<center>https://img1.steemit.com/0x0/https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/11/trickster0a290.png </center><br>

The Joker, with his uncomfortable level of relatability and mantle as ‘Agent of Chaos', fascinates more than any pop-culture villain.

Chaos, that rebellious sister of control and order...

Opposes worry; that useless, obsessive rumination over results and consequences. We have little control over how most things turn out. You can’t just order up results like a menu item. Is it a bit scary to think Life is all one big Chaos Theory mash-up? I believe so, but silver-linings pave the Trickster’s trail...

 The Joker’s allure is in the individualistic freedom expressed in his chaos-slinging.  The sweet, forbidden excitement; the illicit, primal nature of it!  Everyone loves the ‘bad guy’ because we <b>always</b> need villainous traits to move an exciting plot.  Fear draws interest while the unpredictable enchants.

 The remedy to over-thinking is to let go of control and ‘just do’ things so <em>your</em>  plot can move on. 
<center><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/jokerguywithplamd5e48.gif" alt="jokerguywithplamd5e48.gif" border="0"></center><br>

That Joker's just  “a dog chasing a car” because, for the Trickster, the chase is better than the catch and risk is it's own reward. 

<h1>The Trickster's 2<sup>nd</sup> Lesson: Don't Lust after results<sup>**</sup></h1>

Embrace the process. It's practice, not failure. Not everything is won through careful planning. Like an ‘Agent of Chaos’, work with Chaos as the natural order.

<center>One-Up that:  dabble in Chaos and transcend your need for order.</center>
<center><em>Blue Poles</em>; faithful digitization of Jackson Pollack's <em>Number 11, 1952</em>
<center>https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Blue_Poles_%28Jackson_Pollock_painting%29.jpg</center>

<h3>Creativity can shine when you act impulsively.</h3> 

Even when Loki tried to do right by the Gods, he ended up in some odd trouble.  Loki was threatened with horrible death if he couldn't fix a problem he was blamed for. 

This time it wasn’t his fault. He swears it!

The Gods wanted their kingdom fortified with a giant wall to keep the Giants out. Freya the Goddess of Beauty was promised as incentive to whomever would build the wall, but only if they did so within an (impossible) deadline. 

Loki, thinking he's gonna get in the good books, found a Giant who took up the task. What Loki didn’t know is the Giant had the help of a Giant Stallion, a true workhorse, and together they were set to finish the wall in time to get the deal. The Gods didn’t want to give up Freya, at any cost. 

Now Loki’s Tricksterity must go to work and make the Giant bomb the deal. In true rogue fashion, Loki distracts the Giant’s helper stallion, doing what he knows best: Shapeshifting. 

<b>Loki transforms into a mare in heat and uses his new-found feminine wiles to get an otherwise level-headed stallion to choose Love over Duty.</b>

Maybe this part was just for shits’n’giggles, but Loki didn’t simply end the task when the stallion was lured far away. Nope, this story is true Romance! Loki “went method” in his role as the size-queen horse and mated the giant stallion <em>(oh yes he did!)</em> 

The Stallion came and so did a bizarre consequence; Loki-as-horse gives birth to a horse! 

Not just any horse.

 A special horse.

 An eight-legged stallion named Sleipnir; the fastest most magical horse in that world!  Forever ridden by Odin the king of the Gods on his Shamanic, wisdom-bearing journeys. Loki out-did the entire Pantheon gift wise.<sup>1</sup><br>

<center>https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/sleipnirsickbastard1b822.jpg</center><br>

<h1> The Trickster's 3<sup>rd</sup> Lesson: Adapt or die.</h1>

What does Shapeshifting represent more than extreme adaptability? Nothing, but it also represents spiritual change and transcendence.  Adapt in the way you know best, develop a second-skin that works for you when you're under stress.

You may stray from your original mission, intentions, even your original identity, but you might end up with something better than what you were after in the first place. Like a faster steed with more legs! Ride, Sleipnir, ride! 

<h1>The most famous of Loki’s lessons for the Gods comes from one of their ultimate tragedies...</h1> 

<center><h3>“Surely never was there witnessed, either among gods or men, a more atrocious deed than this.”</h3> <center> —Thomas Bulfinch Mythology; Poetic Eddas<sup>2</sup> </center> 

This myth revolves around Baldur the shining, golden-haired son of Odin and his wife Frigg. All the Gods and Goddesses of that world adore Baldur above all.

Baldur has prophetic dreams that he may die. Because he whines to his over-protective mother Frigg, she has every <em>Friggan</em> thing on the planet swear an oath never, ever to harm, maim, or kill her prodigal son. 

<b>Except for mistletoe.</b> 

Mistletoe, she Friggures, is just so harmless. You see where this is goin’...

Now our favourite knave, Loki, sniffs out the perfect chance to cause mischief. He goes incognito as a proverbial little-old-lady and gets Frigg to spill the beans on Baldur’s only weakness. 

A picture’s worth a thousand words, so here’s a comic of how Loki loses all his "Sleipnir's Mama" brownie points <em>in one shot</em>:

<center><em>Made with 100% Organic Nihilism and artwork by perfectly dead people</em></center>
<center><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/baldurcantdiethrowthings39b27.png" alt="baldurcantdiethrowthings39b27.png" border="0">
<img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/baldurcomicspear15d06c.png" alt="baldurcomicspear15d06c.png" border="0">
<img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/3combined4155b.png" alt="3combined4155b.png" border="0">
<img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/baldurclosercombined1e9bd1.png" alt="baldurclosercombined1e9bd1.png" border="0">
<img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/byebyebaldurfinalstripe7a59.png" alt="byebyebaldurfinalstripe7a59.png" border="0" /></center>

<h1>The Trickster's 4<sup>th</sup> Lesson: Nothing in Life is guaranteed.</h1>

Loki just had to exploit the loophole to teach that suffering and death won't be cheated. “The best laid schemes”<sup>3</sup> of Gods and men often don’t turn out as intended. Meticulous planning creates unneeded stress. We can be like Frigga, panic stricken with worry over a prophecy she couldn’t avoid, or we can be like Loki, and face the harsh truths with a playful spirit.

<h2>The Coyote of Native American legends is a curiously diverse card.<sup>4</sup> </h2>In some stories Coyote is the world's Creator, or creator of all things chaotic; clumsy coyote tipped over a celestial jar, and created the random pattern of the stars.<sup>5</sup>

In other myths  Coyote's a fool, a thief, a pest, a hedonic figure with an insatiable sexual appetite (a rapist, even). 

The most noble Coyote is a Promethean figure whose cunning brings the gift of fire to humankind<sup>6</sup>; and rescues all from the danger of darkness and cold; symbolic of survival, knowledge and adaptability at any cost. 

<center>I believe that the animal today lives true to their Totem-Archetype. </center><br>

<center>https://media.giphy.com/media/2a6bwSuH1DYFG/giphy.gif</center><br>

<b>There was a time before Death when all people lived forever.</b><sup>7</sup>

 But the world became crowded so the Elders and Medicine Men met to find a solution. Coyote followed, and listened to them decide that people should only die for awhile, then come back. 

<h3>  Coyote knew that Death must be forever, but none of the humans agreed, as that would be too painful.</h3>

 The Medicine Men built a grass hut which the dead could be resurrected in. Their spirits would take the form of a whirlwind to enter the hut and retake human form. Because Coyote believed Death must be permanent, he shut the door to the hut so the spirits couldn’t enter. Humans were forced to face Death from that moment on. As the people were angered, they drove Coyote away to forever live an Outcast. <br>

<center>https://media4.giphy.com/media/xT5LMGzw9W2fpJmOD6/200.gif</center><br>

<h1>The Trickster's 5<sup>th</sup> Lesson: Accept inevitabilities.</h1>

It creates equilibrium. There's always a cost for every belief. It’s our nature to resent suffering even if running from it causes worse problems. Tricksterity is to accept fate without over-thinking.

<h3>We live in a harsh world where Death, not survival, is default. </h3>

 Coyotes are survivalist extraordinaires. Most mammals larger than a mouse have suffered to near extinction due to civilization, but coyotes thrive in it. Because coyotes don’t have static social habits. They most often bond in pairs, or solitary, but will form packs to hunt large prey. Their solitary nature allows them to live in environments their cousin the wolf will perish; they can scavenge or use cunning to steal a meal.<br>

<center>https://media.giphy.com/media/PaqtP8QKgkuRi/giphy.gif</center><br>

 <h1>The Trickster's 6<sup>th</sup> Lesson: Independence is the lifeblood of Freedom.</h1> 

 Independence from values that have been imposed on us. Independence from responsibilites we take on for the wrong reasons and so do us harm. The less burdens we have the less we have to worry about. Sometimes that burden is even our relationships, when we hold onto bonds that hold us back. When we act from our own truth our instincts can guide us when thought fails. Coyotes split from the pack when it hinders survival, but always knows how to run with one again when the time comes. 

<h3>Despite it’s simplicity the 'Coyote the Eye-Juggler' myth has many layers and talking animals:</h3>

Coyote was out on a lark and finds a Rabbit who was juggling it's own eyes. Coyote thought: 

“Wow, coool...I wanna do that too!” and asked Rabbit to teach him.

Rabbit told Coyote to only juggle eyes away from trees, warning: 

“If you don’t keep the rules, you may lose your eyes<sup>8</sup>”

Of course, Coyote doesn't heed the advice, forgets to mind where he tosses his eyeballs and they get stuck up in the leaves. 

<h1>The Trickster's 7<sup>th</sup> Lesson: Don’t compare yourself to others. </h1>

 In place there's more confidence and less anxiety about our station in life. You can’t always do with even mediocre results what someone else does best. It doesn't mean anything more.

Rabbit is not only cute, but kind, so retrieves Coyote’s eyes from the tree. 

“Don’t make the same mistake again” Rabbit says.

Coyote rolls with a charming carefree and unaware nature, so he lost his eyes in the trees once more. This time Rabbit puts his lucky foot down: 

“I’m <em>not</em> going up in the tree again. Here, use this pitch from the tree as new eyes, just don’t fall asleep in the sun”

<center>...and that’s how coyotes got those distinctive dark marks around their eyes<sup>*</sup></center>

<center>https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/22/coyote5f0a73.jpg</center><br>

Coyote made the same mistakes over and over, completely cavalier about it. Lose your eyes? Replaced with pitch? Just take a sun nap! That beats making lemonade out of lemons. Despite a temporary loss of sight, Coyote got its signature style.

<h1>The Trickster's 8<sup>th</sup> Lesson: Let your subconscious deal with it.</h1> 

If you find yourself going over the same problems in your head again and again, stop thinking about them and you may find your instincts bring you to a solution. As Coyote gained a new set of eyes, after losing his original ones, over and over, it symbolizes the sum of mistakes is a larger lesson, and a new perspective surfaces from the carefree subconcious.<br>

<center>https://media.giphy.com/media/zLutJroJ0Jw08/giphy.gif</center><br>

<center><h3>“As seen in Coyote, the unquenchable desire of the Trickster leads to shameless tactics, and reckless behaviour. His clever schemes and practical jokes disrupt the lives of individuals who have become too rigid or one-sided, or stuck in the trap of duality”</h3>
—Adriana M. Attento ‘The Insatiable Trickster’, <em>Parabola Magazine</em> Summer 2007</center><br>

Numerous legends describe Coyote, in human form (usually), unapologetically having his way with both women and men, sneaking into homes stealing food and whatever catches his eye. 

Loki lived to outwit the Gods, taking pride in his guile by getting in and out of trouble.  Any opportunity to break convention he revelled in it.

The Joker enjoyed the complete seduction of his forensic psychiatrist, a symbol of authority and convention, to engineer transcendence and remake her in his Rebel image. The joy of luring another away from normalcy, to completely corrupt another, gave him a drug-like euphoria. Joker kills and injures unapologetically with a childlike glee; sadism at it’s purest. The guy is constantly laughing, loving every minute of the warped individual he is. I believe his hair is green for the colour’s association with envy.

<h1>The Trickster's Final Lesson: Take pleasures where you can, free from guilt. </h1>

Do what makes you smile and feel good often in life, in your own way. Not just because life is short, it’s mentally and physically good to laugh and abandon to genuine Hedonism often. Don't die inside while your heart still beats.

As a religious influence remains in our culture, whether you identify with it or not, we are all inundated with some guilt over “sins”; over ‘playing’ when we think we should be working. The phrase “guilty pleasures” is apt. Pagan cultures didn’t moralize, as the value they placed on the Trickster demonstrates.

<center><h1>If you are to take away only one treat from a Trickster...</h1></center>

The mind is our most powerful ally and most persistent foe. The Trickster’s antics, however destructive, have a rare harmony that’s worth stealing. Their perennial joy out of suffering represents the Dionysian ideal of <b>Life as Art</b>; self-actualization over the Judeo-Christian ideal of self-sacrifice.

To practice Tricksterity we must accept our true natures, ugly or beautiful; exalted or at our lowest, we accept ourselves (and others). Imperfect and often amoral. Emotional and irrational only to deceive ourselves as we rationalize retroactively. The Trickster lacks the compulsion to give meaning when it does harm to do so. Instead they walk in step with universal chaos.

We are in danger of reflecting our cold, industrial system and its illusory logic. People aren’t machines designed to produce as efficiently as possible, yet we emulate our mechanical creations as role-models, and develop all types of psychological strife in result. 

 We aren’t Gods nor automatons; we are flesh and blood humans, maybe even animals no more or less than any. We all have a lot of Loki’s qualities, and a bit of the Joker’s. But look more closely at the controversial coyote, even if you curse them as pests. Coyotes are the Trickster that best holds our mirror; that wild, free survivalist par excellence who thrives in a concrete world anathema to its essential nature. For better or worse. Adapted yet not evolved.<br>

Below is quoted from the intro of <em>The Shapeshifter</em>, a National Geographic Documentary on the Coyote-Wolf hybird (coywolf):

>According to the legends of North America's First Nations people, when humans began to walk the earth it was the  coyote who taught them how to survive. Then European settlers moved in and transformed the continent, many wild animals were driven to extinction, but coyotes thrived. <b>Today scientists consider coyotes an evolutionary marvel, an animal of a thousand faces capable of adapting to a thousand different ecosystems.</b> Now new studies are revealing the coyote's astonishing secrets of survival.  What are those secrets? Well, it depends on where the coyotes are; they seem to change every place they go and, along the way, <b>they've created a new legend as a modern-day Shapeshifter.</b> 
<br>

https://youtu.be/yIHsfbmS7BA <br>


References:
1. [The Fortification of Asgard](http://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-fortification-of-asgard/) and [Sleipnir](http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/others/sleipnir/)
2. [The Death of Baldur](http://www.online-literature.com/bulfinch/mythology_fable/33/)
3. Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786
<center>The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
often go awry
And leave us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy.</center>

4.[Coyote Stories/Poems](http://www.indigenouspeople.net/coyote.htm ) and [Native American Coyote Mythology](http://www.native-languages.org/legends-coyote.htm)
5.[Coyote spills the Stars; A Cochiti Legend](http://www.manataka.org/page2319.html)
6.[How Coyote Stole Fire](http://sfrc.ufl.edu/plt/activities_files/How_Coyote_Stole_Fire.pdf)
7.[Coyote Creates Death](http://archeology.uark.edu/indiansofarkansas/index.html?pageName=Story%204:%20Coyote%20and%20the%20Origins%20of%20Death)
8.[Coyote the Eye-Juggler 1](http://hofstra.github.io/coyote/sources/coyote-as-trickster/myths/opler-lipan-apache-coyote-eyes/), [Coyote as Eye-Juggler 2](http://hofstra.github.io/coyote/sources/coyote-as-trickster/myths/opler-jicarilla-apache-coyote-eyes/)

National Park Service - Public Domain*

"For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect"
—Aleister Crowley, The Book of The Law**