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Werewolves and Otherkin

  
 
Chiropteran
20:44 / 08.10.03
Those of you lucky enough to be following the Halloween thread (*wink*) know that I've been going on a bit about werewolves for the last couple days, as part of my seasonal magick project.

Sniffing around the web for some inspiration I rediscovered the Were and Otherkin communities online (I had read into them at some point a while ago, but they had gone offscreen-out-of-mind). It sparked my curiosity a bit, especially from a magickal perspective.

For anyone who's unfamiliar, I'll briefly elaborate:

Werewolves are exactly what they sound like - people who believe that they are closely tied to and shapeshift into (in some way) wolves (or substitute other animal form to taste). Most claim to shift "aurally," "astrally" or "mentally," or to shift in dreams. There are rumors of actual full physical transformations, but none have been verified (and seem to be greated with some wistful skepticism). I think, from what I've seen, that these werewolves can be pretty clearly distinguished from, say, shamans using shapeshifting techniques as part of their palette of skills - werewolves are werewolves, for whatever reason.

"Otherkin" is an umbrella term used to describe the whole motley crew of people who believe, according to the FAQ on otherkin.net: "The Otherkin are those people who believe themselves to be spiritually and/or physically other than human. While mythological species (elves, satyrs, fairies, dragons, and so on) are widely accepted as being included under the term "Otherkin", many people in the community prefer to include aliens, vampires, furries, extraterrestrial humans, and other nonhuman races. A mythological or literary equivalent is not necessary to be included under "Otherkin"; there are types of otherkin that have not shown up in known legends or fiction (star-dragons, Elenari, etc.)." The people in the Otherkin community make it quite clear that they are not "just roleplaying" - they seem to be very serious about their kin-ness and its role in their lives.

I'm going to leave this thread pretty open, but I would like to ask: what do you all think of this, from a magickal perspective (and particularly with regards to things like fictionsuits, hypersigils and shamanic shapeshifting and the like)? Are there any 'kin here on Barbelith who could maybe give us a little bit of insight into the 'kin way of life? I wonder, for 'kin who are also pagan or magicians or shamans, how their 'kin-ness interacts with their other magickal and spiritual activities.

And I'm especially curious (particularly for the werewolves and Fae) if 'kin see themselves and their community as the "real" werewolf community or the "real" elven community, or do they hold onto some sense that being Otherkin and living a largely human life in a humanoid body is just partway there, that Somewhere Out There, in the wilds of Canada there is a "REAL" full P-shifting (physical metamorphosis) werewolf pack, or whatever, that they hope to someday join, if they can?

On a semi-related note about weres: what are people's thoughts about the possibility of actual full-body metamorphosis?

The whole idea is just very interesting to me, on many levels. So what do you think, Barbelith?

~L
 
 
beautifultoxin
22:06 / 08.10.03
I was just going to start this thread. We watched Wendigo last night -- not recommended, by the way, but I thought of your working.

When I was first coming through dealing w/ magick, I became lovers with someone who was very close to a group of 'kin in Boston, who started an email list called darkfae where a lot of the early 'kin stuff was developed. I also lived with one of those people later on, who had worked on starting a 'kin commune in Texas. (Texas?!)

My impressions of the 'kin community are so mixed up. I'm coming out of a magical tradition that I got involved with because I had a pull towards the Fae, but I didn't know how to make sense of it. Back when I was first dealing with my 'awakening' (I hate the implications of that word, as if everyone else is asleep?), it was very tempting to think that I was something more than human, because how else could I explain these things that were happening to me?

What I got out of my Feri (another way to spell Faery, but how my trad spells it) training is that there is nothing shameful in being human, and that it is our humanity that enables us to be magicians, witches, tantrikas, etc. Our humanity gives us the body and tools to work magic. Our magic may come from a font of energy and inspiration that is transhuman (whether that be Fey, divine, all of the above, and is there a difference?) but that to work that energy does not require us to be abandon our humanity.

We talk about faerie blood, but I don't know how to parse that with 'kin community, and I never have. I look at that more on the level or tribe, and who you feel you are family with, and who you feel allegiance to. Again, one of those things that's passed down in myths and folklore because there is that grain of truth to it, even if the form it takes in our pomo-world seems anachronistic.

On werewolves more specifically, I always thought that was one of those similar things -- a way human stories had made sense of the shape-shifting of shamans. I can't get past some of the Lost Little Girl/Boy vibe I get off the 'kin communities, that feels so much like the hurt I felt coming out as queer, or as my friends who came out as trans deal with. "This is who I am, how I've always been, it's not in my head, and even though you've beent old to fear me and that I can't exist, I DO." I can relate to that, even if I don't feel the way they do about my genes.

I hesitate to equate magic and non-humaness. I think one of the reasons magic seems so remote and insane to most people is that it is something we have been led to believe, by institutionalized religion and science, that humans can't be capable of. I'm much more interested in embracing the world of here and now, and not imagining what lost Faerie land I fell from to have to live with the "lesser beings" here. Sounds so -- Christian, I don't know. Not my bag of Cracker Jacks.

(I do know Faeries like candy, though. So maybe I am a Faerie.)

I wish I could answer this with a more serious, magico-anthropolical tone, but these things are the frontier for me, where sense and nonsense start to dissolve. I'm sure there's lot sof nutso stuff I do that the 'kin would consider to be signs of my 'kin-ness. I also know that to live in a flesh-driven human-centric planet, if I give up my humanity, real of imagined as it may be, I put myself at a serious disadvantage, and I risk misanthropy. People can change, people can do better. I don't want to give up on "them."
 
 
EvskiG
22:23 / 08.10.03
It seems to me that if one claims (i) the ability to physically shapeshift into a wolf (or other) form, or (ii) some sort of physical connection to a creature of myth, that's just so much horseshit.

However, if one merely (iii) claims an overwhelming non-rational affinity with, or compulsion to emulate, a creature of myth, or (iv) finds it interesting, fun or useful to play mental games in which he or she identifies with a creature of myth, that's another story.

Of course, a person who is doing (iii) or (iv) may -- intentionally or unintentionally -- use the language or metaphors of (i) or (ii).

To the extent that one claims the connection with werekin or otherkin is "astral" or mental, it's just about impossible to evaluate, but seems to fit in with (iii) or (iv).
 
 
EvskiG
01:44 / 09.10.03
Looks like I was slipped by a far more sensitive and perceptive reply.
 
 
beautifultoxin
05:17 / 09.10.03
evskig, I think your breakdown makes a lot of sense -- a litmus test one could apply to claims of supernatural prowess, but especially claims of trans/non-human identity. The language issue gets me off-guard sometimes, less now. That's what is so disappointing about using the Net to organize occult communitites. Where we once had our own individual and micro-tribal ways of describing ourselves, our work, and the things we encounter Out There, more and more I think people are looking at otherkin.net and elsewhere and saying, "Oh, that's what happened to me? That's what I am? Good that someone knows."

I'll stop before I start a, "Back in my day..." sort of thing. I was sure looking for words then, so I shouldn't lay blame on some young strappin' folk for wanting that burden relieved.
 
 
Vadrice
06:21 / 09.10.03
Well, my personal experience on this has nothing whatsoever to do with werewhatevers and when I started thinking about them, my generally impressionable brain started off on it's usual tangents- "well... come to think of it, I have dreampt myself a rook. I've often identified myself with those fine avians..." And I don't have the mental resources to explore that tangent, so I've shelved it for now.

No. I'm too busy right now exploring the other (HUGE) aspect of this thread. Angels most deffinatly qualify as Otherkin and (rather recently) I've found myself under no small measure of wonder.
It started with my mother.
She told my quite significant other some time back that I was an angel. She was very emphatic that she wasn't being metaphorical in that statement.
When the same was postulated (independantly, I am assured) by my longest running confidant and most respected collegue, I had no choise but to explore it.
I've found nothing to dispute the possibility that I am an angel made flesh. In deciding to adopt this fact, try it on and wear it out of the shop (as it were), I have come to several conclusions.
It's true.
It may not always have been so in my life (my memory is somewhat unrelyable) that it felt right to be described as such. This possibility is the empyrical evidence that is holding me back. If I could remember if this part of me that feels justified by being termed "angelic" has always been with me with any more measure of certanty, I would not be waffling and I would probably frighten all of my friends and relations (not to mention psychological councelors) with my professions of angelic will and somesuch.

That being said, I've met one who has professed through and through to be fey. I have seen no manifestations of this or effects on it, aside from a bizare sense of humor in the heart of their sense of luck, and a certain unsettling chaotic intensity therein.

I percieve this self description to be a great source of personal strenght in this person, and have the most deffinate feeling that were I to get around my hangups about this whole difinitive angel thing, I would have a comperable (if entirely different) source of personal will.

Of course, it might have something to do with my utter fear of developing any sort of ego, but... that's a bit heavy for this hour of the evening. Morning. Whatever.
 
 
Chiropteran
20:38 / 09.10.03
(Vadrice): "It's true.
It may not always have been so in my life (my memory is somewhat unrelyable) that it felt right to be described as such. This possibility is the empyrical evidence that is holding me back. If I could remember if this part of me that feels justified by being termed "angelic" has always been with me with any more measure of certanty, I would not be waffling and I would probably frighten all of my friends and relations (not to mention psychological councelors) with my professions of angelic will and somesuch."

My question to you: would you have had to feel this way since birth for your current feelings to be validated? Assuming, for discussion, an objective physical reality to your angelic nature*, might there not be some very good reasons why you would have been allowed to pass through a "human" childhood before growing into your angelic self?

Further, if "angel" is, in fact, nothing more than a resonant mythic image that serves as a model and guide to strengthen your Will and effectively organize your sense of self-awareness, would it not still be worth pursuing and releasing, in order to enjoy the full potential of your angelic strength?

I would advise taking great care, though, not to "frighten all of [your] friends and relations (not to mention psychological councelors) with [your] professions of angelic will and somesuch." Your angelic will might be best left professed to those who can handle it. People have enough trouble dealing with magick in the first place - angelic magick coming from (a person who believes that they are) a real live angel would tip the scale a little far. One can argue back and forth about "the shame of hiding your True Self" and the like, but just on a practical level it makes sense to be discrete, just as most of us (I expect) are relatively quiet about our magickal lives to the world-at-large (there are some older threads on secrecy and whatnot that might be referenced here).

So what I'm saying is, basically, if you find yourself empowered by the belief that you are an angel: Go For It - spread those wings. Reserve some skepticism for the appropriate time, though, and beware of falling in obsession. When we work with magick we deal with many different layers or degrees of "reality." Your angelic nature may be more or less "real" (in any useful sense of the term) at different times, in different situations. Certainly when you are working your Will As An Angel there should be no doubt that that is exactly what you are. On the bus to work or in the line at the grocer is a different story entirely (and could be a great source of unintentional comedy that could end up hurting you). Things like this are very fluid - "reality" seems to change shape to fit its container - so learn to flow with it, but also learn when to stem the stream.

I'm in no headspace, myself, to address the other implications of angelic reality (an angel's Right & Responsibilites, place in the universe, etc.), so I'll leave those to others.

More to say, soon.

~L



*which, for lack of information, I neither dispute nor uphold
 
 
cusm
22:35 / 09.10.03
I do know a fair few kin, and some folks with strikingly similar approaches to the "not-human" idea who wouldn't necessarily call themselves Otherkin but who can recognize familiarity in what they're doing. For myself, I find most elves to be an annoyingly childish lot, but dammit if they don't still register on my instincts as my kind of people all the same. They've grown on me a bit, like an itchy fungus that glows in the dark that you really ought to get a shot for but is kind of cool so you're letting it be.

Anyway, from a purely chaos magick perspective, its mighty fun. You should try it

More sensibly, this fits into the ideas on the Warriors of Armegeddon thread a bit. It also seems common for one experiencing magickal reality to identify with something non or extra-human. The majority of people I've worked with have done this in some way at some point or other or continue to do so, myself included. The Otherkin are just a bit more out and, well, constant about it.

I've also found that Elves in Norse mythology are rather like angels. A lot like angels. Like the difference is primarily one of vocabulary. Something I've been chewing on lately.
 
 
Deadwings
06:20 / 10.10.03
I've had a lot of dealings with people who consider themselves otherkin. Falls into a few categories in my personal experience. One in particular, a very delightful ex of mine, believed herself to be a vampire/demon/faerie... of course, she also had a very traumatic childhood, and this artifice very likely developed as a defense mechanism to make herself feel more powerful in a world over which she had none. But she was magickally inclined, and at the very least this belief lent her power and form. Building one's own fiction, traditional (if I can use that word) chaos magick. Many people just have a need to feel special. Some of them are, though exactly how, I couldn't say. I've been typified by many, many, MANY people as something other than human. Angelic is one I get a lot, but my personal feelings on the matter differ. It's more of a parasitic relationship with myself. Errh. Minor exposition. I wasn't born with a full soul. I've had this confirmed. It happens a lot, people come about with less than the full compliment of spirit all the time. But that empty space where the rest of it should have been, in most circumstances, including mine, is filled by something else. Things that either can't really live solo, or actively desire a more direct influence in the world. I got one of the dispossessed. Nephilim. Essentially it's a muse with a grudge. Now, it doesn't manifest as a split persona or anything like that, it actually integrated itself into me. Attempts at exorcism have been both incredibly painful and unsuccessful. But yeah. Making a long story short, this is my impression of 'otherkin' with some sort of actual claim to additional non-human status. But it's nothing in the genes, although I've seen it start to warp people's bodies. It's just an abscess of spirit that is filled by something else. And of course there are people who just want to believe so badly that they're something special... but if they believe fervently enough, it's just as applicable. Either way. I know it's a bit scattered, but it's late. That's my two cents in.
 
 
Sobek
11:16 / 10.10.03

I tried to converse with some Otherkin once, but I think that I was too Other for them.

Still, it is an interesting idea. When I see Individuals in, say, the "Gothic" crowd, for example, emulating Vampyres or Fairies, it strikes me as an aspiration toward "Man, Amplified" (even if it is not actually conscious or particularly well-executed). And on some level, in some way, I think that maybe the aspiration is indistinguishable from the thing itself.
 
 
Chiropteran
15:22 / 10.10.03
How would people compare/contrast their dealings with "nonhumans" (on whatever level) who are part of the established Otherkin community with those who are not (either because they have not yet found it or have rejected it for some reason)?

Any thoughts from people who have been or are part of the 'kin community about the nature of the community and how it might shape one's interpretation of their experiences (i.e. does it encourage growth to full nonhuman potential, or did you find it to stifle or limit your full range by defining it)? To what degree is there a consensus "Otherkin Reality" that members of the community subscribe to?

And, to tie things back into Magick (rather than veering off too far into Lifestyle), what are some of the magickal implications of self-identifying as non-human? Does identifying as 'kin imply "selling humanity short" as beautifultoxin questioned? Is it (or perhaps better: "can it be") a way of "justifying" or explaining ones magickal experiences while still clinging to a "normal humans can't do that" prejudice ("I have known all my life that normal humans can't see the future. I've started having prophetic dreams. Therefore, I cannot be human. I am a...insert 'kin species here.")? And, in the final analysis, does that make a difference, so long as it works? (Note, for the 'kin reading: neither case rules out any level of objective reality. They just deal with the psychology of the person Awakening and how they interpret what is happening to them, as well as people who may actually not be 'kin, but who are attracted to the idea to fulfill other needs - I'm sure you know some of the people I mean.)

For furries* or shifters in particular, do you feel that there is much difference between, say, a ("mental-shift") werefox and a magickian who adopts a foxform for pathworkings or astral journeying? Is it a matter of identification solely, or is something else going on? Can a magickian with good belief-control adopt the beliefs of a given 'kin species for purposes of experimentation or specific workings and "be 'kin for a day" (or a week, or a year)? Or are they doing something different? Is this a case for the punk aphorism, "if you're not now, you never were?"

Lastly (for now), what about shamans and other traditional shapeshifters (not your weekend-workshop shamans, but your ol'skool indigenous-culture shamans and priests and magick-workers), who have been taking on animal forms as part of their practice for millenia? There is some talk in the 'kin and furry communities about "totems" and such, but is there really much common ground?

Are 'kin and furries and weres and such ("oh my!") possibly just 20th/21st Century, post-industrial/post-modern society's way of interpreting the same drives that led (leads) shamans (etc.) in "traditional" cultures (where the relationship with nature generally, and both predator and prey animals especially, is very much a matter of survival) to adopt their spirit animals and take on jaguar forms to stalk the night? Does the existence of the Otherkin/Furry communities in any way "devalue" the super-/sub-/para-/meta-/quasi-/non-human beliefs and practices of traditional practitioners? Is there any comparison at all, or am I howling at the wrong moon? (What?! Nevermind...)

That's all for now.

"Thanks" to those of you who have been so open with your own experiences.

~L

*a community of people who identify with animals, possibly mythical but often not. I have even less inside knowledge of the furry community than I do of 'kin, despite my own animal identifications, so maybe the less said the better - but if someone has anything to add on the furry side of things, please do.
 
  
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