The Norse god Loki is the instigator of conflicts. The resolution of conflicts brings the new, the better. Loki is the destroyer of the world, but the world springs new and better out of the ashes. Like the seasons, it is part of the cycle, not an end forever. Loki is crude, dangerous, and subversive. We need constancy and aim for a certain amount of repetition. You don’t want him coming to your cocktail party, or do you? The fool that would bring out those aspects of ourselves that society doesn't approve of and which it sees as "subversive" or "undesirable" is the one who challenges conformity and spurs us to question and maybe to change.
Jesus was a Trickster. At the command of God he came to change the world. He sought to destroy the old structures and bring God’s kingdom, a change of great magnitude. His methods were subversive to the society in which he lived. He was viewed as a dangerous fool and like all fools, brought a message of change and hope.
The complex role of the fool. The fool provides truth, balance, play, recreation, destruction, creation, change. The fool is the destroyer of our well-ordered world and the creator of the new through play. It is by change that we are made new. We are all Phoenixes, capable of rising out of the ashes, if only the destroyer will bring us change. Let the fool lead the way.