The Varied Views of Therianthropy (Listing)

[Haru'Shimo]

To start off The Sanctuary in the right direction, this thread will be dedicated to:
"Detailed Descriptions of Individual Understandings of What Therianthropy Is"

The idea is to gather the many different perspectives into one thread,
not to debate them, argue which is right or wrong, or to pass any kind of judgement,
but so they can all be examined for what the theories are and why each individual has come to those conclusions.

In as much detail and with as much supporting reasoning as you feel is sufficient to back up your view of what Therianthropy is, please try to touch on the following:
1) Your personal definition of what makes one a Therianthrope or Otherkin.
2) Your reasoning for the above stated definition.
3) If specifically different from #1, what you feel makes you a Therianthrope or Otherkin.
4) What experiences, research, and/or techniques you've used to validate your reasoning.

To all who intend to reply, put forth your best effort and help us show what mature members are and what these forums are for! ^_^
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And to get this out of the way from the start, Dictionary.com Definitions:

therian
[theer-ee-uh n]

adjective
1. (in some classification systems) belonging or pertaining to the group Theria, comprising the marsupial and placental mammals and their extinct ancestors.
noun
2. a therian animal.

therianthropic
[theer-ee-an-throp-ik]

adjective
1. being partly bestial and partly human in form.
2. of or pertaining to deities conceived or represented in such form.

[Seraphyna]

1) Your personal definition of what makes one a Therianthrope or Otherkin.

Otherkin: Anyone who identifies as non-human on an integral level, usually thought to be non-physical in nature.

Therian: Anyone who identifies as a non-human animal that currently lives on earth, or once lived on earth, on an integral level. This is usually thought to be non-physical.

In either case, the primary reasoning is either spiritual or brain-related. Spiritual otherkin (I'll be using "otherkin" in the umbrella sense of the term) believe they are non-human on a level usually relating in some way with the concept of the soul. This primarily has to do with past lives or reincarnation/incarnation. Otherkin who believe they are non-human because of their brains usually fall into one of two camps (or a mix of the two): psychological or neurological. Neurological reasoning for identity revolves around the idea that one's brain chemistry is of whatever non-human creature. This is obviously a belief since the necessary research has yet to be done. Psychological reasoning has to do with the principles of the brain being able to "create" identity. This can be due to an ingrained response to trauma (usually suffered in childhood, but theoretically someone could become otherkin given sufficient trauma) or an ingrained identification with an archetype to the point of identifying as that archetype.

It is worth noting that something being psychological in nature doesn't make it an illness, negative condition, etc. If one can still function independently in society and does not indulge in delusional thinking, then one's beliefs cannot be thought of as the product of a mental illness. It is also worth noting that an otherkin identity makes for a truly awful coping mechanism. The identity, in and of itself, is really not a coping mechanism. In fact, it is often the cause of negative emotional states (even chronic depression) because of species dysphoria and other identity-related things. So the identity may be the *result* of coping with something, but is not a coping mechanism of itself (or is at least a very poor one).

Finally, many people identify as otherkin for a mix of both spiritual and brain-related reasons.

2) Your reasoning for the above stated definition.

These are the basic accepted definitions that have been present in the communities since at least 2004. I say "usually" non-physical because believing that one is physically non-human is a delusional belief. DNA testing will prove that one is physically human.

3) If specifically different from #1, what you feel makes you a Therianthrope or Otherkin.

I fall into the psychological/neurological camp.

4) What experiences, research, and/or techniques you've used to validate your reasoning.

Well, the brain can explain basically everything otherkin in general experience and can explain everything I experience. I see no reason to choose to believe in an abstract concept with no evidence backing it over an explanation based in known principles.

If this is asking about validating identifying as therian in the first place, then I have come to that conclusion after over 10 years of analyzing phantom sensations, mental states, urges, etc. that strike me as "odd" for a human to experience. Self exploration via serious questioning of myself by myself and others is the primary method used for "introspection" as it were.

[Kasumi Noxumbra]

1) Your personal definition of what makes one a Therianthrope or Otherkin.-

Therian is someone who identifies as a earthly creature, whether extinct or currently living species, either through spiritual, psychological, or neurological experiences.
Otherkin is someone who identifies as a non-earthly or mythological creature, such as extraterrestrials/dragons/unicorns/kirins/energy beings/etc.., also through either spiritual, psychological, or neurological experiences.

These experiences can happen through mental, phantom, and/or dream shifts/visions. For some, we feel being a Therian/Otherkin is a spiritual thing, while others feel it is all psychological or neurological. The aspect of the spiritual side normally involves our past lives as well as reincarnation, and for some of us we believe that our past lives affect our current kintype(s). Some may claim physical shifting, but as we are all aware, physical shifting is currently impossible in either spiritual, psychological, and neurological experiences of being Therian/Otherkin.

I will be honest in that I'm not on par with how psychological and neurological kin believe since I'm strictly a spiritual otherkin, but this is part of why we made this thread in the first place, was so that we may learn about the different views/beliefs. I believe that psychological kin probably believe that they are what they identify as more mentally than a neurological kin would. I would probably be a little more informed about both of those two, but I've not really had the time to read up about it.

I do however believe that being Therian/Otherkin is not a coping mechanism of the mind/body or an excuse for doing something wrong and trying to get away with it. That's like someone who is a multi-system saying they don't remember hurting someone/something because they blacked out and another person in their system took over their body and mind.


2) Your reasoning for the above stated definition.-

As stated many times before, the definitions of what makes one a Therian/Otherkin are what have been used for several years now and are generally the most accepted ones. There are some that will argue that they aren't the accepted, but they are what I feel are the best descriptions that fit.


3) If specifically different from #1, what do you feel makes you a Therianthrope or Otherkin.-

I hope I'm answering this one right. The experiences I've had that make me feel that I am Otherkin include: Mental, phantom, and dream shifts/visions, as well as discovering myself through multiple meditations using the "Gallery of Your Life" meditation. My mental shifts vary in intensity like my phantom shifts, but they allow me to think more clearer and quicker than I normally can. My phantom shifts include feeling a tail, muzzle, ears, wings, and canine like paws. Both mental and phantom shifts are always constant, but as I said they vary in intensity though. One day I can feel completely non-human, and then others I may barely feel anything at all. It all varies dependent on my mood and environment. And for those who don't already know, I fall into the Spiritual side of the grouping, so I believe in reincarnation and past lives. Speaking of past lives, I believe that my current kintype is actually a culmination of some of them.


4) What experiences, research, and/or techniques you've used to validate your reasoning.-

Well I kind of answered that question a bit in #3, but to reiterate on it. I've experienced mental, phantom, and dream shifts/visions. My research revolved around books from Ted Andrews and some personal experiences going through my gallery meditation, which actually has a guide to do from Ted as well. Most of what I know now has been gained from personal experiences, some of which I can't exactly say here because it'd go against some forum rules or I really don't want to talk about them because they were pretty bad.

Either way, in short, I came to validate my being Therian/Otherkin through about 10 years of self discovery and actually coming to a solid identity in the last 2-3 years. After being misguided it was very difficult at first, but then finding the books and using the meditation, it really helped speed things up and clear up the confusion. Self doubt helped me as well, and getting some questions answered was beneficial too. I'm still learning a bit about myself, but I'm pretty certain about my beliefs and my identity. I too have to agree on urges that aren't very human, as I've had some that make me crave raw meat, but when I feel the human side still there I start to get a little bit disgusted even though I still feel like I want the raw meat to eat.

I hope this answers everything and I didn't miss anything. I'm not too terribly great at getting my words across from what I'm actually thinking.