Therian Thoughts

Always knows something's wrong before you show it or say it

Can make anyone instantly comfortable around them

Makes you ask, "is there a zodiac sign for crazy?" 😛

Shifting narratives weren’t a big part of the otherkin community or narrative until the past decade. So words like that simply weren’t needed. That we’re coming to a point when we feel they are needed in the otherkin community is a little bit tragic to me (but, that’s not what we’re here for).

In ye olden days, therianthropy was very focused on the experiences of shifting. If you didn’t experience shifting, many people wouldn’t consider you a therianthrope.

In 1997, Lion Templin wrote a series of essays on what he called contherianthropy, which wasn’t meant to be a ‘type’ of therianthropy or a way to say ‘therian but no shifting’. Contherianthropy was meant to be its own experience. And it was specifically his experience. I always want to emphasize that. This was a description of his experience of therianthropy/ being animal. That makes it difficult to translate the experience into something like conotherkinity. Certainly you could coin a word inspired by Templin’s writings and his use of ‘con’ (from ‘constans’) but there couldn’t be a direct parallel.

Naturally, new terms cause discourse and drama. So in comes sun/syntherianthropy, coined by Word Wolf because contherianthropy was rather rigid (which it was meant to be, because contherianthropy was Templin’s specific experience).

For those unaware about what suntherianthropy refers to, from Project Shift and Sonne, and also quoting WordWolf:

Suntherianthropy: This is a term defined by a single therian to describe his type of therianthropy, though it can and has been appropriately applied to other therians. It is pronounced “soon-therian” and derived from the Greek word “sun” meaning ‘with’, and used to indicate ‘with animal’ as the term suntherian. There’s also a syntherian variation used sometimes because of the two prefixes having the same meaning, though the creator of the term preferred the pronunciation of suntherian (many people, however, prefer the syntherian variation because of the more appropriate prefix). WordWolf, the creator of this term, defined it in 2005 as:

“This is similar to contherianthropy. In fact, it is what is USUALLY meant by contherianthropy.

A SUNTHERIAN is a therian whose therioside (primary or sole therioside) is integrated into his baseline personality.

HOWEVER, that integration does not prevent him/her from having minor fluctuations of mood that feel slightly more animal, or slightly less animal. He/she can feel them both at the same time, human and animal. He/she can NOT m-shift into his/her base theriotype (whether primary or sole.)”

Vacillant therianthropy followed, which has essentially the same meaning as suntherianthropy but people can bicker if they like. Vacillant was a group effort. Read Jakkal’s very salty journal for more.

Here are Templin’s essays, for the interested (they are very wordy):

Part 1: A Short View on Modern Contherianthropy

Part 2: Fun with Faith - The Fallacy of Therianthropy

Part 3: Proving Individual Contherianthropy

Part 4: Building Blocks to Contherianthropy

I find it tragic simply because I feel like con/sun/syn/ vacillant kind of served their purpose, to normalize different experiences of being animal/ animality within a subculture very focused on certain types of experience being more valid than others.

I guess you wouldn’t know of the context unless you were involved in the specific threads where contherians and others argued about contherianthropy (there were a few of them, mainly on the Werelist). And they’re all gone now because the Werelist in particular experienced a few database crash/loss and there’s no trace of them left, which is fucking inconvenient.

In the discussions, contherians were trying to explain how their experience of animality was just as valid in spite of not experiencing the commmon “shifting”, that they were still animal inside somehow. Because it was there and did not “go away”; it just functioned differently.

But what happened is that, after many, many re-wording of this statement, some “shifting” therians took offense at the fact - of what they understood as “if you’re saying your animality is always there, and you’re different from us because sometimes we experience our animality less (or more), then wouldn’t it follow that, if we don’t experience extreme shifting patterns, then we’re less animal than contherians?” - which is a fallacy.

But in a lot of people’s head, there was a hierarchy, a kind of competition regarding therianthropy, and it was seen as valuable, perhaps even enviable, to feel/be as much “animal” as possible, as much of the time as possible, to be as close to “the real deal” (animal living in nonhuman bodies) as imaginable.

So some shifting therians conceptualized a way to reconcile both the idea of “being animal all the time” that contherians had awkwardly explained, but also that of shifting, the concept that had been valued so much as the ultimate therian experience until then (it had come pretty much to the point that the more extreme shifting you described, the more valid you were seen, and the more serious you were perceived to be about your therianthropy).

But, in reality, syntherianthropy is what the majority of therians experience, what the majority had always experienced before the term was coined. Syntherians were not a minority, and the word did not arise because they had not been able to find their place in the community and talk about their experiences before, but because the emphasis on “shifting”, in particular on “extreme, intense shifting” was rendered obsolete by the concept of contherianthropy, and people were slowly putting the emphasis of animal identity elsewhere.

It’s just not possible to understand terminology solely in terms of logical, unbiased tools - you can’t separate their origin and popularity from the politics, the rivalries and social norms of the context from which they arose. Sometimes, a word may stick not because the vocabulary did not exist to talk about certain experiences, or because their voice could not exist otherwise. Sometimes it really only is about comfort and insecurities and the need for validation.

And it doesn’t necessarily make things better either. It kind of boggles my mind that still 15 years later we still have to write these blurbs, and we’re still explaining these words over and over again.

tehehe this improved my day exponentially.

Hello! For terminology I really can’t recommend Kiera’s Alterhuman Dictionary enough! It’s so useful and easy to use: https://www.beyondhumanity.net/alterhuman-dictionary. It only offers basic definitions, though, and doesn’t go into detail about the concepts.

The most basic groups I suggest you look into are:

Alterhuman: An umbrella term for all people who have identities that fall outside of what’s generally considered a normal human identity. Otherkin, fictionkin, therians, otherhearted, and linkers (among many many other groups) fall under this umbrella.

Otherkin, fictionkin, and therianthropes: People who identify as a nonhuman or fictional being. The identification is often spiritual or psychological in nature (though it doesn’t have to be), and it can be partial or whole. The only requirements are that it’s an identification as a thing and that it’s an identity that’s inherent to you. ‘Inherent’ in this case means that you don’t actively choose to create that identity, and that you can’t force the identity to go away.

Otherhearted/otherkith: People who identify with a nonhuman or fictional being, to the point that it becomes a part of their identity. Otherhearted people do not identify as their hearttype on any level, only with. This identity is often spiritual or psychological, and it’s usually thought to be inherent like ‘kin/therian identities.

Copinglinkers/otherlinkers: People who have chosen to create a nonhuman identity. It is typically to help cope with difficult situations, though this is not necessary, and the identity can be created for any reason. The identity can be dropped voluntarily.

To reiterate: You do not have to belong to any of these groups to be alterhuman! To be alterhuman, all you need is to have an identity that falls outside of what society accepts as a normal human identity. These are just some of the most common identities that exist.

With that out of the way, onto the second half of your question: How can you figure out what you are?

I think the easiest way to look at it, is that each defined alterhuman group has a set of experiences in common. Some only experience a fraction of these things, and some experience all of them. Some experience things I haven’t even listed, but that still help foster a feeling of alterhumanity. Some experiences also overlap between the different groups, making it more difficult.

Typical otherkin experiences:

Species dysphoria - A deep sense of unhappiness from not being of the correct species. Can include having a different body, being perceived a different way, and being treated a different way to what you feel you should be.

Species euphoria - A deep sense of joy from being of the correct species. Can include modifying your body, dressing up and being perceived and treated like the correct species.

Shifting - A change in perception that makes you feel more like your kintype. There are many different kinds of shifts: https://aestherians.tumblr.com/post/164797991209/

Phantom limbs - Feeling like you have the body/body parts of your kintype

Memories/noemata - Remembering or ‘just knowing’ things about your kintype’s life

Instincts/urges - Reactions and actions that you don’t really think about, but that are very similar to those of your kintype

Wishing you were nonhuman - Self-explanatory

Dreams - Dreams where you are your kintype or are living your kintype’s life or interacting with your kintype

Homesickness - Longing for places or time periods or situations that you’ve never been in in this life

Self-perception - Picturing yourself as your kintype in your mind’s eye, drawing yourself as your kintype when you try to draw a self portrait, always playing as something resembling your kintype in games, etc.

Typical otherhearted experiences:

Familiarity - Feeling like your hearttype is familiar to you or that it’s like family, or feeling otherwise very close to it

Feeling like you should be that species but knowing you aren’t it on any level

Comfort - Finding contentmen, safety, satisfaction, or joy in your hearttype

Wishing you were nonhuman

Shifts

Typical copinglinker experiences:

Knowing you had an active hand in creating the identity - You don’t have to have been fully conscious of creating the identity, but knowing that you created it (even subconsciously) is a defining trait of copinglinking

Knowing you would be able to quit identifying this way - Quitting might not be comfortable or easy, but if forced to you would be able to push away the identity

Comfort

Shifts

Self-perception

Wishing you were nonhuman

The process of figuring out what kind of identity you have, and later what specific kind of nonhuman/fictional being your identity is tied to, is called questioning. Questioning yourself takes a long time, usually upwards of a year! Sometimes it only takes a few months, sometimes it takes several years, but no matter what you need patience. The three R’s of questioning are:

Record your day-to-day alterhuman experiences in a journal

Research related topics, such as animal behavior or the source material these feelings stem from, community history, other people’s experiences, philosophy, and spirituality, to name a few.

@ashix-nellef​

Being otherkin is not a choice or something you can do for fun. It can be a fun experience to be otherkin, but at it’s core it’s a type of identity that is specifically not something you “do”.

The word otherkin derives from ‘humankind’ - it was first written as otherkind, way back in the 90s, but over time lost the D at the end. It’s a community for people who genuinely feel like they are from a different kind than humans. It’s not a broad umbrella term. It’s a specific term for specific people.

It’s a subcommunity under the very big and broad alterhuman umbrella, the same way, say, lesbian is a term under the queer umbrella. If self-identified allocishet men were entering lesbian exclusive spaces that’d be bad (and this should NOT be understood as a TERF argument, I’m specifically talking about self-identification here). People have a right to their communities.

Kinning is an action, a choice, something you could stop doing if you wanted to. It’s an entirely different experience and an entirely different type of self-identification, that deserves an entirely different community.

If you don’t genuinely believe that you are on some level “of another kind” then you are not otherkin. This doesn’t make your identity invalid or bad, it’s just not being otherkin. It’s still an alterhuman experience.

You can’t call “gatekeeping” when you simply don’t fit the description of a community or identity. It’s not gatekeeping to say “sorry, your cat can’t come into doggy daycare”. It’s not because they hate cats, or think cats are invalid, it’s because cats aren’t dogs and doggy daycare is specifically designed for dogs.

@ashix-nellef​

Being otherkin is not a choice or something you can do for fun. It can be a fun experience to be otherkin, but at it’s core it’s a type of identity that is specifically not something you “do”.

The word otherkin derives from ‘humankind’ - it was first written as otherkind, way back in the 90s, but over time lost the D at the end. It’s a community for people who genuinely feel like they are from a different kind than humans. It’s not a broad umbrella term. It’s a specific term for specific people.

It’s a subcommunity under the very big and broad alterhuman umbrella, the same way, say, lesbian is a term under the queer umbrella. If self-identified allocishet men were entering lesbian exclusive spaces that’d be bad (and this should NOT be understood as a TERF argument, I’m specifically talking about self-identification here). People have a right to their communities.

Kinning is an action, a choice, something you could stop doing if you wanted to. It’s an entirely different experience and an entirely different type of self-identification, that deserves an entirely different community.

If you don’t genuinely believe that you are on some level “of another kind” then you are not otherkin. This doesn’t make your identity invalid or bad, it’s just not being otherkin. It’s still an alterhuman experience.

My dysphoric feelings manifest in weird ways. I don't have the desire to hurt myself and it's not something I dwell on constantly. But, its rare that I go barefoot in my own home. I almost always have socks or slippers on so I don't have to see what I think is wrong. I also hate he sensation of bare feet on floors and carpet. Just.. NOPE! I gotta have the sock barrier. I also prefer long pants that cover most of my shoes so only the tips of the shoe shows. Converse-like shoes with the thick coated tips are also weirdly comforting. But boots? Heels? Yes! They help SO much.

Ears on the other hand are trickier, and I especially struggle with not being able to use them to emote. Wearing face masks has actually made the ear dysphoria more prominent as I keep expecting people to read my nonexistent ears to get my facial expressions. Wearing space buns helps a little for the feeling at least, and I have custom faux fur ears that I wear when I can. I’ll tilt my head a lot to compensate as well, but humans don’t really read ear position as a nonverbal cue in any capacity.

Any handler has a horror story or five to share about gross misinterpretation of animal behavior, through a solidly-affixed lens of human perspective. After a relatively brief stint in the trenches of the pet industry, I have a melange of eye-rollers I could share, but would prefer to forget. lolol. There’s no denying anthropomorphization is a fixture in popular perceptions of animals. We’ve all heard “if you’re cold, they’re cold”… applied to dogs who are naturally equipped with great dense fur coats and a preference for lower temperatures. Who YEARN from the frozen outdoors. It’s a classic example of applying human characteristics, customs, and idiosyncrasies to dogs - who as a species, have different priorities, interests, and adaptations. 

My objection springs from the inclusion of simple concern for an animal’s feelings, or the idea that that animals might experience pain, discomfort, or enduring emotional fallout, from a specific handling or training choice, under the header of “anthropomorphization.” Regard for an animal’s emotional and physical experience would more accurately be characterized as empathy. 

Anthropomorphization is the inverse of empathy. Anthropomorphization says, “I am going to put you in MY shoes.” Anthropomorphization says, “I am going to imagine how I would experience this situation.” Anthropomorphization says, “I am going to subsume your experience with my own.”

Humans and dogs are undeniably different. We have different desires, different forms of expression, different forms of communication, different behaviors we view as polite and different behaviors we view as rude. As primates we are vision-based, canines are olfactory. Anthropomorphization entails imagining how WE would feel undergoing a specific experience. This is obviously myopic - I wouldn’t enjoy chasing a ball for hours, I don’t fight on sight with squirrels, I have no desire to gnaw on a bone or sniff eons of pee. Yet I can see how those behaviors are important to my dog. I can find a way to connect and relate to those behaviors by acknowledging our different priorities, and imaging how I might feel undergoing a similar experience regarding a priority which may differ with our species in iteration, but is analogous in emotional experience.

That’s empathy. EMPATHY says, “I am going to put myself in YOUR shoes.” Empathy says, “I am going to imagine how YOU are experiencing this situation.” Empathy says, “I am going to strive to be cognizant of the ways in which we differ, and use those variations to find the ways in which we can relate.” Empathy says, “I am going to immerse MYSELF in YOUR perceptions, and the subsequent experience I can deduce.”

Ironically, the backlash against anthropomorphization often leads to people overlooking and disregarding an animal’s true physical and emotional experience every bit as much as “furmommies” and “pet people” strapping their understimulated pet to a stroller. (Really, how meaningfully does that differ from making your dog live its life in a box?) It’s horseshoe theory, with variation on theme. “How sad for those poor dogs, limited and misinterpreted and disregarded,” say Dog EnthusiastsTM re: pet people. “How sad for those poor dogs, limited and misinterpreted and disregarded,” we could also accurately say of many Dog Enthusiasts.

The correct answer to anthropomorphization is not tossing out concern for animals’ feelings, or revoking the concept that dogs experience emotions possibly as deeply and extensively as we do. (As Dr. Patricia Mcconnell says, for all we know, their emotional experience is even greater.) The answer is empathy - trying to view the world through an animal’s eyes.

Empathy is the more difficult answer. It’s more complicated than either anthropomorphization, or viewing dogs as completely alien. Empathizing with animals requires us to ask hard questions. Empathizing with animals requires us to strain our ability to perceive another’s experience. Empathizing requires us to deliberately perceive the manifest as well as the inconspicuous discrepancies between the human and the canine experiences, in order to arrive at our true similarities. 

We ask people to leave no trace not because we think any one person is going to singlehandedly cause tremendous harm by going off trail or littering or moving rocks or taking souvenirs. We also don’t think we can stop absolutely everyone by asking them nicely to follow the rules and respect the environment.

With the exception of things like arson or chemical dumping, the harm from restrained individual actions is pretty minor. One rock is one rock, one flower is one flower. But the difference between one plucked flower and ten million plucked flowers is ten million restrained individual actions of, “Oh, this is fine, it’s just one flower—what does it matter if I pluck it?”

A single person stacking rocks into decorative cairns isn’t going to kill every salamander. They may deprive a few organisms of shelter or dry out some eggs attached to a stone, but there are other eggs and other hiding places. But then someone else comes along and sees the lovely little cairn and thinks, “Cool, I’ll make one too!” and so do a hundred other hikers that day. Now it’s a trend. Now it’s on Instagram AJ’s everyone wants to try it. Now thousands of people come to the same place and build their own, and the entire streambed has been continuously disturbed and the habitat becomes perilous and barren.

But to you, it’s just one rock. Just one flower. Just one piece of trash. It’s “just one” to a million other people, too.

It’s kin slang! Here it is used in a sentence:

I wishkin would have wonderful and happy lives! Heart emoji!

There’s also not much to be reclaimed. It’s always been used primarily to refer to people who want to be otherkin but aren’t. The want is a big part. Yes, we often use it disparagingly, but the people we use it on, like a-dragons-explanations mentioned, usually are wilfully ignorant at a certain point in their game (then they grow up and leave in a couple years when it’s no longer fun).

I’ll happily ruffle the feathers of such folk if in such a mood. Like on a day I have seen one too many people appropriate our language. I’m petty, what can I say?

I've been awakened for a few years now but I still struggle with the ebb and flow of how non-human I feel. It's not made better by the fact that I don't see similar feelings discussed at all. I'm sure it's because it's not as glamorous of a thing to talk about. Or at least I would hope that's the case, anyway. It's not as cool as a mental shift or phantom limbs. As a matter of fact it sucks to talk about because it just reminds me of the disconnect between my physical body and how I feel spiritually.

But then I remember that being a therian isn’t just about the stuff I consciously know I’m doing. My non-human identity is integrated into everything I do. When I dance, I jump and bounce. I crouch when I feel unsafe. I walk on the balls of my feet. I wiggle a little when I’m so happy I can’t contain myself. All of this I do without thinking. For me, these are all little signs of my theriotype. My brain and my body move the way they do because they’re driven by the part of me that is more than human. Now obviously everyone experiences their therianthropy differently, but remember that your very nature is the result of your identity (hence the “integral, ontological phenomenon”). So even if it doesn’t feel as blatant as “feeling like x theriotype” or having specific types of shifts, your kintype is always a part of you.

An important part of growing out of the newbie stage, so to say, is figuring out what you want to do with your newly discovered identity. It’s about incorporating it into the rest of your life and building a personal worldview that includes much more than raw nonhuman feelings.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was passed in 1818 and makes it illegal for people in the US to “take,” which means killing, injuring, or possessing, migratory birds in most circumstances. That includes accidental take, such as in oil spills, bioaccumuliation of poisons, or building on bird habitat. 

I’ve worked for the the Division of Natural Resources. I’ve worked for the State Parks department, and I’ve worked as a bird rehabber.

Owls get hit by cars all the time. 9/10 of our raptors we treated at any time were car victims. No one is pressing charges.

And no one cares if you have a Blue Jay feather in your dresser with some cool rocks you found in a hike. We Don’t Care.

This proposal isn’t to protect you for these things.

Do you know who wants to be exempt from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

Oil & Gas, who see hundreds of millions of birds die horrible deaths in their sludge pits every year in the U.S.

If industries like Oil and Gas become exempt from MBTA laws and aren’t taken to task for accidental take, they Will not take responsibility for this impact in the environment. In fact, they’ll only get worse.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is one of the ONLY wildlife laws in the world that ACTUALLY has some teeth, as we say in Wildlife. Meaning, if you violate it, there may actually be consequences you can’t buy your way out of with wealth.

In 2015, oil companies fought against having to cover their waste pits with nets. A multi-billion dollar industry that couldn’t be bothered to spend the money. To take the responsibility.

They will not do good deeds on their own. The MBTA exists in the first place because of the greed that decimated our birds before, the greed that drove entire species such as the Passenger pigeon extinct.

Without it, greed will prevail again.

“An estimated 500,000 to 1 million birds are killed annually in oil pits and evaporation ponds.  In one study, 51 % of all birds found at oil and gas facilities were in heater-treaters, 30% in various pits, 4% in wastewater ponds, 4% tanks and trays, and 1% spills.  More birds are likely found in heater-treaters compared to other sources as they are contained and are not vulnerable to scavenging by predators. In pits and ponds, many birds likely go undetected because they sink, are scavenged by predators, or picked up by people.  Thus, current estimates of bird deaths at these sites probably underestimate the true impact.“

I’m quoting their shit back at them in my comment.

It’s really common to find witchy mental illness/health related content that is catered towards specific illnesses (usually anxiety and depression). This is more catered to specific symptoms.

Witchcraft is to be used as a supplement to proper medical care, medication and therapy - not as a sole alternative!

Anger:

Amethyst anger release spell

Easy anger release spell

A quick way to cool anger

Anger dispersion magic tea

Anger reducing bath

Bath spell to release anger

“I channel my anger in a healthy, safe and productive manner” sigil

“My anger is under control” sigil

This masterpost

Anxiety:

Anti-anxiety shower spell

Soothing bath spell

Rainy day anxiety spell

I will be okay spell

Anti-anxiety spell jar

Anti-anxiety spell charm

Anti-anxiety tea

Brain Fog + Memory:

ADHD concentration spell bottle

Brainfog lifting

“Brainfog begone” sigil

Rosemary memory spell

Finding things/ memory spell

Memory and concentration spell

Memory enhancement sachet

Memory and awareness spell bottle 

Depression:

Post-depressive-episode bath spell

Ease my depression spell bottle

“Last hope” spell for depression

Anti-depression tea

Gems for depression

Disassociation: 

Spell for disassociation 

Witch’s disassociation bracelet 

“Anti-disassociation” sigil

“I am grounded and in control of my emotions + reactions” sigil

Fatigue:

Spell for energy

Energy gain spell

Energy jar

Energy bath

Crystals for fatigue

“No fatigue” sigil

“Energy” sigil

“I am energetic” sigil

“I have the energy to take a shower” sigil

Flashbacks/trauma

Spell to release emotional blockage

Piece by piece trauma healing spell

Healing from childhood trauma spell bottle

Spell bottle for reassurance 

“My trauma does not hold me back” sigil

Insomnia + nightmares:

Restful sleep and sweet dreams sachet

Sleep crystal spell

Stuffed animal sleep spell

Sleep easy spell sachet

Sleepy witch tip

Nightmare ward charm

Nightmare repellent

Nightmare prevention - crystals and herbs

Dream witch nightmare tips

Intrusive thoughts:

OCD assistance bath

Spell to ward against intrusive thoughts

Spell to control intrusive thoughts

Banish intrusive thoughts incantation

Banishing unwanted thoughts spell

Intrusive thought banishing spell

“I am in control of my OCD” sigil 

Panic attacks:

Panic attack relief pouch

Anti-panic attack spell earrings

Rose Quartz calming spell

“Ease my panic attacks” sigil

“I have less panic attacks” sigil

Paranoia:

Crystals for paranoia

“My paranoia does not control me” sigil

“I don’t let paranoid thoughts overcome me” sigil

“My paranoia does not affect me” sigil

Picking (hair, skin, etc.):

Ease skin picking spell

“I resist the urge to pick my skin” sigil

“I keep from picking” sigil

“My trichotillomania is under control” sigil

“I don’t pull out my hair or eyelashes” sigil

“I am in control and resist the desire to pick my hair” sigil

Mood Swings/Emotional Balance: 

Increasing your emotional tolerance spell

Crystals for BPD

“I regulate my emotions well”

“I am happy and do not have mood swings” sigil