Eris - Spanner In The Works Or Catalyst For Creativity?

Planet 2003 UB313, also known as Xena, has been officially named Eris. In myth Eris was the goddess of strife and discord, and has been given this name because of the debate the discovery of this planet started, that led to the reclassification of the known solar system.

Goddess Eris was best known for starting the Trojan War, after she was so miffed not to be invited to a wedding that all the other goddesses were attending. She wasn't welcome because she was a troublemaker; however by trying to exclude her from the wedding party they made things a whole lot worse for themselves. Eris threw to Hera, Aphrodite and Athena the apple of discord , which had the inscription 'to the fairest one', and let nature take its course. After squabbling amongst themselves it was down to Paris to make the decision. His choice of Aphrodite had the domino effect of events that led to the Trojan War.

So this is a goddess that you ignore at your peril. She's no victim and won't be pushed aside. She doesn’t need Patrick Swayze to save her with a 'nobody puts baby in the corner' kind of line. It was the competitive instinct of the other girls that she capitalised on, so she's also clever and knows what makes people tick.

And she has also inspired her own religion. Discordianism, founded in the mid 20th century, believes that chaos is as necessary to the universe as harmony. Its sacred text, the Principia Discordia or How I Found The Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her, is ‘dedicated to the prettiest one’, and begins:

We
are a tribe
of philosophers, theologians,
magicians, scientists,
artists, clowns,
and similar maniacs
who are intrigued
with
ERIS
GODDESS OF CONFUSION
and with
Her
Doings

Read more about Eris inspired Discordiansim here, and read the text online at this great site.
I have to admit this post is late because I lost myself for hours in there. I was utterly fascinated. Never been a one for religion of any sort, but I think the Principia Discordia has just what I've been looking for from a sacred text...

Eris moves slowly through the zodiac, and has been in the sign of Aries for decades (Hence the Xena warrior nickname was very apt), but you can find out the exact degree Eris occupied at the time of your birth with this wonderful online ephemeris here.


tecnorati: Astrology, Eris, Discordianism