Coyote Time, the Trickster Lives

For some reason this Fall has been full of howling (more like yelping) coyotes. I am not physically afraid of coyotes, but something about the sound they make really gives me the creeps. Not to mention that my dog Pooka feels that it is her job to confront them if they come too near the house. This does protect the cats I suppose, but even though she is much larger than they are, I always worry about a bunch of them ganging up on her. There isn't much I can do about it, she has to go out and I live where I do and wouldn't want to move in town simply to get away from coyotes.

I can certainly see why the Native Americans would use the coyote as a symbol of the trickster. There are contradictions occurring in your mind when you see and/or hear a coyote. The yelping seems kind of silly sounding, but at the same time it is somehow creepy. Often times it is difficult to determine where their yelping is actually coming from. Coyotes look harmless enough, until they show their teeth. Or I suppose unless you were surrounded by a group of them.

Bears are kind of the same to me. Although, I logically know they could rip me to pieces, they are just so damn cute! Polar bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, they all look too much like a large version of my dog for me to find them overly frightening. My dearly departed brother in law (Ricky) used to say "looks are deceiving." He looked like a giant version of Charlie Manson or maybe more like Rasputin, people were frightened of him and for no reason, he wouldn't have harmed a fly. It can go the other way too. Something can look cute and sweet and really be a killer.

Really all of us face tricksters on a regular basis. People and situations are not always what they seem. Yes, I have had experience with this lately, but everyone does from time to time. Trickster can be any form, human form shouldn't be surprising and yet sometimes it is.