New- In Memory of Jerik Danerson


Jerik E. Danerson

 
Master Palmist and Tarot Reader of Jackson Square in New Orleans for over 30 years.


Wiccan Priest and Pagan Elder, Teacher and Writer, was a good friend to many. This page is in construction, and is being put together in honor of his contributions to Pagan communities and the world at large, by being a kind and principled man.




~ LINKS ~
Notes from Jerik on Moon Signs in Daily Effect


Jerik had a particular fondness for Norse Pagan teachings, and was both a Pagan Elder and a Wiccan High Priest in his community. 

One Appropriate piece of Norse literature to read may be
the epic is known as “The Words of the High One” or the poetic Edda, which is of very old origins.
It is basically the words and advice of the Norse God Odin-
much of which seems to be very down to earth and still apply today.

“The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.”



Sidewalk Saints


PHOTO FROM SIDEWALK SAINTS,OF JERIK DANERSON
CONDUCTING HIS FREQUENT SHORT PUBLIC INTRODUCTION TO PALMISTRY.


       Many thanks to Jim Flynn, author of a great book about the street performers of New Orleans, in which Jerik spoke a little bit about his life as a street performer in his book , "Sidewalk Saints" ,by Jim Flynn, which tells the stories of many prominent figures in the New Orleans Street Performer Family. The book can be ordered from the above link, and the companion website for the book can be found here: http://www.sidewalksaints.com/


JERIK'S INTERVIEW FROM SIDEWALK SAINTS

"Jerik from New Orleans", p 42-45 from Sidewalk Saints by Jim Flynn

       In my young manhood in Hollywood, California, I was in a coffee shop and I saw a man who reminded me of Merlin doing exactly what I do now. I wandered over and asked him how he learned how to do it. His exact first words to me were "Oh dear Gods, it's the sorcerer's apprentice, I can smell them coming every time." He was a hard ass, but he taught me well. After a year of apprenticeship he said, "My curse on you is that you will become me. Someone will come up to you and say that's fascinating. Where did you learn to do that? And the cycle will begin all over again." Sure enough his prophesy came true. In the thirty-five years I've spent as a reader on Jackson Square, I've taught more than a few other people how to do this.

       One of the biggest misconceptions about what I do is that people think I can tell the future. I'm not a fortune teller. There's nothing paranormal about palmistry, it's a rote skill like reading a map. The hand is a microcosm of a human personality. When I read a hand, I'm just sharing the benefit of my forty-one years of education in palmistry. Believe it or not I actually wrote a masters thesis on palmistry. I've even taught classes on palmistry at community colleges. Fortunately I make more money on Jackson Square than I did teaching college. When you're a widower with six daughters to raise you have to do what you can to make ends meet. I feel fortunate that I've been able to accomplish that doing something I enjoy.

       Another misconception about the readers in the Square is that we're all hustlers. Sure there are some charlatans that do take advantage of the tourists, but the only person who sits in my chair is the one who wants to be there. I don't beckon people.It's karmically clean, because I do my readings by donation. I make it an exchange of gifts, the reading is my gift to them. What they put in the box is their gift tome. If they're not satisfied with their reading I wouldn't accept a twenty from them. I actually have ethics.

       Mostly I'm an entertainer. That's what I have to offer four out of five people who sit down in my chair. But for that fifth person whose looking for something deeper, I try to offer sound advice on the matter of living. Mostly it's about common sense. When someone asks me advice on something, I'm not pulling it out of the beyond, I'm pulling it out of my life. Say your having a problem with your daughter. having raised six daughters, I don't need a Tarot deck to give you advice about it.

       I suppose I'm something like a psychologist. Carl Jung actually wrote three essays on the Tarot in which he said the cards are nothing more than seventy-eight archetypes for the collective subconscious. When you shuffle the cards, your connection to the collective subconscious is setting the pattern. All the reader does is interpret them. I don't feel that the cards are all knowing. What do you expect from seventy-eight pieces of printed card stock? When somebody comes to me and says they think that their Grandmother is trying to contact them from the dead, I tell them that my cell phone doesn't reach that far. You've come to the least mystical reader on Jackson Square.

       Basically I offer people a mirror of confirmation. Half the time the people already know the answers to their questions themselves. But here I am, a complete stranger saying yes you should hold out for the college of your choice. Yes, you should pick that as your career path. I just give them a little inspiration to follow through on their decisions. Do you remember the story of Walt Disney's Dumbo? Now Dumbo could fly because he had large ears, but the only reason he believed it was because Timothy the Mouse gave him a magic feather.

       Probably one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of working out here in the Square is that I'm constantly talking with the street kids. Forty years ago, I was a street kid myself. I know what it's like to travel in a boxcar and hitchhike. A lot of these kids come from dysfunctional homes, so they look to me to play that parental role. They call me Daddy Bear.

       Actual Conversation:

       Heather*: Daddy Bear, you don't need some help out here setting up your table?

       Jerik: I've got all the help I need. This is not a high impact job.

       Heather: I'm supposed to be working for Jazz fest, temporary of course, but I want something permanent.

       Jerik: What kind of job would you like?

       Heather: CAD. Computer Assisted Design.

       Jerik: You're probably not going to find that on Jackson Square.

       Heather: I don't come out here that much.

       Jerik: You're missing my point. If that's your dream it's not going to be under the park bench over there darling. If you go back to school and study computer assisted design, get a degree in it, that would be the ticket to your dream, honey. You're not going to find it in the squat. You're not going to find it on the park bench. You're not going to find it with people smoking catnip on the river. If you want to make change in your life, you have to be the active participant. The other part is like waiting for the Easter Bunny or the Fairy Godmother. They don't exist.

       Heather: I know.

       Jerik: Well Well you would think that some people think that they do because they just sit there wishing their whole lives.

       Heather: You think I could really go to college?

       Jerik: That's not a difficult question, Heather. The answer is yes.

       I'm glad you got to see my little interview with Heather. That's why they call me the Godfather of Jackson Square, which is funny, because I never planned on being an old person. But honestly over the past thirty five years, as much as this place has changed, it's still basically the same place. We had street kids then. We have street kids now. We had drunk tourists then. We have drunk tourists now. It's still probably one of the best places in the world to go and interact with all types of human beings. I just hope they don't put a fence around it and start charging admission.

*alias  

This is Jerik's Sidewalk Saints Page, with that great photo of him reading on the Square:

     Check back, an audio version of this interview will be added soon. :-) Thanks again, to Jim Flynn for letting us share  Jerik's interview here.

JERIK'S MEMORIAL FUND

Sadly, our friend Jerik did not receive a proper  send off. He was buried in a pauper's grave after a long wait, by the city of New Orleans. Some of his friends are trying to take the issue before the city, so that a ceremony more appropriate to honor Jerik might be performed. We are also in the process of trying to gather and make Jerik's writing appropriately available, as he asked us to do directly while he was still alive. If anyone would like to help us in this process, feel free to make a donation. Your gift will be used towards a proper memorial for Jerik and the preservation of his life's work. 



Pay Pal donations for Jerik's Memorial





     For those that would like to visit Jerik's Grave, this is the address, and if you come durring office hours the staff will help you find it.  A map can be seen at http://jerik.thewanderinggod.com.

Resthaven Memorial Park
10400 Old Gentilly Rd
Panel M, Lot 8
New Orleans, LA 70129



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