Mushrooms and the Trickster Spirit
Sometimes this plant medicine is described as having a ‘trickster’ energy, but what does this really mean? And how can you learn from it?
Whenever someone works with psychedelics there is a potential risk involved. We as humans desire things to be as safe as possible, but it’s an upfront and apparent thing we must face when working with certain medicines. Plant medicines bring a whole lineage of ancient wisdom and energy that cannot be put into a box and must be encountered and embraced for what it is. We must learn to come closer to it, rather than trying to pull it closer to us. Something our modern egos may take issue with, but here is a way to reframe how to work with the most common of the plant medicine teachers, the magic mushroom and the trickster within.
Why do we need the Tricksters?
These figures, embodied with a paradoxical mix of divine sanction and chaotic disruption, act as catalysts for change. Through their cunning and disruptive ways, they challenge our perceptions and spark a process of evolution within us.
Throughout the history of storytelling and allegory, Tricksters have occupied a fascinating space. They embody the shadow aspects of humanity, forcing us to confront the uncomfortable truths and hidden desires we often are unwilling to see. Their cunning nature weaves truth and deception, prompting us to question everything we think we know. This challenges our established perspectives, shattering the comfortable confines of our self-made boxes.
Throughout folklore and mythos, Tricksters take on symbolic forms, often appearing as shapeshifters or cunning animals like foxes, coyotes, ravens, and hares. These creatures blur the lines between the realms of reality, reflecting the trickster’s ability to navigate the complexities of existence. Their delight in our confusion stems from their playful nature, akin to a prankster who revels in the disruption they cause. Dancing in our dismay, the misrule they create. And it is at the crossroads of choice that they do their dancing.
Tricksters challenge our intellect to Evolve
As we travel throughout life, the safety of our intellect can become a double-edged sword. While logic serves us well, it can also lead to rigidity. Tricksters act as a disruptive force ordained by a greater intelligence at play that shatters the comfort of our ingrained mindset.
Tricksters are there to push our edges, bending us to confront the limitations of our established boundaries. They test the very foundations of our beliefs, prompting us to question whether these boundaries still serve us or require re-examination. They disrupt our sense of established social norms and upset the status quo.
When the wisdom of healers, the teachings of mystics, and the gentle nudges of the wise ones prove ineffective, the Trickster emerges. Tricksters appear when gentler methods fail. When we become complacent or resistant to conventional forms of learning, they jolt us out of our comfort zones with a dose of disruption. Their methods are rarely gentle — their cunning nature necessitates a calculated approach. They reveal truths strategically, ensuring the message resonates. This explains why those lacking the capacity for self-reflection cannot learn from tricksters — the message requires an active mind open to receiving it.
More lessons from folklore, mythos, and fable
The Fool and choosing the simple path
In Western mythos, the Fool archetype, lacking experience and critical thinking, readily falls prey to the Trickster’s manipulations. Their choices often prioritize immediate gratification over long-term benefits, as they lack the wisdom to weigh the consequences. In contrast, the wise ones and the free thinkers embrace the path of virtue. They confront their inner demons, acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead. This introspection leads them to the path of evolution within themselves. As sovereign beings with free will, we strive to transcend the path of least resistance. And as the creative ones, we are the inheritors of a legacy that encourages us to push boundaries and embrace personal growth. This kind of journey requires us to liberate ourselves from limiting systems, ingrained thoughts, and outdated paradigms that are used to hold us back.
The Devil Archetype
The concept of the Devil is primarily shaped by modern religious traditions, which can obviously lead to biased interpretations when we discuss this figure. So if The Devil holds too strong a bias in your head, call him Puca, Puck, or Punch, whatever dissolves this barrier.
The devil within us pushes us toward our own personal virtue. Our set of ethical code and values that drive us to be the highest version of ourselves throughout our lives. The devil pushes you to the path. That is why we see him at the fork in the road or the crossroads of choice. The Devil is the Trickster that represents change. But it needs anarchy and chaos to do so. It is his job to pull the rug out from order so that change can happen.
His choice is often an illusion and you actually have the power. He is the reminder of our free will to choose liberty any time. In tarot, the Devil card is symbolized by a shackled man and woman, but if we look closer we see that their chains are not bound, but free. That our restrains are self-imposed.
Tricksters don’t directly take away your freedom but hold a mirror to the lie. They expose the self-deception that might be keeping us shackled. Their methods involve presenting a compelling message or situation that demands your attention, all the while you retain the ability to walk away. The trickster’s challenge is designed to be captivating, making it easy to get caught up in their narrative.
Instead of viewing them solely as obstacles, a proactive approach involves acknowledging their message. Consider their perspective, learn from their insights, and then, with newfound awareness, choose how to proceed.
Leaning on Psychological Insight
Carl Jung reminds us that the Trickster is represented through shapeshifters and creatures of multiple forms. (You’ve heard the saying ‘the Devil takes many forms) As we learn and grow it represents a vanishing level of consciousness that increasingly lacks the power to take shape and assert itself. Therefore to suppress or repress it in the mind is to keep it alive. It has the best chance of being alive in the shadows, but when we bring it to light their power vanishes.
Therefore the Trickster may try to make itself pleasurable to you in an attempt to appeal to our cardinal or primal nature. It tries to keep you trapped in that feeling so that you do not choose to escape or make it vanish. It tries to negotiate from power, yet it has none, you do.
Mushroom as the Trickster
So, why did we need to talk all about this in order to better understand our time and encounters with the mushroom? It is to better understand the crossroads of our journey and how we can be wiser for spending time there. In this wisdom we will see that the mushroom will tell us the truth. They will be honest and cut through denial. They are at their natural selves at these crossroads. And are unafraid to look under any rock or in any shadowy cave for curiosity's sake, regardless of the discomfort it may cause. Bringing in a higher intelligence perspective on what we have wound up so emotionally tight. That perspective could be through innocent childlike curiosity or gentle maternal acceptance of why we are afraid. We should prefer it this way.
The mushroom is a prime example of a force that challenges our intellect to evolve. The reason we go to the psychedelic experience is to jar us out of our rigid thinking and expose ourselves to the truth lying dormant within. They cause us to dance in the discomfort of the choice. They may even revel in it. For some, how the mushroom points out our discomforts can be interpreted as blunt, malicious, or even dangerous. But it is in this moment we can choose to evolve. We can be wise to the choices they are presenting and mature from a renewed sense of our own personal virtue and ethic. This is what true psychedelic and psychospiritual transformation is all about.
By grasping the nature of this archetype, we are better equipped to encounter this Trickster at the crossroads of thought and how we will consciously choose the path toward personal evolution. Understanding this context and having this awareness allows us to see the discomforts that arise during a psychedelic trip differently and lean into the potential lessons that can arise through enduring it.
You can even become more wise to its evolutionary nature by spending time learning about other Tricksters throughout history. Here is a helpful list of those playful and cunning creatures that you could explore:
Other Tricksters in lore, mythos, tarot and society:
Some you may be familiar with:
- Fairies (Celtic), Pan (Greek), Loki (Norse), Hermes (Greek)
- The Cat in the Hat forces the children to adopt and think creatively.
- Simon says tries to get you to do something against your will.
- Cheshire Cat grins that he isn’t giving us a clear answer but forcing us to think/confront. Alice wants the easy answer on the path. We want to be told which way to go, but it’s not that clean.
Other worldwide folklore:
- Brer Rabbit (African), Aesop’s crow (Greek), Sucullu (Mesopotamian), Sedna (Inuit), Kitsune (Japanese) The Winnebago (Native American), Anansi the Spider (Akan), Reynard the Fox (European)
Other common forms of Trickster energy:
- The riddler, the sphinx. The contrarian. The joker, the juggler, The magician, the prankster, the satirist. They face us with introspection and choice. Sometimes luring us in with a false sense of security before confronting us with the challenge. They also make us question societal norms.
