Vampirism & Energy13:40 Apr 05 2016
Times Read: 494
As an extension to the theory defined in this mixed methodology study we will attempt to explain the viewpoints of real vampirism rather than propose a controversial "universal" definition that would ultimately serve to exclude certain participants in the community. We recognize that claims of what comprises "true" vampirism or "living" vampirism varies to an almost infinite degree within the Community. However, generally there are universal characteristics shared among the majority that we hope will temporarily unite those who hold differences of opinion while completing this survey. Only the individual understands his or her own vampirism, path, and code of ethics and therefore, should answer all questions out of respect and in accordance with their own personal beliefs.
A vampire is essentially a blood drinker or an energy feeder that may display various levels of psychic ability. The vampires that are the focus of this study are individuals who cannot adequately sustain their own physical, mental, or spiritual well-being without the taking of blood or vital life force energy from other sources; often human. Without feeding (whether by a regular or infrequent schedule) the vampire will become lethargic, sickly, and often go through physical suffering or discomfort. Vampires often display signs of empathy, sense emotions, perceive auras of other humans, and are generally psychically aware of the world around them.
The following section represents the various categories that relate to the modern classification of vampires as defined by feeding method. Terminology is haphazard and problematic within the Community, and the attempt is made below to acknowledge alternative spellings, and identify distinctions (some of which are controversial) which are made by some Community members.
Vampirism
The most common and universal distinction made within the Vampire Community is the distinction, based on feeding method, between Sanguinarian and Psi Vampires.
Sanguine Vampires (Sanguinarian) feed by the drinking of blood - either human or animal. Sanguinarian vampires can vary in their experience of blood hunger and in how often or in what quantities they need to feed, but the unique craving for blood and the physical symptoms associated with neglecting to drink blood are unifying features of sanguinarian vampirism. This term is commonly shortened to sang. Not all members of the Community actually acknowledge the difference between psychic and sanguinarian vampirism, and there is a popular but not universally-held theory within the Community that the life force energy or "prana" contained within the blood is the source from which they feed, rather than any physical component of the blood itself. This theory is supported by the notably small amount of blood that vampires consume to alleviate their hunger, but challenged by the fact that vampires who consider themselves primarily blood drinkers often do not display as many or any of the psychic tendencies that psychic vampires do, and more often report more physical symptoms, such as sense acuity and physical strength, than do the psychic vampires.
Psi Vampires are understood to feed psychically on life force energy. Psi (or psy) feeding is usually performed on a willing individual or from the ambient energies of a large group or crowd. This term is often mistakenly confused with the pop psychology use of "psychic vampire" or "psychological vampire", used as a metaphor to describe specific socially manipulative behaviors. The most common usage within the Community, however, does not include this metaphor. Psi vampire, refers to a vampire who feeds by some manner of energy transfer; this term may also be shortened to psivamp. Psy vampire, and "psychic vampire" are sometimes considered synonyms for psi vampire, but are also sometimes employed as separate terms with distinctive meanings. For example, "psi" is often employed as a synonym for ESP phenomena in parapsychology, and "psy" is short for either "psychic" or "psychological". Those who make distinctions between these terms may use these meanings as the basis for their reasoning.
Hybrid or Psi/Sang Vampires claim to have no primary feeding method, being able to feed from either source at any time. Others report changing their primary feeding source from energy to blood, or vice versa, at various points in their lives. Some, but not all, vampires who can feed or have fed via both methods choose to describe themselves as Psi/Sang or Hybrid vampires.
Some Community members go further to define sub-classes of vampirism based on the detailed methods and sources of psychic feeding. These classes are most often distinguished from one another based on the type of energy gained. Those who feed from natural or elemental energy, and those who feed from humans either during sexual contact, during magickal rituals, or during times of high emotional output may be described as specific types of vampires. Further subcategories of psi feeding energy exist, including terminology to describe those who feed from direct contact with the human aura, those who feed from the ambient energy of crowds and public places, those who can only absorb certain kinds of emotions, etc.
Energy Work & Manipulation
Many questions in this study pertain to, and to a considerable extent rely on prior knowledge of or practice of, what is generally referred to throughout the survey as "energy work". We realize that this is easily as problematic a category as "vampirism," due to the various metaphors and philosophies that various groups have assigned to the practice throughout history. Various theories posit the nature and origin of the "energy" in question, and many philosophies, religions, and spiritual or occult paths teach rules for manipulating this phenomenon, as well as theoretical limits of the practice. Of course, these philosophies and theories all differ in various ways, and also all seem to be describing at some level the same types, or similar types of phenomena.
To further complicate matters, there are no objective methods, instruments, or theories with which to measure or examine the set of phenomena and perceptions that we collectively address here with the blanket term "energy work". Therefore, all questions regarding energy manipulation or perception have arisen from the observed conversations and collective experiences of Community members who may be far more likely to practice a technique than to have a name for it, more likely to have experienced a perception than to have a theory with which to explain or contextualize. We have gathered a range of questions from what we perceive to be either widespread Community practices or traditional religious, philosophical, or occult practices which speak to the vampire experience. The purpose of these questions is not to define the term "energy", to prove or disprove its existence, or to promote one philosophy or spiritual path over another. It is simply and exclusively to gather information about what the Community does, and possibly where we get our ideas.
In asking questions about so poorly-defined and contested a category, we attempt to make use of both existing traditional terminology and common Community terminology. This is necessary to establish enough communication to answer questions accurately. We realize that for many individuals, the term they have developed on their own, or the one handed down to them by their tradition will be more familiar or more accurate for them. However, for the sake of clarity and establishing a common arena in which to discuss this phenomenon, a few terms have been chosen, based mainly on our perception of how widely they appear to be used within the Community. The following section briefly explains the use of terms as they will appear in the survey.
Energy
Common synonyms may be Psi, Prana, Chi, or life-force, although these synonyms may be loaded with cultural theories as to their nature. "Energy" is often defined simply as the ability to do work; in this case, there is no clear judgment as to the nature or measure of that "work". Energy, as a synonym for the terms listed above, most often refers to an insubstantial but semi-objectively perceivable force, which many vampires (and other cultures with energy theories) regard as a naturally-occurring phenomenon connected to living things, the natural world, magickal ritual, and sometimes even electricity or kinetic energy.
The categorization of energy is problematic. Some of these aspects are under serious dispute by those who accept the existence of at least some kinds of energy. It is not always perceivable by every observer, and many cultures religious traditions have very defined beliefs surrounding this phenomenon. Our use of the word energy does not necessitate the acceptance of any one tradition that has something to say about its nature; we attempt to use it as a container category for the specific events that vampires tend to relate to these beliefs and traditions. For example, these events include psi feeding, which requires the acceptance of the theory that some kind of life-sustaining energy exists or is generated in human beings; and the perception of spiritual entities, which requires the acceptance of the theory that non-embodied creatures, entities, or beings can exist and be recognized by a sense that has not been objectively defined or measured in any study.
Energy Work
Any practice of manipulating, cultivating, or perceiving energy, regardless of the personal theory of the energy's nature, origin, or spiritual significance. Persons who conduct such "work" are referred to by a myriad of different names including "energy workers", "energy manipulators", "energy practitioners", "psions", "pranists", etc.
Aura
Aura refers to the energy field emanating from the surface of a person or object. This emanation is visualized as an outline of cascading color and may be held to represent soul vibrations, chakric emergence, or a reflection of surrounding energy fields.
Empathy
The posited ability to sense information about the emotional state of another human or animal creature. According to some theories, this may also extend to include the ability to influence or project emotions to other creatures as well.
Energy Constructs
The practice of shaping energy into a perceivable form is known as energy construct formation. Anecdotal reports suggest that the form that the energy takes is perceivable as an objective phenomenon by other parties. An extremely common form chosen by many energy workers seems to be a ball, or sphere, which can be given properties, such as motion, temperature, color, texture, or natural element, which can be perceived by others as well. Other constructs are possible, and even common (see, "shielding"), and many members of the Community have not fully explored the intricacies of other modern occult practices, nor has there been a serious study of the traditions of human philosophies with similar practices. Similar (but not identical) ideas from other traditions might include thought-forms, and tulpas.
Meditation
Meditation is the practice of focusing the mind, often formalized into a specific routine. Meditation is usually recognized as a component of Eastern religions, originating in Vedic Hinduism. It encompasses any of a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity or quiescence.
Shielding
The act of forming energy into the specific shape of a barrier is known as shielding. As with psi balls, anecdotal reports suggest that these are perceived as having similar characteristics as they were imagined to have by the energy worker. Therefore, shielding is also a somewhat objective phenomenon, which can be sensed accurately by some individuals. Shielding is a very common term which has few synonyms, and few competing theories as to its purpose or nature. The commonly accepted use of a shield structure is to form a barrier of energy to prevent the movement of some or all kinds of energy, most often to keep energy out or keep it in. This is most often considered a defensive tactic whose purpose is to protect the user from harmful outside influences. Many traditions posit a natural shield system inherent to the energy system of most human beings, although some conflate this with the aura, and the theoretical distinction between a posited "natural shield" and an aura is unclear.
Spiritual Entities
Spiritual entities refers to theorized non-corporeal or non-embodied creatures, which may, according to various belief systems and practices, be either constructed through the willpower of an energy worker or magician, or be a naturally-occurring being of natural, human or otherplanar origin.
Other Energy Related Terms
See the definitions associated with individual questions within this survey for further use and explanation of more specific conceptual terms related to energy, perception, and energy work.
Therians, Otherkin, & Other "Non-Human" Groups
Several cultures and groups of energy-aware people tend to refer to themselves and are consistently referred to by outsiders as "nonhuman," or are identified as their magickal type in opposition to a perceived majority that is designated "human". The terms therian, were, otherkin, and vampire are some of the more common blanket terms for these types of people.
In adopting this dichotomy between human and other than human, the term human is stretched significantly, and it appears to be more of a metaphor or verbal shortcut to allow the speaker to illustrate the difference between vampiric humans and mundane humans than any sort of deeply-felt assertion that vampires, weres, therians, and otherkin are actually not human.
Therefore, we must acknowledge that while the use of these terms does not exclude the magickal subcultures from humanity, a distinction is definitely being made within popular discussion in these respective communities between three major groups. First, magickal types of humans who are identified with the terms below and often referred to using a nonhuman metaphor (such as "elf", werewolf", "vampire", etc.), second, mundane humans who are not energy-aware, and third, those humans who are energy-aware (magickal practitioners, energy workers, shamanic practitioners, etc.) but who are always referred to with a human metaphor.
Therianthropy, Therian, & Were
Although definitions surrounding the practice or phenomenon of human-animal transformation, affinity and identity are atomistic and individual to many cultural and social groups, we attempted to borrow what appears to be a widely-used convention in the various magickal subcultures, which is to use Therianthropy as a greater category of animal magick, totemism, transformations, and identity. The members of this group are commonly referred to as Therians, and the Weres (Lycanthropy) can, under this definition, be considered a sub-category of Therian. We also acknowledge that Were is conventionally applied very loosely, with possibly conflicting meanings among Weres themselves. In this survey, we are adopting what we perceive as the more common application of the term Were, in which the term simply refers to any human with an animal-related identity that goes beyond standard shamanic or magickal transformative practice, totemism, spirit animal belief or other affinity. Weres themselves may have varying theories about the nature of their animal identity, including but not limited to species-mismatched incarnation, reincarnation from a previous animal life, or even inheritance of genetic traits. However, our use of the term is meant to simply distinguish those with affinities to animals or nature through magickal practice and philosophy (Therians) from those who claim an actual identity or partial identity as their were-side. According to this distinction, one may acquire the practice of Therianthropy, but one can only discover his nature as a Were. While we do not have vast experience in the Therian community, we believe that this distinction is grounded in the perceptions and terminology of that community, having meaning to the members of that community and not an artificial distinction imposed by outsiders.
Otherkin
Otherkin is a subculture made up of people who describe themselves as being non-human in some way, sometimes believing themselves to be mythological or legendary creatures. Many otherkin believe that they have non-human aspects that are either spiritual or philosophical in nature. Some otherkin claim that they are human in a physical sense, but non-human in a mental or spiritual one. Still others believe themselves to be biologically non-human with a direct relation to the species they associate themselves with or descended from that species.
http://www.suscitatio.com/research/definitions.html
COMMENTS
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GemmaRay
18:26 Apr 25 2016
Darn I missed it!!! Well I'm a day late or a dollar short but I make a way