KULTCHA #20 Part Two: THE ROOTS OF REVOLUTIONARY VANDALISM "As for Kerista, that group espoused spontaneity, community, eroticism, and liberty. Omar wrote that the aims of Kerista and Paganism, in general, were strongly opposed to dogma and creed: 'Kerista is a religion and the mood of Kerista is one of holiness. Do not, however, look for a profusion of rituals, dogmas, doctrines and scriptures. Kerista is too sacred for that. It is more akin to the religions of the East and, also, the so-called pagan religions of the pre-Christian West. Its fount of being is the religious experience and that action or word or though which is not infused with ecstasy is not Kerista. And Kerista, like those religions of olden times, is life-affirming.' "Kerista disappeared and Young Omar became involved with the vagaries and intricacies of the Lady Eris, but he was perhaps the first person, at least in the United States, to use the word Pagan to describe past and present nature religions. Some have actually alleged that the entire Neo-Pagan movement is an Erisian Plot (see next chapter and Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's ILLUMINATUS) .... " (pp. 276-77) "In a way, it's ridiculous to even talk seriously about the Erisians, a group, or collection of groups, that has called itself a 'Non-prophet Irreligious Disorganization' that is 'dedicated to an advanced understanding of the para-physical manifestation of Everyday Chaos,' and at other times has stated, 'The Erisian revelation is not a complicated put-on disguised as a new religion, but a new religion disguised as a complicated put-on.' "The Discordian Society was founded (if one can call it that) in 1957 (or 1958 -- even this primary confusion has never been cleared up) by Greg Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) and Kerry Thornley (Omar Ravenhurst) .... Omar Ravenhurst went on to form his own Erisian organization, the Erisian Liberation Front (ELF) ...." (pp. 304-5) Other Erisian cabals formed. At one point there were rumored to be more than twenty, although some may have had a membership of only one. Since radical decentralization is a Discordian principle, it is impossible to know how many Discordians there were and are, or what they are doing. Most of these cabals engaged in various nonviolent, absurdist, revolutionary, magical and surrealist endeavors. A number of these 'actions' were done under the name of the supposed 'Bavarian Illuminati,' a rather mysterious organization founded by Adam Weishaupt in 1776. The Erisian 'Illuminati' have mostly been the inspirations of someone known as Thomas the Gnostic. Similar actions were initiated by ELF. Omar Ravenhurst, for example, invented a Do-It-Yourself Conspiracy Kit, complete with assortments of stationery bearing dubious letterheads.... "'Eris is an authentic goddess. Furthermore, she is an old one. In the beginning I was myself as Malaclypse the Younger. But if you do this type of thing well enough, it starts to work'.... I asked Malaclypse, 'What's Omar Ravenhurst doing these days?' He said, 'Ravenhurst has recently been in a state of extreme discord. We were talking about Eris and confusion and he said, "You know, if I had realized that all of this was going to come TRUE, I would have chosen Venus."!" -- Margot Adler, DRAWING DOWN THE MOON (pp. 308-312) c 1986 Kerry W. Thornley Available from : Illumi-Net (404) 377-1141