Principia Discordia

The ''Principia Discordia'' is the first published Discordian religious text. It was written by Greg Hill ( Malaclypse the Younger) with Kerry Wendell Thornley (Lord Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst) and others. The first edition was printed 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 in 1965. The phrase ''Principia Discordia'', reminiscent of Isaac Newton's 1687 ''Principia Mathematica'', is presumably intended to mean ''Discordant Principles'', or ''Principles of Discordance''.

The ''Principia'' describes the Discordian Society and its Goddess Eris, as well as the basics of the POEE denomination of Discordianism. It features typewritten and handwritten text intermixed with clip art, stamps, and seals appropriated from other sources. It is quoted extensively in and forms the basis for several themes within the satirical 1975 science fiction book '' The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.

Notable symbols in the book include the Apple of Discord, the pentagon, and the "Sacred Chao", which resembles the Taijitu of Taoism, but the two principles depicted are "Hodge" and "Podge" rather than yin and yang, and they are represented by the apple and the pentagon, and not by dots. Saints identified include Emperor Norton, Yossarian, Don Quixote, and Bokonon. The ''Principia'' also introduces the mysterious word " fnord", later popularized in ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy''; the trilogy itself is mentioned in the afterword to the Loompanics edition, and in the various introductions to the fifth editions.

Overview

The ''Principia Discordia'' holds three core principles: the Aneristic Principle (order), the Eristic Principle (disorder) and the notion that both are mere illusions. The following excerpt summarizes these principles:

History

The ''Principia Discordia or How The West Was Lost'' was first published in a limited edition of five copies and released into the public domain in 1965. The full title of the fourth and most well-known edition is ''Principia Discordia or How I Found Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her: The Magnum Opiate Of Malaclypse The Younger, Wherein is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely Anything''. Included on page 75 is the following note about the history of the ''Principia'':

Additionally, the "contents of this edition" note in the Loompanics edition identifies the fourth edition as having originally been published by Rip Off Press of San Francisco, California.

A "Fifth Edition" consisting of a single Western Union telegram page filled with the letter M was published as an appendix to the Loompanics and SJ Games re-printings of the 4th Edition.

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. 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. In 2015 Gorightly stated that he now believed that the copy in the JFK collection was an earlier draft of the Principia Discordia predating the first edition.

The ''Principia'' includes a notice which purports to disclaim any copyright in relation to the work: "Ⓚ All Rites Reversed – reprint what you like." Regardless of the legal effect of this notice, the ''Principia'' has been widely disseminated in the public domain via the Internet and more traditional print publishers. Some re-publishers have claimed copyright in relation to the additional material included in their editions.

Reprints of the fourth and fifth editions

* Revisionist Press published a red hardcover of the fourth edition in 1976, adding a stamp reading "This work is a bridge so move on thru" to the right of the golden apple on page 00075. ()
* Loompanics Unlimited published a version (the "yellow cover version") in 1979, adding an introduction by Robert Anton Wilson, an afterword by Malaclypse the Younger, and the aforementioned "Fifth Edition". () This version is reprinted by Paladin Press under .
* Steve Jackson Games published a version (the "black cover version") in 1994, adding an introduction by Steve Jackson and 20 pages of new Discordian text, mostly collected from online Discordians. () Steve Jackson Games also publishes Discordian and Illuminati-inspired games, such as GURPS Illuminati and the Illuminati card game.
* Last Word Press, of Olympia, Washington, released a series of reprints of the Loompanics/Paladin Press editions beginning in 2009, with a series of different cover designs and paper stocks, including a rainbow edition. Their 2015 edition is printed under .
*FSoF Cabal's publishing division has published the "Evangelical" edition since 2009 ().

Mythology

In Discordian mythology, Aneris is described as the sister of Eris aka 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:

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:

The names of Eris and Aneris (who are later given an in-between brother, ''Spirituality''), are used to show some fundamental Discordian principles in "Psycho-Metaphysics":

Cusack points out that this is "distilled into a teaching about the ultimate fate of humans: 'so it shall be that non-existence shall take us back from existence and that nameless spirituality shall return to the Void, like a tired child home from a very wild circus'.".

The book's philosophical system of Eristic, Spiritual, and Aneristic principles borrows from Zen Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Existentialism.

Theology

David G. Robertson discusses Discordian theology in the 2012 book ''Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production'', writing that despite Discordian claims that its 'catmas' are soft, optional beliefs,

Other Discordian works

The Discordian movement encompasses a diverse array of works, both real and fictitious, that explore themes of chaos, satire, and alternative spirituality. These include ''Zen Without Zen Masters'' by Camden Benares, which presents koans and stories of a Discordian nature, and ''Zenarchy'' by Kerry Thornley, which proposes a non-combative approach to anarchy infused with Zen philosophy. '' Natural Law, or Don't Put a Rubber on Your Willy'' by Robert Anton Wilson delves into themes of personal freedom and self-awareness, expanding upon Wilson's essay originally published in 1985. In addition, there are compilations such as ''Apocrypha Discordia'' and ''Historia Discordia'', which gather diverse materials from the Discordian tradition, including writings by both original and contemporary Discordians.

Several works also explore the lives of key figures within Discordianism, such as ''The Prankster and the Conspiracy'' by Adam Gorightly, which focuses on Kerry Thornley's interactions with countercultural figures like Lee Harvey Oswald. ''Chasing Eris'' by Brenton Clutterbuck provides an in-depth examination of Discordianism's impact on various aspects of culture and society, offering interviews and insights into the movement's global reach and influence. It also includes an interpretation of the ''Principia Discordia'' chapter "The Parable of The Bitter Tea" by its original author.

See also

* Immanentize the eschaton

References

Works cited

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Further reading

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

* The original text version �
''Principia Discordia''
on www.cs.cmu.edu o
''Principia Discordia''
on www.ology.org
* The visually true-to-the-original (with images and stamps) version �
''Principia Discordia''
at PrincipiaDiscordia.com

{{Authority control

Discordian texts
Discordianism
1965 non-fiction books
Loompanics books
Public domain books
Criticism of religion
Collaborative non-fiction books