Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling: Divining with Tarot, Palmistry, Tea Leaves, and More

by Paulina Stevens, Jezmina Von Thiele

Shares the knowledge and personal experiences of being raised to be fortune-tellers, providing tips on how to emulate the professional polish that Roma have perfected over the centuries.  

“Welcome to Romanistan: We’re Your Friendly Neighborhood Gypsies.”  

In Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling, Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiel introduce the history of the Romani people and their infamous relationship to fortune-telling. They share divination methods, tools, and techniques that have been created, adapted, or popularized by the Roma, including card reading, palmistry, dream divination, and tea leaf and coffee reading. They also share exercises to strengthen your intuition and discover your natural gifts and explain how divination helps with shadow work, blockages, and self-awareness.  

Fortune-telling is both a job and a spiritual practice for Roma. The authors, cohosts of the Romanistan podcast, share their knowledge from their own personal experiences of being raised to be fortune-tellers, providing tips on how to emulate the professional polish that Roma have perfected over the centuries, as well as guidance for reading for clients with acumen and cultural awareness.  

Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling also features additional resources, enabling readers to further explore Romani culture and spiritual practices.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2024

Reviews

[Linda Raedisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Llewellyn and Weiser are, I'm pretty sure, the two oldest "new age" publishers in America. I'm a Llewellyn author, and this is a Weiser book, and I loved it! I wasn't surprised; I've been listening to the authors' Romanistan Podcast for a couple of years, and I've listened to the LA Times' Foretold Podcast, which features a portion of Paulina's life and custody battle. I was so sure I'd like this book--and that it would be an important book--that I chose it for my book group before I'd read even the first pages--something I've never done before! And I was not disappointed! That's not to say I wasn't surprised at times, e.g. Paulina's discussion of sacred geometry; Jezmina's statement that "Some of my first clients were horses" (my favorite story in the book!). What surprised me the most were my reactions to what I read and what I learned. When my book arrived, I skipped first to the chapter, "How to Deal with Skeptics," because I considered myself one. I had a chance once, years ago, at a birthday party, to have a free reading with a "psychic." I don't know if she was Romani. She was young and pretty and dressed very sensibly, and I declined my free reading because I was afraid she would tell me things I didn't want to hear. So, yeah, I'm obviously not much of a skeptic! What this book helped me realize is that "fortune-telling" isn't so much about seeing the future, it's about advising. Well-informed clients go to fortune-tellers because they've come to a fork in the road and they want some clear advice about which one to take. A lot of what Jez and Paulina do is common sense, psychology, and intuition, but yeah, there's probably something bigger at work there, too. If you want to tap into that something, this book will help you get started, and for those readers, this would probably be a five-star read. I gave it four only because I wanted more life stories and anecdotes, but that's just me.
As Paulina puts it, ". . . you are not reading any old divination book. You're reading a Romani one." It was the Romani aspects of their practice, and how they came to be, that interested me most. To be clear, these authors do not live in a void. They're very much of this world--even Paulina, who grew up in a pretty super traditional American Romani family--and while Romani tradition continues to inform much of non-Romani fortune-telling, the authors freely borrow from other traditions and from psychology.
I don't know if I'll actually try any of these practices, but if I do, it will definitely be the tea leaf reading. Because TEA! (I loved their list of Questions We Get re: tasseomancy, e.g. "What if I can't drink it all? Can I pour some out?" Answer: "It's just a cup. You can drink it all. Just drink it. You're supposed to drink it."
Here's some more stuff I learned that I didn't know: that really icky stuff about Charles Leland and the Gypsy Lore Society; how anti-fortune-telling laws were made (and are still enforced/on the books) specifically to target minorities; that "Gypsy tea rooms" were all the rage in the 1920s and 30s. The authors get extra points for mentioning Pamela Colman Smith, unsung heroine of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck (though I would have liked a mention of Sinti artist Walter Wegmueller's psychedelic tarot deck, too), and for crediting the Oromo people specifically, and not just "Ethiopia" for the origins of coffee culture.
In a nutshell, if you want to respectfully incorporate Romani practices into your own, this book is indispensable. (If your practice is firmly and exclusively grounded in your own inherited non-Western tradition, e.g. you're a Roadman or a Korean shaman, you probably don't need this book, though you could certainly read it out of curiosity) Most especially, this book is for those non-Romani fortune-tellers who realize the debt they owe to Romani culture but don't know how to or feel uncomfortable about acknowledging it. Let Jez and Paulina show you the way, kindly and with humor.

[Sarah Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jezmina von Thiele has been reading my tarot cards and tea leaves for 20 years; she has predicted significant events and guided me through life's challenges. Naturally I was very curious about her gift so I purchased her book! This is a fantastic read- it's a journey through Romani traditions that both reveal and nourish the self. Jezmina and Paulina illuminate different fortune-telling methods through the lens of history, psychology, and spirituality. The writing itself is smooth, descriptive, and a pleasure to read. I highly recommend this book and have already ordered another copy as my aunt's Christmas gift!

[Via Luino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling is part memoir, part historical accounting, and part instruction guide for those interested in divination. With brief but enthralling descriptions, this book approaches both the history of the Romani people and various methods of fortune telling in clear cut, easily understood ways. With sections on dream interpretation, palmistry, tarot cards, tea leaves, advice on running your own fortune telling business, and more, this book is a fantastic resource and a must-read for all!

[Jennifer Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend reading this book. I really loved learning about the history and heritage as well as the different aspects of divination. The book is broken down to cover different forms of divination and is written in a way that makes it very easy to understand for beginners. I have already started using some of the techniques shared for meditation and my daily practice has improved significantly. I have spent six months reading, listening and watching videos on how to read tarot cards and came away more confused than when I started. After reading this book I have a better grasp on tarot because it is taught in a simplified manner to help a novice like me.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for book club - I’d never given much thought to fortune-telling before now. Was very interested to hear it’s a blend of meditation, literary/art criticism (all those symbols!), psychology, spirituality and even counseling. It’s definitely more of an art and less of a scam as I previously thought, although obviously you’d want to choose your reader carefully. Everyone could benefit from reading the chapter How To Be Convincing.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone with Romani ancestry, I'm always seeking more information. I love their podcast and had high hopes for the book--and it delivered! Can't wait for them to organize the Romani Fest they were planning in New Orleans--and write more books too.

[Stephanie Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted and tabbed a book more! This was so interesting and informative. I’m so grateful that Jezmina and Paulina decided to write this. I just started listening to their podcast too!

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so happy Jezmina and Paulina wrote this book. Highly highly recommend!!!

[cagedpopmachine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic for beginner fortune tellers, and still some gems for more experienced folks to learn how folks from other cultures do divination. Wonderfully inclusive and straightforward.

[Chris Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, empathetic, and fascinating reflection on culture, spirituality, and life

[fren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can better appreciate the art of fortune telling.

The book had lots of personality gaining insight into how each reader (authors) 's vision/style came to be from their upbringing.