Mercury Rising

What can a silly, chaotic figure like a Trickster offer the world? Jungian psychoanalyst Deldon McNeely argues that Trickster’s value lies in amplifying and healing splits in the individual and collective psyche and in inviting us to differentiate our comprehension of evil. Tricksters, long held as aspects of the divine in many cultures, are an archetype of transition, guides in the journey of individuation and psychotherapy, and mediators between the conscious and unconscious world, that which is either unseen or banished from consciousness. Mercury Rising examines Tricksters in light of contemporary cultural trends, including:

society’s current disdain for heroes and the hero archetype; 
Trickster’s need for mirroring and its implications regarding the narcissistic nature of contemporary culture; 
the Trickster’s role in psychotherapy in terms of truth, reliability, and grounding; 
the relationship between Trickster and the feminine, and the concomitant emergence of feminine values and voices of wisdom; and 
feminine influences on the philosophy of ethics as well as current attitudes toward evil, violence, and sex. 

Inasmuch as Tricksters force us to question our sense of order and morality, as well as our sanity, Mercury Rising explores the hope that “the Anima-ted, life-affirming Trickster will flourish and prevail over the death-dealing excesses that threaten to annihilate many species, including our own.”


Deldon Anne McNeely received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University and is a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology. A senior analyst of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, she is a training analyst for their New Orleans Jungian Seminar. Publications include Becoming: An Introduction to Jung’s Concept of Individuation; Animus Aeternus: Exploring the Inner Masculine; and Touching: Body Therapy and Depth Psychology.