Finding trickster goddesses is becoming an interesting investigation. I am going back and forth about including Eris, she’s more of an agent of chaos and discord. I’m leaning toward including her, she does use trickery and like to stir up trouble. In Works and Days Hesiod says that there are two kinds of Strife (Eris)- one that “fosters evil war the the fray of battle” and one that”stirs even the shiftless on to work.”

While reading up on Eris, I found that there is a modern religion, founded in 1963, known as Discordianism. The followers venerate Eris and believe that both Chaos and Order are illusions. This seems vaguely related to Pastafarianism.

Another trickster goddess is Mohini, the only female avatar of Vishnu. Mohini is a beautiful woman who tricks some demons into giving back a pot of immortality that they have stolen. In another tale she tricks a demon who was going to turn Shiva to ash into turning himself to ashes. There are other tales of her tricking demons out of magic crowns and humbling arrogant sages with delusions of godhead. She is apparently a popular goddess in western India, though I was unaware of her before this. She is undoubtedly a trickster.

There are a couple of tales of Isis tricking the sun god Re into giving up his name, and tricking Set into agreeing that Isis’ son Horus should be the king of the gods after Osiris has been killed.

I will learn more about Mohini, she’s the most interesting of these discoveries.