The Manuscripts of Kalebron

This might sound familiar to you, maybe cliche, or even totally crazy, but that’s what I personally think. Humans are weird, and I don’t really know how to explain. For me, it’s socially, because I think they have strange rituals and odd customs to interact with one another. There’s a lot of things I don’t relate to, and I can’t help but wonder why. Of course, I already know the answer : that’s because I’m a jaguar trapped in a human’s body — or something along the lines of that. But I’ve always asked myself “why do they make me feel that way? I’m still human, right?”.

Nobody knows for sure what causes therianthropy, to be honest.

Therianthropy is not defined as “the belief that you have an animal soul”, even if some therians believe they do have animal souls. But there are quite a number of therians who don’t believe in supernatural concepts like souls, spirits or reincarnation at all. And besides, nobody can truly know if souls even exist, even if you personally believe in them.

Therianthropy is most commonly defined as “identifying (at least partly) as a non-human animal”. Sometimes words like “internally, personally” etc are used too.

Note the word “identify as”. Not “having a connection”. It’s perfectly normal to feel emotional or spiritual connections to nature, charismatic animals etc. It can be an important part of your life…

But therianthropy is when you consider yourself to somehow be this animal - whether you prefer to describe it in spiritual lingo or psychological. (Therianthropy is obviously not physical. Hollywood werewolves don’t exist.)

I obviously cannot say if you’re a “true therian” as I am not you and don’t experience what you experience.

However, I will say that a lot of what’s in those articles is human. One’s physical traits have everything to do with their human DNA and nothing to do with identity. One’s personality is more likely to be influenced by their human life. I warn people against using human things to figure out their non-human identity (or if they have one to begin with) because it is far too easy to wishfully interpret something perfectly human as “evidence” of something not human. I especially warn against explaining human things in a non-human way in the early stages of one’s journey because this is the easiest time to indulge in misinterpretation, wishful thinking, etc.

If you ask me, it is a much better idea to base one’s identity on things that seem utterly non human such as mental shifts, phantom limbs, etc. I always recommend to people who are trying to pin down a kintype or figure out if they’re otherkin in the first place to keep a journal. To write down everything they experience that they deem pertinent to their identity and, weeks to months later, read it. See what sense can be made of it without applying any pre-conceived notions of kintype to it. Discard what’s human, question things that might overlap.

Can one’s identity influence their personality? Sure. However, something crossing over between human and not human doesn’t mean that it’s 100% non human. Humans are animals too so there will naturally be cross over, but that cross over should be looked at more in a framework of “isn’t this interesting” than “this is evidence for having X kintype”.

I don’t identify as a shark because I like to keep moving, love to swim, love to eat sushi, prefer to be solitary or in small groups, etc. I don’t identify as a lion because I prefer the company of women (I don’t, by the way), like rare meat, am territorial, etc. I identify as my theriotypes because they are me. The phantom limbs, the mental shifts, the ever present images of “self” are such. 

I find it a very slippery slope between “hmm, I think I might be a feline therian because I prefer to be alone, like sleeping in warm places, etc. I should look into this” to “I’m a house cat therian because I prefer to be alone, like sleeping in warm places, and love milk”. These traits don’t just correspond to many other animals, but they’re also utterly human.

I was actually hoping your reply would be a bit more personalized and that I would get the good old-fashioned “grilling” that therian/otherkin newcomers would get in forums and the like. My inquiry was theoretical (as you may or may not have noticed), so I wasn’t actually relying on your potential answer to help me label myself. I’m aware you can’t give me a “final say”, so I was hoping to get your own personal reaction to my experiences as if what I explained was all I used to reach the conclusion that I am internally non-human in some way, shape, or form.

That aside, I still appreciate your answer.

I would like to focus on part of what you personally respect as your own evidence to your identity. That is, the presence of shifts and phantom-limbs.

This, in my experience, is probably the most commonly shared feature between those who are part of the therian community (otherkin as well, but I want to focus on therianthropy for now). I think it would be closely followed by those having past-life memories of being their therioside or having dreams of being their theriosides. (Once again, this from my own experience.)

My personal dilemma (strictly in my relating to the rest of the community) is that I pretty much lack all of the experiences I just described.

So perhaps my lack of shifting could be explained away by my being a “contherian” or “suntherian”. And they say not all experience phantom limbs (as common and broadcasted as this experience is). You can say the same for past-life memories and “dream-shifting”. Therefore, though I could theoretically fall into simply being a rarity, is it more likely that I’ve mistaken myself?

I confess: I do not remember what first inspired the idea that a being tiger was my most proper form. Before I dramatized it and wove the identity into my literature, I can’t point to the seed. A dream? A tangible feeling? A philosophical suggestion? A desire? Or maybe just pure self-fulfilling imagination?

It no longer troubles me because I know how I am regardless of how I label myself. But to challenge the definition, I offer my own experiences as something to discuss (and not with just you but the community as a whole).

If you do not experience mental or phantom sensations (note: contherians are essentially constantly shifted while suntherians are as well, but the latter usually experiences far more fluctuation in the human-animal balance and suntherians often do experience true shifts) then what do you base your identity on? Human traits? This is weak at best as human traits simply say that you’re human. Anything else is either wishful thinking, forcing an identity on yourself, or similar.

Not all otherkin experience phantom sensations and not all otherkin experience a change in their mentality to be more *insert animal here*. However, most experience one or the other either as a constant state of being or through shifts (or both).

I’m honestly not sure why you identify as otherkin. You say you have experiences, but then that you don’t experience mental or phantom shifts/states so what experiences are these? Dreams? Dreams are scientifically understood to be products of the sleeping brain and they are certainly not something to base an identity on. Human traits? Again not something to base a non-human identity on.

I simply always felt feline for as far back as I could remember, but when my friend explained to me what it was, I felt all the pieces coming together. They didn’t say anything about shifting initially, or past lives; it was all because I simply FELT nonhuman.

So sometimes as simple as a gut feeling you’ve had your whole life that you never knew actually had a name or anything is what can trigger you to realize “wow, I might be _____.”

I obviously cannot say if you’re a “true therian” as I am not you and don’t experience what you experience.

However, I will say that a lot of what’s in those articles is human. One’s physical traits have everything to do with their human DNA and nothing to do with identity. One’s personality is more likely to be influenced by their human life. I warn people against using human things to figure out their non-human identity (or if they have one to begin with) because it is far too easy to wishfully interpret something perfectly human as “evidence” of something not human. I especially warn against explaining human things in a non-human way in the early stages of one’s journey because this is the easiest time to indulge in misinterpretation, wishful thinking, etc.

If you ask me, it is a much better idea to base one’s identity on things that seem utterly non human such as mental shifts, phantom limbs, etc. I always recommend to people who are trying to pin down a kintype or figure out if they’re otherkin in the first place to keep a journal. To write down everything they experience that they deem pertinent to their identity and, weeks to months later, read it. See what sense can be made of it without applying any pre-conceived notions of kintype to it. Discard what’s human, question things that might overlap.

Can one’s identity influence their personality? Sure. However, something crossing over between human and not human doesn’t mean that it’s 100% non human. Humans are animals too so there will naturally be cross over, but that cross over should be looked at more in a framework of “isn’t this interesting” than “this is evidence for having X kintype”.

I don’t identify as a shark because I like to keep moving, love to swim, love to eat sushi, prefer to be solitary or in small groups, etc. I don’t identify as a lion because I prefer the company of women (I don’t, by the way), like rare meat, am territorial, etc. I identify as my theriotypes because they are me. The phantom limbs, the mental shifts, the ever present images of “self” are such. 

I find it a very slippery slope between “hmm, I think I might be a feline therian because I prefer to be alone, like sleeping in warm places, etc. I should look into this” to “I’m a house cat therian because I prefer to be alone, like sleeping in warm places, and love milk”. These traits don’t just correspond to many other animals, but they’re also utterly human.

I was actually hoping your reply would be a bit more personalized and that I would get the good old-fashioned “grilling” that therian/otherkin newcomers would get in forums and the like. My inquiry was theoretical (as you may or may not have noticed), so I wasn’t actually relying on your potential answer to help me label myself. I’m aware you can’t give me a “final say”, so I was hoping to get your own personal reaction to my experiences as if what I explained was all I used to reach the conclusion that I am internally non-human in some way, shape, or form.

That aside, I still appreciate your answer.

I would like to focus on part of what you personally respect as your own evidence to your identity. That is, the presence of shifts and phantom-limbs.

This, in my experience, is probably the most commonly shared feature between those who are part of the therian community (otherkin as well, but I want to focus on therianthropy for now). I think it would be closely followed by those having past-life memories of being their therioside or having dreams of being their theriosides. (Once again, this from my own experience.)

My personal dilemma (strictly in my relating to the rest of the community) is that I pretty much lack all of the experiences I just described.

So perhaps my lack of shifting could be explained away by my being a “contherian” or “suntherian”. And they say not all experience phantom limbs (as common and broadcasted as this experience is). You can say the same for past-life memories and “dream-shifting”. Therefore, though I could theoretically fall into simply being a rarity, is it more likely that I’ve mistaken myself?

I confess: I do not remember what first inspired the idea that a being tiger was my most proper form. Before I dramatized it and wove the identity into my literature, I can’t point to the seed. A dream? A tangible feeling? A philosophical suggestion? A desire? Or maybe just pure self-fulfilling imagination?

It no longer troubles me because I know how I am regardless of how I label myself. But to challenge the definition, I offer my own experiences as something to discuss (and not with just you but the community as a whole).

If you do not experience mental or phantom sensations (note: contherians are essentially constantly shifted while suntherians are as well, but the latter usually experiences far more fluctuation in the human-animal balance and suntherians often do experience true shifts) then what do you base your identity on? Human traits? This is weak at best as human traits simply say that you’re human. Anything else is either wishful thinking, forcing an identity on yourself, or similar.

Not all otherkin experience phantom sensations and not all otherkin experience a change in their mentality to be more *insert animal here*. However, most experience one or the other either as a constant state of being or through shifts (or both).

I’m honestly not sure why you identify as otherkin. You say you have experiences, but then that you don’t experience mental or phantom shifts/states so what experiences are these? Dreams? Dreams are scientifically understood to be products of the sleeping brain and they are certainly not something to base an identity on. Human traits? Again not something to base a non-human identity on.

So…onto the good stuff.

My answer to your question is fairly difficult to explain. (To slightly simplify this, I will only regard my tiger/therian side. My belief in having a dragon side is more easily dismissible and also stands on slightly different grounds.) The thing is, when I was first was exposed to the concept, I understood it to be character-modifying phenomenon with a level of dysphoria. The idea of literally feeling animal parts and having feral animal thoughts was not something I even thought was part of it..not until I started investigating some communities. Even then I felt experiencing such phenomenon was an extreme, though I later realized it was practically a standard and almost a requirement.

Though I've always felt like many were more "therian" than myself, I had faith in my belief that at my very core I am a tiger. Yet if I try to point out the experiences that "prove" this to me, it would look superficial. What I feel is that the entity that influences the traits is that which is non-human (and that in theory, if present in a different body could modify a different set of traits. thereby rendering the traits themselves as fairly useless for "diagnosis").

Since my belief is strongly philosophical in nature (as well as psychological), I do not necessarily believe that an animal in a sentient human body would behave very animal-like or would even want to behave as such while knowing that it is operating in a totally unique vessel capable of self-awareness (among other things, of course). If that made any sense, perhaps you can see why I have thought of this being character-modifying. The dysphoria would kick in whenever the animal within feels it would be better off in its familiar body with its familiar challenges.

Of course, this theory introduces the obstacle which is that we can't know what an animal is without the body/brain it operates in. Yet I've kinda presumed that I can know this to some extent. Take that as you will.

It's fairly likely that from the get-go I may have drawn the wrong picture of what therianthropy really is. Or perhaps I do get the idea, but most favor more tangible self proof of their therian nature (which does not always have to be present). Even if I'm not really a therian, I do still consider myself as at least very connected to the community.

(I should mention my writing of my novel-in-progress has had a lot to do with my journey in self-discovery even to this day, but I'm not bringing this into the discussion because things get really fluffy with that. What I mentioned in my backstory is only the tip of the iceberg: everything else is more suitable for private discussion.)

I obviously cannot say if you’re a “true therian” as I am not you and don’t experience what you experience.

However, I will say that a lot of what’s in those articles is human. One’s physical traits have everything to do with their human DNA and nothing to do with identity. One’s personality is more likely to be influenced by their human life. I warn people against using human things to figure out their non-human identity (or if they have one to begin with) because it is far too easy to wishfully interpret something perfectly human as “evidence” of something not human. I especially warn against explaining human things in a non-human way in the early stages of one’s journey because this is the easiest time to indulge in misinterpretation, wishful thinking, etc.

If you ask me, it is a much better idea to base one’s identity on things that seem utterly non human such as mental shifts, phantom limbs, etc. I always recommend to people who are trying to pin down a kintype or figure out if they’re otherkin in the first place to keep a journal. To write down everything they experience that they deem pertinent to their identity and, weeks to months later, read it. See what sense can be made of it without applying any pre-conceived notions of kintype to it. Discard what’s human, question things that might overlap.

Can one’s identity influence their personality? Sure. However, something crossing over between human and not human doesn’t mean that it’s 100% non human. Humans are animals too so there will naturally be cross over, but that cross over should be looked at more in a framework of “isn’t this interesting” than “this is evidence for having X kintype”.

I don’t identify as a shark because I like to keep moving, love to swim, love to eat sushi, prefer to be solitary or in small groups, etc. I don’t identify as a lion because I prefer the company of women (I don’t, by the way), like rare meat, am territorial, etc. I identify as my theriotypes because they are me. The phantom limbs, the mental shifts, the ever present images of “self” are such. 

I find it a very slippery slope between “hmm, I think I might be a feline therian because I prefer to be alone, like sleeping in warm places, etc. I should look into this” to “I’m a house cat therian because I prefer to be alone, like sleeping in warm places, and love milk”. These traits don’t just correspond to many other animals, but they’re also utterly human.

I was actually hoping your reply would be a bit more personalized and that I would get the good old-fashioned "grilling" that therian/otherkin newcomers would get in forums and the like. My inquiry was theoretical (as you may or may not have noticed), so I wasn't actually relying on your potential answer to help me label myself. I'm aware you can't give me a "final say", so I was hoping to get your own personal reaction to my experiences as if what I explained was all I used to reach the conclusion that I am internally non-human in some way, shape, or form.

That aside, I still appreciate your answer.

I would like to focus on part of what you personally respect as your own evidence to your identity. That is, the presence of shifts and phantom-limbs.

This, in my experience, is probably the most commonly shared feature between those who are part of the therian community (otherkin as well, but I want to focus on therianthropy for now). I think it would be closely followed by those having past-life memories of being their therioside or having dreams of being their theriosides. (Once again, this from my own experience.)

My personal dilemma (strictly in my relating to the rest of the community) is that I pretty much lack all of the experiences I just described.

So perhaps my lack of shifting could be explained away by my being a "contherian" or "suntherian". And they say not all experience phantom limbs (as common and broadcasted as this experience is). You can say the same for past-life memories and "dream-shifting". Therefore, though I could theoretically fall into simply being a rarity, is it more likely that I've mistaken myself?

I confess: I do not remember what first inspired the idea that a being tiger was my most proper form. Before I dramatized it and wove the identity into my literature, I can't point to the seed. A dream? A tangible feeling? A philosophical suggestion? A desire? Or maybe just pure self-fulfilling imagination?

It no longer troubles me because I know how I am regardless of how I label myself. But to challenge the definition, I offer my own experiences as something to discuss (and not with just you but the community as a whole).