The Principia Discordia is a Discordianreligious text written by Greg Hill with Kerry Wendell Thornley. 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 Newton's 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 POEEdenomination of Discordianism. It features typewritten and handwritten text intermixed with clip art, stamps, and seals appropriated from other sources. While the Principia is full of literal contradictions and unusual humor, it contains several passages which propose that there is serious intent behind the work, for example a message scrawled on page 00075: "If you think the PRINCIPIA is just a ha-ha, then go read it again." The Principia is quoted extensively in and shares many themes with the satirical science fiction book The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Wilson was not directly involved in writing the Principia. 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, the Eristic Principle 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 00075 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. 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. 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.
Steve Jackson Games published a 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.
Ronin Publishing released a completely re-edited version in 2006, under the title Discordia - Hail the Goddess of Chaos and Confusion. This edition features a co-credit on the cover for both Malaclypse and Ravenhurst, a colour cover, numerous typographical errors, and is 192 pages in length. Most of the original artwork was replaced with low-quality clip-art.
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 ).
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, and starts making existent things non-existent. This explains why life begins, and later ends in death. The names of Eris and Aneris, are used to show some fundamental Discordian principles in "Psycho-Metaphysics":
Discordian works
Online versions
The original text version − on www.cs.cmu.edu or on www.ology.org
The visually true-to-the-original version − at PrincipiaDiscordia.com
