The jester or holy fool is an oft-necessary role within religious communities. It is far too easy at times to get over-serious and forget the inherent joy and playfulness that can come with living the Pagan life. It is during those times when we forget joy and humor that the fool points out that our fine clothes are imaginary, and we’ve been parading about naked. For many in modern Paganism the semi-official holy fools are the Discordians, worshippers of the sexy goddess of chaos Eris, a joke-cult/cult-joke popularized in such works as “The Principia Discordia”, “The Illuminatus! Trilogy”, and Margot Adler’s “Drawing Down the Moon”.

“In a way, it’s ridiculous even to talk seriously about the Erisians, a group, or collection of groups, that has called itself a “Non-Prophet Irreligious Disorganization” this “dedicated to an advanced understanding of the paraphysical manifestations of Everyday Chaos”, and at other times 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”.

But for some the joke can go too far, allowing the chaos to spread to a point where it turns a holy day into a jumbled mess of tired pop-culture references. That seems to be the experience of one woman who attended a CUUPs service for Lammas that seemed far more about Monty Python than first-harvests or the god Lugh.

“Our local CUUPS group hosted a strange Lammas/Lughnasadh ritual last night. Members of the group take turns as High Priest and Priestess and this ritual was led by our local Discordians … it’s not that I don’t appreciate some of the points made … I like the emphasis on those un-looked-for blessings, the life changing moments that come out of nowhere. It is good to notice and appreciate those once in a while. It is good to remember that while harmony in a worthy goal, disorder always lurks beneath the suface of order and that is not always a bad thing. I believe there really is a time and place for last night’s ritual. I don’t think Lughnasadh is it … It felt like I needed to hear the lessons about reaping the works of your labors and being multi-skilled. I was hoping for a ritual experience that would embed the ideas swirling in my head. Instead I got a quick thank you to Lugh, mixed for some reason with Gaia, but now let’s really talk about Eris all night … when people started quoting Monty Python as part of the ritual I knew my spiritual needs were not going to be met.”

Worse still, she left feeling “negative” and “conservative” for not being able to join in the laughs. No doubt part of this can be attributed to the ups and downs of a rotating eclectic gathering, sometimes the Discordians are put in charge when you are more in the mood for something a bit more reverent and serious, but I also think this might be a failure on the part of the CUUPs organizers. The Sabbats/High Holy Days/Fire Festivals can certainly include mirth and irreverence, but they are also meant to transmit deep truths, help us commune with the gods, and turn the wheel of the year. If the holy fools appointed/chosen as ritual leaders can’t control their own chaos long enough to mark the holiday, they are not only out-of-balance, but they imbalance all those who chose that event to connect to the mysteries of that holiday.

There are certainly times when the lunatics should take over the asylum, when chaos should overrun our natural inclinations towards order and safety, but those liminal times should be chosen carefully and not assigned arbitrarily. There are times for mayhem and there are times for work and for harvest. And on a personal note, quoting Monty Python (no doubt “Holy Grail”) in circle is sooo played out. Seriously, get some new material folks.