Re: Mischief/Trickster Gods
There are also several Animal Guides who could be considered Tricksters. Coyote and Raven are the obvious ones for Americans, but also consider Fox and Crow. I have also heard some people describe Rabbit as a trickster but I don't personally experience Rabbit like this, and I'm unsure where that association comes from.
In Australia it is Kookaburra who holds the most obvious Trickster title, along with Dingo, and certain cockatoo guides such as GangGang. We have Ravens and Crows, but their energy is slightly different and while there is a little Trickster in Australian Raven, it's less pronounced I think.
Also remember that there are different nuances to the Trickster archetype. There are wholly benevolent but mischievous Tricksters, joyful shit-stirrer Tricksters (particularly here in Australian lol), there are Tricksters who challenge authority, and Tricksters who have a harder, more malicious edge to them. Trickster energy is hard to pin down and often defies definition simply by virtue of being Trickster. Trickster spirits and deities are challenging, and they're meant to be.
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I wanted to add also that Trickster does not necessarily equal benign mischief, which is what I was trying to get at with the nuance thing. Sometimes Trickster energy is chaos and disruption... Eris was listed in the original post, but Eris is not really the type of deity for some fun and light hearted mischief. She is one of those 'harder edge' Tricksters that one must be careful with. Loki can be like this sometimes also... which is why many consider him to be 'malevolent' (which he isn't).
So yeah... don't underestimate Tricksters or assume that they'll be up for some light=hearted trick or brightening up your day. Some of them have much more important jobs to do.
There are also several Animal Guides who could be considered Tricksters. Coyote and Raven are the obvious ones for Americans, but also consider Fox and Crow. I have also heard some people describe Rabbit as a trickster but I don't personally experience Rabbit like this, and I'm unsure where that association comes from.
In Australia it is Kookaburra who holds the most obvious Trickster title, along with Dingo, and certain cockatoo guides such as GangGang. We have Ravens and Crows, but their energy is slightly different and while there is a little Trickster in Australian Raven, it's less pronounced I think.
Also remember that there are different nuances to the Trickster archetype. There are wholly benevolent but mischievous Tricksters, joyful shit-stirrer Tricksters (particularly here in Australian lol), there are Tricksters who challenge authority, and Tricksters who have a harder, more malicious edge to them. Trickster energy is hard to pin down and often defies definition simply by virtue of being Trickster. Trickster spirits and deities are challenging, and they're meant to be.
- - - Updated - - -
I wanted to add also that Trickster does not necessarily equal benign mischief, which is what I was trying to get at with the nuance thing. Sometimes Trickster energy is chaos and disruption... Eris was listed in the original post, but Eris is not really the type of deity for some fun and light hearted mischief. She is one of those 'harder edge' Tricksters that one must be careful with. Loki can be like this sometimes also... which is why many consider him to be 'malevolent' (which he isn't).
So yeah... don't underestimate Tricksters or assume that they'll be up for some light=hearted trick or brightening up your day. Some of them have much more important jobs to do.
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