Therianthropy

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Therianthropy

Postby Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan » Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:37 pm

Therianthropy

In the Nightkind community, Therians have often been overlooked and often excluded as being viable parts of the community. Alas this is a grave misjustice as the vampire and therian community have much in common and much they can learn from each other. In hopes of a greater understanding of my Therian brothers and sisters I began a search into the inner mysteries of Therians. Therianthropy is the practice of shifting our reality in accordance to our inner totemic self. These selves have been acquired through totemic practice, worship, and the lost ability to shift our physical selves resulting in the memories of being something other than human, but the limited physical traits of being all too human.

History has given us many archetypes and faces of divinity to honor and emulate while at the same time denying us the true unity of being one with all. For the Therian this is simply not possible as few are as closely tied to the realm of Earth and nature the way they are. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Celts, Gauls, and countless other cultures honored this union of all life and the shifting of one reality into the next forming a complete circle of duality in which both the human nature and bestial nature were elevated to a higher level by the wisdom one shared with the other. To acknowledge one’s animal likeness was to walk the silver threads between the two beings, thus to travel between the worlds of sleeping and waking In such a way were their Gods and Goddesses likened as they shifted easily between human and animal form. Many of these deities carried with them the permanent forms of these beasts and along with them the traits that are both the highest and lowest of nature. For example, the Goddess Sekhmet was often depicted as a statuesque woman with the head of a lion or being able to shift between human form and the form of a lioness. The Goddess MorRhiaghan is said to take the form of a raven and Greek mythology is steeped in half animal half human beings such as the Minotaur…the half bull half human that challenges those who walk the labyrinth. Just as these deities could shift shape and maintain the qualities of each form, they walked between the worlds in these forms but most commonly as their animal aspect.






The tie between shape shifting and divinity is rarely stronger than the tie between shape shifting and women. In the majority of myths women are primarily capable of shifting, maintaining, or effecting the shift in others. Although this gift is not gender specific, it does seem stronger in women as the tie between nature and the natural cycles of life are also more pronounced in women. Tales abound of goddesses and sorceresses alike shifting, altering their appearance at a whim, or changing the shape of others into those of animals or other forms. Shifting among men is rarely heard of in the Greek and Roman cultures but common among the British Isles and Celtic cultures. This seems to form a timeline as the Greek and Roman cultures were once matriarchial before their culture began favoring patriarchy. This places the Therian females and tribes within this area as being matriarchial at first, bringing into their nature the lunar ties.

Just as the tides are moved by the full moon, so are all living things. As patriarchy advanced, so did the ties between the lunar mysteries and shifting begin to be shunned . Shifting at that point was considered a curse, a bit of sorcery, and nothing of a positive nature. The Minotaur became an evil consciousless monster and the Goddesses and female shifters became villains. All in all, shifters became the things of myth and were blamed for countless atrocities during the dark ages.

On the British Isles the shifter still maintained some power well into the advent of Rome as being a positive force of nature. They were seen as beings of great power and with strong ties to the natural forces of life. Within totemic cultures, such as the primitive natives and Aborigines, the shifter was often the shaman of the tribe and seen as a traveler between the worlds. Some could only travel on those realms in the form of animals as animals are considered pure souls. The tie between shamanic cultures and the Therian path is long and extensive beginning at the dawn of time and moving through the ages.








In the modern world, Therians are now respected members of the Nightkind community and are well known for their strength, grace, intellect, love of nature and animals, and loyalty to their pack, Family, and friends. In my experience they are among the most gentle of Nightkind members despite their fierce counterparts and tend to dislike discord of any kind. Any member of Nightkind who befriends a Therian and welcomes them into their Family will surely have a loyal friend for life.

However it has not always been this way among Therians and the rest of the Nightkind community. In the early 1970’s through the late ‘80’s when the vampyre community began organizing, becoming more unified and finally fragmenting as Households, Families, and Covens fell into the shadows, it was nearly unheard of for vampyre Families to initiate a Therian member. We remained doggedly close minded in regards to our Therian brothers and sisters. I can scarcely remember a convention that even entertained the idea that one could be Therian. In those days, Therians were called simply Wolves as many of them associated strongly with wolves and wolf society. Many of them became noted animal rights activists and environmentalists, others kept to themselves or created packs of their own. With the re~emergence and reformation of the vampyre community in the early 90’s, Therians began speaking out. Committees for Therian rights formed and more and more groups spoke up claiming this heritage. The two communities have come a long way and it is certainly a proud thing to be able to remember the days before and the days after the desegregation.

With the popularity of role playing and the return of the werewolf to Hollywood, it became more and more popular to be Therian and just as with any community there were those clamoring with extravagant explanations of their animal nature. For instance the popular use of the word Lycan with the advent of Underworld. This word hails from the mental illness (which has been all but extinguished due to its rarity), Lycanthropy. In the extraordinarily rare case of Lycanthropy, a primary explanation of Therian nature, the person developes a fragmented personality in which one half of the personality is animal and the other is human. The animal fragment is ruled exclusively by the lunar cycles, full moons in general and is completely sociopathic. This illness is extremely rare with only four people having been diagnosed with it throughout the decade of 1990 through 2000. This disassociative disorder is condered a rare form of schizophrenia in which one believes that he or she actually transforms into a wolf and is not responsible for whatever happens in wolf form. This may or may not involve cannibalistic behavior, however it is a treatable illness should someone be diagnosed with it. The disease itself is from the Greek root for Wolf and most documented cases of Lycanthropy almost exclusively have been wolf related.

The Therian does not believe that he or she will actually transform into a beast but rather that they harbor the spirit and the energy of the beast in a form of communion that enhances their natural abilities. For instance, a racer or marathon runner may utilize the bond between their animal nature and their human body to draw the ability one to another. The Therian will not actually transform, but will instead have pronounced strength, agility, stamina, and speed. It is not uncommon for Therian teens to be very athletic and carry this over into adulthood.

Perhaps at one time before we learned to disbelieve we could shift forms as easily as breathing. Perhaps those days are long gone as we have many thousands of years of deprogramming to do. Yet we are fortunate to have these brothers and sisters among us who have not forgotten the rare bond between human and beast. They are the greatest teachers of Oneness.

© Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan, GABC
HouseoftheDreaming.org
Myspace.com/atapestryofdarksouls
Groups.myspace.com/GeorgiaChapterBloodlinesInternational
Groups.myspace.com/VampyresofSavannah
Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan
 

Re: Therianthropy

Postby Ookami » Sun May 08, 2011 8:56 am

I hope I am not being to forward or rash in what I am about to say, and if I am I wish to apologize ahead of time so as to not confuse my intent.

As a therian I there are things that still do not make sense to me,
Why do I have a need to feed?
I am not spiritually nor physically weak so why must I feed to maintain a healthy state of mind and spiritual center?
or maybe I should be asking why is it so hard for me to do when I go a long time without feeding?

I am also curious about our pack behavior for those of us who are pack animals.
I find that I do not need to be among other wolves to benefit from having a pack.
Even among a tight nit group of synchronized friends I get similar uplifting and empowering feelings that I get with animals and other wolves.

Even though I cannot I have heard of accounts of those who still can change their form. Should I seek them out or simply treat such information as false?
"Look upon the world and see that It looks back at you, Never forget what we fight for"
"None are more hopelessly enslaved, than those who falsely believe they are free"
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Re: Therianthropy

Postby Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan » Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:11 pm

Greetings Ookami!

I'll try to tackle this as best as I can, however not being Therian I don't have a first person perspective.


"Why do I have a need to feed?
I am not spiritually nor physically weak so why must I feed to maintain a healthy state of mind and spiritual center?
or maybe I should be asking why is it so hard for me to do when I go a long time without feeding?"

Because it's more complicated than simply being wolf or panther in soul. Therians and vamps had a similar ancestor, although I am not in any way suggesting this is inherited. It's not. This is a spiritual condition and has nothing to do with heredity. There's several ways that this can be approached. One perspective is that Therians and Vamps have a common ancestor, the Ancients. Engaging in communion with them would have increased pranic levels. The other aspect of this is that along with pranic levels there is also the desire to hunt. That doesn't go away when we die. That is a part of our spiritual blueprint because our prana levels are spiritual in nature. The illness and effects we have when we don't tend to them are nothing more than our bodies telling us something is very very wrong and needs to be fixed asap. When you come into a life phase you have this in your blueprint that may present or may remain dormant depending upon whether or not you have chosen to use this gift in this lifetime AND how close to ascension you may be. The closer you are to ascension, the higher your pranic levels and the demands to keep them up. This doesn't mean you're there yet. It simply means you are on the path and you need this energy to maintain this spiritual form.

When you go without feeding it is equivalent to going without water and substituting only Pepsi or juice or tea. They fill the immediate thirst, but not the actual need. Try eating a raw diet, lots of raw fruits and veggies, seafood and beef if you are not a vegan, and get lots of exercise and positive mental stimulation. Don't focus so much on the wolf. It's not going anywhere. Be still and listen to what it has to teach you. Martial arts is wonderful for taming the hunger. Be sure to drink tons of cold fresh water and be sure your fruits and veggies are cold also. This will help refresh you.


"I am also curious about our pack behavior for those of us who are pack animals.
I find that I do not need to be among other wolves to benefit from having a pack.
Even among a tight nit group of synchronized friends I get similar uplifting and empowering feelings that I get with animals and other wolves."

Then that fills your need for a pack. Most predatory animals are social animals because it is in the best interest of the pack's survival and thus the individual's survival to be in a pack. A pack can protect their young, bring down food, and find safe places to nest. You also never lack for mates. So there is a benefit to being a part of a pack for a predatory animal. However, Therians may have the soul imprint of a wolf, panther, bear, other fuzzy critter but it doesn't mean they are one. Some enjoy the company of other Therians and seek them out. However, some dislike the hierarchy involved and never bother. Others also prefer the association with like individuals to be strictly online simply because they can express their wolfy-ness or bearness or whatever and if they are on a page with others like them, it's ok. However, in the real world howling in public will likely make people look at you funny.

A slight comparison, I'm a witch through and through, but I don't particularly enjoy going to meet ups or hanging with other witches on a social level. The reason is everyone is trying to out-witch someone else and it's annoying. You have this type of posturing and such in all aspects of the supranormal community. If you have no desire to start a pack or be a part of a pack, then it's ok. You're obviously getting what you need elsewhere. As long as your needs are being met don't worry.

Eternally,

Aislin





Even though I cannot I have heard of accounts of those who still can change their form. Should I seek them out or simply treat such information as false?
Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan
 

Re: Therianthropy

Postby Ookami » Thu Jul 28, 2011 8:39 pm

Thank you my lady for the effort, it is very appreciated.

It is an interesting idea to think that therians and vampires have common roots, I wonder if this is where the myths were born from?

I will keep the food and eating tips in mind, seeing as eating is one of my favorite activities and always puts me in a good mood. Anything that can make it even better I will try out. Which raises a peculiar similarity between food and sex.

I had suspected as much about feeding and the hunt.

The socializing aspect doesn’t have to be spiritual though, since as humans we are extremely social tendencies and survival is ensured in a closely knit group.
But worth discussing.

However I will agree with you, as a witch I find myself having the same problem. When there are larger or even small gatherings there is always a sort of subtle competition going on. It is unpleasant and sometimes out right irritating to be disrespected and be taken lightly but that also has to do with the pride of each and everyone of us.

This was avoidable within a coven where rules are in place to avoid such things, but recently I have been gathering a small social group if you would have it and now I wonder why so many people changed from their humble beginnings so quickly.
"Look upon the world and see that It looks back at you, Never forget what we fight for"
"None are more hopelessly enslaved, than those who falsely believe they are free"
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