Tweet

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

6 Jul, 19 tweets, 12 min read

Time for a thread on ✨TRICKSTER GODS ✨ and ✨ TRICKSTERS IN MYTHOLOGY ✨ featuring brief descriptions of twelve of my favorite mythological tricksters from around the world 🪄 1/ #FairyTaleTuesday

The Norse god Loki is a very famous trickster who constantly gets the gods in trouble... but also typically is the one they call to help them get out of it. By sowing discord and chaos, he challenges the gods, keeping them from becoming complacent. 2/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Hermes is the Greek God of commerce, travel, & thieves among other things. He's the messenger of the gods, guides souls to the underworld, and is a a cunning trickster god. Apollo called him “a cunning deceiver & a trained thief" after he stole his cows. 3/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Eris is the Greek goddess of chaos & causes trouble & discord because she enjoys it. One of her most famous achievements in this realm is causing the Trojan War by starting the feud between Hera, Athena, & Aphrodite because she didn't get invited to a wedding 4/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Mercury is the Roman equivalent of Hermes, possessing much of the same qualities, including his status as patron of thieves and his trickster shenanigans. Mercury was a later edition to the Roman pantheon, being incorporated in the 3rd century BCE. 5/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Laverna is the Roman goddess of the underworld, thieves, & cheats. She's often depicted with a body but no head, or a head with no body. A thief herself, she uses her cunning to steal & cheat people. She spends much of her time on Earth with human thieves. 6/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Anansi the Spider is an important figure in West African and Caribbean mythology, with his origin being in Ghana. Anansi stories typically involve him being in danger and then using his cunning and wits to get him out of trouble. 7/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Wisakedjak is a trickster from Cree & Algonquin mythology who uses his tricks for the benefit of mankind. He is responsible for causing the flood that wiped the world out after it was created & then building it again. His stories always have a moral. 8/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Coyote is a trickster figure that appears in the mythology of many Indigenous cultures of the Americas. He is often of secondary figure & may serve as a foil to the hero. His portrayal varies from villain to figure of great importance to comic character. 9/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Celtic god Lugh is known as a smith, craftsman, warrior, master of all arts, & trickster. He was also the god of nobility, oaths, & justice, making for an interesting duality. His cunning served him well, including by helping him join the Tuatha Dé Danann 10/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Crow is an ancestral being, culture hero, and trickster in Aboriginal Australian mythology. One of his most famous tales is the story of how he stole fire for humanity in the Dreamtime, getting his feathers burnt permanently black in the process. #FairyTaleTuesday 11/

Elegua is a Orisha (god of Santeria) originating in Yoruba culture & religion. He is a god of crossroads, as well as a trickster god and messenger. He enjoys playing tricks & jokes, and while he enjoys childish things, he is very powerful & respected. 12/ #FairyTaleTuesday

Maui is a Polynesian demigod and trickster hero. His antics have benefitted mankind immensely through such acts as creating land by pulling up islands while fishing, stealing fire from the underworld, raising the sky, and extending the days. 13/ #FairyTaleTuesday

As you can see, trickster figures abound in mythology from all over the world and serve many different purposes. They can be meddlesome, comical, benevolent, morally ambiguous, and/or helpful and more. Thank you for checking out this thread, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Images:
1- Arthur Rackham
2- x
3- Walter Crane
4- x
5- x
6- Thalia Took (See "Laverna" below)
7- Gerald McDermott
8- Jordan Stranger
9- F. N. Wilson
10- x
11- JJ Harrison
12- See "Eleguá..." below
13- islandessence.com/blogs/island-e…

Sources:

9 Trickster Gods & Godesses learnreligions.com/trickster-gods…

Eris theoi.com/Daimon/Eris.ht…

Laverna thaliatook.com/AMGG/laverna.p…

Elegua godchecker.com/yoruba-mytholo…

Eleguá, Lord of the Crossroads aboutsanteria.com/eleguaacuteesh…

The Greek God Hermes study.com/academy/lesson…

Hermes: Archetypal Greek God, Soul Guide, and Trickster owlcation.com/humanities/Her…

Mercury mythopedia.com/roman-mytholog…

Lugh mythopedia.com/celtic-mytholo…

Coyote (legend) oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/coyot…

Tracking Coyote: Trickster Myths and Trappers' Tales drc.hofstra.edu/projects/lab_f…

Maui the Trickster Hero mythsymbolsandplay.typepad.com/my-blog/2016/0…

Maui mythencyclopedia.com/Le-Me/Maui.html

@threadreaderapp

@threadreaderapp pls unroll

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @FemboyFolklore

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

@FemboyFolklore

5 Jul

The pomegranate is Iran's national fruit & is very symbolically important in Persian & Iranian culture, viewed as a symbol of abundance, fertility, love, and immortality. It is said that if someone can peel a pomegranate in one peel, they will go to heaven. #MythologyMonday

In Iran's lengthy & treasured epic poem, Shahnameh, the divine warrior Esfandiyar became invincible as a result of eating a pomegranate. The Shahnameh tells that pomegranate trees grow from the blood of Siavesh, a character regarded as a symbol of innocence. #MythologyMonday

Pomegranates also have larger significance in most of the most widely practiced religions in Iran, including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity.

Read 8 tweets

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

@FemboyFolklore

15 Jun

Many people are familiar with the Seelie and Unseelie fae courts, but did you know there are actually six courts? They are the Seelie, Unseelie, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter courts. In this short thread I will give a brief summary of each of them #FairytaleTuesday 1/

The Spring & Summer courts tend to be grouped in with the Seelie, & the Autumn & Winter courts get associated with the Unseelie, although they are distinct groups. The fae divided when a group broke off from the larger hierarchy to form the Unseelie court. #FairyTaleTuesday 2/

Seelie means "blessed" or "holy" These faeries tend to be more benevolent & will always repay favors, but they also avenge insult. They are prone to mischief & the word "silly" comes from their name. They are typically kinder & have a brighter disposition. #FairyTaleTuesday 3/

Read 14 tweets

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

@FemboyFolklore

9 Jun

Since today's #WyrdWednesday theme is Norse Mythology, I've decided to make a short thread on ancient Norse beliefs on the afterlife, specifically the various worlds that Norse pagans believed people would go to after death. I hope you enjoy! 1/

As far as Norse afterlife beliefs, they are mentioned a surprisingly small amount in early sources. Much of the actual descriptions of the afterlife realms are gleaned from later sources and should be taken with a grain of salt. It is however theorized that much of the 2/

afterlife destinations were not as removed from the normal lives of the ancient Norse as they are in other religions and were instead based on and influenced by the way each person lived and died on an individual basis. 3/

Read 11 tweets

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

@FemboyFolklore

9 Jun

Hel is the daughter of Loki and the ruler of Helheim, one of the places souls may go after death. Hel is often described either as half skeletal & half flesh, or half black & half white. She is portrayed as having a gloomy aura and is very powerful and respected. #WyrdWednesday

Helheim, the realm that Hel rules over, is one of the places people can go after death. It is often said that the people who go here are those who did not die in battle, but it is hard to know for sure. It was described as being located downward and northward. #WyrdWednesday

Famously when Baldr was killed by Loki and went to Helheim, his brother journeyed to Helheim to ask Hel to return him. She replied that if everyone in the world weeped for him, she would return him to life. Everyone weeped except for Loki, so she did not. #WyrdWednesday

Read 4 tweets

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

@FemboyFolklore

4 Jun

Time for a thread on sea shanties! Were you one of the many people who got into sea shanties during covid (or before!)? Or are you unknowledgable about them but want to learn more? This thread will talk about their origins & characterization & give categorization & examples 1/

Sea shanties (or chanteys) are a type of maritime work song which were sung while accompanying rhythmic manual labor aboard a ship. They were usually sung without instrumental accompaniment & had a fluid form allowing singers to adjust the length & content of the songs. 2/

Call & response was the quintessential form of sea shanties, with them being led by a soloist, called a shantyman, with the other sailors acting as a chorus. These songs were sang in work settings rather than leisure, but they often drew from music sailors enjoyed for leisure. 3/

Read 32 tweets

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

@FemboyFolklore

2 Jun

Since this week's #WyrdWednesday theme is architecture, I've decided to write a thread for you all on Islamic architecture and the beliefs and symbolism behind it! I hope you all enjoy this thread on this beautiful and spectacular architectural form. 🕌☪️ 1/

Islamic architecture has been influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Persian, Mesopotamian, Chinese, and Mughal architecture. (Although I think you'll find it has a flavor all its own!) The four main forms of Islamic architecture are mosque, tomb, palace, and fort. 2/

Islamic architecture is often referred to as "architecture of the veil" because the most beautiful aspects of it are inside of it. 3/

Read 17 tweets

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Share this page!

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @FemboyFolklore

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

🌛Femboy Folklore🌜

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Like this author's thread?