The Sacred Chao of Discordianism

(5) DISCORDIANISM

Life is the laughter of the gods!

Or the goddess in this case.

Discordianism is the combination of two strands within contemporary mythology (or religion) that appeal to me.

Firstly, the strand of neo-paganism – not so much a mythology of itself, but an eclectic combination, reconstruction or syncretism of earlier mythologies, particularly those of historical pagan or pre-Christian Europe. The most distinctive – and perhaps the most numerous – neo-pagan religion is Wicca, which reconstructs historical witchcraft as a pagan survival or resurgence, typically combining historical mythic female figures within one overarching or universal Goddess, often identified as the Triple Goddess or Great Goddess, either as a monotheistic figure on her own, or with a similar male figure, often identified as the Horned God, as her consort in a duotheistic couple. Or not, since neo-paganism in general and Wicca in particular are extremely eclectic and difficult to pin down.

Of course, Discordianism isn’t the most serious example of neo-paganism – to the extent that it is even accepted as such, something which is often disputed. Which brings me to the second strand – the strand of parody religion, or more broadly, religious comedy, humor and satire. Parody religion or religious comedy is perhaps distinctively modern with many different strands, some notably sourced from popular culture, but also arguably has long roots extending back at least to classical philosophy or literature, even within traditional religions. Some even ascend to distinctly postmodern religions – which appear to have a number of relatively serious followers who embrace the perceived absurdity of these religions as spiritually significant and it is hard to tell whether even these “serious” followers are not just taking part in an even bigger joke.

Sometimes I feel that the world would be a better place if all religions originated in comedy or was told in the form of jokes.

And so Discordianism appeals to me because of its complete playfulness and lack of seriousness in matters of belief, all with a neo-pagan tint. After all, if you’re going to have a universal goddess, metaphorical or otherwise, then who better than the playful goddess of chaos, invoking Eris from Greek mythology or her counterpart Discordia from Roman mythology? Essentially, Discordianism originated as a parody religion, and as far as I’m aware, one of the first parody religions – although is it a joke disguised as a religion, or a religion disguised as a joke? Only Eris knows!

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD TIER – OR IS THAT GODDESS-TIER?)

21 The Universe – Crowley Thoth Tarot (artist Lady Frieda Harris)

(4) TAROT

“I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died” – Steve Wright

Ironically, Tarot cards appear to have originated as just that – a more mundane medium for playing card games – but subsequently acquired their mystique as a means for divination, often in popular culture with dire portents Wright played on for his joke.

Of course it helps that they were designed with or evolved such vivid and on occasions violent imagery. It is striking how many cards have death or underworld imagery, such as the generally sorrowful suit of Swords, but of course also in the Major Arcana – above all its well-known Death card. Their rich visual symbolism has been a source of tarot motifs or even themed decks in popular culture. And it has been hugely influential for me personally, comparable to my god-tier mythologies or books of mythology, such if you were to peel back the layers of my psyche you’d find a pack of Tarot cards deep within it, although I don’t believe in it (or anything else) as a source of magic divination.

And yes – I have special mention entries for the Tarot for both my Top 10 Mythology Books and my Top 10 Mythologies. The former is for the various Tarot card decks, the latter is for the mythos of the Tarot itself and its cards. Indeed, I could do (and will) Tarot top tens for both decks and cards.

Not bad for a late medieval or Renaissance version of poker, although the more correct analogy might perhaps be games of trumps such as five hundred (my personal childhood favorite – which may also account for my love of the Tarot at the same time).

And as for the mythos of the Tarot, it arises from its modern esoteric mystique (in turn reconstructed from other European mythic art or symbolism), particularly that of the Major Arcana or “trumps”, which popular culture tends to usually or even exclusively view as the Tarot. Not surprisingly, since the Minor Arcana more closely resemble modern mundane playing cards – similarly four suits of cards numbered from ones (aces) to tens with four court cards, generally with knights as well as the three modern court cards of kings, queens and jacks (or pages or princesses).

Anyway, while the mythos of the Tarot lacks a pantheon of gods as such, it does have the archetypal images or titles of the Major Arcana which substitutes for it, perhaps not unlike the nameless titled deities (or aspects of deity) in the Game of Thrones known as the Seven – the Mother, the Stranger and so on. And in its modern form, the Major Arcana even has its own mythic narrative, essentially a version of the archetypal hero’s journey, with the Fool (traditionally numbered zero) as its hero.

So here goes, by numbered cards of the Arcana (although there are some variations in numbering and titles between decks):

0 – The Fool sets out on his quest, innocence in search of experience, poised to fall or fly. But first, he is initiated by various figures:
1 – The Magician, ‘male’ archetype of magic or knowledge, “the achieve of, the mastery of the thing” (or brother figure)
2 – The High Priestess, ‘female’ archetype of magic or mystery (or sister figure)
3 – The Empress, ‘female’ archetype of power and nature (or mother figure)
4 and 5 – The Emperor and Hierophant, ‘male’ archetypes of worldly and otherworldly power (or father figures)
6 – The Lovers. The Fool encounters or falls in love and faces choices
7 – The Chariot. The Fool goes to war or wins worldly victory
8 – Justice (traditionally, although often swapped with Strength, but each works in either location). The Fool has the first of a number of visions, in this case of the ideal of justice and apex of the Fool’s worldly quest. It is now time for the Fool’s otherworldly – or underworldly – quest
9 – The Hermit. It is time for the Fool to become or encounter The Hermit in a quest for otherworldly visions and voices
10 – The Wheel of Fortune. The Fool sees a mystical vision of the world, the wheel of fortune on which all rise and fall
11 – Strength. The Fool has a vision of strength, in triumph over bestial nature – which will be sorely needed as it is time for the Fool to descend into the underworld
12 – The Hanged Man. “Who are these coming to the sacrifice?”. The Fool encounters or becomes the self-sacrificial Hanged Man
13 – Death. And now it is time for the Fool to die and go down into the underworld
14 – Temperance. With the still, small voice and vision of Temperance as guide, Virgil to the Fool’s Dante
15 – The Devil. And now the Fool comes naked to the very heart of hell itself, with its terrible choices and temptations that echo that of the Lovers
16 – The Tower Struck by Lightning. The Fool harrows hell and breaks free, toppling the Tower and rising through ever increasing light to be reborn, at first the illuminating flash of lightning in darkness
17 – The Star. The Fool rises through or the light of the hopeful Star
18 – The Moon. Not quite out of the woods yet, as the Fool rises through the light of the surreal Moon full of madness and wild dreams
19 – The Sun. The Fool finally is reborn into the full blazing light of the Sun (or with it as child of the Sun)
20 – Judgement. The Fool has a vision of cosmic or divine eons or ‘judgement’
21 – The World. And the Fool has a final vision of the World as it truly is, cosmic dance and dancer, before beginning over again as…the Fool

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD-TIER)

Free ‘divine gallery’ sample art from OldWorldGods

(3) ZEN

I believe in the god of doubt –
the sound of one hand clapping,
a tree falling in a forest,
a finger pointing at the moon,
your face before you were born,
the goose in a bottle,
and three pounds of flax.

Along with paganism and shamanism, the third of my holy trinity of mythic worlds – the mythos that I playfully refer to as my zen catholicism.

And along with paganism and shamanism, as much my ethos as mythos – “you wake up in the morning and the world is so beautiful you can hardly stand it”

And yes, again like paganism and shamanism, I know zen is not a mythology as such. One could even argue for it as non-mythic or anti-mythic, particularly given its non-theistic nature. (I say non-theistic – it might be described as atheistic, but zen has always struck me as having an agnostic and complete lack of concern as to the existence or effect of gods in our lives).

And yes I know it is an active contemporary religion – or more precisely a ‘school’ or sect within the contemporary (and historical) religion of Buddhism.

However, I occasionally use mythology in a broader sense, even for a religion in which the focus is practice or experience and insight into the nature of things rather than belief. And for a religion that eschews mythology (or theology), it can resemble a mythology but of Zen masters rather than gods or heroes, the pursuit of enlightenment rather than quests or battles, and parables or the proverbial mind-bending Zen koans rather than epic adventures – from its legendary origin in the Buddha’s flower sermon onwards.

My horns won’t fit through the door!

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD-TIER – OR IS THAT KOAN-TIER?)