Romanistan
The authors of Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling present: Romanistan! Do you love rebels? Do you want to live in a place where outcasts shine their brightest? Welcome to Romanistan! We're your friendly neighborhood Gypsies, celebrating Romani identity and outcast culture, and practicing good diplomatic relations with other marginalized communities.
We love the rebels who are living their truth, even if it clashes with tradition. We also love tradition and honoring our roots. This podcast is for everyone who loves and supports Roma & related groups, and anyone who feels like a misfit and wants to uplift others to create a beautiful community.
We feature pioneers in culture, fashion, art, literature, music, activism, cuisine, and everything good. We adore the intersections of gender, sexuality, spirituality, ability, and identity. We cover all topics, from the difficult to the glorious. Let's sit crooked and talk straight.
Hosted by Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele. We reclaim the slur Gypsy, but if you aren’t Romani, we prefer you don't use it. xoxo.
P.S. The Romani people are a diasporic ethnic group originally from northwest India, circa the 10th century. Now, Roma live all over the globe, and due to centuries of oppression, slavery, genocide, and other atrocities, Roma are still fighting for basic human rights. We seek to raise awareness of who Roma are, and highlight Romani resilience, creativity, & culture.
Episodes
143 episodes
Stop Fearing Your Finances with Krista McLellan, Bookkeeper and Business Coach
If you've ever sat at the kitchen table staring at a pile of bills, wondering how hard you're working and still feeling behind, Krista McLellan knows exactly how that feels. Widowed and raising children on her own, she rebuilt her life by learn...
Tarot for August 2026
We pull three tarot cards for an August 2026 forecast for love, money, and guidance, and land on a deeply down-to-earth theme: love gets sweeter when it’s playful in daily life, and abundance grows when we handle the practical stuff. We talk ca...
Fortune Telling On Trial: Beck Ravenswood of The Serpent's Key
A police chief sees a Facebook post about tarot readings and decides to enforce a law from 1861. Beck Ravenswood walks us their legal nightmare through after opening The Serpent’s Key, a metaphysical shop in Hanover, Pennsylvania. We trace how ...
July 2026 Tarot
We pull tarot for July 2026 and get real about the challenges ahead, from relationship conflict to money pressure to the need for a major perspective shift. We share practical ways to stay grounded, ask better questions, take financial action w...
Rootless: a Romani and South-Asian fusion band
Rootless are a Glasgow-based collective of Romani and Indian musicians united by a shared mission: to honour the deep historical bond between Roma and Indian cultures through music. The band was created by producer Janos and Sodhi, drawn togeth...
June 2026 Tarot
We pull three tarot cards for June and use them as a grounded forecast for love, money, and the kind of leadership that actually changes your day-to-day life. Along the way, we get honest about raising your standards, reframing grief as an exte...
Secrets of Romani Tarot Q&A
You have tarot questions and we have answers! We did this Q&A as a little extra research for our second book, Secrets of Romani Tarot, out next year, and our tarot deck, Romanistan Tarot, out the year after. Tell us what y...
May 2026 Tarot Reading
You're invited to our to a free Tarot Q&A on May 4 at 5 pm pst/ 8 pm est over Zoom, then we pull the cards for May...
Jeanette Kerttu on Romani Women's Magical Practices
Jeanette Kerttu is a Romani (Kalderash) scholar and teacher of religion based in Sweden. She holds a Master’s degree in Religious Studies, with a specialization in esotericism, historical magic, occult traditions, and so-called rejected knowled...
April 2026 Tarot Reading
We pulled some tarot cards for April 2026 and get practical about patience in love, creativity around money, and what conflict reveals when the world feels tense. We weigh reciprocity, emotional spending patterns, and the kind of local communit...
Mark Baillie on his novel, Salvage
Mark Baillie’s debut novel Salvage was published by Tippermuir Books in 2024 and featured in Book Week Scotland’s debut showcase. Mark’s short fiction has appeared in Livina Press, Analogies and Allegories Literary Journal, Zin Daily and Bubble...
Tarot Guidance for March
We pull cards for March—Three of Cups for love, Nine of Pentacles for money, Six of Pentacles for guidance—and map out how friendship-first relationships, receptive wealth, and mutual aid shape the month. Come hang out with us and get some guid...
Mina Rose of Cargo Faërie: Music, Art, Dance, and Magic
Mina Rose is a Romani and Jamaican interdisciplinary artist, singer-songwriter, and flamenco dancer. A descendant of Urania Boswell, Queen of Kent Gypsies, she carries forward a lineage of musicians and storytellers, grounding her creative prac...
Your Reading for February 2026 (plus exciting announcement)!
Five years in and season 6 begins with a fiery tarot spread for February—Three of Wands for money, Queen of Wands for love, and King of Wands for guidance. We link values-based spending, mutual aid, and creative resilience to practical action w...
Tarot for the week of January 26, 2026
We walk through a weekly tarot spread that blends practical care, focused ambition, and playful growth. The Knights push action in love and money while the Page invites curiosity, resilience, and creative risks without losing ground.• K...
Tarot for the week of January 19, 2025
We read the Seven of Swords for love, the Queen of Cups for money, and the Tower for guidance, drawing a straight line from gut truth to financial flow to necessary change. We share practical steps to spot red flags, invite abundance, and stay ...
THROUGH THE FOREST with Jennifer Silva, Episode 8: JEZEBEL, featuring Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele of ROMANISTAN
Listen to Through the Forest Podcast with Jennifer Silva wherever you get podcasts! We were honored to be guests for episode 8 where we discussed our work and the archetype of story of
Tarot for the week of January 12, 2026
A fiery, creative week invites bold love and shared projects, while money asks for caution and health asks for care. We weigh choices, trim what drains, and protect the energy that keeps everything moving.• Queen of Wands as a cue for a...
Magda Matache: The Permanence of Anti-Roma Racism (Un)uttered Sentences
We’re here to celebrate the release of Dr. Matache’s new book, The Permanence of Anti-Roma Racism (Un)uttered Sentences<...
Tarot for the week of January 5, 2026
A three-card New Year spread invites honest feeling, value-based money choices, and bold hope. We read Five of Cups for love, Justice for money, and The Star for guidance, then share community updates and a ritual to reset your year.• F...
Tarot for the week December 29, 2025
We read Three of Cups, The Chariot, and Ace of Cups to close the year with joy, direction, and heart. We celebrate community, map real money moves, and ground everything in boundaries and healing while naming the reality of anti‑Roma hate and h...
Tarot for the week of December 22, 2025
We pull three cards for the week—Ace of Pentacles, Six of Swords, and the Tower—and turn them into clear steps for steady love, smart money moves, and liberating boundaries. Foundations get built, routes get chosen, and old stories meet the mat...
Tarot for the week of December 15, 2026
We have our weekly tarot reading for love, money, and guidance. Conflict becomes clarifying, money becomes stable, and boundaries point to a fuller life.• details for donation-based