Discordianism facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Discordianism |
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| Type | New religious movement |
| Classification | Virtual religion |
| Scripture | Principia Discordia |
| Founder | Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst |
| Origin | 1960s United States |
Discordianism is a belief system centered around Eris. She is the Greek goddess of disagreement and chaos. People see Discordianism in different ways. Some call it a religion, a new religious movement, or a way to comment on society. Before 2005, some even called it a parody religion.
This belief system began after its main book, Principia Discordia, was published in 1963. The book was written by Greg Hill and Kerry Wendell Thornley. They used the pen names Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst.
A scholar named David Chidester thought Discordianism was the first "virtual religion." This means it was one of the first religions to exist mostly online or through shared ideas, rather than in physical churches. It can be hard to count how many Discordians there are. This is because people don't have to follow only Discordianism. They can believe in other things too.
According to Arthur Versluis, Discordianism helped shape and reflected the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. This was a time when many young people questioned traditional ways of life.
Contents
What is Discordianism?
The main book of Discordianism is Principia Discordia. It was written by Gregory Hill, also known as Malaclypse the Younger. The book suggests that Discordianism was created to balance out other religions. These religions often focus on order. Principia Discordia talks a lot about chaos. It says chaos is a very basic part of the universe.
The idea is to balance the creative forces of order and disorder. But the book often focuses more on the messy parts of the world. Sometimes, it even makes the forces of order seem bad. Many religions value harmony and order. But few show respect for the disorder we all experience.
Groups in Discordianism
The Discordian Society
This is the most general group. It probably includes all Discordians. Its definition is "The Discordian Society has no definition." Many members also follow Neopaganism or Thelema.
POEE
The Paratheo-Anametamystikhood Of Eris Esoteric (POEE) is a specific group within Discordianism. It was started by Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst. It calls itself a "non-prophet irreligious disorganisation." The Principia Discordia explains how POEE is set up.
POEE has five levels, or DEGREES:
- The first is the LEGIONNAIRE DISCIPLE. This is like a beginner.
- Next is the LEGIONNAIRE DEACON, who is learning more.
- Then comes an Ordained POEE PRIEST/PRIESTESS or a CHAPLAIN.
- Above them is the HIGH PRIEST, called the Polyfather.
- The highest level is POEE POPE.
LEGIONNAIRE DISCIPLES can invite others to join the Discordian Society. PRIESTS choose their own DEACONS. The POLYFATHER ordains Priests. The book doesn't say how POPES are chosen.
Episkoposes
Episkoposes are like leaders or overseers of different Discordian groups. They are believed to talk to Eris using their pineal gland. The Principia Discordia says that Eris tells different things to each person. She might even say very different things to each Episkopos. But everything she says is equally her word, even if it seems to contradict something else.
Popes
The Principia Discordia says that "every single man, woman, and child on this Earth" is a pope. The book even includes an official Pope card. Anyone can copy and share this card freely with others.
Saints
Discordianism has five types of saints. Saints are people who are seen as examples of perfection. Only the first type, "Saint Second Class," includes real people, both living and dead. The higher types are for fictional beings. This is because fictional characters can more easily reach the Discordian idea of perfection.
One example of a second-class saint is Emperor Norton. He lived in San Francisco in the 1800s. Even though he had delusions, many people in the city loved him. He is honored as a saint because he lived his life based on what he believed was true. He didn't care about what others thought was reality.
Discordian Stories
Eris, Aneris, and Spirituality
In Discordian stories, Aneris is the sister of Eris. Eris is the goddess of disorder and existence. Aneris, also called Harmonia, is the goddess of order and non-existence.
The Principia Discordia says: "In the beginning there was VOID. VOID had two daughters. One was smaller and was of BEING, named ERIS. The other was larger and was of NON-BEING, named ANERIS."
Aneris was jealous of Eris, who was born pregnant. So Aneris started making existing things disappear. This explains why life begins and then ends in death. Things appear and disappear this way even today.
However, the Void decided that Aneris could not take away her brother, Spirituality. Spirituality could only return to the Void itself. This teaches that non-existence will take us back from existence. And our spirit will return to the Void, "like a tired child home from a very wild circus."
Hand of Eris
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The "five-fingered hand of Eris" is one of the symbols used in Discordianism. It was later used as a symbol for the dwarf planet Eris. The original planetary symbol was rotated and had a cross-bar. This made it look like two Greek epsilon letters (Є) back-to-back. Epsilon is the first letter of 'Eris' in Greek. The cross-bar was later removed, but the vertical direction stayed. This symbol has even appeared in a NASA publication.
The Original Snub
The "Original Snub" is what Discordians call the events that led to the judgement of Paris. This story focuses on Eris's actions. Zeus thought Eris caused too much trouble. So, he didn't invite her to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Feeling left out, Eris created a golden apple. On it, she wrote kallisti, which means “for the prettiest.”
This Apple of Discord is an important symbol in Discordianism. It is part of the Sacred Chao symbol. The apple is usually described as being made of gold.
The Curse of Greyface
The Curse of Greyface is a very important part of Discordianism. It is mentioned often in the Principia Discordia. The book says that Greyface was a man who lived in 1166 BC. He taught that life is serious and playing is a sin. The "curse" is the mental and spiritual imbalance that comes from these beliefs. This imbalance can affect individuals, groups, and even whole civilizations.
To fight the Curse of Greyface, the Principia Discordia suggests loving chaos and playing with Eris. It also gives "The Turkey Curse." This curse is meant to stop harmful order. It gets its name because the special words used sound like a turkey.
Discordian Beliefs
Three Core Principles
The Principia Discordia has three main ideas. These are the Aneristic principle (order) and the Eristic principle (disorder). The third idea is that both order and disorder are just illusions.
The Pentabarf
The Pentabarf are five rules in Discordianism. David G. Robertson calls them "the Discordian take on the Ten Commandments." Discordians worship Eris, so their views can be different from person to person. This is because order, disorder, or chaos are not strict requirements for being a Discordian. The fifth rule shows this idea.
"I—There is no Goddess but Goddess and She is Your Goddess. There is no Erisian Movement but The Erisian Movement and it is The Erisian Movement. And every Golden Apple Corps is the beloved home of a Golden Worm. II—A Discordian Shall Always use the Official Discordian Document Numbering System. III—A Discordian is Required during his early Illumination to Go Off Alone & Partake Joyously of a Hot Dog on a Friday; this Devotive Ceremony to Remonstrate against the popular Paganisms of the Day: of Catholic Christendom (no meat on Friday), of Judaism (no meat of Pork), of Hindic Peoples (no meat of Beef), of Buddhists (no meat of animal), and of Discordians (No Hot Dog Buns). IV—A Discordian shall Partake of No Hot Dog Buns, for Such was the Solace of Our Goddess when She was Confronted with The Original Snub. V—A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he Reads." —Principia Discordia
Sri Syadasti
The third "apostle of Eris" is named Sri Syadasti. This name is from Sanskrit. It means: All statements are true in some way, false in some way, meaningless in some way, true and false in some way, true and meaningless in some way, false and meaningless in some way, and true and false and meaningless in some way.
The Sacred Chao
The Sacred Chao is a special symbol created in Discordianism. It was designed by the Apostle Hung Mung in ancient China. It looks like a changed version of the Yin-Yang symbol from Taoism. But the Sacred Chao is not the same as the Taoist Yin-Yang.
On one side of the Sacred Chao is a pentagon. On the other side is the golden Apple of Discord. The Sacred Chao represents everything anyone would ever need to know about anything. It also symbolizes everything not worth knowing, shown by the empty space inside it.
Discordians say "chao" like "cow." This makes "Sacred Chao," "Holy Chao," and "Wholly Chao" into fun wordplays and inside jokes.
Discordian Books
Discordian works include several books. One is Principia Discordia, first published in 1965. It contains parts of another work called The Honest Book of Truth. Another important work is The Illuminatus! Trilogy, with its first book published in 1975.
Principia Discordia Editions
The first edition of Principia Discordia was printed in 1963. The second edition came out in 1965. It was called Principia Discordia or How The West Was Lost. Only five copies were made, and it was released for everyone to use freely.
In 1978, a copy of a work by Kerry Thornley was placed in the HSCA JFK collections. It was titled THE PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA or HOW THE WEST WAS LOST. Adam Gorightly said he had Greg Hill's copy of the first edition. This full text appeared in Historia Discordia, a book about Discordian history, in 2014.
Other Related Works
The Discordian movement includes many different works, both real and fictional. They explore ideas of chaos, humor, and different ways of thinking about spirituality. These include Zen Without Zen Masters by Camden Benares. It has stories and riddles that fit the Discordian style. Zenarchy by Kerry Thornley suggests a peaceful way to approach anarchy, mixed with Zen ideas.
Natural Law, or Don't Put a Rubber on Your Willy by Robert Anton Wilson talks about personal freedom and self-awareness. There are also collections like Apocrypha Discordia and Historia Discordia. These books bring together different writings from the Discordian tradition. They include works by both original and newer Discordians.
Some books also look at the lives of important Discordian figures. The Prankster and the Conspiracy by Adam Gorightly focuses on Kerry Thornley's connections with counterculture figures. Chasing Eris by Brenton Clutterbuck deeply examines how Discordianism has affected culture. It includes interviews and insights into the movement's global reach.
Studying Discordianism
The first academic study of Discordianism was David Chidester's 2005 book Authentic Fakes. He wrote that if you could trace the history of virtual religions online, it would likely start with Discordianism. According to J. Christian Greer, this study came out just as Discordianism was changing. It went from being seen as a parody religion to a new religious movement.
An encyclopedia entry from 2002 described Discordianism as "somewhere between parody, social commentary, and religion." However, David G. Robertson wrote that even though Hill and Thornley started Discordianism as a joke, they eventually came to believe in Eris. Robertson explains that the Principia Discordia has a complex religious system. This system is often hidden by its chaotic structure.
He says the ideas of the Principia are best shown by the symbol of the Sacred Chao. The Sacred Chao symbolizes the Discordian idea that both order and chaos are ideas made by humans. Believing that one is more "true" than the other is an illusion. The Sacred Chao represents "pure chaos," which is the basic reality of everything. It is a level beyond any differences we might make.
Robertson also wrote in 2016 that Discordians have created a complex and unique view of the universe and its beliefs. He said that Discordianism has come to have real religious meaning for many of its followers. Because of this, Discordianism can no longer be seen as just a parody religion.
See also
- 23 enigma
- Chaos magic
- Church of the SubGenius
- Discordian calendar
- Religion and the Internet
- Religious satire
- SNAFU Principle
- Symbol of Chaos
- The All
- The Void
- Trivialism
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