On page 291 of Illuminatus! (Amazon), Saul realizes he has been a puppet of The Grayface, which is another nod and wink to Discordianism, namely “The Curse of Greyface” written by Mal-2 (aka Greg Hill) that first appeared in the 4th edition the Principia Discordia.
Curse of Greyface
After reading this passage, Lady L., F.A.B. (aka Louise Lacey) remarked: “The problem in the world today is that the hunch-brains are united.”
Since launching historiadiscordia.com (on JFK Assassination Day last year) we’ve had—upon occasion—some rather eyebrow-raising visitors to the site, among them the Dept. of Justice, not to mention the Church of Scientology, and most recently the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Defense.
We welcome you!
One can only speculate why THEY would be interested in little ol’ us, though I no doubt suspect that certain agencies in our gubmint have long been trying to get a handle on just exactly what Discordianism “is” and to determine if it’s a threat to National Security. (Why anyone would fear a religion based on the worship of the Greek Goddess of Chaos and Discord is beyond me!)
Department of Homeland Security visits to historiadiscordia.com.Department of Homeland Security visits to historiadiscordia.com.
Department of Defense visits to historiadiscordia.com.
As seen in the assembled screen shots—which were captured during a couple of the DHS and DOD visits—at one point THEY hit the Illuminati tag, a Discordian connection that dates back to the glory days of Operation Mindfuck (OM) when Kerry Thornley—in cahoots with his other Discordian miscreants—cooked up the modern day Bavarian Illuminati (The World’s Oldest And Most Successful Conspiracy).
Another fine example of OM courtesy of Ho Chi Zen (aka Kerry Thornley). Letter to John M. Fisher of the American Security Council Foundation, dated August 8, 1970. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
Discordianism—as Erisian history instructs—has enjoyed a long association with the Illuminati (which may secretly run the U.S. Government!) as well as certain other Governmental branches (because we all know where “true” chaos comes from!) among them the military, and in particular the Pentagon which is incorporated into the Sacred Chao, that most holiest of all Discordianism symbols.
Original printing of the Sacred Chao which served as a frontispiece to the 1st ed. Principia Discordia. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
The Sacred Chao is a twist of sorts on Taoism’s Yin and Yang, depicting as it does the opposing forces of The Pentagon and The Golden Apple, also known in Discordianism as the Hodge and Podge. The Pentagon—according to Discordian mythos—represents the Aneristic Principle (Apparent Order) in counterbalance to The Golden Apple, which represents The Eristic Principle (Apparent Disorder.) To find out more about all this you will have to consult your pineal gland and call me when the brain swelling goes down.
The 1st edition Principia Discordia lists several Orders of Eris, one of which is the Knights of the Five Sided Temple, “a movement that is specifically Anti-Discordian. Such people are almost invariably found to be either bureaucrats or militarists (frequently both). The Five Sided Temple referred to is The Pentagon Bldg. itself where there is an incredible concentration of Knights. In your own experiences with military service and bureaucracies, you will notice many people with a heavy tendency towards the Eristesque Principle, but every so once in awhile you will find a person who is absolutely wound up in all sorts of fantastic and technical formal order which due to its own weight ends up only in a comical-absurd cross-reference maze of nothing; and such a person who lives, thinks and breathes in such terms—he is a Knight.”
Knights of the Five Sided Temple illustration by Greg Hill from the 1st ed. Principia Discordia. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
As you can see, Discordianism has long been connected to the Pentagon, which some may also find confusing, because many people considered those old school Discordians just a bunch of long haired pot smoking no-good hippie types—which of course many of them were!—so the Discordian Society’s apparent veneration the Five Sided Temple might appear a bit perplexing to some. However, all of these five-sided Discordian endeavors were simply a means to demonstrate the dichotomy found in Discordianism—the Aneristic vs. Eristic principles—which is not unlike the ol’ good vs. evil dualism of Christianity, because without one you couldn’t have the other. (Maybe.)
If you’d like to find out more about the hidden history of Discordianism, Illuminism and its sinister connections to not only the U.S. Government, but all governments of the world, I would encourage you (and THEM) to pick up a copy of Historia Discordia: The Origins of the Discordian Society while copies last!
On page 274, a “grinning young man with a Frisco-style Jesus Christ hair-and-beard” welcomes Joe Malik and Simon Moon to the Joshua Norton Cabal located at “a normal but untypically clean hippie hangout” which perfectly describes Greg Hill and his San Fran abode during that late-60s period chronicled in Illuminatus! (Amazon).
Greg Hill pictured at his 'normal but untypically clean hippie hangout' with Sister Deacon Iona K. Fioderovna and her daughter, Nancy. Joshua Norton Cabal missive, dated May 23, 1970, announcing the disappearance of Malaclypse the Younger. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
On page 275 the character of Doc Iggy (short for Dr. Ignotum P. Ignotius) is formerly introduced. Doc Iggy—according to Discordian lore—was the successor of Malaclypse the Younger (aka Mal-2), Omnibenevolent Polyfather of Virginity in Gold (OPVIG)—both of course being alter egos of Greg Hill, as documented in the following pronouncement dated Syaday 3136 (May 23, 1970).
As for the Joshua Norton Cabal, Greg Hill once described it this thusly:
“The 1969 Discordian Society was an exchange between independent artists of various kinds. Norton Cabal was just me and my characters and I used the other cabals as sort of a laboratory. In return, other Discordians would bounce their stuff off of me. We would toss in ideas and anybody could take anything out. It was a concept stew. Principia was my product from my perspective. Thornley, and Wilson and Shea, had other perspectives, which had substantial influence on me. It was mutual, but without the exchange each would have done something similar anyway. The exchanging of ideas and techniques broadened and encouraged all of us.”
As noted on Page 276, Emperor Joshua Norton—although a pauper—issued his own currency which some considered a joke but was just the same accepted by many businesses in old San Fran. To this end, Wilson and Shea mention a couple of anarchists—William Green and Lysander Spooner—who also tried to establish their own respective currencies but were put down by The Man.
Emperor Norton's currency.
It was in this spirit that the early Discordians came up with their own alternate currency (flaxscript) as outlined in this “statement of policy” that Greg Hill—still in his incarnation of Malaclypse the Younger—drew up in 3135 (1969).
Courtesy of the Discordian Archives. Please do not widely distribute this information. One Ton of Flax issued by Malaclypse the Younger.
One Ton of Flax issued by Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst.
On page 282, the Yin Revolution is mentioned in passing, which happened to be a phrase and conceptual framework that Kerry Thornley was tinkering around with in the late-60s/early-70s as found in this article from 1970 by Chairman Lao (aka Kerry Thornley) on “Yin Revolution.”
Kerry Thornley, Says the Chairman, dated December 1970. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
Here’s an assortment of goodies Roldo Odlor sent to Greg Hill around the mid-80s during the same period he created the cover artwork for Historia Discordia: The Origins of the Discordian Society (Amazon). Roldo is also known for his artistic work with Kerry Thornley on the Goetia Discordia.
And, in case you missed it, check out these other letters to Hill in Part 00001 of this series.
Letter Package from Roldo Odlor to Greg Hill, mid-1980s. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.Envelope postmarked 1984 from Roldo Odlor to Greg Hill. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.Letter from Roldo Odlor to Greg Hill, mid-1980s. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
Here’s a rough pencil sketch by Greg Hill from the late-60s depicting the Discordian Sacred Chao in a swirling vortex of fire!
Greg Hill sketch of an early version of the Sacred Chao, late 1960s. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
In the Roman Empire’s eternal era of superior gleaming, the Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time when “the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies. And then there was the perpetual godsawful smell of boiling cabbage.”
— Clavis Calendaria; or a Compendious Analysis of the Calendar: illustrated with ecclesiastical, historical, and classical anecdotes, 2 vols., 1812 by John Brady
Caught in the Crossfire: Kerry Thornley, Lee Oswald and the Garrison Investigation Pre-Order The Chaos Now! This Sirian Summer of Discontent has been revealed to be distinctly Discordian. Chaos Reigns!
Hail Eris!
Here’s the latest on what Eris has procured for Her Enjoyment:
Jesse Walker’s io9 review of Historia Discordia, “The Greatest Fake Religion of All Time.”
RAWIllumination.net review: “Adam Gorightly’s Historia Discordia is a very useful book for anyone who wants to understand Illuminatus! and/or Robert Anton Wilson’s literary career.”
ICYMI: John Higgs review: “Adam Gorightly’s new book is hardcore… But it was clear from his earlier biography of Kerry Thornley that if anyone was going to pull this off, it would be Adam Gorightly.”
Red Dirt Report Review of Historia Discordia: “I had a blast digging into all things Discordian and Adam Gorightly was just the guy to don the conductor’s cap on this smoke-belching loco-motive!”
Reason Magazine review of Historia Discordia, “The Prankster Politics of the Discordians.”
Now that I’ve gotten Adam Gorightly’s excellent Historia Discordia (Amazon), I’m starting to see some really intriguing parallels between the Discordians and the Gnostics (the latter of whom I’ve always been very interested in).
One of the central principles of Discordianism is that “the only thing you can know is that you cannot know anything…” reminds me of the gnostic concept of the nature of the “Source” or “Pleroma,” which was also ultimately unknowable as well. The Pleroma created from pure thought Sophia, or “knowledge,” the source of enlightenment for humans, who through the medium of the “fruit of the tree of knowledge” causes Adam and Eve (mankind) to become self-aware. Now it’s interesting that Sophia uses an apple, or that the fruit of the tree is most often represented as an apple; and the “original snub” of Discordianism is a golden apple with the word “Kallisti” (to the most beautiful) which Eris tossed into the wedding feast of Thetis and Peleus, and eventually would lead to the Trojan War as a result of a jealous tiff among the Greek Goddesses. Sophia was usually associated with the soul by the gnostics, and the soul was often thought to have its seat in the pineal gland. The Discordians speak to Eris via the pineal gland (coincidence? I think not…). 🙂
Old Greyface of the Discordians is really parallel with the demiurge, who the Gnostics associated with Jehovah or YHWH. Both of them try to convince mankind that there is an “order” to the cosmos, and they were responsible for creating it (which they were) but being imperfect themselves, their creation was inherently imperfect (thus, we get cruelty, ignorance, hot dog buns, and chiggers). What they really don’t want mankind to know is that Sophia actually created us (or our soul personalities), and that we are in fact closer to the Pleroma than they are. Of course, there were those who wanted to stick to orthodoxy, and for them the Church of the Sub Genius was created by Bob Dobbs, with JHVH-1 being essentially the embodiment of Greyface.
Then again, both the Discordians and the Gnostics may simply have been insane… but Eris tells me otherwise. 🙂
Since launching 
In the Roman Empire’s eternal era of superior gleaming, the Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time when “the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies. And then there was the perpetual godsawful smell of boiling cabbage.”
Guest post by Robert Denton
