Coyote at the Great Sand Dunes: Omen of the Trickster

Coyote (Canis latrans) is the wily trickster of mythology, who, like Prometheus, stole fire from the gods as a gift to the people. In Native American stories, Coyote is a contradictory shadowy figure who is cunning, funny, frightening, foolish and sly. Shamans sometimes assume the form of Coyote, and it is said that it is a bad omen if Coyote crosses your path.

Here is a photograph of a coyote, wading through deep snow, at Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado on a five-degree winter day. I viewed this coyote, who ignored me, as a propitious event, a crossing of paths of two tricksters

Coyote at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Photograph @ Stewart M. Green