The weird quotes that preface the chapters of the "Illuminatus!" trilogy are thought by many readers to be the work of authors Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Sea. Truth is, "Principia Discordia," the "bible" from which these passages were lifted, is a real-life, zen-snickering, koan-spewing sacred text written in the late 1950s by proto-hippies Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst (Kerry Thornley) and Malaclypse the Younger (Greg Hill).
Discordianism, which involves the worship of Eris, Goddess of Chaos, bounces an infinite series of self-referential images between its mirrored spheres of seriousness and absurdity, until any semblance of sanity or control has been eradicated. Truly a self-destructing ideology, one of Discordianism's main goals is the violation of as many of its own tenants as possible. Latter-day weird religions such as the Church of the Subgenius drew heavily on Discordianism when drafting their own sacred scriptures.
A new revised edition of "Principia Discordia" has just been released by IllumiNet Press. It contains all the original material plus a new 34 page introduction to Discordianism by co-founder Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst.
(M. Frauenfelder)
Links:
Glossary:
ACCESS:
Principia Discordia
by Malaclypse the Younger
IllumiNet Press
P.O. Box 746
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
1991, Unnumbered pages, $9.95
"Out of Order" the "sect organ" for the Orthodox Discordian Society is available from:
The Orthodox Discordian Society
Box 5498
Atlanta, GA 30307
Here is the TEXT POPUP for Discordians:
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 and 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.
IT IS SO WRITTEN! SO BE IT. HAIL DISCORDIA!
AND BEHOLD, THUSLY WAS THE LAW FORMULATED:
IMPOSITION OF ORDER = ESCALATION OF DISORDER!
The Gospel According to Fred, 1:6
- From "Principia Discordia
