calls herself an "asparamancer," a word that as far as I can tell she seems to have invented, along with her fortune telling technique. She made an appearance at the recent British Asparagus Festival to predict attendees' futures, so her asparagus future seems to be sprouting. She says foreign asparagus doesn't work as well as the homegrown kind for divination.
Now, according to Charles MacKay's Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, asparagus tied in a bundle can predict something. "Asparagus, gathered and tied up in bundles, is an omen of tears. If you see it growing in your dreams, it is a sign of good fortune."
I've heard of using tea leaves and coffee grounds (tasseography), but I've never heard of using this particular vegetable, although as I say, Charles MacKay mentions it, so it's got a history as a symbol of some kind of future meaning."
