15:17 Oct 29 2013
Times Read: 430
I have permission to post this. It was first in the GraveYard Press (the old edition) which I helped found and is now gone on to a new incarnation. I retired from that e-zine to do other things. This lady is in the VVC and has been prominent in the American Vampire Community for years. She lives in Las Vegas and has a store called The Three Wise Cats. (its both online and physical) She also has her own House and an organization called Haven of Kindred Souls (HOKS) which has had an online and offline presence for years. Yes, I know her in person :). We were both Elders in the organization cited on the article. It is a dormant group now and we have not decided whether to bring it out of moth balls since there are so many other groups around. We don't see it as being necessary at this time. The GYP was started by this organization.
OTHERKIN
By Lady Night Eidolon
U.S. Chapter of the Vampire Nation
Elders Council
In today’s subculture communities one term you might encounter quite a bit is the term ‘otherkin’. Otherkin seems to be a relatively new term that has gained popularity within the last ten or fifteen years. Personally, I’ve been involved in these communities for about twenty years and when I began, I don’t recall this term ever being used. What are considered “kin types” were termed simply by their nature (for example, were or shifter) or simply their type (such as wolf, vampire, elf, fae, etc.). Unfortunately this adds to the confusion in defining kin and their nature. It has become rather common for individuals in the communities to type all animal type kin as “lycan” or “were”, but that is not using the terminology accurately. Lycan is a term that has gained popularity through pop culture even though it has existed for centuries. Lycan refers to wolf-kin specifically and should not be used as a generic term for all animal-type kin. Another term that is used all-too frequently is the term “were”. Just because an individual identifies with an animal-kin does not automatically make them a “were”. Were’s specifically are those that are influenced by the moon (think the superstition of the were-wolf). Shifters are those animal-type kin that have the ability to “shift” astrally to their kin-type or possess phantom limbs and the like of their kin-type (such as a dragon having phantom wings). Shifters also include those individuals that possess the ability to shift on the physical plane, but there is some debate as to the extent of the ability of this shift. Commonly, the ability of the physical plane shifting includes the ability to project the image (or characteristics of) of the kin-type to other individuals, therefore giving the illusion of the kin individual looking like their kin-type. To keep confusion down to a minimum, otherkin can, in the broadest sense, can be divided down into weres, shifters, non-animal kin and kin that do not fit into those categories (those animal kin that do not shift at all). Recently, all of these types have been lumped into one very broad category deemed simply “otherkin”.
Now, what exactly is otherkin? For brevity’s sake, we could simply say that otherkin are individuals that identify with a type of being that is not human. Unfortunately, that definition doesn’t really explain what otherkin are and how they come to be. We could argue that kin have existed since the beginning of time and are not (have not) been exclusive to this physical plane in which we live. Sometimes, in understanding otherkin, one has to take a leap of faith and believe that other planes aside from the physical exist and other times and dimensions exist; otherwise some kin-types would be impossible to exist such as elf-kin or dragon-kin or demonics. Now with that leap of faith firmly in place, we can take a look at what it is believed that otherkin are. There are many theories as to the origin of otherkin and how an individual comes to be termed as otherkin. Some believe that otherkin have roots in past-life experiences. What this means is that an individual was a wolf, dragon, elf, vampire, etc. in a past life and the “memories” exhibit themselves as kin-traits in their current life. Another theory is that the kin-type is simply a part of the individual’s soul…not necessarily from a past life. To understand this theory, one has to believe in the existence of the soul as a separate entity from the physical body and that the soul can contain different facets (such as different kin-types) in one individual soul. Another take on this theory is that the soul is not a singular entity but can be more than one entity. There is also the thought that there is a genetic component to being otherkin. To be honest, this idea is not as far-fetched as it may initially seem; with all of the junk DNA and unknowns regarding genetics, who is to say that the code for being kin is not in there somewhere and no one knows it yet? It would not be a far reach to make the assumption that otherkin-ness is coded directly into DNA. Some will simply profess to never being human at all, their kin-type becomes dominant and becomes the main identifier of the person and personality. The theories can be very simple or very complex, depending on who you ask. In any regard, the individual, in some shape or form, identifies with some other being other than human. Keep in mind that identifying with a kin-type should not be confused with an interest in a kin-type, totems, walk-ins (a spirit “walking in” to an individual) or even spirit guardians. Interests, totems and guardians can be differentiated from being kin by the “location” of the kin—internal versus external. Interests, totems and guardians exist outside of the individual (external) whereas being kin exists inside of the individual (internal).
The determination of if one is actually kin or the kin-type connection is simply due to a kin guardian or totem takes some work and can be quite confusing for some. The easiest way to begin on this journey of determination is to examine the individual connection to the kin-type, discover who and what your spirit guardians are, and connect with your animal totems. Meditation is a prime way to begin this journey as well as journaling. Determine when your interest in a particular animal or kin began and how it manifests in your life. Do you collect dragons and have always been drawn to dragon figures? Do you find yourself reacting as a particular animal in particular situations—such as becoming aggressive when confronted? Write everything down, meditate on it all. Ask for your guardians to present themselves if you don’t already know them, and if you already do know them, ask them for guidance. They can be a great help in discovering who and what you are (if that is the case). Never jump to conclusions! Always look for rational explanations before jumping on the kin bandwagon.
Many individuals who turn out to be kin simply seem to “know” that they are. It can begin as simple as just knowing you are different, that you are something more than this human form. In most cases, kin-types begin to present themselves to the individual through dreams (including past-life memories) or on the astral plane before presenting themselves on the physical plane. An individual may find themselves dreaming about wolves, being a wolf (very common) and being among wolves as a subconscious hint that they may be wolf-kin. If an individual astral-projects, they may find that their most comfortable form (or most common form) is that of a particular animal or kin. The second realization normally comes in the physical…such as realizing they have elf-type physical characteristics or eating habits/desires of a particular animal type. The next realization is a combination of the subconscious and conscious mind which can manifest in personality traits (aggression, easily distracted, pack-mentality, egotism, etc.). Keep in mind that not every otherkin realization follows a particular linear step process and it can be quite individual. Normally it is a slow process that occurs over many, many years…it is not an overnight realization or “awakening” as it has become commonly termed. Even thought though there are commonalities across the board for otherkin, every kin-type has its own unique characteristics and manifests in different ways.
It seems to have become quite popular for individuals to jump on the otherkin bandwagon. People will profess to be a particular type of kin and try to fit into the kin-type mold. What simply cannot be disguised is the energy signature. Everything has an energy signature—think of it as a fingerprint, each unique in its own right, but carrying common traits. Every kin-type has their own unique energy signature from a general grouping (demonic, angelic, vampiric, feline, etc.) down to a signature that is less distinguishable among more specific groupings (such as lion, tiger, panther, etc.). Look at it from this perspective: Human beings is the main grouping, within this grouping are your general ethnic groupings such as Asian, within this ethnic grouping are even smaller groupings such as Chinese or Japanese. This is similar to the way the energy signatures work within kin groupings…where the energy signatures become more defined and more difficult to perceive as the groupings become more specific. A feline-type kin has a particular energy signature, but a lion-kin and panther-kin have different energy signatures even though they possess the same overtones as every feline-type kin. As with anything, there is always an exception to the rule. In the kin communities, there is a particular type of kin that is the chameleon of the otherkin community. Whatever type of kin they are around they will actually mimic the energy signature of that particular type of kin, exhibit all signs and symptoms of that kin, and for all intents and purposes “become” that type of kin. This type of kin is very rare and very difficult to discern from the other kin they are around due to their chameleon like nature. In the majority of cases, once an individual realizes that they are this type of mimic, the imitation begins to fade and their energy signature takes on their own individual signature as their root kin-type begins to show through (if it exists at all).
Another area of note is that it is ever-increasingly rare to find an individual who is just one particular type of kin. These “pure” kin-types occur very seldom and more times than not, the individual simply hasn’t discovered their other kin-types yet. Usually only one kin-type will present itself at a time and it may be years before another kin-type presents itself. It is also important to realize that many kin-types can present the same signs as another kin-type—such as dominant hunting-type animal kin may all present the same predatory signs/symptoms. It may take time to determine what sort of kin-type you are in cases like this. Normally an individual will “know” when they discover their kin-type—almost as if a light-bulb suddenly goes off and it all just makes sense. For all the individuals that actually are otherkin, there are just as many that are not otherkin. Not everyone is otherkin and no one can be made, created, or turned into an otherkin. You either are or you are not…there is no in between. So much confusion has been added to the mix with the popularity of White Wolf Role-Playing games and popular movies and television shows. Fallacies about othekin and the community run rampant because individuals cannot distinguish what is real and what is not. In some cases it does simply become a matter of a language barrier where an individual new to the communities does not know how to describe what they are or what they feel so they use RPG terminology. More times than not, these individuals are harassed by their use of terminology or lack of knowledge instead of given the chance to explain. But, in the community’s defense, so many individuals do come in so lost in their RPG world that many old-timers in the community have become jaded. It would probably be accurate to say that one-third of the individuals that come into the community are confused between Role-Play and real life. It becomes increasingly difficult to determine who is just new and unknowledgable and who believes real-life is something out of a video or White Wolf game. So, for those newbies to the otherkin communities, do your research and avoid Role-Play or video game terminology. It is okay to not know something and want help and guidance, but be mature about it and have patience. Lastly, do not expect an answer if you ask someone to tell you what you are. It is a general rule that no one should tell someone what they are…for one, it impedes your growth and learning process. It is your path to discover what type of kin you are, if at all. It is a long and difficult road, but well worth the exploration.
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