Asarai
Asarai are those people who come into our communities and bring chaos with them. In the old days, they were referred to as psychic vampires because of their drain on our energy, emotions, and spirit. They keep us so occupied with the troubles they bring into our lives (or instigate with others) that, should we allow them, we would not have the time or energy for anything else. Simply put they are exhausting to be around. Asarai are not to be confused with psi~vamps, and are usually not vampyres at all. However, the Nightkind community is not the only one that’s plagued with these people. They also infect the metaphysical and Otherkin communities as well often coming across as role players that have watched one too many episodes of Charmed.
When asarai come into our midst they are often overwhelmingly flattering and present often volunteering for more duties than they can carry out. They tend to befriend someone quickly and are very quick to volunteer personal information rather than allow the natural bonds of friendship and Family to form on their own. This often leads to a very toxic codependent relationship with one person (or several) catering to the asarai’s needs, emotional support, and wishes without receiving a lot in return if anything. To further aggrevate the situation, when the ties are broken the problems caused by asarai are small in comparison to the problems caused by a dejected asarai. This is where the majority of the drama, instigation, rumors, and personal attacks stem with the asarai playing one or more people off each other to see who will pay them the most attention.
Unfortunately it is rare for an asarai to have simply one target. Usually as they are striving to find their place within the community, they move from one group to the other wreaking havoc as they go along. They often have many excuses for their problems and many other people to blame. The problem is always someone else’s fault. They may apply to several households or covens without the drive to truly fulfill the requirements. These sorts often have a disdain for authority figures or rules in general and often have little hesitancy about trashing Elders, Queen Witches, or those in leadership roles.
Asarai often come into the community as seekers claiming to have only recently awakened and seeking wisdom, mentoring, or other forms of tutelage. Those who take an asarai for a student should know that they will have little time for anything else. Nor will they receive anything for their trouble. Asarai often also come into the community and almost immediately seek out positions as peace keepers. They have little qualms about wiggling into every dispute, personal or otherwise. Nor do they have qualms about reawakening dead issues and turning them into full scale issues with people choosing sides and before long everyone’s fighting everyone else but few people could tell you why.
Dealing with these sorts is inevitable if you’re involved in any community at all. All beliefs have them. All paths have them and all races have them. There is not a continent that is not infected with them and there is no shot to cure them. The best way to deal with asarai is to learn to recognize them and avoid them. Hearsay will be the death of the community yet as will giving these types of people too much time, attention and control. Control is given whenever someone buys into their agenda, whenever someone passes along the viruses they spread, whenever someone chooses to take sides in personal agendas. Dissension is the destroyer of unity and all in all these people thrive on the drama that is already alive and well within our community to flourish and feed them. Simply not getting involved in issues or giving in to reactive impulses is the best way to ensure that these people find other targets or simply get bored and give up.
While it may seem that asarai are negative forces within the community there is another way of looking at them. You may notice that when you reach certain points in your life that these sorts tend to pop up rather frequently, cause chaos and friction in your life, and then vanish leaving you to wander what just happened. Awakenings, transitions, and ascensions are usually the times when these types of people slither into our lives. They serve the valued purpose of testing our resolve, our strength, and our resistence to negative energies and reactions. Being combative, argumentative, or confrontational serves little purpose other than to breed more confrontation, more arguments, and more combat. We could all agree that those are the last things our community needs. The way that we respond to these people and the situations they create will determine how much growth we have lost or gained. It is better to flow through life rather than trying to stop and fight with every ditch and bump one encounters.
It is important to keep in mind that these people are rarely anything other than mundane and as such are simply drawn into our community because of the excitement, beauty, and intelligence it offers. On some occasions the asarai may develop sympathetic vampirism or may attach him or herself to a vampyre as a donor. While it is not uncommon for this to happen, it is uncommon for the asarai to be within a community long enough to form such a strong attachment without causing trouble. How long they are tolerated depends upon the community and its willingness to refrain from getting involved in negative behaviors. Remember that in the end our community is what we make of it.
Eternally,
Aislin, GABLC ©
Houseofthedreaming.org
Groups.myspace.com/vampyresofsavannah