The Trickster Spirit Guide

In mythology and folklore the "Trickster" is a deity, a legendary being, an animal or nature spirit guide who plays tricks or employs other bemusing behaviors, designed to teach a lesson through the trickery. Sometimes their actions are seemingly malicious, but usually with ultimately beneficial results. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both and they are often funny or satirical, even when performing sacred or other important tasks.

The Trickster is an example of a Jungian Archetype. In modern literature the trickster survivors as a character archetype, not necessarily supernatural or divine. The Trickster is a god, yet is not. Trickster is the wise-fool who rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates convoluted schemes, that may or may not work, plays with the Laws of the Universe and is sometimes his own worst enemy.

The trickster is incarnated as a clever, mischievous creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. For example, many typical fairy tales have the king who wants to find the best groom for his daughter by challenging her suitors to undertake several deadly trials in order to to win her hand in marraige. No brave and noble challenger manages to overcomes the obstacles, until some poor nebbish comes along, who by using his wits instead of his might, evades or fools the monsters and evil-doers with cunning and trickery. He successfully completes the trials and in the end, this most unlikely hero passes the tests and receives the reward.

Many early cultures and traditions held clowns and tricksters as essential to any contact with the sacred, with many of their most revered shamans considered to be "divine fools". People could not pray until they had laughed, because laughter opens and frees from rigid preconception. Humans had to have tricksters within the most sacred ceremonies for fear that they forget the sacred comes through upset, reversal, surprise. The trickster in most tribal traditions is essential to the cycle of creation, death and rebirth. (The Fool survives in modern playing cards as the Joker).

The central role of the Trickster is to question, and to cause us to question, and not accept things blindly. He appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded thereby needing to be torn down and built anew. He is the destroyer of worlds at the same time as he is the savior of them.

The trickster is an alchemist and a magician, manifesting realities in the duality of time and illusion.  Trickster is the teacher, when you attract lessons into one's life. With his lessons, he awakens us to who we are and allows us to explore the true purpose of our soul's journey in the holographic experience through which we experience consciously at this level of awareness. 

His energy allows us to break out of old stereotypes, whether they've been imposed by ourselves, our families, our culture, or circumstance. This is the energy that opens the world of limitless possibilities and it behooves us all to work with it before it destroys us, to touch the Trickster as he touches us.

Kokopelli

Kokopelli is a kachina and one of the most well known of the world's Trickster spirits, originating from ancient American Indian mythology and he is a prominent figure in Hopi legends. The figure represents a mischievous trickster or the minstrel spirit of music.  (The tarot card "The Fool") Kokopelli is considered a symbol of fertility who brought well-being to the people, assuring success in hunting, planting and growing crops, and human conception.

His likeness varies almost as much as his legends. He is usually shown as a humpbacked flute player, often with a large phallus and antenna-like protrusions on his head. Some images show knobby knees and clubfeet. It is thought by some that Kokopelli's humpback may have evolved from a sack that was slung over his shoulders.

The sack may have contained goods for trade. This is based upon the beliefs that Kokopelli represented early Aztec traders, known as Potchecas, from Meso-America. These salesmen would travel from the cities of the Maya and Aztec with their goods in sacks slung across their backs. These traders also used their flutes to announce themselves as they approached a settlement.

More commonly, it is thought that Kokopelli's sack was full of gifts. According to a Hopi myth, Kokopelli's sack contained babies to be left with young women. At San Idelfonso, a Pueblo village, Kokopelli is thought to be a wandering minstrel with a sack of songs on his back who trades old songs for new. According to Navajo legend, Kokopelli is a god of harvest and plenty. It is thought that his sack was made of clouds full of rainbows or seeds.

Coyote

Coyote is well known in many American Indian stories. In some tribes such as the Navajo, he is hailed as a hero. In these legends, he is credited with helping humans by stealing fire and killing monsters. Stories involving coyote always depict him as male and are told during the winter months.

His willingness to help humanity is always beneficial to himself as well and involves deception and mischief. In these stories, the purpose of coyote is to teach sacred and spiritual morals; he can be both funny or fearsome and is said to have been an ancient being that existed from the beginning of time. In contrary, the Navajo also believe the coyote to be a bad omen. If coyote crosses your path, you must not continue your journey as he is considered a symbol of unfortunate events to befall you in future. Although the coyote can be paradoxical and difficult to categorize, the message of the coyote trickster can teach much.

The coyote spirit animal makes its presence known when you feel like one has lost their way. The coyote symbolism signifies the answers to your problems that often come in ways and forms that are least expected. The coyote can live anywhere and can be found everywhere. It is not fussy and can survive in the desert, the beach, the forest, and the mountains because it learns to be a part of the environment as it continues to change over time!

Coyote reminds us of the consequences of our behavior and teaches us to enjoy life through his humour and wit. He balances us with his intelligence and child like nature. Most of all, coyote shows us how to laugh at ourselves and adapt to whatever life throws our way.

Crow and Raven 

In the Bible, crows and their close cousins, ravens, were called “unclean” and with this unshakable spiritual grey cloud these bullied birds have subsequently been associated with the occult, witchcraft, and death. Neither does Islam offer these homeless birds a safe perch to land, as it holds them as one of the five animals we are “allowed” to destroy.

These two major world religions have mostly rebranded the ancient corvids as being dirty, aggressive, noisy, and destructive creatures. These negative attributes mask the bird’s cleverness and problem-solving skills. Keeping a safe distance from humans is a great example of their wit - and it might be this aloofness that has caused them to penetrate so deeply into social myths, cultural folktales, philosophies, and religions of so many ancient peoples.

It is the case that when we look beyond the beliefs of these two relatively modern religions into the creation myths and folkloric systems of comparative religions, we find a time when these birds were not thought of as being spiritual and environmental menaces. In fact, before falling from grace crows and ravens were ancient superstars, key players in creation stories of the universe, carriers of divine light, and the bringers of life force.

In creation myths crows and ravens are always magical, semi-divine and able to shape-change into human or animal form, and sometimes into inanimate objects and even pure light. Often perceived as the keepers of secrets, these birds frequently played “the trickster” archetype, focusing on satisfying their own greed, regardless of the requirements of the greater community. But this wasn’t always as negative as it might sound, because in ancient cultures the trickster was the survivor, the  wittiest, and the most charming and inventive

Raven is the powerful figure who transforms the world. Stories tell how Raven created the land, released the people from a cockle shell, and brought them fire. Raven stole the light and brought it out to light up the world. Yet Raven is a trickster—often selfish, hungry, and mischievous. He changes the world only by cleverly deceiving others in his never-ending quest for food.

The Eurasian magpie comes from the same scientific family—genus Corvus—as the raven and crow. The native Americans attribute a trickster spirit to the magpie. Magpies are said to love shiny objects and are reputed to wait alongside  streams, watching prospectors pan for gold, grabbing a shiny nugget, then escaping quickly. 

Fox

The phrase “cunning like a fox” came about for good reasons. Nearly every culture regards Fox symbolism as including stealthy, near-silent movement because the creature is so well-acclimated to the space it inhabits. Immediately, Fox represents slyness, elusiveness, the mysterious, and adaptability.

Some cultures, including those of China and Peru, suggest the Fox Spirit has God-like powers, and the Animal can shapeshift into human form. In Native American tradition, Fox is the fire-bringer who possesses healing abilities and has strong ties with Shamanic practices. Fox symbolism has ties to the Divine, supernatural abilities, holistic healing, and arcane knowledge.

The fox plays a wide range of roles in Aesop’s fables. It is generally described as a quick, intelligent and adaptable animal which no doubt led to its importance as a symbol of cleverness in most cultures. In mythology, the fox usually has a positive connotation.

In Japan, tricksters traditionally manifest as kitsune, in the guise of foxes. Kitsune are adept at shape-shifting from male to female, from animal to human, and back again. The kitsune is a prankster, a disrupter, a trouble-maker, a master of illusion, a challenger of accepted notions, a wild card. On occasion she provides comic interludes, breaking up the seriousness of Noh plays, which tend to resonate with karmic retribution.

Rabbit and Hare 

Legends portray Rabbit as an ingenious and often humorous Trickster. Known as the Great Hare, this character shows up in many legends, sometimes with the additional symbolism of a hero.The trickster rabbitt or hare is mischievous, troublesome or tricksome and rabbits and hares have long been depicted as tricksters in worldwide mythology, which has carried over to modern fiction.

Rabbit as a trickster is a motif seen all over Western culture. In American folklore, we have Brer Rabbit, whose source may be trickster rabbit stories brought by African slaves. But the natives of North America had their own trickster rabbit stories. Brer Rabbit was introduced to North America through the folktales of enslaved Africans. On the plantations, Brer Rabbit, like Anansi in the Caribbean, functioned as a resistance figure for the enslaved whose trickery was aimed at undermining and challenging the plantation regime. Yet as Brer Rabbit tales moved from the oral tradition to the printed page in the late nineteenth-century, the trickster was emptied of his potentially powerful symbolism by white American collectors, authors and folklorists in their attempt to create a nostalgic fantasy of the plantation past.

Bugs Bunny. the ultimate rascally rabbit, is a uniquely American expression of this ancient trickster archetype and one of the most popular and recognizable characters in the world. His trademark smirk and his ever-present carrot exploded into fame during World War II and has been a part of American culture ever after. Bugs' mercurial nature is essential to his appeal. Bugs is nice, but a bit of a bully, appealing and scary, high culture and low; he morphs from one to the other seamlessly. He defies authority. He goes against the rules. But he does it in a way that's often lovable, and that often results in good things for the culture at large

Raccoon

 The bandit raccoon is a popular trickster figure. It embodies a primal idea of cunning intelligence, cleverness, and resourcefulness. The raccoon doesn’t fear humans, even going so far as to steal from them in the night. Not since the historic coyote has there been such a confident predator that is also so bold and high-spirited.

In mythology and folklore, the trickster raccoon can be both good and evil. The trickster’s actions lead to good or bad consequences. The trickster is at once hero and villain, depending on the conscious choices that individuals make. Like nature itself, the trickster is both mother and destroyer. Some of the most interesting trickster stories are the trickster’s own tales. The hero seeks out the trickster, usually because of some great wrong that the trickster has committed. The hero is the one who ultimately triumphs over the trickster.

Azeban, the trickster raccoon, is one of he most popular mythical tricksters of the native American tribes. His tale was told among the Abenaki and Penobscot Tribes. His exploits are mischievous, funny, and fairly trivial. Azeban is the main character of many stories aimed at children. He often behaves foolishly or causes trouble for others, but unlike animal tricksters in some other tribes, Azeban is not dangerous or malevolent.

Other Infamous Tricksters 

Anansi - In African folklore, he was the sneaky, sly, but ultimately benign spider god of mayhem

Apate - Goddess of Greek mythology who was credited as the spirit of deception and fraud. She kept in similarly deceitful company as her companion was Dolos, the spirit of trickery and her foe was Aletheia the spirit of truth)

Eshu - In Nigerian tales, he is the sneaky god of uncertainty and change

Hermes - In Greek myth he was the cunning and thieving messenger of the gods

Loki -  In Norse mythology, a cunning trickster who had the ability to change his shape and sex. Loki was represented as the companion of the great gods Odin and Thor, helping them with his clever plans but sometimes causing embarrassment and difficulty for them and himself. 

Puck - (Also known as Robin Goodfellow), is a nature sprit or fairy best known from Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night's Dream