What Tongues Reveal
I’ve never been one to believe too much in palm readings. Between TikTok psychics and Etsy witches, anything a bit too “woo-woo” is not my taste—especially when they tell me things I don’t really want to hear (like that Virgos, my sun sign, are entering a two-year cycle of bad luck). So when I was presented with the chance to get a tongue reading, I approached it with the same skepticism.
Though tongue readings have been making the rounds on TikTok with videos amassing millions of likes, they are deeply rooted in Chinese culture and traditional medicine. According to research published by the journal Medicine Acupuncture, the earliest recorded account of tongue readings was in 1341 during the Yuan Dynasty, via a medical text called Scholar Ao’s Gold Mirror and Tongue Reflections. The text was later recirculated in 1654 and contained 36 illustrations of varied tongue conditions. Though this exact system is not still used today, it provided the foundation for modern-day readings.
“The tongue is one of the oldest and most visible biomarkers of health,” says Lulu Ge, herbalist and founder of Elix, a TCM-based holistic herbal supplements brand. “Before there were Fitbits and Oura rings, doctors would look at your tongue.”
On the day of my first reading with Julie Predki-Weber, a board-certified herbalist and TCM practitioner, I feared that every unhealthy decision I’d made in the weeks prior would come back to haunt me. I thought, Will she be able to tell that I skipped the gym last week? Or that I should eat more vegetables? Drink less caffeine? To my surprise, after examining my tongue, she simply asked if I had been feeling stressed or anxious. I’d known that these feelings were bubbling below the surface, but just hearing her ask that question felt like a confirmation. It was like she saw through the “everything’s okay” facade I was hiding behind, which slightly helped me to relax. I responded, “Well, yes. Isn’t everybody? How did you know?” She pointed to the redness at the tip and informed me it reflected what is referred to as “heart heat,” a signifier of emotional distress. “Generally, redness on the tongue is a sign of heat or inflammation somewhere in the body,” says Saher Hussaini, founder of SYI Acupuncture in New York City. “Someone experiencing stomach heat could present with congestion, acne, or acid reflux.”
Hungry for more information and confirmation of my previous diagnosis, I went for a second reading with Hussaini. This time, before she examined me, we went through a series of questions to assess my health and lifestyle. We walked through everything from stress management and sleeping habits to diet and emotional well-being, all of which provided her with a foundation to accurately administer a diagnosis. Upon her examination, Hussaini’s findings were mostly consistent with Weber’s, confirming that my tongue showed signs that my body and mind were stressed. An accurate diagnosis indeed.
According to Lulu and Saher, the tongue acts as a map of the body representing different internal organs. It’s similar to reflexology and how pressing on the ears, hands, and feet prompts relaxation and pain relief. During my reading, Hussaini mentioned that the sides of my tongue appeared slightly swollen, indicating stagnation in my liver. This could manifest as irritability, anxiety, and even headaches, all side effects of the stress that she and Weber had previously pointed out.
Using what are known as the Eight Principles, a diagnostic framework that analyzes patterns of disharmony in the body, practitioners like Hussaini are able to potentially identify illnesses, physical and emotional ailments, and guide treatment, as they correspond to the color, texture, moisture level, coating, size, and shape of the tongue. “Internal versus external, hot versus cold, yin versus yang or the balance of the body’s energy, and excess or deficiency,” Hussaini shares.
But while no tongues are exactly alike, the perfect one actually does exist. A healthy tongue is defined as one that is pink, with a full-bodied oval shape, and a thin white coat. “Do you remember the old Snapchat dog filter that would stick out its tongue and lick the screen? It looks a lot like that,” Hussaini says. “It sounds funny but there are really ones that look like that.” A perfect tongue, though, doesn’t necessarily indicate perfect health; more so, it is a sign of healthy digestion and a balanced internal system.
Hormonal imbalances, something which can be hard to exhibit externally in women, can even be analyzed using tongue color. “For many women who have severe period pains, clots, or endometriosis, you’d notice a purple color as a symbol of blood stagnation or improper blood circulation,” Ge says. “In people with an irregular cycle or potentially PCOS, you might see a paler tongue which suggests a deficiency or maybe a cold in the body.”
Size and shape are also equally as telling, according to a 2024 article published by EBSCO. A thin tongue could suggest a lack of vital fluids and a yin deficiency, which can manifest as dry skin or fatigue. A swollen one, reflects a spleen Qi, or splenic energy deficiency, which results in a sluggish metabolism and fluid retention or bloating. “In Chinese medicine, your spleen is the organ that helps you transform food into nutrients, and if that process is working properly, it leads to bloating in your stomach, which then leads to a bloated tongue,” Ge adds.
Since my readings, I’ve examined my own tongue almost every time I look in a mirror—it’s hard not to. It has made it much easier for me to slow down and check in with myself about how my body is feeling. Now, if I notice any swelling, redness, or dusky, purple color, it could prompt me to check in with a doctor or TCM practitioner to see if there are things I should pay closer attention to in my day-to-day life. So no, you won’t be able to tell your future with a tongue reading, but you can learn a lot more about yourself than any TikTok psychic can teach you.
