Ravi:
>None of this gives any suggestion of why Loki, Promotheus and Agni
>would be thought of as messengers and more especially tricksters.??
Perhaps I can help. I try to think, whenever I can, in neolithic terms
because this is the mindset that we need in order to fully understand
mythical equations such as these. Throw away any knowledge you have of
VCRs, camcorders and computers. Throw away anything after Copernicus,
in fact. We won't be needing any of that where we're going. We'll be
delving into the nether regions of prehistoric thought. Come, hold my
hand...
Now, in case you didn't realize, "fire" exists in all three realms of the
cosmos. It exists in the sky (ie: the sun), it also exists on land
obviously. It even exists in the watery underworld.
Since "fire" is the element that links the three realms together, it can
be seen as a "messenger" or "traveller" between worlds. Ritualistic
burning, then, can be seen as a means of communicating with the otherwordly.
On the other hand, there is the age-old saying "Don't play with fire". Most
of us have this primal understanding of the potentially harmful outcomes of
fire, especially when it is not respected. Hence, it is a "trickster" since
fire can turn on you at any moment if you're not careful.
- gLeN
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