A Trickster
who specializes in
Unstuffing stuffed shirts,
deflating puffed-up egos,
trivialising the self-important,
and
confusing know-it-alls.
The Karmic Trickster
is normally harmless, even friendly, if left ALONE.
Once his dignity is dented or his person threatened,
however, it's
no holds barred —
The target is in for humiliation, embarrassment and bewilderment.
ANY tactic is fair game as long as it does not cause actual physical harm to the target.
Only when the target has surrendered does the Karmic Trickster conclude his vengeance.
Being completely self-centered, the Karmic Trickster normally acts only on his own behalf, but can be convinced to help others — he has a soft spot for babies, innocents, and those who are truly good, and when his sympathy is evoked will go to the
ENDS OF THE EARTH FOR THEM.
ENDS OF THE EARTH FOR THEM.
Sometimes he sows chaos for the sake of chaos, but only when he gets carried away in the midst of one of his campaigns.
Most of the time he simply wants to be left ALONE, and Heaven help whoever messes with him!
Given all of their righteous retribution, sometimes these characters can exist somewhere between this, Screwy Squirrel
and borderline
Neutral Evil
if their self-righteous attitudes end up attacking characters for little more than existing nearby them and can often just seem like
Comedic Sociopathy
if our Trickster operates as a
Designated Hero,
regardless of where they sit on the
Trickster Archetype scale
and the only Karmic anything involved about them is being a
Karma Houdini.
Between them, Karmic Trickster and Screwy Squirrel comprise two-thirds of the classic Trickster Archetype.
His actions are as much to teach as to gain revenge, where Screwy Squirrel is the embodiment of mischief for mischief's sake.
His actions are as much to teach as to gain revenge, where Screwy Squirrel is the embodiment of mischief for mischief's sake.
See also: Karmic Protection.
May masquerade as The Fool,
or
vice versa;
whether silly or wise,
he will always display
Hidden Depths
(if only a knack for comedy and Simpleminded Wisdom)
whom the audience may laugh at.
or
vice versa;
whether silly or wise,
he will always display
Hidden Depths
(if only a knack for comedy and Simpleminded Wisdom)
whom the audience may laugh at.
This is not always true of other Tricksters in general, who are sometimes cast as
cloud cuckoolanders,
irrepressible agents of chaos,
lesser chaos-bringers
who are constantly being taught a lesson themselves,
or
cosmic butt monkeys.
cloud cuckoolanders,
irrepressible agents of chaos,
lesser chaos-bringers
who are constantly being taught a lesson themselves,
or
cosmic butt monkeys.
Such traits rarely apply here.
Indeed, the Karmic Trickster
is the least vulnerable to
Hoist by His Own Petard
or to
Counter Zany
(which he can often turn to Zany Scheme Chicken).
Indeed, the Karmic Trickster
is the least vulnerable to
Hoist by His Own Petard
or to
Counter Zany
(which he can often turn to Zany Scheme Chicken).
In many ancient civilizations the hare is a "lunar animal," because the dark patches (mana, "seas") on the surface of the full MOON suggest leaping hares.
Thus in ancient Mex- ico, where the hare (wehtli) is also the eighth of 20 day-symbols in the Aztec calendar and a sign of good luck, the animal is represented in the Codices by a U-shaped lunar hiero- glyph; and in ancient China the lunar hare crushes cinnamon sticks in a mortar and is considered a symbol of longevity. In Bud- dhist, Celtic, Hottentot, and ancient Egyp- tian cultures as well, the hare was associated with the moon. Its further symbolic con- notations have to do with its real or legend- ary characteristics, such as vigilance: the animal is said to sleep with its eyes open, and medieval physicians believed that eating its meat led to insomnia. (In classical anti- quity, on the other hand, eating such a meal was believed to make a person beautiful for NINE days.) The hare is widely spoken of as easily frightened (in medieval symbol- ogy an armed man fleeing from a hare is the personification of ignavia, or cowardice; compare the Grimms' tale of "The Seven Swabians"); its excessive fertility rate and and readiness to mate make it a symbol of lust, whereas a WHITE hare, portrayed at the feet of the VIRGIN Mary, is taken as a symbol of the triumph over "the flesh." The Easter hare, along with the EGG of fertility, plays an important role in Central European tra- ditions for the welcoming of spring. The early Christian Physiologus mentions a fur- ther peculiarity of the hare: with its shorter front legs, it can run fastest uphill, eluding its pursuers. "Seek you likewise the rock, when the evil cur, the demon, pursues you. . . . If he sees you running downhill with your heart set on the earthly things of this world, he comes in ready pursuit, aided by the confusion of your thoughts. But let him see that you run along with the will of God, seeking the true ROCK of our Lord Jesus Christ, climbing to the summit of virtue, then the dog will turn back, as David writes in Psalm 34: Those who would do evil unto me must turn back and come to ruin." This Hare undaunted by an uphill run. J. Boschius, 1702 Hare: Holy Trinity symbolized by three hares. Win- dow, Paderborn Cathedral passage may explain the frequency with which the hare appears in Christian iconography. Its defenselessness makes it a natural symbol for .humanity, which must put its trust in God. Hares nibbling grapes (see WINE) ap- parently symbolize souls in HEAVEN, who can safely enjoy the fruits of eternal life. We occasionally see depictions of three hares in a CIRCLE, their EARS forming a TRIAN- GLE-apparently a reminder of the Holy TRINITY, or of the fleeting (circular) course of time. The ancients attributed predominantly positive characteristics to the hare (which was also the symbol of Iberia). Its speed and vigilance, according to Plutarch (A. D. 46- 120), have a "divine" quality. According to Pliny the Elder (A. D. 23-79) this favorite animal of the goddess Aphrodite is highly beneficial to women: its meat makes sterile women fertile, and eating its testicles favors the conception of male offspring. The ma- gician Apollonius of Tyana (first century after Christ) recommended that a hare be carried three times around the bed of a woman in labor to make her delivery easier. The hare is the fourth sign of the ancient Chinese zodiac (see STARS). A picture of SIX boys surrounding a human with the head of a hare symbolizes the wish, expressed at the time of the lunar festival, that the children in the family might rise smoothly in the civil service. Because of its lunar associa- tions, the hare is a YIN animal. The animal plays a special role in Buddhist legend: a hare, sympathizing with the starving Buddha, sprang into the fire to provide food for him, and thus became a symbol of self- headdress and headgear 165 sacrifice and faith in salvation. In the myths of Native Americans the hare represents a hero of the individual nation, such as GlusKabe or Manabozho, the creator of the world in its present state.
A trickster figure, the hare outwits larger and stronger animals like BEARS and buffaloes. For psychologically oriented symbologists, neither the speed nor the "timidity" of the hare is critical, but rather the rate at which it multiplies: this makes the animal a symbol of fertility and passionate sexuality.
No comments:
Post a Comment