The Importance of Elders

In very simple terms an Elder is one who is further up the path, someone who has more life experience as well as seasoned training and many skills in whatever path they walk. In some Pagan traditions what this means is very formalized, and in others it is not. It may be easier to understand what the role of Elder really means by watching the behavior of those you would give that respect and regard.

One such person in my life was Jerik Danerson, who was a master Tarot Reader and Palmist on Jackson Square in New Orleans for over 30 years. He also was a Pagan Elder and fine High Priest, who shared his knowledge and great depth of feeling freely and with love to all who approached with an open mind and heart.



Jerik worked on the square regularly, and while sitting at his Tarot set up spent his days conversing with his colleagues, with friends, clients and visitors to the city. He loved New Orleans very much, and delighted in showing visitors around and telling them about the amazingly interesting history of places in the French Quarter. He always found time to have long and deep talks with people from all walks of life, and frequently gave great kindness to those many people would overlook. He took street kids into his home and would give them a safe place to stay while they got on their feet. In between his readings he could often be found helping his friends sort out their issues with each other; encouraging this couple not to fight, this parent to do the best for their child, these friends to work together on important things, that artistic tourist to follow their heart and learn to paint or do whatever it is that moved them. Jerik was truly a Southern Gentleman; he was gracious in speech, kind in word and deed, loyal in friendship, protective of loved ones, and genuine in his dedication to his spiritual callings. He was a man who regularly found joy in the simple things in life, and even in the most difficult times would look for the good.

He was an incredible writer and a storyteller that I would describe as bardically gifted, and it was a great joy to me that he constantly encouraged me. I am blessed to have known him, to have shared letters with him, and countless nights of wonderful conversations. Jerik meant a great deal more to me than I know how to say. If someones life could be an example of what an Elder is, I think Jerik Danerson is one who should be honored in this regard.

He wrote me an amazing letter once with his story of making it through the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and should you be interested I recommend having a read. You can find it here:

Jerik's Hurricane Katrina Story


Happy Birthday Jerik, I raise my glass and my heart to you!

Divination Tips for Beginners

A list of general things that may help in performing Divination

1. Find a place and a time where you will not be disturbed for the length of your work. It is entirely possible to do a divination accurately in the presence of a lot of people, but that can be a distraction to the ability to concentrate. Especially in the beginning, it will help you to work on divination in a relatively quiet and comfortable place.

2. Practice. Divination uses a particular skill set, and like with any developing set of skills, regular practice will help you get better at it.

3. When learning a particular system it helps to find ways to integrate it in some way into your regular schedule. Make it a habit. If you were studying runes, I would suggest drawing a single rune at the beginning of the day concentrating on a simple current question like "How should I approach this day?". Similar things can be done with the Tarot and other forms of divination.

4. If you are using a system that gives it's answers through a set of already determined symbols, work on learning the meanings of those symbols.

5. Don't be afraid to look everything up in several different books as you begin to read. Do that until you are feeling a stronger sense of the meaning of each card or rune.

6. Pay attention to the way symbols correlate to one another. Different parts of a given system interact with one another in a way that is easier to interpret when you understand how the different parts function. In the suits of the Tarot, for instance, each suit has an elemental correspondence and each number of each suit has a particular function. Overlaying the functions of the numbers on what you know about the elements may tell you more about the meaning of a particular card.

7. Once you are feeling that you have a sense of the meanings of the symbols you are working with, start relying on your intuition more and more. Start interpreting readings by yourself, and then pick up a book about your art and see what it says. Think about the similarities and differences you find.

8. When you find that your own feeling is different than what your books may say, think about it. You may find that you did not understand a particular card or symbol, or that you misremembered one for another. As you practice more and more, that will change into a new level of confidence. You may find that when you get a different sense of a symbol, you are intuiting the meaning of the symbol in direct relation to what you are reading about, and that means that you're getting somewhere.

9. You may wish to do a short period of meditation before you read. It helps to read when feeling comfortable, centered, and focused. Above all, remember that Divination is about looking to the Divine for council. It helps to light a candle and some incense, say a prayer, and do a blessing of the self.

by Nicolette Stevens, Reprintable with credit to and permission of author-
just send me a message and ask.

Welcome to Nicolette's Pagan Salon :-)

Me in Graddfather Oak at Audobon Park, New Orleans

Hello There, whoever happens to stumble through here, hopefully you will find something useful, entertaining and informative in my ramblings here.

I am Nicolette Stevens, a 33 year old Pagan woman who has practiced and studied many forms of Nature Based Spirituality since I was a child. I have been involved in and helped to lead and teach within several different Wiccan Traditions in different communities over the years. Currently most of my paractice is solitary, although I consider myself a member of the Odyssian Wiccan Tradition, which is primarily based in Canada. The tradition I came to work within has a strong emphasis on teaching and sharing useful knowledge, so that it might evolve and continue to be useful in the world and not be lost in some quaint retelling of history. We are the current evolution of mankind, we walk in the footsteps of all the priests and priestess and sages and wise people of other days. As such, we have an obligation to share what we know that it may be useful for future generations as well as for each other present in this world now. The future people of the world will walk in our foossteps, so let us give them clear and vaired beautiful pathways that may in turn help them to grow and evolve in positive spiritual ways.

I am also a professional Tarot Reader by trade; who has been doing readings at stores, parties, festivles, in public and in private for well over a decade. I began to teach myself as a child, before studying at length with an accomplished reader and spiritual teacher who I am blessed to be friends with. She taught me many things which I then experimented with on my own, developing a lot of experiences in different communities across the United States, Canada, and England.

I have taught classes in the past at quaint and quiet local occult stores namely in Michigan, where I grew up. Over the five years I was teaching publically I developed a lot of written material that I used for handouts in my classes, workshops, and discussion groups. My students also put together a wealth of information in reports and reaserch projects I encouraged them to do. It is my intention to share much of that basic material here.

Because it's a blog and the posts will cascade backwards in time, it may read “out of order” and you may want to go through the posts from the beginning.... however, I believe some things, like spiritual seeking and yearning, are timeless. You can probably pick up from anywhere and find something that may be valid or useful to you.

I invite other Priests, Priestesses, and Spiritual Folks of all traditions and backgrounds to comment here, and contribute if you feel so moved. In some things I may be quite proficent, but in others I am only beginning to learn.

That is the nature of this page. We all have something to teach each other, ways in which we could grow, and ways in which we might help others to learn something useful for themselves

Peace, and Blessed Be. The Path is Everywhere- even on the Internet. Welcome to Paganism in the Modern Age.