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If religion is the opiate of the masses, then Discordianism is the alcohol, caffeine, and something-or-other of the lunatic fringe." -Somebody Important at Some Point Anyone familiar with the Discordians knows the difficulties inherent in describing a vibrant aspect of Paganism that claims to "have no definition." With one of the major trends of Discordianism being one of decentralization and disagreement, is there a way to adequately describe it? To be true to Discordia (the Latin name of our primary Goddess, Eris), I would have to say 'yes, no, and maybe'. To start with, there are scores of Discordian cabals across the world and, thanks to the Internet, Discordian writings and ideas are proliferating. The two most famous Discordian groups are POEE and the Erisian Liberation Front. Even though many people look at the plethora of humorous writings and dismiss it as a religion, Discordians take their humorous traditions very seriously...to a point. A tradition, or a set of traditions based around the Goddess Eris is by nature paradoxical and difficult to pin down. But it is, in my opinion, time that other Pagans realize that Eris worshippers are just as respectable as any other group, despite the fact that we laugh at ourselves and others.
The foundation of the Discordian movement in modern times comes from the paradoxical writing collection known as the "Principia Discordia, or How I found the Goddess and what I did with Her when I found Her." It tells the story of two young men in a bowling alley who receive the first Erisian Revelation back in 1957 or 58. (In true Discordian fashion, which year is never cleared up.) The men go on a search of mythologies and discover Eris, the Goddess of Confusion, Chaos, and Discord. (Eris is also the Greek word for 'strife'.) They surmised that chaos underlies everything, including order and the followers of order. "Look around and you can see all of the chaos in everything just as much as you can see order." The two men declare themselves to be High Priests of their own madness and start a Discordian Society "for whatever that may turn out to be." The explosion of the American counter-culture and the revival of surrealism met Discordianism (1960's and 70's) and the result was a Neo-Pagan parody religion of mirth and laughter. During this time the two main groups of the Discordian Society, POEE 'the Paratheo-Anametamystikhood of Eris Esoteric' and the Erisian Liberation Front set down the major practices and ideas that have since influenced later groups of Discordians, most of which were included in later editions of the Principia Discordia. It can also be said (although, many people will argue against this) that the post-modern magical phenomenon of Chaos Magic developed under Discordian influences. The main difference between Discordians and Chaos Mages is that Discordians revere the Goddess Eris, whereas Chaos Mages revere whatever works at the moment. Discordian thought runs a full spectrum from believers in a literal Goddess Eris to those who hold a healthy agnosticism towards all gods. Today there are several active Discordian groups known as 'cabals' which continue to develop and practice Discordian ideas and rituals. POEE is still around, although it is debated whether or not the ELF still exists. Some of the active groups today are the Church of No Dead Saints in San Francisco, the Discordian Intelligence Agency, which is scattered in places as far afield as Australia, Germany, and Pennsylvania, and the Purple Monkey Mafia which started in Chicago but claims to have members in LA, Paris, and Seattle. There are many other groups, too numerous to list here. (Please refer to the list of website links below.) The organization of the groups within the Discordian Society (or without, as some groups will no doubt claim) is decentralized. Usually people will either join a pre-existing cabal, or if Eris decides to give new revelations, will start their own cabal. Within cabals there is usually an 'episkopos', who is responsible for the rituals, revelations, and organization. Thus it can be said that each cabal may choose its own organization. The major trend is towards non-hierarchy as episkoposes are known to hand off the leadership mantle whenever they see fit.
One of the main tenets of Discordianism is that 'it is a firm belief that it is a mistake to hold firm beliefs'. That said, it is possible (though highly disagreeable) to pin down a few ideas that are common among Discordians. One is a dedication to personal 'illumination' by exploring as many belief systems as possible so that a person will realize the absurdity of taking any idea too far. Another idea is 'if it makes you cry, it is real; if it makes you laugh, then it is probably true.' Discordians worship Eris, who is probably the most paradoxical being people could ever worship. If they don't worship Her then they explore Her in some way or another. They see in Her a symbol of freedom from all constraints and a license to become the best person one can be. Why should the self be limited to circumstances of birth and upbringing, or even a single ego? Eris was much maligned and feared by the ancients as the embodiment of disorder. But from a perspective that sees chaos as underlying everything, Eris is an embodiment of ultimate creativity. All things need to come apart for new things to grow. Most Discordians will refer to the story known as the 'Original Snub' which explains a little bit about Eris. In this story, the Olympians assembled at a feast on Mount Olympus (called Limbo Peak by Discordians). They decide not to invite Eris due to Her reputation for causing chaos and strife. When Eris finds this out, She decides to get even with the Olympians by making a golden apple and carving the word 'kallisti' (to the prettiest) on its side. She sneaks up to the banquet hall and rolls the apple inside. Once the Olympians see this, they immediately set to fighting each other over who deserves the apple. From this point in the story, the various accounts diverge. Discordians take solace in this story whenever they themselves are snubbed. They also use it as an example of active defiance in the face of unwarranted exclusion. The story begs the question 'if Eris was so bad, how come it was the rest of the Olympians who caused the commotion?' Eris can be seen, in this light, as the one who makes you realize the inherent capacity for strife you already have. The 'Original Snub' is said to be the foundation myth of Discordianism, if such a thing could be said. Another approach to that myth is to see the apple as the world and all it has to offer. To whom would Eris say it belonged? Kallisti...the prettiest one. And who is the prettiest one? We all are. If only we could realize it. Another important myth is the 'Curse of Grayface', which explains how people lost touch with the happy anarchy of creative chaos and become shackled to 'order'. Grayface is a humorless person who proceeds to deceive others into believing that order and seriousness should be the foundation of existence. This myth explains the origins of negativity and destructive chaos, which according to Discordianism, can only happen when order is imposed. The Curse of Grayface is as much a parody of other traditions' ideas of "what-went-wrong" as it is a clear insight into the nature of human mentality. One thing we have in common with the very beautiful Wiccan 'Charge of the Goddess' is the most famous 'Charge of Eris' which goes: "I have come to tell you that you are free. Many ages ago, My consciousness left humanity, that they might develop themselves. I return to find this development approaching completion, but hindered by fear and by misunderstanding. You have built for yourselves psychic suits of armor, and clad in them, your vision is restricted, your movements are clumsy and painful, your skin is bruised, and your spirit is broiled in the sun. I am chaos. I am the substance from which your artists and scientists build rhythms. I am the spirit with which your children and clowns laugh in happy anarchy. I am chaos. I am alive, and I tell you that you are free." To Eris worshippers, this is as evocative to us as the Charge of the Goddess is to Wiccans. With a charge so powerful, one can probably glimpse why anyone would become a Discordian. Discordians focus on disorder, which is symbolized by the golden apple with kallisti written on it, as a corrective for society's emphasis on order. But we don't forget that since chaos underlies everything then order is also an expression of chaos. Our symbol for that order is a pentagon. The two symbols placed within a yin-yang type background make up what we call the Sacred Chao [kao or 'cow']. The Sacred Chao symbolizes the necessity of both order and disorder as expressions of creativity. When in balance, we call it the Hodge-Podge. "To choose order over disorder, or disorder over order, is to accept a path composed of both the creative and the destructive. But to choose the creative over the destructive is an all-creative path composed of both order and disorder. To accomplish this, one need only accept creative disorder along with, and equal to, creative order, and also be willing to reject destructive order as an undesirable equal to destructive disorder." (PD) Those Eris worshippers who have their own profound experiences with Eris, either through revelations, visions, or divine inspiration, take the letters KSC after their names to signify "Keeper of the Sacred Chao." KSCs sail the seas of chaotic thoughts, magics and emotions while providing illumination to their fellow Discordians, if they wish. They are Eris's special group of crazy adherents. KSCs are often the catalysts of cabals and many happen to be the sort of people who can practice Discordian magic and get results. They also tend to be more esoteric and steeped in 'chaosophy' than most, but communion with Eris will do that. There is also the widespread notion of the five stages, which is another expression of the ubiquitous 'law of fives' in Discordian thought. This idea is much like the 'aeonics' idea expressed within Chaos Magic (and they probably got the idea from us). The five stages are used to help understand and explain socio-historical developments. The First stage is Chaos, in which everything is in its natural state. Order and disorder are in dynamic balance. Organization occurs naturally. Authoritarian people hate this stage. It is like Hegel's thesis. It is the start and finish of every society. (Corresponding deity = Eris.) The second stage is Discord, which starts with the appearance of ruling classes and governance. Authority becomes the main organizer of systems and of beliefs. It is Hegel's antithesis. The underclasses discover that its interests are not the same as the rulers. Society is thus divided. The third stage is Confusion, in which some attempt is made to restore balance or achieve a synthesis. It is an attempt to restore nature through unnatural means. Intuition is mistrusted. People try to break free of authoritarian ideas by using those same ideas. Every revolution becomes a mirror of what it overthrows. The forth stage is Bureaucracy, what we call the 'parenthesis' that Hegel missed, in which the synthesis does not reconcile the opposites. Society is exhausted, while appearing to be thriving. Ideas and rules have become more important than the people who create them. Superior people are ruled by idiocy. The fifth stage is the Aftermath, and represents the drift back to chaos. It is a transitional period where many people, in desperation or hope, turn to intuition and magic in order to rediscover their natures. Bureaucracy has collapsed under its own weight of intellectual ideas and 'paperwork'. Each one of these stages also has correspondences with deities, tarot cards, planets, the zodiac, elements, and more. They would be too numerous to list here. But anyone can find them in the PD or in the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Some Discordian practices include the universalization of pope-hood - every now and then declaring that every human being is an authentic pope. (We also have mome-hood for those who want that.) Discordians often like to canonize themselves and others, and you will find many saint names among us. When cabals gather for ritual, the only thing that can be assured is that all traditions are fair game and will be used in humorous ways. The Principia Discordia includes some of the more well known rituals. One practice that may be of interest to magical operators is the use of laughter in banishing. In terms of conduct, Discordians adhere to the Chaoist idea that 'nothing is true and everything is permissible.' It sounds like a blanket endorsement for any sort of behavior. Even so, it is said that some religions preach love, compassion, law, and forgiveness but result in hatred, disorder and destruction. Discordianism preaches chaos, confusion, and disorder, and results in love, creativity, freedom, and laughter. The reason why an ethic of 'everything is permissible' works within Discordianism is the ultimate respect given to the individual to work out their own approach to Eris. We do not believe in manipulating people or even trying to control their expressions, even if they disagree with us. And this idea comes from the idea that we are all free right now. If this sounds like anarchy, you may be right...maybe.
Laughter and paradox are essential in worshiping Eris. One of the ways we worship Eris is by engaging in 'guerrilla mind' tricks - making paradoxical flyers to distribute, posting esoterica in unlikely places, counter-evangelism, surrealist pranking, ontological trickery, giving absurd rewards to distinguished individuals, etc. We believe that such things are essential to someone on any honest spiritual path. Laughter opens minds more than anything else can. Laughter is also one of the best ways to worship. Why wouldn't your Goddesses/Gods wish to see you having a rip-roaring good time? Another way we worship Her is to design our own rituals, on the fly - and they had better be good rituals, Eris help us - in which we mimic or parody other more 'serious' traditions. Due to the nature of Discordianism, the rituals are at the whim of the moment. Often, no two rituals are the same. What the rituals lack in continuity, they make up for in creativity, and usually, though not always; cabals will have organically developed sets of rituals which fit the participants and Eris just fine. The magical tools we use in rituals more often depend upon the idiosyncrasies of the episkopos than on any tradition. Sacred forks may replace athames for circle casting. Five quarters may be called instead of four. For divination, we may use TV screens to scry as readily as black plates or crystal balls. For incense we may burn clove cigarettes. Sometimes we cast no circles and at other times we may cast differently shaped sacred spots. If this appears silly, that is the main point. Another point is that people should learn to work rituals with any or no tools. Discordian ritual and worship is really about incorporating everything around you and being always ready to so.
This is probably the easiest aspect of Discordianism to describe as it is pretty much clear for Discordians even if they seemingly argue over its importance. All religious traditions have their own set calendars and Discordianism is no exception. The year is broken down into five seasons named after the five stages, each one having a patron from the legendary five Erisian Apostles from history - Chaos, Discord, Confusion, Bureaucracy, and the Aftermath - of 73 days each. The patrons are Hung Mung, Dr. Van Van Mojo, Sri Sayadasti, Zarathud, and the Elder Malaclypse. There are five-day weeks in which the days are named thus: Sweetmorn, Boomtime, Pungenday, Prickle-Prickle, and Setting Orange. Both the seasons and the five-day weeks are in keeping with the law of fives that Discordians favor. The five Discordian elements are sweet, boom, pungent, prickle, and orange. The fives also stand for the five elements (four plus spirit) so common in other Neo-Pagan traditions. If you notice, the weekday names each reference a particular physical sense and Discordians tend to meditate on the particular sense that the name refers to. It can be said that the Discordian calendar is the easiest yet most profound thing for outsiders to grasp. Special holidays occur. Apostle Holydays, named after the five legendary Erisian apostles, occur on the fifth day of each season. So we have Mungday, Mojoday, Syaday, Zaraday, and Maladay. On each one of these days, Discordians celebrate the aspects of the apostle who most embodied that season. On the 50th day of each season, there are holydays which celebrate the aspects of the season itself - Chaoflux, Discoflux, Confuflux, Bureflux, and Afflux. Each cabal tends to celebrate the holydays in different ways. In practice, many Discordians also borrow some more holidays from the broader Neo- Pagan community such as Samhain. Those many Discordians who use the calendar date it from the Original Snub said to have taken place around 3169 years ago, at the time of this writing. So 2003 = 3169. And true to the spirit of Discordianism, not everyone uses this calendar.
Many Discordians are also practitioners of other traditions such as Wicca, or variations of Witchcraft. Eris worshippers, such as me, also have other deities. Some are even members of other religions such as Buddhism - Zen is a particular favorite, and sometimes Discordianism is described as a laugh happy Pagan Zen. Many of the major Neo- Pagan traditions of today started off as parodies and/or eclectic rip-offs of other occult traditions, and Discordianism is no exception. The major difference is that with a Goddess such as Eris, and with sacred scriptures that are absurd, Discordianism tends to stay humorous and non-dogmatic and this spirit does flow through other Neo-Pagan traditions as manifested in play and mirth. While many practitioners of Chaos Magic do not consider themselves Pagans (though it doesn't stop them from stealing Pagan traditions), those of a Discordian flavor will be more likely to refer to themselves as such. Not all Discordians consider themselves to be practitioners of Chaos Magic, but many of the foundations of today's Chaos Magic were laid by the Discordian Society. Though it is extremely tempting to claim Chaos Magic to be a Discordian offshoot, it might be more helpful to think of the two paths as 'lovers'. Discordianism can be said to be henotheistic, meaning that one Goddess is worshipped primarily but not to the exclusion of other deities' existences. There are many Discordians who are also polytheists and see the 'Upstart of One Hand Clapping' in many of the other deities. This description is really a brief one and in no way could hope to capture the full spectrum of Discordianism. It is hoped that those who would like further information about the vast realm of Discordian esoterica and eristica will consult either some of the sites listed below or their own pineal glands. If you think that Discordianism is just a bunch of silly craziness that makes no sense, then you probably need to look again. If you think that Discordianism is terribly confusing, we may have more in common than you think. If you think that Discordianism is something-or-other but can't quite grasp it, hail Eris, you may understand. [Originally written on Setting Orange, Aftermath 13th, 3169/Saturday, November 1st, 2003/Samhain] "The human race will begin solving its problems on the day that it ceases taking itself so seriously." -Principia Discordia "Humanity is a giant forced to live in a pygmy's hut. Instead of knocking the damned walls down, we fight each other for more space inside." "Enough research tends to support one's theory."
Non Fiction: The Principia Discordia - Gregory Hill and Kerry Thornley The Apocrypha Discordia (online only - http://www.23ae.com/files/apocrypha2.pdf) Liber Null & Psychonaut - Peter J. Carroll Liber Kaos - Peter J. Carroll Drawing Down the Moon (pgs. 328-337) - Margot Adler The Path of Chaos "Complete Revelation Version" (online only - http://www.oocities.org/tribhis/ThePathofChaos.html) Condensed Chaos - Phil Hine (Note: The majority of Discordian writings have never been published except online due to a strict adherence to the kopyleft (k) principal.) Fiction: The Illuminatus! Trilogy - Robert Anton Wilson (a fiction work adhering to Discordian ideas with much info about Discordianism in its appendixes) Shrodinger's Cat Trilogy - Robert Anton Wilson Masks of the Illuminati - Robert Anton Wilson The Cosmic Trigger - R.A. Wilson Websites: http://www.principiadiscordia.com/ (a website with an online Principia Discordia) http://www.discordian.com/ (The Discordian.com "Church of No Dead Saints" website) http://www.oocities.org/tribhis (The Purple Monkey Mafia website - a meandering warren of pages and writings gathered by the PMM) http://www.poee.org/ (The POEE website) http://www.poee.org.uk (The POEE site of the Reverend Synaptyx) http://www.verthaine.chaosmagic.com/ (The Church of Eris) http://www.verthaine.sphosting.com/ (The Book of Eris) http://www.eriswerks.org/ http://www.extremezen.vze.com/ (DIA info and St. Trollax's writings) http://www.23ae.com/ (the 23 apples of Eris) http://devia.23ae.com/(the Devia Discordia website) http://www.chaosmatrix.org/ (the ChaosMatrix site - Chaos Magic and Occult site that has a section on Discordianism) http://www.chaosmagic.com/ (the Chaos Magic site - as good a starting place as any for those interested in Chaos Magic) For more Discordian/Erisian websites, see both the PMM links pages and the links at the above sites, or do a web search. |
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