Welcome to Gaia! ::

They used to say at night witches would turn into cats when their husbands were away so they spend the evening with their true lovers or something. xd
I really don't believe that though...

I don't think one can actually shape shift. From the books I've read witches use hallucinogenic (i hope i spelt that correctly) herbs, so they think they transformed or flew.

I'm GUESSING people thought they transformed because they would see their pet/ familiar perhaps going in and out of the house.

But we don't know... perhaps it is real, there are alot of documentations about transformation during witch trials. Witches confessing, such as Isobel Gowdie renowned as 'Queen of Scottish Witches' claiming to have seen faeries transform and taught her how to fly. Witches, other than using their astral forms and 'brooms' to go to a Sabbat, they were also said to transform.

Perhaps shapeshifting in the astral plane? or gain astral limbs... not really sure ^^;;

Though, it should be noted that Physical Shapeshifting is often a touchy issue in Therianthropic communities. Some believe it's possible and many of the therians that I've spoken with do not. However, there have been a few who have claimed that they have the ability to shift. All of those whom I met on internet communities who claimed being able to possess this ability, none have been able to prove it. They all just made excuses and were therefore deemed to be posers/roleplayers/faking it.

I have yet to find someone who can actually prove their ability to Physically Shift. neutral

There are just too many biological complications when it comes to converting one species into a completely seperate species. It would take a massive amount of literal, physical energy and would be on such a scale that not even the most adept psion could control it.

At least that's what I think. If anyone has anything to show otherwise, I'd like to see it.

I do believe it's possible, mainly because i regularly deal with unexplained occurances. My favorite being full-moon paranoia (*** i can't spell today).

On the full moon, the hospital gets an average of 60% more casualties and 30% more fatalities than normal. (scientifically proven)

I have a theory...

If you have a constant of DNA... AATGAATGCAACT (used for generalized purposes) and you have a life close to radioactivity... like in a nuclear power plant or such, then the DNA could be warn down by the constant occurence and abuse. And then wierd Radiation from the moon that we can't explain comes into play, and suddenly the DNA goes KABLOOIE.

It reforms on any other present mapping avalible, like wolf DNA for example.

this could also explain why there are so many reports of werecreatures around the world, because all kinds of genetic material can be used.

the only problem with this theory is that Transformation time would be over two hours in direct moonlight,

and knife-in-every-square-inch-of-skin painful. like death-to-people-with-heart-conditions painful.

The density of the altered form could be changed, theoretically. We seem to be using that word alot on this guild. ^_^

Uh, you do know how far fetched that would be? DNA is one of the most chemically inactive molecules in the human body. If radiation, disease or any other such thing was able to change the structure of DNA, it would be so strong the rest of the body would be completely dead before any sort of change of DNA could occur.

Then you are neglecting the fact that proteins are more responsible for genetics and human construction than DNA ever was. Don't you think the Human Genome Project would have found something which makes humans if they were that fundamentally vital? But they didn't. Which is why they are now examining proteins, which have at least three to four times as many varieties as DNA does codes (which is approximately 3 billion).

If shapeshifters DO exist, which, let's face it, is highly unlikely on the scale of little men becoming big animals, then it's not gonna be down to something like DNA or genetics.