Would you like to discuss the trickster as a figure in myth and literature? Would you like to talk about the latest prank you pulled, and trade tips? Do you worship a trickster god, and want to talk about his historical cult? As improbable as it may sound, this is forum where all of these things would be on-topic. It is a place not just for Hellenists, but for any who understand that religion and culture can embrace all of life, even the parts that are fun.

As John "the Wombat" Hanson once wrote: "It's not my fault if some people have a lutefisk shoved up their (ahem)". Wise words, indeed, ones you would do well to heed as you enter these hallowed halls of the absurd. "So", you ask in a voice that sounds strangely like mine, "why did you name this place 'Hermes' Recroom'? Are the Greek gods now applying for webspace at Geocities? Is your name Hermes? Did you run low on your meds, maybe?".

Um, no. I'm quite well stocked on my meds, thank you. This board is called "Hermes' Rec Room" because I created it, in part, to honor Hermes. Traditionally, we think of temples as being the homes of the gods. To carry that flight of fancy a little further, let us imagine this board as being a room in Hermes' house where he has invited those whose company he finds amusing to be his guests: the tricksters from a variety of literatures and mythoi. We gather in his home. Being merely human, we can not see the illustrious, or infamous, company we are in. But we can, perhaps, feel its presence. And as the fire goes out in our bong, and we return to reality, we're left with the question of who it is that is invited to this little party.

The answer is, anybody who knows how to lighten up. You don't have to be a Hellenist, or any other kind of polytheist to be welcome here, though you do have to be reasonably respectful of the religions of those who are. The topic is broader than that. This forum is devoted to the trickster as a figure in mythology and literature, and how he touches our lives and cultures. This should lead to a very eclectic mix of silliness and seriousness, fact and fiction, and one question which I guess has to be answered - this is religion? To which we'd respond, "some people need to broaden their definition of the sacred".

One of the unfortunate legacies of Protestant Christianity in America is an equating of "sacred" with "grim". One only need to read Cotton Mather's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to guess where that came from. An almost loveless God was seen as existing seperate from his fallen creation, in which the pleasures of the flesh were seen as being nothing more than snares set out by the Devil for the unwary. As outlooks went, this one tended to be a real party killer.

Many Pagans will tell you that rebelling against this kind of Puritanical attitude was one of the things that brought them to Paganism. But the strange thing is that, without even thinking about it, many have carried the grimness of their earlier backgrounds into what was supposed to be a refuge from it. Consider, for example, the very un-Celtic humorlessness of so many Wiccan Samhain observances, where dirge-like songs and mourning are the order of the day, and those who would kid around, remembering that this is Halloween (for crying out loud) are admonished to be silent. "This is a sacred day". Perhaps so, but some, we would say, define the sacred too narrowly.

The Sacred is that which helps us connect to the Divine. And the good news is that the Divine can be a lot more more fun to be around than a lot of humans. Which brings us to the topic of this forum: the tricksters, from a variety of mythoi and literatures: Hermes, Loki, Coyote ... The trickster is a figure who overcomes his enemies, not by hacking them apart, but by hoodwinking them. This can lead them into absurd and amusing situations, and, not surprisingly, tricksters don't tend to take themelves very seriously.

The ability to lighten up is clearly a part of good mental health. It brings people together through the sharing of happy memories, and soothes their nerves. It helps them to listen instead of screaming; without that, how can we work together at all?

Not sacred? How can a thing be so essential to so much of that which the gods hold dear, and not be sacred itself? In Pagandom, then, let us finally lay Cotton Mather to rest, and embrace a broader sense of what it is to say that something is holy.

Yes, I know that this is a long introduction, but the point of view, here, is very different from the one which many take for granted. If we don't discuss these matters before we start, there are going to be a lot of unpleasant misunderstandings - more than there would have otherwise been.

Is this a serious forum, or a joke forum? Consider who it is, that we're honoring here, and seeking to connect to. The answer clearly has to be "both". How can we honor a deity, if we are rejecting so much of that which makes him what he is? But, on the other hand, how can we honor him without trying to understand him?

The answer is for us to do what they help us to do: seek a balance. There is a place here for serious discussions of what history tells us about how they were honored. There is also a place here for clowning around, discussing practical jokes, sharing stories and myths ... everything about the trickster, as a literary and mythic figure, and everything inspired by him, is on-topic and fitting.

"Serious articles and deliberate put-ons side by side? Is this appropriate? How will we know when we are being told the truth?" By using our minds, and one of the things that a lightened atmosphere should help us reclaim - our common sense. If this fails, there are always the words "serious scholarly post" - feel free to put them in your title line.

Always, remember where you are. If this board ends up working the way it should, every day is going to be April 1 around here, and those who take the stories told about others here at face value, do so at the risk of being hunted down and gang-noogied for being gullible enough to treat tall tales as history. Conversely, if one automatically takes a bizarre story told about one as an attack, one may end up flaming somebody for what is really an expression of friendship and brotherhood: being included in one's jokes. This happens far too often, online, so please, be careful out there.

If it helps, don't think of this as being so much an online Pagan coffeehouse, as a participatory fiction group in which we become characters in each other's stories, and those characters, in the midst of all of the silliness, have something intelligent to say. Do you have trouble telling the serious moments from the comical ones, when you read a story? Probably not. So, if you accept that this is all but a story, in a sense, your common sense should carry you along. If you find yourself wanting to ask somebody "are you kidding me", your first assumption should be that he is.

So, grab a mead, kick back, and enjoy the show. You're among friends. Which part of the RecRoom would you like to enter?

(the mailing list) ... (the old webboard) ... (the new web board)

Note : for the truly Yahoo-phobic, or those who aren't signed in, we have this lovely subscription button, which they can use to sign up for the Hermes_RecRoom mailing list. Those who do so will receive a confirmation letter which they'll need to respond to, this being easiest to do in webmail. Try it and you'll see why.

Here's the button Bravenet asks us to put on our pages. (It should soon be in a more central location on this site, out of appreciation for Bravenet's services).

There's nothing else to see here. Move along ... unless you'd like to send me some e-mail.