Scapegoat – the Holy Fool, and the Power of Coyote Medicine

When we have been assigned the role of “Scapegoat” in our family of origin or in any group, we will find ourselves carrying the weight and responsibility for a lot of drama that doesn’t actually belong to us.

This is the role of the Holy Fool, the Sacred Clown, the Jester and revealer of shadows who speaks the truths others don’t want to hear, reveals the shadows all around, cracks a few jokes and leaves everyone to ponder it all.

Our friend the Fallen Angel explains, “The Shadow is the easiest of the archetypes for most [people]to experience. We tend to see it in “others.” That is to say, we project our dark side onto others and thus interpret them as “enemies” or as “exotic” presences that fascinate…

“The Shadow is the personification of that part of human, psychic possibility that we deny in ourselves and project onto others. The goal of personality integration is to integrate the rejected, inferior side of our life into our total experience and to take responsibility for it.”

The reasons we are chosen to be the scapegoat are as complex as the history of humanity, but they are based in the reluctance of most people to face their own shadow and work on their healing. People who are unwell and refusing to work on their own healing find it more convenient to target one person and project their own garbage as well as that of the collective onto that scapegoat rather than facing their own wounds and tending to their healing work.

In dysfunctional families, the negative focus will be on the Scapegoat where the “superior” members like to gather and talk about WHAT their chosen target is doing, rather than trying to understand WHY. Rather than trying to understand their own role in the family dynamics that drive their own loved ones away.

And, for a long time, people who are wearing the Scapegoat hat play right along with the role they’ve accepted. They keep making the same blustery mistakes over and over again, trying to get the ones they believe love them to help but end up being ridiculed, attacked, abandoned and exiled again and again.

People who are caught up in projection are thinking more about what others are saying or how they’re behaving than on their own thoughts, words, and choices. 

This is an outward focused way of being, and in addition to being incredibly toxic in the family, this is the underlying philosophy of communist countries that demand allegiance to the party (collective) over loyalty to ourselves, our families, our communities, and to God.

The reason unwell people project their shadow onto others is because they lack self-awareness. And at the point that we have had enough of being the Scapegoat, of carrying the dark side of Coyote, we learn to walk far from those who betray us and take greater responsibility for our own lives. One of the most powerful healing moments a Scapegoat will ever experience is the moment they realize that no matter what they do, they will be damned and cursed by those who have targeted them.

Coyote’s best medicine is “be yourself and the people who are intended for you will come.”

And, this only comes through walking a Spirit-led healing journey. Jesus, the Ancestors and all Spiritual Masters teach us that “know thyself” is the first and most essential rule on this earthbound journey. For it is only through truly knowing ourselves that we develop forgiveness and compassion, that our perception changes from “them” (what are “they” doing?) to ourselves – (what am I doing?).

As we have gone through the chaos of leaving behind the old ego-driven way of life and walk through the storm to return to ourselves, we begin to live in the moment where we learn to pay attention to our own lives, responsibilities, and healing. When we’re that focused on our own healing, we have little time to stew and obsess over things in the past.

As Coyote shows us, history, literature, and Ancient teachings are filled with this process of scapegoating and exile of the ones who are here first to provide this service usually for their families to wake up to the damage it causes for everyone, and become the visionaries and healers who create new communities.

It is the scapegoat who has the courage to walk away, heal themselves, and begin creating a new world. Jesus of Nazareth is a very famous scapegoat as his entire community and family thought he had lost his mind when he began preaching the coming of a new era – which was in fact the beginning of the Piscean Age.

There is no doubt that the institution bearing Jesus’ name has been so corrupted that its members wouldn’t recognize him if he walked into their church services and in fact, would probably try to have him committed.

The Piscean Age reflects a time of transition from extremely male-dominated warrior societies to the Aquarian Age which is an extended time of egalitarianism, balance and justice. This time is bringing back the power and medicine of the Divine Feminine.

As our prophets and Spiritual teachers have told us, we are now walking through the most intense part of this fire, this time of change from the 7th to the 8th Fires in which the people are being forced to declare themselves as sleepers who serve the dark or spirit led souls walking with the light.

And many truth-tellers who have done their research have been telling their families and communities about the arrival of the 8th Fire Great Awakening and have been treated the same way other prophets have been in the past: As crazy lunatics.

But, the good news is those messengers who have heard the call of the Great Spirit and heeded the prophecies and teachings of the Ancestors are walking ahead of the crowd right now, and Coyote calls us to pay attention to our inner transformation because it impacts our entire lives. As we see through the experience of Jesus and other great Spiritual masters, our time in the wilderness is necessary for our healing and growth.

Coyote comes to us when we are going through powerful times of death and rebirth to tell us bawdy jokes and keep our spirits up. The Blackfoot People teach us Coyote is a bringer of women’s medicine which is based in our intuition, emotions and our words. 

A few weeks ago, Coyote was sitting in the Western house of the Heart with the Grandmothers, cracking jokes and telling stories to reignite the spark of healing that we need to move forward.

And now, this week, Coyote is sitting with the Grandfathers in the Northern house of Spirit where he is reminding us that he comes to visit when we’ve leveled up on our spiritual journey.

“MAKING THE SHIFT IN YOUR VIEW OF LIFE
Today is a new day and it’s raining outside. So today will be a day to focus on the inside. I want everyone to understand you all have the power to change your direction in life, sometimes just changing where you came from can make a big change.

Making a shift in the way we think and what it is we are thinking about. With our past we made many mistakes, if we never made mistakes we wouldn’t know half of what we know now.

So our mistakes are teachers also, we are being shown the way we are not suppose to be. Our mistakes are not viewed as sins but as teachers and that’s what makes all the difference.

Many are so busy kicking themselves in the butt for the mistakes they made, never really connecting with the lessons. Once we make the connection be ready for change LIFE IS A GOOD TEACHER ! TODAY WILL BE A GOOD DAY. MEGWETCH, MEGWETCH, MEGWETCH.” – Jake Agoneh

As you continue your healing journey to the deep caves of your own heart and soul, keep in mind that we are spirits doing our part in the Divine Human Comedy. And the best way for us to play our role is to bring a healthy spirit, mind, body and heart to the stage.

Coyote reminds us that when we focus on our own desires, hopes, dreams and plans of action for our own lives rather than paying too much attention to what the others are doing, we become mindful.

Practicing mindful living in our day to day lives is quite an experience. We reach this place when we accept ourselves as the choosers and creators of our own lives.

It is crazy Uncle Coyote who reminds us that we are here having our own personal Hero’s or Heroine’s Journey. And learning how to live in complete consciousness is a whole new learning curve.

And it is crazy Uncle Coyote who teaches the alchemical power of laughter, of tricking the collective to the point that they have no choice but to question their own beliefs.

For Coyote – the great, primordial teacher of life, death and rebirth – reminds us that growth and change is not possible without destroying our illusions about ourselves, our families, and the roles we have played that brought us to this point.

It is my honour to be your messenger.