Discordianism

Discordianism is a modern religion based around the Goddess of chaos, Eris. Its holy book is known as the Principia Discordia, and has been published in several different editions, with the earliest dating back to 1955. Speculation has often raged on whether or not the religion itself was meant to be taken seriously, even among its originators. It has been described as "Somewhere between parody, social commentary, and religion...". It has been mentioned in several modern publications, and many profess to be adherents if not to the religion itself, then to the coherent underlying philosophy of good-natured anarchy. The religion varies from traditional practices of non-pagan religions in many ways, but is still monotheistic. It is said to be a parody of many elements from existing religions. Greg Hill and Kerry Thornley authored the original Principia Discordia under the respective pseudonyms "Malaclypse the Younger", and "Omar Khayyam Ravenhearst".

Eris herself was a goddess in the Greek pantheon. The Principia Discordia details how Eris was not invited to a feté on Mount Olympus, due to her reputation as a troublemaker. So having discovered this and concocted a plan for revenge, she crafted an apple out of gold and wrote "To the prettiest one" upon it in Greek. Rolling it into the party, she caused much squabbling, and, inadvertently, the Trojan War. In Discordianism, this is known as "The Original Snub", and it is said that while the fighting was going on, Eris herself went off to partake of "No Hot Dog Buns". This is the reason why Discordians are forbidden from partaking of hot dog buns. It is said that they eat "No Hot Dog Buns" for such was the solace of Goddess when she was confronted with the original snub. To this day, the golden apple of discord, along with the sacred chao, are symbols of Discordianism.

The sacred chao is a symbol akin to a yin-yang, except that a pentagon (representing order) is on one side, and the golden apple (representing disorder) is on the other side. It represents harmony between the two forces, and how one without the other cannot exist in balance, as revealed in the Discordian creation story of Void and his daughters.

It is perhaps due to this falling out between Eris and the other gods and goddesses that Discordianism espouses her as a single deity. The Discordian edicts known as the "pentabarf" state that, "There is only one Goddess and she is your Goddess.". Methods for worshipping her are not detailed, other than consuming jelly donuts and orange juice, which, for her followers, would become as her body and her blood. Every Discordian, early in their apprenticeship, is required to go off and partake of a hot dog on a Friday. This is stated as being an act to remonstrate against the religious bans on consumption of animal, pork, cow, meat on Fridays, and hot dog buns. The latter is, in fact, a Discordian prohibition in and of itself.

Despite Omar and Malaclypse founding the religion, Discordianism is in no way hierarchial. For instance, the book itself reveals that Discordian "cabals" may be formed utterly independently of the Polyfather (Malaclypse), and contains enigmatic instructions on the rites required to do so. Indeed, one principle of Discordian worship is that every man, woman, and child on this earth is a genuine and authorized Pope of the house of the Apostles of Eris. Cards stating: "The bearer of this card is a genuine and authorized Pope..." with a disclaimer stating that everyone is, were included on a page of the Principia Discordia itself. These were to be distributed freely.

The idea of numerology and holy or sacred numbers is prevalent throughout Discordianism. The "law of fives", which states that all concepts can be linked to the number 5 in some way, whether directly or indirectly, is a common subject within the Principia Discordia. Each page had a five digit page number: the first three or four being zeros, then the actual page number following. The "pentabarf", a set of Discordian commandments, is also five in number. The Discordian calendar has five seasons, five holy days, Eris has five apostles, and so on. Discordianism is paradoxical, in that the abovementioned "pentabarf" forbids them from believing anything they read. The Holy 23 (two plus three equals five) is also acknowledged, and said to have been originated by Lord Omar Khayyam Ravenhearst's cabal.

The Principia Discordia leaves much unexplained. It does not give much information about specific practices to be undertaken in the worship of Eris. It does give a description of Eris, and a Discordian explanation for how the universe came into being. Discordians believe that neither order nor disorder are inherently good or bad. Instead, their bible makes a stark distinction between creative and distructive order, and between creative and destructive disorder. Destructive order and disorder are each seen as undesireable, while creative order and disorder are seen as desireable. Malaclypse and Omar are at first ignorant of this fact, and vilify chaos and discord in a "pre-revelation" passage from the Principia Discordia. No mention of the afterlife or a "heaven" is made in the Principia. Though it is stated that when an existent thing goes into non-existence, Spirituality, which was nameless and formless, would go home to the great "Void", the being who gave birth to everything, "...like a tired child home from a very wild circus."

Discordianism remonstrates against taking oneself too seriously. One example occurs when Malaclypse the Younger is depicted in the text as conversing with the Goddess Eris, who is speaking to him through his radio. He tells her of the world's woes, of "brothers killing brothers", of his concerns. She inquires and listens kindly. When he has explained the situation, Eris replies with "Well what is wrong with that, if it is what they wish to do?". Malaclypse then informs Eris that nobody wants it and everyone hates it. Her solution is "Well, then stop.". This gives way to the idea of nonsense as salvation, frequently touted within Discordianism.

Another common aspect of Discordianism is the seemingly universal answer: "Consult your pineal gland". This is thought to be a reference to the idea held by such individuals as Rick Strassman and René Descartes that the pineal gland is responsible for certain mystic experiences, and vivid dreams. The Principia Discordia professes that one can consult their pineal gland in order to speak to the Goddess Eris. Discordians do not pray too often, as their bible says, "It's too dangerous.". They fear getting a dangerous amount more than they asked for.

The sheer absurdity of some aspects of Discordian belief has prompted criticism, alongside such organizations as the Church of the Subgenius. It has been dubbed "not a real religion". While it may indeed be true that the religion's original intention was purely as a parody, some adherents at least claim to truly identify it as their method of worship.

The religion of Discordianism is not a polarized system of opposition between order and chaos, where chaos is seen as superior. The Principia Discordia specifically states that what a Discordian should oppose is destructive order. Order which oppresses or deliberately attempts to eliminate chaos within a system is seen as undesireable. Most prominent among those who inflict undesireable order in the bible of Discordianism, is Greyface. He is responsible for the Curse of Greyface.

The Principia states that Greyface was alive in the year 1166 BC and taught that life is serious and play is sin. The curse is a psychological and spiritual imbalance that results from these beliefs. It is directly opposite to the Discodian idea of nonsense as salvation. The message which Greyface gave to those who followed him was to "Look at all this order". He managed in some fashion (the Principia Discordia suggests that people were more gullible back then) to convince mankind to believe in Serious Order. This is touted within the bible of Discordianism as the specific reason why disorder and chaos are often viewed in such a negative light, and people have a tendency to fixate upon destructive disorder, even in the face of all of the constructive disorder in the world.

Counteracting the Curse of Greyface, blamed by Discordians for much of the ill feeling and misfortune in the world, is described within the Principia Discordia. As well as mystic rites such as the "Turkey Curse", the book states that mankind will begin solving its problems when it ceases taking itself so seriously.

A perpetual Discordian calendar is included in each edition of the Principia Discordia, and it is certainly a fact that most Linux distributions contain a file called "ddate", which gives the current date on the Discordian calendar. Other influences of Discordianism on literature and film can be seen in such works as Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's Illuminatus! trilogy, the movie The Number 23, and also in the popular Illuminati card game by Steve Jackson Games, where the Discordian Society is one of the player factions.

External links

SJ Games edition Principia Discordia in its entirety.