Trickster Archetype: The Ultimate Ego Leveling Mechanism

“The trickster is the unconscious judging the judgments of the ego. The trickster pokes holes through the ego’s inflation. The trickster tells the dreamer to include irrationality in himself.” ~Eugene Monick

The trickster is a complex and multifaceted figure found in mythologies, folklore, philosophy, and psychology worldwide, serving several crucial roles in both individual psyche and cultural narratives.

The trickster, as an archetype, is a fundamental aspect of all humans. It’s both a sacred and a profane energy, both dynamic and traumatic, both reverent and sacrilegious.

It teaches this above all: anyone seeking to be wise must first become a fool to gain true wisdom. The individual must always keep the shadow conscious both as an egoic deterrent (as a balancing mechanism for blinding light) and as a guard against living out our shadow side compulsively.

The trickster is the most profound personification of the archetypal shadow, symbolizing the shadow side of ideals and beliefs. As a counterpoint to one-dimensional perceptions and behaviors, the trickster takes on the sacred cows of civilization with the profane crows of actualization.

Trickster as archetype is a harsh wakeup call when we’re pretending to be asleep. Here are five profound ways the trickster keeps our ego in check.

1.) Trickster facilitates keeping the shadow conscious:

“There is no generally effective technique for assimilating the shadow. It is more like diplomacy or statesmanship, and it is always an individual matter. First one has to accept and take seriously the existence of the Shadow. Second, one has to become aware of its qualities and intentions. This happens through conscientious attention to moods, fantasies and impulses. Third, a long process of negotiation is unavoidable.” ~Daryl Sharp

The shadow, according to Jungian psychology, represents the parts of ourselves that we repress or deny, often because they are socially unacceptable or personally embarrassing.

The trickster, by engaging in behaviors that are mischievous, chaotic, or morally ambiguous, mirrors these shadow aspects. This mirroring can help individuals recognize and integrate their shadow elements rather than letting them fester and blacken in an unconscious unactualized state, which could lead to psychopathy and compulsivity, but when made conscious could potentially lead to greater self-awareness and personal growth.

In our youth it was necessary to keep the shadow in check to achieve discipline; but in our maturity, it is vital that we integrate it in order to achieve wholeness. True wholeness implies the integration of opposites.

2.) Trickster thwarts seriousness with humor:

“After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.” ~Italian Proverb

The trickster's antics can also provoke laughter or reflection, which can disarm the seriousness with which we often view our darker sides.

Laughter is a cultural leveling mechanism par excellence. Humor has a democratizing effect; it levels the playing field. When everyone laughs at a trickster’s antics, it momentarily erases distinctions of class, status, or expertise. This communal laughter can break down barriers, fostering a sense of unity and shared humanity. By making light of what is usually taken very seriously, the Trickster reminds us that no one is above the capacity for folly, thus reducing the weight of seriousness.

Picture the heyoka (a Native American term for the tribal clown or jester) who helped the tribe stay in touch with the shadow side of life via transgressive behaviors, funny situations, and other activities that upturned typical reality.

The trickster archetype is adept at exposing us to absurdity. Through humor, the trickster can shift perspectives, making the unbearable bearable and the unchangeable seem less oppressive. Highlighting the often ridiculous nature of human behavior or societal rules, the absurdity of the trickster's actions mirrors the absurdity in our own lives or societies, prompting laughter at ourselves and the Cosmic Joke.

3.) Trickster deflates the ego:

“The trickster is the ego demolitions expert who helps us become more realistic about our psychological limitations and ultimately our spiritual limitlessness.” ~Dave Richo

When the ego becomes inflated, believing itself to be more important or capable than it truly is, the trickster comes into play by exposing or undermining our grandiosity. Through pranks, reversals, or unexpected turns of events, the trickster can humble us, reminding us of our limitations and human fallibility. This deflation is not just about humiliation but about realigning our self-perception with reality, fostering humility and a more balanced ego.

Trickster forces our head over the ledge of the abyss. “Laugh or die!” he says. Laugh or die. We either embrace the absurdity of an indifferent universe and have a laugh, or we assuage ourselves with delusions of grandeur and suffer when our expectations are not met. The human condition is a labyrinth of unknown despair. There are too many dead ends. All the more reason to make cultivating a good sense of humor our primary task.

The beauty of letting go of our sense of entitlement is that eventually we realize everything is connected to everything else. We see how we are the world, and the world is us. We don’t need anything because it’s already a part of us. Our ego goes from being a self-entitled tyrant to a self-overcoming liberator.

4.) Trickster even has healing potential:

“Doctors study medicine. Teachers study education. Healers study darkness.” ~Mark Lundy

The trickster often operates at the boundary between health and sickness, life and death, order and chaos. In many myths, tricksters are healers or bringers of medicine, not through traditional means but through unexpected or unorthodox methods. They can introduce healing by breaking patterns or by making people confront what they've been avoiding.

This healing can be psychological, helping individuals to overcome rigid ways of thinking, or it can be social, bringing about change or reconciliation in communities stuck in old conflicts or outdated norms.

The flower of our ability to heal has its roots in the depths of our wounds. Before mastery, shadow work. After mastery, shadow work. This has been the way of all healers since time immemorial. And no force but the trickster has the wherewithal and cunning enough to trick us into this sacred confrontation.

5.) Trickster helps break us open for spontaneity and creativity:

“A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe.” ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The trickster's role in breaking down structures, expectations, and the known is perhaps where its most liberating function lies. By disrupting the status quo, the trickster forces individuals and societies to adapt, innovate, and think differently.

This breaking open can lead to new insights, creativity, and spontaneity. The trickster encourages a playful approach to life, one where not all is planned and where the unexpected can be a source of growth rather than fear. This is particularly relevant in artistic endeavors where breaking away from convention can lead to breakthroughs.

In essence, the trickster archetype serves as a catalyst for individual and collective transformation by reflecting and integrating the shadow, humbling the ego, facilitating healing through unconventional means, and unleashing creativity by breaking down rigid structures and expectations.

This archetype, while often seen as disruptive, plays a vital role in maintaining psychological balance and cultural evolution, reminding us of the value in chaos, change, and the unexpected. Play on, trickster. Play on.

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By Paulina Almira

About the Author:

Gary Z McGee, a former Navy Intelligence Specialist turned philosopher, is the author of Birthday Suit of God and The Looking Glass Man. His works are inspired by the great philosophers of the ages and his wide-awake view of the modern world.

This article (Trickster Archetype: The Ultimate Ego Leveling Mechanism) was originally created and published by Self-inflicted Philosophy and is printed here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Gary Z McGee and self-inflictedphilosophy.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this statement of copyright.