Quote:
Originally Posted by
SilverTiger 
“Selina made a good comparison, in saying elaeomancy is much like tasseomancy. Reading the designs or symbols that are made upon a certain action, whether it is draining a cup of tea or pouring oil onto the surface of a bowl of water,” she said then. A lot of the branches of Divination were interconnected anyhow. “Why do you think it is possible to have any symbols created, however vague they may be, by pouring oil onto water?” That was an entirely scientific question, but it was a valid one before they moved on to actually, possibly trying to see if they could do a reading or two. Understanding how things worked sometimes helped in understanding the magical properties, at least in her mind.
Under normal conditions, as we know, oil and water don't mix.
Different in shape and structure of molecules "just don't like" each other. There are terms such as loving water or oil, fear of water and oil, respectively. So how much do mix oil with water like making friends, creating a stable emulsion, - they cannot always be the flake.
They become mixed in this situation are by emulsifiers. The molecules of these substances have a "lovely" chemical structure.