The time has come for me to tell my trickster tale. I’ve been holding on to this one because, while I can see what the trickster represented, it’s been more difficult putting into words why I believe he appeared to me – and in the form he took: Doug Bower.
During my late twenties I was undergoing huge transformations in my life, none more important than my ongoing romance with crop circles which began in 1995. A preface to this trickster tale, my prior post entitled “Pleiadean Communication and Crop Circles,” describes how – apparently by design – I was prepared for and ushered into the study and experience of crop circles.
Synchronicity goes hand in hand with the crop circle experience, at least for me and several of my croppie buddies. And in my view, many of the shapes themselves are archetypal in a way, resonating within many of us as an undeciphered but deeply meaningful language.
With all these Jungian concepts floating around, it’s no surprise that the trickster would show up somewhere in the mix. I don’t quite understand the trickster phenomenon, but people all around the world for all of time have reported it, so I take what I experienced in late summer of 1995 seriously. Again, what it means, and why it happened…I can only speculate.
I was standing in line at the supermarket in Emporia, Kansas, probably lost in thought. The crop circles had pretty much come in and swept me up in their magic earlier that year, and they were about all I could think about. The synchronicities, the beauty and the fun – I just couldn’t seem to get enough. But of course grocery shopping must go on.
A tap on my shoulder made me turn around. First I saw a hand holding out a piece of paper: my shopping list, which I’d apparently dropped. I took it, saying “thanks” before getting a look at this good samaritan behind me. When I finally did look up to meet his eyes – no exaggeration here – I nearly fainted. I can only imagine the look on my face as I realised that there behind me was Doug Bower himself – or someone or something who looked exactly like him, complete with a knowing smirk and twinkling eyes.
For a few timeless seconds this trickster engaged me in an unspoken dialogue. Like the meanings coded in the crop circles themselves, the trickster’s actions and words must be deciphered by each experiencer. I know this much: I didn’t get any negative vibe from him. What I sensed was that he knew what I was up to, and that he appreciated my excitement and dedication to the crop circles – a phenomenon with which, by now, everyone associated him.
He knew I recognised him as well, which certainly seemed to please him – moreso, I’d guess, since prior to the Inman crop circle months before I’d never even heard of him! Everyone I talked with seemed to know all about the “two old fellows from the pub” who claimed to be the source of all the hubbub – whereas I’d barely heard of crop circles, let alone Doug and Dave, until early 1995, when I read Circular Evidence and then wished for and received the Inman crop circle. (My unbiased wonder about the subject, untainted by misinformation, made me wonder if that’s why I was gifted with the Inman formation … but that’s another story.)
He and I didn’t exchange words, but I’ll never forget the smile in his eyes as he handed me my shopping list. Here was Doug Bower, trickster at large, appearing in a small-town Kansas supermarket on a hot summer afternoon. Who would’ve thought? Confronting me was the trickster himself, better known for teasing or attempting to throw one off track, instead appearing to offer me a bit of recognition and encouragement, and adding yet another layer of magic to the mystery.
But perhaps I misread the entire event. In handing me my dropped slip of paper, was his gesture simply a peace offering in disguise? There’s something to think about….
STACE TUSSEL
My gracious thanks to whoever took the photo of Doug. I pulled it off the internet, but there was no information attached about the photographer. And thank you, Colin, for your curious yet not so surprising addition to the story!