Book of Eris

THE BOOK OF

By ERIS KALLISTI DISCORDIA

Goddess of Chaos and Mother of us All In which the GODDESS explains everything to no one inparticular. This being a Holy Discordian Bible, One of Five predicted by Malcalypse the Younger beingan Advanced Course into The Erisian Mysterees WHICH IS EVEN MORE INTERESTING

THE REVELATION OF ST. VERTHAINE THE GOTH

And lo, there I was, decked out in my finest gothic and leather clothing, sipping aWhite Russian at the bar of my favourite goth club, and contemplating the sad stateof the world. I lit up a clove and turned to watch the leatherboys, gothchicks, andvampyre wannabees do bad Tai Chi on the dance floor. All of a sudden everythingfroze, but only I and the music was still active. A beautiful woman in black leatherand rainbow colored hair appeared on the dance floor. I couldn't keep my eyes off her. Her eyes shone like the sun Each move of her delicate arms told the story of Creation. She walked up to me and said

"I am ERIS KALLISTI DISCORDIA. I am the Goddess of Chaos. With me all thingsare possible. I have come to you to teach you many things, Verthaine. "

I fell on my knees and cried out "I am not worthy!" She looked at me and smiled.

"All are worthy in the eyes of chaos. Stand up my silly goth boy, for I havesomething of importance to ask of you"

I stood up, and awaited with anticipation of what a goddess like Eris would ask meto do. "Your wish is my command, " I said. She smiled at me, and with a twinkle inher eyes she said onto me:

"Can you spare one of those clove cigarettes?"

And thus I was enlightened.

Discordianism/Erisianism

St. Hugh, KSC, KNS

"If religion is the opiate of the masses, then Discordianism is the alcohol,caffeine, and something-or-other of the lunatic fringe. "

-Somebody Important at Some PointAnyone familiar with the Discordians knows the difficulties inherent in describing a vibrant aspect of Paganismthat claims to "have no definition. " With one of the major trends of Discordianism being one of decentralization and disagreement, is there a way to adequately describe it? To be true to Discordia (the Latinname of our primary Goddess, Eris), I would have to say 'yes, no, and maybe'.To start with, there are scores of Discordian cabals across the world and, thanks to the Internet, Discordianwritings and ideas are proliferating. The two most famous Discordian groups are POEE and the ErisianLiberation Front. Even though many people look at the plethora of humorous writings and dismissit as areligion, Discordians take their humorous traditions very seriously. . . to a point.A tradition, or a set of traditions based around the Goddess Eris is by nature paradoxical and difficult to pindown. But it is, in my opinion, time that other Pagans realize that Eris worshippers are just as respectable as anyother group, despite the fact that we laugh at ourselves and others.

History/Her Story/Eris Comes Out of Her Closet

The foundation of the Discordian movement in modern times comes from the paradoxical writing collectionknown as the "Principia Discordia, or How I found the Goddess and what I did with Her when I found Her. " Ittells the story of two young men in a bowling alley who receive the first Erisian Revelation back in 1957 or 58.(In true Discordian fashion, which year is never cleared up. ) The men go on a search of mythologies anddiscover Eris, the Goddess of Confusion, Chaos, and Discord. (Eris is also the Greek word for 'strife'. ) Theysurmised that chaos underlies everything, including order and the followers of order. "Look around and you cansee all of the chaos in everything just as much as you can see order. " The two men declare themselves to beHigh Priests of their own madness and start a Discordian Society "for whatever that may turn out to be. "The explosion of the American counter-culture and the revival of surrealism met Discordianism (1960's and70's) and the result was a Neo-Pagan parody religion of mirth and laughter. During this time the two maingroups of the Discordian Society, POEE 'the Paratheo-Anametamystikhood of Eris Esoteric' and the ErisianLiberation Front set down the major practices and ideas that have since influenced later groups of Discordians,most of which were included in later editions of the Principia Discordia. It can also be said (although, manypeople will argue against this) that the post-modern magical phenomenon of Chaos Magic developed underDiscordian influences. The main difference between Discordians and Chaos Mages is that Discordians reverethe Goddess Eris, whereas Chaos Mages revere whatever works at the moment. Discordian thought runs a fullspectrum from believers in a literal Goddess Eris to those who hold a healthy agnosticism towards all gods.Today there are several active Discordian groups known as 'cabals' which continue to develop and practiceDiscordian ideas and rituals. POEE is still around, although it is debated whether or not the ELF still exists.Some of the active groups today are the Church of No Dead Saints in San Francisco, the Discordian IntelligenceAgency, which is scattered in places as far afield as Australia, Germany, and Pennsylvania, and the Purple