Discordianism












    

    I.
Profile Report
 of Discordianism

    

      

    1. 
Name:
 Discordianism, Erisianism

      

      

    2. 
Founder:
 Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst (Greg Hill and Kery Thornley)

      

      

    3. 
Date of Birth:
 Unknown

      

      

    4. 
Birth Place:
 San Francisco, California

      

      

    5. 
Year Founded:
 1958

      

      

    6. 
Brief History:
 While sipping coffee in a California bowling alley, Hill and Thornley suddenly found
  that they were the only humans moving. All the bowlers had been frozen in time. A
  dazzling revelation came to the two men and then everything returned to normal. They
  decided to write down what they had learned in a book called the
Principia Discordia
.

      

      

    7. 
Sacred or Revered Texts:
 The
Principia Discordia
 is the Bible of Discordianism. It is a montage of strange sayings and images placed
  together in a haphazard, chaotic manner. It has gone through five editions and volumes
  have floated around since the late fifties.

      

      

    8. Cult or Sect:

Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" 
and "sect" are employed in popular discourse.  Since the Religious 
Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and 
appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious 
diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative 
concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes.  For a 
more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the 
concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our 

Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find 
additional links to related issues. 

      

      

    9. 
Beliefs:
 Discordians presuppose that the world is actually chaos, confusion and disorder that
  we veil with a thin sheet of order and stability. Problems in the world come from those
  who impose order on others when it really isn't needed. Discordians worship Eris, the
  Greek Goddess of confusion. Eris began the Trojan War when she threw a golden apple into
  the crowd at a party she wasn't invited to. On it was inscribed the word "Kallisti." In
  Greek, it means "to the fairest." The other Goddesses fought over it and the ensuing
  chaos gave Eris a name. Discordians state that they have been talking about Chaos theory
  long before it became popular among scientists. The Discordians also revere the Sacred
  Chao, a yin-yang symbol that replaces the dots with a pentagon and the golden apple of
  Eris. They call this symbol the hodge podge and it represents the endless cycle of order
  and disorder that constantly redistribute power between themselves.

      

      

    10. 
Size of the group:
  Because of the amphorous nature of membership requirements and a lack of any organized
  form of worship, Discordianism's membership is difficult to ascertain. However, because
  the
Principia Discordia
 has gone through five printings, it can be assumed that are some persons who are
  amused or inspired by Hill and Thornley's work.

      

      

    11. 
Remarks:
 The web of discord touches many other audience cults. Discordian web pages are often
  linked to such groups as the Church of the Sub-Genius, the Cthulhu cults, Timothy
  Leary's devotees and the like. Although the work of the Discordians can not be measured
  as a group effort, the individual efforts to broadcast the Discordian message in
  imaginative ways is impressive. Audience cults have no concept of leadership in a
  traditional sense, and therefore they are constantly changing. Because of this
  metamorphizing way of life, the audience cults are often met with distrust by more
  conventional faiths and organizations.

    

    

    

    

    II.
Links
 to Discordian Web Sites

    

      

      
Discordia: Some of the Coolest Stuff...


      This vast home page is chock full of Discordian information, including links to the
  online version of the
Principia Discordia
, a list of Discordian Cabals, information about Eris and links to all other
  Discordian sites. This is the official homepage.

      
http://www.kbuxton.com/discordia/


      

      
Discordianism: What is
  Discordianism?


      This introduction to Discordia has a moderately sized directory with links to the
  Church of the Sub-Genius and Robert Anton Wilson's homepage (he wrote the
Illuminatus!
 trilogy). In fact, there is little to no text here besides the hot links. An
  unofficial home page.

      
http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~acb/discordianism


      

      
Principia Discordia


      The text of
Principia Discordia
 seems to come and go on the Internet.  In addition to the link above, here are some
  other sites where it was available when this link was last upgraded:
Principia Discordia,
Principia Discordia,
Principia Discordia
.  If you can't find at least one of these, then you probably shouldn't be looking for
  the Goddess.

      
http://www.babcom.com/principia/


      

      
HyperDiscordia-Do you
  believe that?


      "In this world, there are two kinds of people-those who Get It and those who Don't. If
  the meaning of this is not immediately obvious to you, count yourself as one of the
  latter." Hyperdiscordia could be called an extreme splinter of the greater audience
  cult, but most any of the cabals could be. This one just happens to have its own
  website.

      
http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/index.phtml


      

      
The Life of Karl Musser or How I
  Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Apple of Discord


      The Reverend Karl Musser heads the world's only organization for Discordian
  geographers, Cartographer's Conspiracy Cabal.  They are looking for new members, but be
  prepared to have your credentials scrutinized carefully before your membership
  certificate goes into the mail.  Go back on leavel to
Reverend Karl's Home Page
 and find some more smiles.

      
http://www.fantasymaps.com/stuff/karl.html


      
Ring of Fnords


      The meaning of Discordianism seems intentionally shrouded by those who find pleasure
  in the company of others who readily confess that one has to have a "somewhat convoluted
  mind" to get into this stuff.  This web ring joins together some 129 link-minded souls.
  But beware! You may never return.

      
http://www.bolthy.com/fnord/



      
Church of the Subgenius


      Rick Smith's MA Thesis on Nophilic Irreligions also discusses the Church of the
  Subgenius.  This is the home page of the Reverend "Bob" Dobbs and his gang.  Like
  Discordians, the Church of the Subgenius is a bit wacko, but fun.

      
http://www.subgenius.com


      
All Hail Discordia!


      One of the more interesting Discordian sites, this is filled with information about
  how to become a member, how to recruit others into the group, and the favorite mindgame
  of the Discordians: OM. This page is put together by the Cosmic Trigger, an older cabal
  that gets its name from the title of one of Robert Anton Wilson's books.

      
http://triode.apana.org.au:8080/~lh/disc.html


      

      
Discordianism:
  The Hidden Threat


      Although it's suspected that this page was written by a Discordian, "The Hidden Threat"
  can be classified as an anti-cult page. It is filled with paranoid thoughts about
  Discordians being involved in the Kennedy assassinations, engaging in sexual depravity
  and using dangerous drugs. Essentially, the writer is calling for the support of the
  Telecommunications Reform Act.

      
http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~acb/discordianism/hidden_threat.html


      

      

      

      
This page was created by Richard Loyd Smith III.  Rick's MA Thesis for the
  Sociology Departmentat the University of Virginia is entitled
Neophilic
  Irreligions: Audience Cults and the World Wide Web
.  The thesis is an engaging examination of the practices of the Discordians as well as
  those of the Church of the SubGenius and the cults of Cthulhu.

      

        Shortly after completing his thesis, Rick headed for Dallas.  That is the last we
  heard from him.  I suspect that one of those Discordian web pages on the
Ring of Fnords
 is Rick's. While I find a bit of Discordianism can bring a smile and calm a hectic
  day, I don't have the patience to comb through all those sites to see if I can find
  him.  If someone spots his thesis on another site, or other wise knows of his
  whereabouts, let me know.

      
Jeffrey K. Hadden

      

      

      

      

      III.
Selected References


      

      

      Malaclypse the Younger. 1994.

      
Principia Discordia
. Mason, MI: Loompanics, Inc.

      

      

      Melton, J. Gordon. 1982.

      
Magic, Witchcraft, and Paganism in America
. New York: Garland Publishing.

      

      

      
Created by: Rick Smith

      January, 1996

      University of Virginia

      Last modified: 07/18/01