Coyote
In general similar to dog or fox. It is sometimes used to represent the ‘trickster’ or tricky and unexpected unplanned for element of life, as is the fox. The coyote is one of the few large animals that has increased its numbers in areas colonised by humans. The fox in the UK has done the same, suggesting their adaptability and survival instincts and their street wise nature.
Coyote is usually seen as a trickster and delights in all sorts of pranks, mischief and jokes. James Lewis, in his book The Dream Encyclopaedia, says that Trickster/Coyote is not by nature evil, even though the results of his activities are often unpleasant. These activities centre around bringing attention to our own often hidden stupidity or shams or lies. He is also the unexpected spontaneous ‘idiot’ aspect of life which for no reason at all emerges into our carefully arranged life to upset it. Trickster is a shape shifter and so has the possibility of transformation. The undeveloped, idiot, side of this symbol may have a type of clear-sightedness due to lacking the complications and contradictions of thinking and values. It also may be creative in a serendipitous sort of way. Because it doesn’t seriously hold onto a purpose or idea, this side of our nature may lead us to something new, a change of direction. In some dreams the fool is a figure who is sacrificed.
One writer describes coyote as, “The wily, tricky, sneaky, pesky, cheaty God of the Wild West. He’s the ubiquitous Trickster God and Cultural Hero of Native American mythology, the original Marx Brother..” And Encyclopedia Mythica online says, “Coyote is a ubiquitous being and can be categorized in many types. In creation myths, Coyote appears as the Creator himself; but he may at the same time be the messenger, the culture hero, the trickster, the fool. He has also the ability of the transformer: in some stories he is a handsome young man; in others he is an animal; yet others present him as just a power, a sacred one.” See: archetype of the trickster.
Useful Questions and Hints:
What sense do you arrive at of your dream coyote – is he/she sneaky, divine, wise or a messenger? Whatever it is can you sum up what you get from coyote in the dream?
What do you experience if you imagine yourself and talk as your dream coyote?
What are the key words used in describing the interaction between yourself and coyote? See: key words for help with this.
See – Techniques for Exploring your Dreams – The Dream as a Code – Inner World
Comments
Dreamt coyote sitting in the darkness in my backyard near the border of my new neighbors. I was startled and fearful I decided to be very quiet and walk quickly to the front of my house and go into the safety of my home. Perhaps the new neighbors make me feel distrustful??
Hi – It is important that you read https://dreamhawk.com/forums/index.php?topic=529.msg1472#msg1472
Nothing can replace your own ability to understand your dream. With a little effort you can do this by practicing what is described in – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson or http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/getting-at-your-dreams-meaning/
Tony
M – You are obviously anxious about your new neighbours. But in dreams coyote are not harmful, and seems to be a guardian of your border. So imagine putting out a little food for it occasionally.
Mr. Crisp,
In my dream I was recording a group of bald eagles scavenging at a waste dump with the intention that people needed to see this “dirty” side of the eagle. My attention was drawn over to a single coyote that had just found and attacked a snake. As the coyote began to eat the snake, three eagles flew in and attacked the coyote and a struggle ensued. The coyote managed to fight off the eagles biting ones head that made a bone crushing noise. While I observed the struggle between the eagles and the coyote I found myself hoping that the coyote would be victorious and would escape the clutches of the eagles. The things that stood out to me were my feelings with the encounters, the 3 eagles, the snake, and the coyote. Do you have any hints that you can offer me, Mr. Crisp?
Thanks in advance.
Hi – It would help you to understand your dreams, if you would read – http://dreamhawk.com/news/summing-up/ and also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/features-found-on-site/ which has so much information in.
Nothing can replace your own ability to understand your dream. With a little effort you can do this by practising what is described in – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson or http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/getting-at-your-dreams-meaning/
Tony
Trevor – As you said, it was your feelings that were important to you, but they are also important to your perceptions, especially in dreams.
For we tend to view the world through our beliefs, which influence our feelings. I am not sure but here is an example of how our feelings deeply influence us. An incident that I experienced many years ago while my wife and I ran a guesthouse was a woman who could hardly walk came to stay us. She hobbled along using two sticks. Within a week, without any treatment, she could walk normally. She told us with great enthusiasm that she now knew what had caused her illness. Three years previously her son had married and had asked if he and his new wife could lodge in his parent’s house for a few weeks while they looked for a house of their own. His mother felt resentful that he and his wife had stayed for years and made no effort to move out. But being a Christian woman she kept her feelings to herself. She ended the story by saying, “Being on holiday away from the situation has allowed me to be free of the resentment, and this has healed my legs. So, I know what I am going to do when I get home. I am going to tell my son and his wife to pack their things and move out.”
Your perception of the eagles was that they were ‘dirty’ creatures. But another view of eagles is that they are disease eaters. Recently the vultures in India have been killed off; the result is that disease is spreading because the birds have digestive systems that can kill any disease in the flesh they eat. In fact such birds as eagles are nature’s scavengers, and keep the world clean as it is the design of their being, the niche they fill.
So realise that all the people, animals, places you see in your dreams, are simply your own feelings, fears, hopes and wonder projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind as images. So your dream shows the conflict you have about dirt and the creatures that deal with it – creatures that are a part of you, for part of your nature is putrefaction, the rotting and breaking down of food in your gut. Your gut is designed to deal with it, but if your gut were punctured, it could lead to death. Please read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/ and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/lifes-basic-functions/#Inner