By Deirdre Brooks (xenya@teleport.com)
'Tis an ill wind which blows no minds.
-- Principia Discordia
The Discordians are either a relatively new Tradition or a very old Tradition, depending upon whom you ask. This is a very unconvential Tradition as far as that sort of thing goes. They feel that Ascension can be achieved by shocking, confusing and otherwise warping people out of their everyday perceptions, or "reality tunnels" as they call them.
Discordians are among the most Dynamic of the Traditions, as well as those behind the rise of LSD, the attempts at legalizing mind altering substances and several of the stranger New Age religions. It is their goal to eventually bring everyone together in a single Ascension, thus changing the foundation of reality as people see it so that it may be redefined continually.
While the other Traditions hold that the Discordians breed most of the Marauders that originate in the physical world, that is simply not true. Marauders believe in singular Ascension, while the Discordians are working for full scale Ascension.
The Discordians maintain constant contact with society, to watch trends and Technomancer influence. When they find an area of major Technomancer influence, they try many different techniques to break the hold these beings have on society. Disinformation campaigns, chaotic use of Static Magick, meaningful protests, etc.
Philosophy: Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia! Pick up the Golden Apple, it is for the Fairest. Who is the Fairest? Why, you of course. Magick? That's silly, Magick doesn't work. We're just trying to break people out of their rigid reality tunnels so they can think more freely, or even think at all! You can't live your life watching TV and listening to the radio. Get out there and DO something! Break reality free from the grasping hands of the Plutocracy. Use the technology, but don't let it use you. Let the Magick flow, use it to bring about Illumination for everyone. What? I said Magick doesn't work? Weren't you listening? You are forbidden from believing anything you hear.
Organization: There are many groups that are associated with the Discordians; The Erisian Liberation Front, the Legion of Dynamic Discord (aka Little Deluded Dupes), the Justified Ancients of Mummu, etc. The list is nearly endless. There is no real organization. Rather, members tend to help each other out. If someone takes a leadership role, and others dislike what he says, they are free to ignore him or punch him out as they see fit. Otherwise, they consider each other fairly equal.
Meetings: Whenever there are three or more Discordians in the same room, they have a meeting. Otherwise, they are very informal. Occasionally large groups assemble, and reality flows like melted wax at these events. Paradox Spirits are known to disappear in large numbers at this time.
Initiation: Normally someone with nontraditional values and ideas, or even someone with highly traditional values and ideas, attracts the attention of the Discordian. The Mage then puts the potential initiate through a series of experiences which are designed to blow the mind and open the initiate to new levels of reality. Shock is a common factor in these events to provide the initiate with a new "imprint" or reality blueprint.
Chantry: There are references to a yellow submarine that travels the Umbral and physical oceans, but that is plainly ridiculous, even for Discordians.
Acolytes: Geurilla Ontologists, Weird Philosophers, Discordians, Dolphins.
Sphere: Initiate's choice. The Discordians are most certainly not bound by any rules.
Foci: See above. A Foci must be chosen for each sphere, but they tend to fit the personality of the Mage.
Concepts: Prankster, Weird Guru, Free Market Capitalist, Left Wing Press, Anarchist
Quote: "Our perception of reality is mutable, and our mutated perception mutates reality. There are several reasons we have this power. The first of which is to bring Eris' word to the unwashed masses. The second is to shock these people out of their reality grid so they can make their own choices and stop being sheep. The third? Instant gratification."
Akashic Brotherhood: The problem with Zen philosophy lies not in the fact that it's a philosophy, but in that it's a Zen philosophy.
Celestial Chorus: They've lost track of who the mother really is. Does she really want all of this regimentation and hymn singing? I think not!
Cult of Ecstasy: These kids have the right idea. Party your way to enlightenment. Now if only they could figure the rest of the path out.
Dreamspeakers: They have the other half of the missing path. If they would get together with the Cult, I'd bet they could do some serious Ascending.
Euthanatos: Yuck. They also follow Chaos, but they are confused about its purpose. Change, CHANGE! Not decay and destruction.
Hollow Ones: We could get along with these kids too. If only they weren't so gloomy. At least they're thumbing their noses at accepted reality.
Order of Hermes: These snobs are nearly as rigid as the Conventions. Their own rules inhibit imagination and restrict creativity. It's no wonder their experinemt in the middle ages failed.
Sons of Ether: Now these guys are really cool. I mean, you gotta admire someone who makes Buck Rogers gadgets and makes them work.
Verbena: They worship life through sacrifice of blood? Come on, that's more twisted than Bush's speeches.
Virtual Adepts: Modern communications are one of the keys to power, but one should be careful lest he lose his touch to the physical and spiritual realms.
Some Discordian Rotes
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The Turkey Curse (Entropy 5, Mind 4): With this Rote, the Discordian can cause the targetted individual to not only lose track of what she was doing, but fill her mind with total confusion and a tendency to perform the opposite of what she intended. The reason for this is the Mage is flooding the target's mind with her own perceptions of reality, without providing the discipline behind it. This is sometimes used to shock people out of their accepted reality.
Malaclypse's Many Faces (Life 5, Mind 4): This is named for the Discordian who first used it. This allows the Discordian to not only take on a new form, but also take on the outward mannerisms, mental attitudes and even appropriate thoughts for the form. These are all masks, and the Mage's own thoughts are concealed by the Rote.