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 Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:18 pm
don't get any big ideas, they're not going to happen...After the success of the thread on Therianthropy, I thought I might stick my neck out and see what people think about Otherkin in general? For those who do not know the concept of Otherkin, it is a term used to describe people who feel their souls are something other than human, including, but definitely not limited to physical creatures native to our dimensional reality (therians) encountered mythos (angels, demons, fae), and less-popular but still highly revered mythos (dragons etc).
Within your scope of belief in particular creatures and beings, do you believe that the idea is possible? Or would you run around and point screaming "fluff fluff fluff!"?
My curiosity stems from the fact that so many people I know have said they have admitted their kinship to Wiccan friends, and have been met with the opinion of "you're crazy and a fluff." My experience has been quite different... I 'came out' to my coven long before I told anyone else of my kinship, and they were actually pretty excited about it. But, I'd still like to know what you guys think.
TL;DR summary: Otherkin -- do you believe it? ...you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 1:13 am
I think it's a bloody ridiculous idea but unfortunately I live with it. razz Seriously, I have yet to find a solid reason why it affects me so much and why I know about it.
I fit under the therian category - still haven't found an exact species match but it seems earthly enough. Not telling anyone unless they ask is my way of avoiding "You're insane." (Saying that, I have denied "Do you think you were a cat in a past life?" I'm good at this game.) Internet doesn't count.
and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own and you go home andasdgagfrgth
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:14 am
I think the validity of the idea rests entirely upon hypothetical metaphysics regarding the interpretation and beliefs concerning the 'soul' (if it even exists as a discreet entity to begin with). I worry less about the claim to the idea than the reasons WHY a person claims it. I think that more often than not, claiming to be something 'other' than human is a claim to be something 'better' than human or is symptomatic of an unhealthy need to be 'special.'
Personally, I think the idea of 'human' souls or 'animal' souls is silly. A soul is a soul is a soul. Just because you feel a kinship with something not-human dosen't mean YOU are not human. You're human. Period. Get used to it. It's not some Gods-awful thing to be human, you know. You weren't born in a vacuum and you claim your heritage from the entire biosphere. You have in your blood relations to plants and animals already. You are because they are. Isn't that enough?
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:38 am
don't get any big ideas, they're not going to happen...Of course a soul is a soul is a soul... except when it isn't entirely. For beings that are souls, such as angels or demons, that spiritual form is most definitely typed. For others, I personally don't think a soul is specific to one race/creature, but can still be coloured by experience. Someone who has lived most of their lives as a wolf could very well feel rather lupine at times.
I don't think many people who are serious about their kinship do so to suggest they are better than human. In fact, if someone were to amble into the otherkin community and declare their superiority over humanity, they would be met with a much echoed demand to look in the mirror. I mean, there was a reason I chose those lyrics to mock a gold-whoring poll out of wink ...you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:10 am
I agree with Ich bin Nackt...just because you feel a sense of otherkinship...does not mean that you think that you are better than a human...we know we are human this time around and it would be stupid to deny that......Starlock I think your judgement saying "they are trying to be special" is unfair and not to be rude but a bit closed-minded....to me its about being true to yourself....why judge or deny someone that?....it's like when Christians say magick doesn't exist and we only claim to do it to be "special"...so sorry if this comes off offensive, but I just don't think it's right to judge what someone feels is true to them...(please note that I am not saying that there are not fakes out there that would try to brag about being something other than human but many of us are not like that and have shared with very few people what we really feel....comments like that make people hide and feel foolish...that's all I am saying)
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:30 pm
Aye. I'm human. Just been a bit influenced by the past, that's all.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 2:01 pm
I remember having this discussion in another guild of mine, and the theory everyone came up with (and also the point of most of these post here summed up) is the following:
Souls are not species/organism/creature specific, but just exist. (It's up to the beliefs of the individual as to how these souls came into existance, but thats aside the point.) The term "otherkin", in this sense, refers to the feelings of the soul in accordance with past lives. Like Ich bin Nackt stated, if a soul has spent most of its lives as a certain organism, the soul will "mold" itself, persay, to that organism's traits, behaviours, etc. When that soul begins life in a different body than their previous lives, it's not used to having that kind of a lifestyle, and may feel more comfortable in the previous body, resulting in a sense of otherkinship as that creature. In this sense, a soul is like an extremely viscus liquid that needs time to adjust to a new shell.
Or... something like that. That was our conclusion... XD
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 6:04 pm
Yeah, I came off a bit more abrassive than usual in that last post. Sorry about that. I've just seen too many sad stories come out from these sorts of beliefs for my own good, so I suppose I get a bit touchy. xd
It still depends on how you see the metaphysics of souls. Or how you even define a soul, which is an incredibly abstract and varied term. I just don't understand why anybody would ever want to claim they have a soul that is not human. It's probably semantics that's my problem with it more than anything else. If describing it in that way makes sense to you, sure. It makes no sense to me most of the time.
It still stands that people who make stupendous claims (be it otherkin or whatever) may be doing so for less than healthy reasons, psychologically. Anybody who makes such claims - regardless of if it is genuine or not - needs to be seriously honest with themselves. Honest in terms of WHY they are claiming it in the first place and more importantly, honest in terms of how that belief is influencing themselves and the environment. IMHO, if your motives are clean and the belief is not harming ourself or others around you, believe what you want. If that isn't true, what you believe needs to be changed because it is unhealthy.
I'm not sure how many who make claims go through that process of cross-examination. I hope they do. Mostly for their own sake. And it doesn't really matter if we're talking otherkin, political stances, or opinions on pizza toppings. We should always cross-examine ourselves every so often so we don't dig ourselves into our own holes (or dig holes for others).
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 5:07 am
When the world ends...
I love dragons...
dragons dragons dragons.
... I will still be singing my song.
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 11:29 am
Ah, abrasive is understandable then. There are the kooks... and they put a bad taste in the mouth. Same goes for any belief, unfortunately.
I know that for myself, I have done quite a bit of examining in my belief of otherness. I've been doing it since I awakened six years ago, and I always encourage other people to do the same smile
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 3:56 pm
I'm not sure if I'd call them kooks, necessarily. Overall, they're relatively ordinary people. Who got just a little *too* wrapped up in their beliefs at times. xd That's a danger for just about anything, to be fair. Seems to happen more with what most would consider 'bizzare' beliefs.
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 6:49 pm
rofl nah im a fairy
sorry had too
i have to be human right? stare but i love water and i am uncomfortable with hights, very clumsy, dont fit in to well with normal folk eek im a hermit crab burning_eyes
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:59 pm
Well, I'd have to say that I don't hold much stock in that idea...but if that is what makes someone happy and gives them peace then hey, who am I to say it's not valid? It is obviously valid to someone.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:55 pm
I do believe in this, because I'm a "furry" so to speak. Furrys' are people who consider themselves animals. kind of like another side to them. My "fursona" (or animal counterpart) is a wolf/dragon hybrid. But, this is all imagination, in my opinion.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:58 pm
Squeek Panda Bear rofl nah im a fairy sorry had too i have to be human right? stare but i love water and i am uncomfortable with hights, very clumsy, dont fit in to well with normal folk eek im a hermit crab burning_eyes I purr, lick randomly, deliver love nips, and walk with a wee bit of arrogance. I can be your most loving friend or your most brutally honest critic. I have moments of spazziness, but am mostly calm. By you logic, I'm a kitty. biggrin As far as being one in the past, sure, why not? I also love StrawberryDaifuku's definition of a soul. I agree with it, especially in the essence of "molds" that the soul forms to.
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