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So let us assume that reality is much more flexible than our own tunnel vision generally supposes…
Perhaps for some Otherkin, the very acknowledgement of being Other and bringing that into everyday life is an ongoing ritual. It may not be acknowledged as such; however, it is an action that allows the person to access a reality other than the physical, human one on a permanent basis… Nicholas Graham, author of The Four Powers, wrote an essay in his blog that captures the idea of the Collective Unconscious-part of that which is attained by all forms of ritual, formal or informal-flowing into our own 'solid' reality. He makes the point that it is entirely possible that because of the lack of a cohesive cultural mythology in many postindustrial societies, that the archetypes and motifs of mythology are making themselves known via certain people who are able to channel them on a day to day basis… He concludes with this thought:
The most important factor to remember when examining the possibility of delusive behavior in Otherkin is that humans, by their very natures, desire personal mythology. From time immemorial, humans have sought ways of more fully interacting with the spirits and energized archetypes with whom they interacted. Often, this is done by self-mythologizing or, in other words, living out a personalized version of the mythology of an archetype. Jung suggested (also in An Answer to Job) that this is a natural process in the lives of most people. He went on to suggest that it forms the foundation of the almost universal (culturally, not individually) belief in fate or destiny; as we live in a manner congruent with the chosen archetype (god, goddess, spirit), not only do our psychic lives change in accordance but so too do our material lives through the efforts of these spirits and gods. I cannot overstress the importance of this factor in the psycho-spiritual study of Otherkin.
While the idea of accessing alternate realities is ancient, there is a specific modern manifestation of it known as Soulbonding.
Soulbonding appears to be a hybridation of imagination and the belief in alternate/parallel realities. It has been theorized that fiction is nothing less than a channeling of an existing alternate reality. Taylor Ellwood, for example, mentions this in Space/Time Magic:
[W]hen a writer writes about a fantasy world, sie is either creating that world in alternate reality, or, more likely, tapping into that alternate reality-It's my thought that writing, being a very intuitive practice (when done creatively) leads people to tap into other realities, other versions of the self' Some writers also note that characters seem to be alive and have their own personalities, which consequently affect their writing. Perhaps this is because they have actually connected with an alternate self, and are transcribing that self's experiences into writing that we consider fantasy or SF [science fiction]. In contacting this self, the author becomes a medium for a polyphony of other characters, transcribing the voices of many into the reality of the word.
First defined by writer Amanda Flowers, Soulbonding most often occurs between a writer and a character sie is writing about, though that character may not necessarily be of hir own creation. Soulbonders consciously allow their Soulbonds (characters)-whether they believe them to be independent entities or not-to interact with them and become a part of them on a daily basis; in some cases, in the same way a multiples, the original soul of the body may front less than the Soulbond. Whether the Soulbonds originate with the Soulbonder or not, there is often a created environment in which all parties involved interact, often known as a Soulscape.
(bottom of the page, hopefully tying into the personal totem aspect)
Looking around, Soulbonding has a livejournal devoted to it (http://community.livejournal.com/soulbonding), with links to other sites - for example a recently created journal for “people who use the Force in whatever fashion”, and who identify primarily as “soulbonds” or “fiction-kin”. Now, isn’t something quite different happening here? Medicloreans aside, there’s an identification here with something which is theoretically open to all (humans included), has an empowering philosophy, and hypothetically speaking, grants nifty blindfolded lightsabre wielding powers.
If Otherkin are people who identify as other than human, I’m not quite sure how this intersects with identification with fictional characters/paradigms (of whatever origin) where there’s going to be a mix of the human and non-human. Or has the notion of Otherkin been stretched to point of being increasingly inaccurate? If this is a question of accessibility, in terms of who can access these other states of identity reality (is it intrinsic to those who claim to, or do experience it, or is it open to anyone?) what’s to differentiate this sort of communication with clearly fictional worlds from more rigorous magical practice? Where the level of detail or energy spent on this communication is high in both cases, structural rigour would seem only to mark a difference of degree, leading to personal experience as a marker of “true” interaction with mythological figures / archetypes. And my lack of experience in this area might again be showing, but if the meaning of Otherkin is inflated to include identification with or belief in abstract fictions (which nevertheless have an independent existence, can be “used” or grant powers / traits) how is that different to, or rather how can that be separated from, some views on traditional magic or belief?
xk: I'm not sure the issue is about escapist vs. transformative as much as it as adaptive vs. maladaptive.
Thanks for very concisely getting right to the point of what I was garbling about. I very much agree about the importance of rigid maladaptive traits which offer a narrowing perspective on social interaction. To get to your second point, how much do you really think Otherkins are actually achieving that alienation from mundane humanity? Aside from their derivative self-description, they don’t seem to be accessing any radical alterity so much as dressing up very conventional, very non-alien traits as a way of appearing (to themselves, to their subculture) as something more than they are. What struck me about some of the examples above were how painfully exposed and human the emotional dramas on display were, and as per your own example, plenty of them would appear to be perfectly normal with the Otherkin tag being another lifestyle choice for which they don’t expect acceptance.
Apologies for the long quote and all the questions, but I’m struggling here. I mean… fiction-kin?
And, incidentally, is “sie” an iteration of our own “ze” (I see a hir in the quote above also) or does anyone know if this is Otherkn specific? |
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