Discordianism (Redirected from Greyface)

Discordianism
Eris, the Greek goddess of discord
ScripturePrincipia Discordia and others
FounderMalaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst
Origin1960s
United States

Discordianism is a belief system based around Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord, and variously defined as a religion, philosophy, paradigm, or parody religion. It was founded after the 1963 publication of its holy book, the Principia Discordia, written by Greg Hill with Kerry Wendell Thornley, the two working under the pseudonyms Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst.

There is some discourse as to whether Discordianism should be regarded as a parody religion, and if so, to what degree. It is difficult to estimate the number of Discordians because they are not required to hold Discordianism as their only belief system.

Founding and structure

The foundational document of Discordianism is the Principia Discordia, fourth edition (1970), written by Malaclypse the Younger, an alias of Gregory Hill.

Episkopos

Episkoposes are the overseers of sects of Discordianism, who have presumably created their own sect of Discordianism. They speak to Eris through the use of their pineal gland. It is said in the Principia Discordia that Eris says different things to each listener. She may even say radically different things to each Episkopos, but all of what she says is equally her word (even if it contradicts another iteration of her word).

Popes

According to the Principia Discordia, "every single man, woman, and child on this Earth" is a pope. Included in the Principia Discordia is an official Pope card that may be reproduced and distributed freely to anyone and everyone.

Saints

There are also five classes of saints within Discordianism, who are those who best act as exemplars and are closer to perfection. Only the first of these classes "Saint Second Class" contains real human beings (deceased and alive), with higher classes reserved for fictional beings who, by virtue of being fictional, are better able to reach the Discordian view of perfection.

An example of a second-class saint is Emperor Norton, a citizen in 19th century San Francisco, who despite suffering delusions was beloved by much of the city. He is honoured as a saint within Discordianism for living his life according to truth as he saw it and a disregard for reality as others would perceive it.

Mythology

Eris and Aneris

In discordian mythology, Aneris is described as the sister of Eris a.k.a. Discordia. Whereas Eris/Discordia is the goddess of disorder and being, Aneris/Harmonia is the goddess of order and non-being.

"DOGMA III – HISTORY 32, 'COSMOGONY' " in Principia Discordia, states:

In the beginning there was VOID, who had two daughters; one (the smaller) was that of BEING, named ERIS, and one (the larger) was of NON-BEING, named ANERIS.

The sterile Aneris becomes jealous of Eris (who was born pregnant), and starts making existent things non-existent. This explains why life begins, and later ends in death.

And to this day, things appear and disappear in this very manner.

The names of Eris and Aneris (who are later given a brother, Spirituality), are used to show some fundamental Discordian principles in "Psycho-Metaphysics".[citation needed]

Hand of Eris

The Discordian five-fingered hand symbol.
The rotated symbol used for the dwarf planet Eris.

The "five-fingered hand of Eris" (shown at right) is one of several symbols used in Discordianism. It was adapted as an astronomical/astrological symbol for the dwarf planet Eris. Initially, the planetary symbol, designed by Discordian Denis Moskowitz, was rotated 90 degrees and had a cross-bar added so that it resembled two lunate epsilons (Є) back-to-back (), with epsilon being the Greek initial of 'Eris'. The cross-bar was later dropped, but the vertical orientation retained. (The Discordian symbol has no set orientation, but is most commonly horizontal.) The symbol has seen use in public-outreach publications by NASA, though planetary symbols play only a minor role in modern astronomy. The symbol was accepted by Unicode in 2016 as U+2BF0 ERIS FORM ONE ().

The "original snub"

Apple of Discord

The "original snub" is the Discordian name for the events leading up to the judgement of Paris, although more focus is put on the actions of Eris. Zeus believes that Eris is a troublemaker, so he does not invite her to Peleus and Thetis's wedding. Having been snubbed, Eris creates a golden apple with the word kallisti (Ancient Greek: καλλίστη, “for the prettiest”) inscribed in it. This, the Apple of Discord, is a notable symbol in Discordianism for its inclusion in the Sacred Chao, and is traditionally described as being made of gold (although whether that gold was metallic or Acapulco is noted as uncertain).

Some recent interpretations of the original snub place Eris as being not at all mischievous with her delivery of the apple, but instead suggest that Eris was simply bringing the apple as a wedding gift for Thetis. This interpretation would see Eris as innocent and her causing of chaos as a by-product of the other wedding guests’ reactions upon seeing her at the wedding.

Philosophy

Three core principles

The Principia Discordia holds three core principles: the Aneristic and Eristic principles representing order and disorder, and the notion that both are mere illusions.

Operation Mindfuck

Operation Mindfuck is an important practice in the Discordian religion, in which "all national calamities, assassinations, or conspiracies" are publicly attributed to the Bavarian Illuminati, an 18th century secret society, in an attempt to "sow the culture with paranoia," as well as to highlight the absurdity of conspiracy theories. The concept was developed by Kerry Thornley and Robert Anton Wilson in 1968 and given its name by Wilson and Robert Shea in The Illuminatus! Trilogy.

Writings

Discordian works include a number of books, not all of which actually exist. Among those that have been published are Principia Discordia, first published in 1965 (which includes portions of The Honest Book of Truth); and The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which had its first volume published in 1975.

Principia Discordia editions

The first edition was printed allegedly using Jim Garrison's Xerox printer in 1963. The second edition was published under the title Principia Discordia or How The West Was Lost in a limited edition of five copies (and released into the public domain) in 1965.

The "official symbol of POEE," the "Five-Fingered Hand of Eris." (POEE stands for Para­theo-ana­meta­mystik­hood of Eris Esoteric.)
showing the Hodge and Podge in dynamic tension
The Sacred Chao

In 1978, a copy of a work from Kerry Thornley titled THE PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA or HOW THE WEST WAS LOST was placed in the HSCA JFK collections as document 010857. Adam Gorightly, author of The Prankster and the Conspiracy about Kerry Thornley and the early Discordians, said the copy in the JFK collection was not a copy of the first edition but a later and altered version containing some of the original material. In an interview with researcher Brenton Clutterbuck, Gorightly said he had been given Greg Hill's copy of the first edition. This appeared in its entirety in Historia Discordia, a book on Discordian history released in spring of 2014.

Several other editions have been published by Steve Jackson Games and others.

Related works

Historia Discordia

Historia Discordia (2014) was compiled by Adam Gorightly with foreword by Robert Anton Wilson. It is a compilation of early Discordian photos, tracts, art collages, and more including works by Discordianism founders Greg Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) and Kerry Thornley (Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst). Among other things, it contains the The Honest Book of Truth and the first edition of Principia Discordia.

Chasing Eris

Chasing Eris (2018) by Brenton Clutterbuck is a snapshot of the state of international Discordianism sixty years after its foundation, documenting "a cross-section of international Discordianism" and exploring its influences on counterculture, nerd culture, the copyleft movement, pop music and other art forms as well as connections to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Charles Manson and the German secret service. The book includes several interviews and reports from the author's travels in North and South America, Australia, and Europe to meet Discordian individuals as well as whole groups. It also includes an interpretation of the Principia Discordia chapter "The Parable of The Bitter Tea" by its original author.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-27 21:10 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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