The God of a Thousand & 1 Names
SYMBOLS: For a God he seems to be remarkably freer of symbolism than the average. There were some that had them (Hermes being notable), and in a way for most of them, such as Coyote and other American animal tricksters they themselves are their main symbol. Also birds seem to show up a lot.
USUAL IMAGE: Depends on the myth, there are a large number of them that have him in ether complete (Spider, Rabbit, Coyote) or partial (Hanuman, other Coyote tales) animal form. In others he is human.
HOLY BOOKS: To many to name.
HOLY DAYS: N/A
MAJOR TABOOS: Taboos? We ain't got no stinting taboos! Leaving well enough alone perhaps.
AREAS OF CONTROL OR INFLUENCE: Boundaries, magic, fire, synchroncities, those on the margins of society, sacred clowns, holy fools, shaman, lies, tricks, change.
RELATIVES: Depends on the myth, but mainly he seems to be remarkably free of such entanglements.
FORM OF WORSHIP: That would more than likely be a rather foolish thing to do.
SYNODEITIES: See names.
DETAILS: The Trickster is perhaps the most pervasive deity on the planet. Found in almost every culture he appears in myth, folklore, literature and walking down a street near you.
Even in societies that have eliminated almost all but a small approved litany of higher beings find they can get rid of him.
However can a being with such a broad representation really be said to represent a God?
Isn't he just a type? A general category, such as Goddess of Love or God of War which are found in most places, somewhat alike, while differing greatly in others?
On one level perhaps, however if you look closely at all the different avatars of the Trickster, be they in mythology, folklore, fiction or "real" life, you can see some very striking similarities. Consider:
1. Tricksters are almost all male; while there are female tricksters they at most comprise only around 5 to 8% of the overall number.
2. Trickster are loners, even those who are part of larger communities are usually viewed with suspicion.
3. The Trickster is of low status, even in mythos where they are responsible for such things as bringing fire to humans or even creating the world they are still viewed in a denigrating light
4. They are boundary crossers. In a world of black & white they are gray, in a world of good and evil they are both and nether, in a world of sharply defined sex roles they hop easily between the two or mix them.
5. The Trickster is promiscuous, or at least ether highly sexed or `unusually´ sexed.
6. The Trickster easily slips into other roles, if not an outright shapeshifter he is at least skilled in disguise and acting.
7. The Trickster is closely related to magic, if not it's patron magic happens often in his presence. .
8. The Trickster does not work well with structure, hierarchies, or bureaucracies. They tend to bring chaos to such orders, and as such are hated by them in return, leading to much of the reason for # 3.
9. Stories and myths about the Trickster are often surreal.
10. The Trickster is deceitful. After all the working word here IS trick, they might do this for the most noble, ignoble or just plain pointless of reasons but lies, and trickery are his stock and trade. Often the biggest joke is on himself.
Looking at the above we can see manifestations of the God that range from Hermes to Bugs Bunny, from Hanuman of India to Aleister Crowley, from Ulysses to I am guessing a few of you if you went to the trouble to read this page.
Doubt or believe the Trickster appears to be a very powerful entity indeed. While I am putting these pages together the synchroncities tend to pile up, a few with some, none with others.
While doing the Trickster I started to sympathize with the Nordic gods and that rock and acid dripping serpent!
There are more than a few avatars of the Trickster to be found in the past, The same can be said for many people and even groups around today.
The only question is where on the Trickster spectrum from Hermes (somewhat respectable and at least works somewhat with others), to Coyote (mostly means well but makes trouble often mainly for himself), to Loki (mischievous to the point of mass distraction) do they fall?
