The Synchronicity Theorem
Luck be a Lady...
Synchronicity is an effect one can experience by analyzing the events in the world. To the initiated, it can be used to do various tasks.
Discordians believe that coincidence and deja vu are much more than they seem. They are a way of understanding your place in the world. To experience deja vu is to know that no matter what, you are right where you're supposed to be. Coincidence is another element of the theorem, particularly the titular synchronicities that occur in everyday life.
In simple terms, synchronicity is a moment where a seemingly impossible coincidence occurs. Siblings born on the same day, thinking of a bygone lover only to have them show up in your life hours later, and having a song stuck in your head, only to hear it soon after you realize it are all examples of these events. These moments are brushed of as insignificant superstition, but to the precious few who understand them, they are so much more.
These moments can be tapped into by any discordian. The moment they experience it, they know that their environment is primed for a perfect storm. They can experience the desire to change in the world around them. They breathe it in and absorb this energy. They tap into these moments, these machinations of luck, and when they do one's fortune and fate can be changed for better or worse.
It Isn't clear what it is these practitioners do to cause the strange effects around them. Some speculate that the true cause lies in their openness to opportunity and taking chances. One cannot get lucky if they don't try, after all. The idea is that one who is more open to taking chances and willing to jump at an opportunity is more likely to achieve positive results and, thus, be lucky.
They are also more susceptible to focusing on the positive results than the less desirable outcomes that occur. This self-delusion can be powerful as more positive events begin to occur than the negative.
Discordians believe that coincidence and deja vu are much more than they seem. They are a way of understanding your place in the world. To experience deja vu is to know that no matter what, you are right where you're supposed to be. Coincidence is another element of the theorem, particularly the titular synchronicities that occur in everyday life.
In simple terms, synchronicity is a moment where a seemingly impossible coincidence occurs. Siblings born on the same day, thinking of a bygone lover only to have them show up in your life hours later, and having a song stuck in your head, only to hear it soon after you realize it are all examples of these events. These moments are brushed of as insignificant superstition, but to the precious few who understand them, they are so much more.
These moments can be tapped into by any discordian. The moment they experience it, they know that their environment is primed for a perfect storm. They can experience the desire to change in the world around them. They breathe it in and absorb this energy. They tap into these moments, these machinations of luck, and when they do one's fortune and fate can be changed for better or worse.
It Isn't clear what it is these practitioners do to cause the strange effects around them. Some speculate that the true cause lies in their openness to opportunity and taking chances. One cannot get lucky if they don't try, after all. The idea is that one who is more open to taking chances and willing to jump at an opportunity is more likely to achieve positive results and, thus, be lucky.
They are also more susceptible to focusing on the positive results than the less desirable outcomes that occur. This self-delusion can be powerful as more positive events begin to occur than the negative.
...Who Kills You While You Sleep
This presents a problem, the problem the theorem is trying to solve: What is luck, if it even exists, and how can it be harnessed, controlled, and improved?
Those who sought to answer this question found it alarmingly difficult to do so.
On one hand luck is difficult to even prove. On the other, it's incredibly easy to get it and lose it. Luck doesn't seem to be a factor in how our lives play out either as those who are luckiest can fail just as easily as those who are not.
Beings that are a metaphysical representation of luck have a reputation of behaving erratically, often without any reason. One second, luck is on your side and the next, misfortune follows you where ever you go. Those who sought an answer seemed to have one, but spirits of luck don't attach themselves to just anything. It still seems a piece of the puzzle is missing.
The discordians then came across an answer. It has been known for eons that there are countless worlds, one for every possible outcome to every possible moment. Luck could well be the tie that binds the multiverse together and determines the outcome of each world. Perhaps Arcana Discordia gives one the power to reach out and tap into this process, persuading this force to choose outcomes that are in their favor.
It is effective in many ways and practitioners tend to have the type of luck that would give anyone a moment's pause to contemplate whether they are cheating at life itself. Anyone who thinks this misunderstands the concept entirely, as any practitioner is more than capable of experiencing Lady Luck's cold shoulder. They know the icy sting more than most.
Those who sought to answer this question found it alarmingly difficult to do so.
On one hand luck is difficult to even prove. On the other, it's incredibly easy to get it and lose it. Luck doesn't seem to be a factor in how our lives play out either as those who are luckiest can fail just as easily as those who are not.
Beings that are a metaphysical representation of luck have a reputation of behaving erratically, often without any reason. One second, luck is on your side and the next, misfortune follows you where ever you go. Those who sought an answer seemed to have one, but spirits of luck don't attach themselves to just anything. It still seems a piece of the puzzle is missing.
The discordians then came across an answer. It has been known for eons that there are countless worlds, one for every possible outcome to every possible moment. Luck could well be the tie that binds the multiverse together and determines the outcome of each world. Perhaps Arcana Discordia gives one the power to reach out and tap into this process, persuading this force to choose outcomes that are in their favor.
It is effective in many ways and practitioners tend to have the type of luck that would give anyone a moment's pause to contemplate whether they are cheating at life itself. Anyone who thinks this misunderstands the concept entirely, as any practitioner is more than capable of experiencing Lady Luck's cold shoulder. They know the icy sting more than most.
Ripples And Waves
This theorem is designed to prove that a practitioner can use coincidence and synchronicity, as well as the ebb and flow of fortune and misfortune, to actually cause changes in the world. These practitioners can give or take away luck and bestow it upon themselves or an ally. They can even take bad luck they have gathered over time and send it to their enemies as a parting gift. Practitioners accomplish this by actively following synchronicity wherever they find it, no matter how good or bad it might end up. They each have a set of sensations they rely on.
Luck is not an arcane energy. It is not as tactile or visual. When using The Static, practitioners internalize the sensations as opposed to projecting the static somewhere else. They rely on trial and error, the best among them know exactly how much luck they have, and what they might do with it just on these sensations alone. Some feel it within. They experience an overwhelming sense of happiness or sadness. Others rely on an instinct, following a hunch or a feeling in their gut. Once it is found, one could say that they bottle this luck whether good or bad, and contain it within themselves.
Luck is not an arcane energy. It is not as tactile or visual. When using The Static, practitioners internalize the sensations as opposed to projecting the static somewhere else. They rely on trial and error, the best among them know exactly how much luck they have, and what they might do with it just on these sensations alone. Some feel it within. They experience an overwhelming sense of happiness or sadness. Others rely on an instinct, following a hunch or a feeling in their gut. Once it is found, one could say that they bottle this luck whether good or bad, and contain it within themselves.
The Key To Pandora's Box
The need of taking a chance, as well as being sure to never pass up opportunities that come your way cannot be overstated. This is how one can passively gather luck. This is the true purpose of the theorem and why it has withstood the test of time. Teaching it prepares users who are new to the concept and genre the fundamental elements that support using the other three theorems. Gathering luck and using it is a special gift, but it is not the true power of the genre. The true power comes from the balance of potential and causation.
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