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tenebrisdivina · 1 year ago

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I have some questions that are probably very juvenile to someone of your experience. I have worked with and spoken to only a few demons in the past, notably Orobas, Egyn, and Amaymon, the first two of which were pleasant, and the last not so much (extremely awry). I did not bind them and do not wish to. For one I wonder, have you ever had psychosis/obsession/other severe ill effect induced from a demon you were in contact with, or other odd but not necessarily harmful things, like specific cravings (ex. blood)? How do you approach the spirits that induce harm or delusion, or do you just leave them be? I have wanted to revisit demons but my very negative experience with Amaymon has made me wary of them entirely unless my patron is actively condoning the interaction. Is it just a case of proper caution and non-aggressive protection, or is there anything more that could help me avoid a bad experience going forward? (For context I do not recall doing anything that could have offended, other than being an easily manipulated idiot at the time. I didn't have demands, I sought to just speak and build a relationship to begin with, but I fell into a very bizarre state of mind and ill health that only improved when I separated Amaymon from me, and in hindsight sense that it was extremely aggressive, but I do not know what prompted it, if anything.) Thank you for reading.

thankyou for your ask; this is a bit of a long response as i don't know much about your practices or how you actually connected to the demonic etc

To be clear I have not worked with nor connected to any of the demons you have mentioned. Also just to disclaim here; I am not judging the situation nor what happened I am neutral in this; so if my comments come off as judgmental sounding this is not what I meant.

I wonder first of all how did you specifically go about connecting with Them? And what methods did you use? as that may have an effect on what happens. Secondly sometimes a certain demons energy is “too much” in that it is not compatible with our own energies which can make things harder as well. Sometimes demonic energy can induce certain reactions in the humans energy, and it needs an adjustment period. You also mention “separate Amaymon from you” does this mean you tried possession or some such? All this said I do not know enough about the practices nor circumstances to say much more on this.

However it seems to me that it was likely a parasite or being masking as Lord Amaymon, rather then the demonic divine being Himself. (this is actually more common then sometimes is realized) In my view and experience the Dark Lords do not attack/ harm someone who is just connecting with them, and also for no reason. They have better things to do then attack people and have little interest in such a thing. If they are uninterested or have an issue with the person, most likely they will not come through at all. This is not to say that the event did not happen or wasn’t harrowing, just that it may not be as clear as it seemed to be and it may not have been the DL. Within darker energies there can be more room for other things to step into and act as other beings sometimes.( I am writing a post about this soon)

Demonic divine beings in general (especially those known about by humans) do not seek to malevolently harm humans. In my view it is extremely rare that a Demonic Divine Dark Lord would do something unwarranted. For the most part excepting specific demons and demonic races (which tbh humans are not in contact with and they are not known or listed in grimoires) if the Demonic Divine does something like this it can ( and tbh usually is) be a form of teaching, even if it is particularly harrowing. Sometimes the more “egoic” human mindset is not something important to the DL ( at that time) - if there is a lesson that “needs” to happen. Again, I do not know the specifics so I cannot say for certain about your circumstances. It could potentially be helpful ( if you so choose) to re-evaluate the issue from a different perspective. I am also not of the belief that demons are always going to; be nice, care about you, “light, love” pleasant or amicable even. They can even just not like people and energetically not be compatible. They are individuals as well. All this said; even if there is an issue ( potentially)- I am using this going forward as if it was Amaymon but I personally do not think it actually was) with one demon, does not mean there will automatically be issues or you would be treated poorly by the others of the demonic divine, given they are individual, autonomous beings and keep their own council. It is also possible the demon does not want a connection either.

On to your questions. To note also; if someone/thing seems to be truly inducing actual psychosis and delusion etc ( for legal reasons I need to say this and I do think its important to check to) look to deal with the mundane first and check with a medical profession, to clear that up and make sure it’s not something mundane.

But beyond that;

For the first part yes, I have one specific Dark Lord that I work with does this and I am connected to a few others as well who do this. Before connecting with this Dark Lord I was aware He was like this. The circumstances of our relationship are unique however- but in working with Him, it has definitely been a learning curve. For me personally, I chose to keep being in a relationship with this being and so taught myself to understand His and Their viewpoints and be accepting of it. I think truly, it is a personal decision as to why you want the relationship or to choose to stay in it. It does require developing a new understanding of things and being open to seeing things in a new way.

It is helpful to consider when working with otherworldy beings; is this a chosen behavior on their part or is it just their nature or energies? So; I would question going forward – what is it you are wanting from this being and perhaps it could be gotten from someone else or there are other options? If there are no other options- assuming They (are open to connecting and working with you in the first place and it is a chosen behavior) and They continue treating you that way; are you prepared for that and learning to deal with it? ( with this I am mainly meaning god-level beings- who are not easily dealt with)

I think however in general terms; that unless you are willing to “adapt” or deal with such interactions (because sometimes it is simply Their nature or energies as well), then beings like this ( who treat you this way) should be left alone- unless there is a specific and good reason to go and interact with them. For example: if there is something you can only get from interacting with them- mostly with the demonic divine however and deities- there are others who are within the same ”wheelhouse” so to speak- that could be more amenable and “easier” to work with and you can ask to be guided to Them as well. If you do continue to interact with these beings then I think you should be open and aware of possibly being “hurt” by this, as it can just be their way, and it is something to consider. It is a choice.

Otherworldy beings in general are not like humans and don’t have the same mindsets, proclivities, values, energies etc. the further you go away from human earthen realm the more obvious and potentially more dangerous it is. So what is important to the human may not be to them. Yes, you can try to protect yourself and if you chose to keep working with them, then setting boundaries around what is and isn’t appropriate for you is important. Knowing your limits for example if it is a dangerous energy. One should also not “expect” to be cared for or about by otherworldy beings either. By this I mean, that if one truly wants to interact with otherworldy beings who are further away from the humans realms (and demonic can be) that viewing things from a human-centric perspective is quite unhelpful. So also try to learn and understand where the being is coming from. Sometimes however, you just can’t and that’s okay- we can’t comprehend everything and the human brain can’t either.

In my experience as much as some mages like to think they are powerful or god like etc they really aren’t, especially in comparisons to a DL. It is my view that Demonic divine cannot be bound or controlled period and what the Solomonic grimoire authors bound was not truly the demonic divine.

For protection; it is often more helpful to know yourself deeply and to know what you can and cannot tolerate. I do think that asking your patron for aid in this is helpful and a good idea, your protection should really be specific to you. The way I view it is, if you are actually connecting with a demonic divine being and something is going awry or feels that way to you, simply ask them to leave or stop and they most often will ( sometimes we have to learn how to say “no” though). If they ( the demonic divine being) does not- then ask what is the point of them doing this to you, what needs to be learnt through this, if anything?- as it is often a good reason for this. Most often if you make it known you don’t want this and ask them to leave they will ( if they are divine being, a parasite etc will not).

Basic protection should be practiced in general; shielding, grounding, cleansing, warding the space as part of usual routine. Have you looked at S Connoly’s work at all( she is very good for basic working with demons ins a respectful manner)? Sometimes in demonolatry ritual an elemental circle is called upon- but it is to balance the energies- not to protect you from the demonic.

If you did choose to interact with someone who induces harm and delusion- it is still important to understand why you are approaching them. Do you want the delusion experience? If so then you wouldn’t try to combat it. If you do not - then training yourself to “see clearly” would be helpful- I don’t just mean clairvoyance- I mean actually using the third eye to be attuned to the “truth” of a thing and understanding the many layers of realities/ illusions etc. This will take time though. I would strongly recommend doing shadow work to help with protection and as a good practice in general. If the being truly produces delusion- then knowing your own self very well can be very helpful for seeing through this. It is also important to cleanse regularly for delusional energies and work on your third eye too. Another thing to consider (it wasn’t clear in the ask) perhaps the “delusion” and harm (if it was demonic divine being) could have actually been a clearing of energies? But I don’t know enough about your current practices to really say.

For avoiding a poor experience going forward, using a divination practice- even just a pendulum can be helpful for determining whether to work with beings or not. Communing also with those otherworldly beings you trust like your patron perhaps to check to see if this is someone you should work with or not, can be helpful. Also trusting your gut too with what you are feeling- this usually gives a good guide as to whether something is “good” for you or not. You can also determine over longer term if something is beneficial to you or not- by looking at how your life is going, is it “improving (by your own standards)” or not? But this is nuanced to the individual. Nothing is truly guaranteed, however. So observing in the moment and longer term can be helpful. Sometimes also we are drawn to more “harmful” things to learn something from it, even if its only on how to set good boundaries or stand up for ourselves etc. But everyone’s journey is individual. It can also be helpful in the aftermath of such a hazardous experience to do energy healing work as well, or other methods and the ground, cleanse, centre etc.

Also for going forward and working with demons- you could try to choose which demons you are interested in ( from looking at the different hierarchy lists) via gut feeling of being drawn to them, via divination or via looking at what you want to achieve or work on and who could help with that. As you mentioned a good experience with the first two demons you contacted then maybe contacting Them again to try small steps back in to approaching this work. Or you could look to some other of the demonic that are known to be okay with beginners- as they may help with working up to connecting with others. It is okay to take your time with it though and not rush it if it feels like too much. If casting an elemental circle (from S Connoly’s work) can help you to feel safer or better about contacting the demonic then that is helpful to do, when calling upon the particular demonic. (while I don’t know your practice my advice is please do not use the mirror method- the demonic do not like it and you end up with weird energies from it). You could also (if into magick) create a sigil or small talisman you charge with protective and guiding energies to have with you at the time of contact. I would suggest also gaining knowledge about a strong banishing technique as well, if you do not already know one (and calling on your patron to help with this, or even asking your patron to protect you when connecting as well). I use a modified satanic LBRP ( calls upon demonic not angelic beings) along with usually cleansing and balancing. Placing wards around the space you are connecting could be helpful as well. And these protective techniques are not so much to be “used against” the demonic divine- but rather to keep the riffraff out, so you can be more likely to get the correct being coming through. These techniques like banishing etc would be more like the “big- guns” though, but it is still useful to know. Though in my view it doesn’t banish true demonic divine beings, for them asking them ( poiltely and sometimes firmly) to leave is enough. For general banishing feeling the power or your Will and command (as a divine being as well) will work well for just about everything.

Because you did have a harrowing experience with one of the ”demonic,” it is normal to feel apprehensive, so try to go easy on yourself with this and it doesn’t need to be rushed.

I am happy to offer other advice or help if needed. And I apologise for the length, there is a lot to cover in this ask. Hope this helps somewhat.

others who see this: This answer is just for this person and the ask, please do not apply it generally

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liongoatsnake · 7 years ago

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What Academics Are Saying About the Modern Therianthropy Community

[Note: The following is a paper done for a college class in the past. It isn’t up to date but it still might be interesting for some people.]

Introduction

There are people who do not identify as human. This identification as nonhuman is integral to them and they feel that it is something that they simply are, that they cannot change, and something they did not choose. These people broadly call themselves otherkin. Otherkin know they are physically human, but simply identify as nonhuman in a non-physical way (be it seen as being spiritual, psychological, neurological, or some combination of any of the above in origin). Otherkin are not under the impression that they are actually nonhuman in any physical way. Any folks claiming otherwise or who claim to be able to physical change shape from human to nonhuman are actually met with strong skepticism from the community at large. There also exist more specific terms for people that identify as certain kinds of nonhuman creatures as well as a number of separate communities for several of these more specific groups. Those who identity as nonhuman animals (e.g. wolves, tigers, sharks, etc.) are called theranthropes (though most in the community call themselves therians for short). As an online community it began in 1993 and since then the community has grown and spread across countless platforms to connect therians from across the globe together. Allowing them to interact and exchange experiences as well as allow them to schedule meet-ups offline where possible.

The topic of therianthropy (and otherkinity in general) has only begun to be really researched within the past decade by a small but growing number of researchers across several different academic disciplines. Most of the researchers who have delved into the topic are people with degrees in religion or similar. Other disciplines various researchers who have researched therianthropy have held include anthropology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy. This mixing of disciplines is certainly evident when browsing through the academic articles and even book written about therianthropes (or otherkin in general) or make references to therianthropy (or otherkin in general). This paper is designed to analyze these different perspectives and themes that various researchers have tried to tackle this little known topic of people who identify as nonhuman animals while being fully aware they are physically human.

(Not) Clinical Lycanthropy

One thing a number of academic works make clear is that therianthropy is not the same as Clinical Lycanthropy. Clinical Lycanthropy is defined as a delusion of being able to physically transform into a nonhuman animal or having actually transformed into a nonhuman animal. Reported cases of Clinical Lycanthropy are rare, there is no diagnostic criteria for it, and most experts tend to believe that it is not a condition unto itself but rather is something caused by other disorders. Several academic papers that are about therianthropy or make mention of it have made mention of this distinction between clinical lycanthropy and therianthropy. Such as in academic article titled, "An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community" the authors note that lycanthropy is the "the belief that one can transform into" a nonhuman animal "whereas therians do not believe in physical transformation." [i] This same distinction was also made by Addie Trevor during his guest lecture on therianthropy back in March 2013 when at the American University. [ii]

Yet, almost paradoxically, one of the oldest accounts I have found of someone meeting the definition of a therianthropy used by the therian community today and experiencing things very common among therians happens to be a case report of someone diagnosed with clinical lycanthropy in the 1980s. In 1988, a case study was released in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease titled, “Lycanthropy and Self- Self-Identification,” which deals with a case report of a 26-year-old man (at the time of the report) who had identified as a “tiger-like cat” for over 15 years and whose identification as such was not affected by any treatment (which included various medications to treat his depression) the man had received over an 8-year period. The man was employed as a research scientist and had sought professional help due to the depression. The man stated his identification as a cat had been since childhood. The case report stated on page 135 that the man considered “himself as a tiger with a very deformed body” and that he “lament[ed] his lack of fur, stripes, and a tail.” Interestingly, throughout the man’s 8 years of psychotherapy to deal with his depression, and despite the long list of medications he received at different points of during those years, his identification as a cat “remained completely refractory to treatment” as was noted in the case study. While the man was diagnosed with clinical lycanthropy, the case reports never states he ever had the delusion of physically being an animal and unlike other cases of clinical lycanthropy, and his experiences were not affected by treatment that normally works on cases with clinical lycanthropy due to the authors possibly not differentiating between seeing oneself as an animal but knowing one isn’t physically one, and thinking oneself is physically nonhuman.[iii] In the paper, “Lycanthropy and Self- Self-Identification,” the authors noted during their discussion portion of the paper that this case did “not fit the usual pattern of a transient symptom occurring a functional psychosis.” They go further by speculating that the patient in their case report had failed to form a self-identification as a human and so instead he formed a self-identification as a feline instead which would explain the man’s persist identification as such due to it becoming part of his core identity. They end their article by musing over if other cases of “persistent lycanthropy” in which people fail “to form a human self-identification” which again seems to point toward similar themes and ideas found in therianthropy though the concept of a community for people who identify as animals wasn’t known to those involved in this case.[iv]

Due to being different from other cases of clinical lycanthropy and similar in some respects to some experiences among therianthropes, the report has become of interest in the scope of therianthropy among some researchers as well as some people within the therian community. Its relevance was not lost in the academic article titled, "An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community." Right after differentiating between lycanthropy and therianthropy the authors stated, "Nonetheless, Keck et al. (1988), whose criteria for lycanthropy are commonly used in the psychiatric literature, did not make" a distinction between identifying as a nonhuman animal and thinking one could physically transform into one. [v] If this person would or would not be diagnosed with clinical lycanthropy or if he would have considered himself a therianthrope is unknown.

Queer Theory

There are also at least two articles that focus on looking at therianthropy from the aspect of queer theory and seeing otherkin as a whole as how modern society is exploring identity beyond what is considered normal. Margaret Shane’s article in the book, Educational, Psychological, and Behavioral Considerations in Niche Online Communities titled “Some People Aren't People On the Inside,” deals with the online interactions with the otherkin community. Shane looks as otherkin from a philosophical perspective and from the perspective of queer theory in how otherkin interact online. Shane includes people who identify as nonhuman animals (therians) as well as mythical creatures or beings in her article. Shane describes how the otherkin community thrives online, how the otherkin community focuses on sharing the subjective experiences of its members, how it’s members must deal with cyberbullying, and so on. Discussing how otherkin is “queering” the sense of identity and challenging the concept of what is “normal” by virtue of existing on page 269. [vi] Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray’s article “The Cycle of the Werewolf: Romantic Ecologies of Selfhood in Popular Fantasy," article is mostly about how werewolf imaginary and symbolism is used to talk about identity and nature within the self. Discussing the use of werewolves in fiction as a way of delving into the connection between nature and spirit, human and animal, the physical self vs. inner self, or other dualities that could be seen as existing within the human psyche. He explores how the symbolism of the werewolf has been used to explore transcending humanity, spirituality, and other themes beyond strictly horror in various ways in modern fantasy. He also brings up the early therian community on pages 67 to page 68 when he goes into the formation of the newsgroup called alt.horror.werewolves in the early 1990s. He describes how the group was created for people to discuss werewolves in media but ended up attracting people who identified as werecreatures based on personal experiences and personal persecutions. From there members who identified as werewolves in a spiritual sense began discussing what it meant to be a werewolf to them, which the author ties back into the symbolism and themes attributed to werewolves in modern times. Suggesting that both the people who actually identify as werewolves as well as those who create modern fiction with werewolves are all exploring the possibility of otherness and ways of being posthuman in today's modern society.[vii] This perspective is a very minor one, but does give an interesting viewpoint into how modern-day society is exploring and experimenting with the limits of identity; however, how this perspective interacts with other perspectives has not been explored by other researchers.

Spiritual Movement/Belief

The most common perspective in most articles on therianthropy or most articles that mention therianthropy is that it is inherently a spiritual belief or is a movement created out of the New Age movement. Such researchers often make what parallels they can find between aspects of the therian community to the definition of religion or common themes found in religious groups. The researchers who have focused on this viewpoint most heavily include Venetia Laura Delano Robertson, Danielle Kirby and Joseph P. Laycock. (The latter two do not strictly focus on therianthropy as their work mostly deals with otherkin in general, but they do include therianthropy within their discussion and even specifically talk about therianthropy specifically at times in their research as well.)

Joseph P. Laycock’s “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community," deals with otherkin in general but does talk about specific kinds of otherkin, include therians throughout this article. At various times he goes into how occultism and paganism has affected some aspects of the otherkin community over the years. While Laycock does focus on the spiritual side of otherkin, he does note that not all otherkin see their identity as spiritual or metaphysical in nature. As he does hint at psychological or neurological viewpoints also existing in the otherkin community. Throughout the article Laycock uses information he gathered from interviews, otherkin resource websites, and data collected from a survey to help give some insight into otherkin as a whole.[viii]

Robertson's two articles on therianthropy, "The Beast Within: Anthrozoomorphic Identity and Alternative Spirituality in the Online Therianthropy Movement" and "The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement" both focus on only the spiritual explanations for therianthropy. Her article, "The Law of the Jungle" by specifically trying to analyze the interactions within the therian community and especially in relations between members of authority (administrators or moderators of groups or forums) in the guise of tribal "Rites of Passage" and other rituals found in socio-spiritual movements and pagan religions.[ix] In her article "The Beast Within," she continues to make this connection with pagan religions and occult groups. At one point in her article, she uses the fact that three therians who have written online articles about therianthropy also happen to be pagan, it makes sense "language of popular occultism permeates their elucidations of identity."[x] This focus is understandable given her field of specialty and the focus of the journal the article was published in, but claiming the therianthrope community as a whole is a strictly spiritual belief movement does leave out much of what the therian community is about.

Troy Allan's dissertation, Other-Than-Humans: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry into The Spiritual Development of Therians, comes at the topic of therians as a pastoral-care provider of many years and who wishes to bring forth information on therianthropy. For his research, Allan used a narrative inquiry, to get more insight into the experiences and feelings of therians. Before getting to that he touched on some of the history of the therian community online and also touched upon the history of the term therianthropy itself. From there he goes on to show the narratives over the personal experiences from the participants. While Allan focuses on therianthropy being more of a spirituality, he still offers up the words of therians who explain their own experiences and identity. [xi]

In Laycock’s “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community," he describes his methodology on pages 67 to 68. Stating his information primarily comes from a survey done by the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and from a book called A Field Guide to Otherkin by Lupa. The Atlanta Vampire Alliance is a group of people who consider themselves vampires due to feeling they need energy or blood to remain healthy though they do not identify as nonhuman. Even Laycock himself on page 67 notes that the "relationship between vampires and otherkin is murky." [xii] This is because most members of the vampire community do not identify as nonhuman and their use of considering themselves vampires is based on their physical needs or symptoms whereas otherkin is based around identity and is not based around physical symptoms. Also, the vampire community focuses heavily on believes in energy and other metaphysical beliefs due to its nature whereas the otherkin community itself may or may not given belief in energy isn't so quintessential to its topic. The book called A Field Guide to Otherkin by Lupa was written by a neopagan author who at the time identified as a wolf therian. Laycock quotes from her book where Lupa talked about her own experiences with therianthropy. However, such information relating to Lupa's personal experiences very well could be seen as no longer relevant to the community due to her no longer identifying as a therian. In April 2013 she publically redacted her use of the label therian saying she her experiences didn't fit the definition of therianthropy and also stated she was pulling her book from print because she found it to be outdated and was not accurate to the otherkin community.[xiii] Due to her background in the pagan community and the circles where she was active online much of the book focuses on metaphysical explanations and outlooks. This and other aspects of her book brought some level of criticism among members of the otherkin community (including therians).[xiv] So his methodology leaves a lot of potential to misconstrue information relating to the otherkin community (as well as the therian community).

In her articles, Robertson tries to explain how various online groups are run with spiritual perspectives (and even going far as saying it is "steeped in the occultic milieu") despite that as many as half of the therianthrope community not viewing their identity as being caused by spiritual means at all and a fair chunk of the community (roughly 40% according to both the 2012 and 2013 Therian Census done from within the community) actually being atheistic or agnostic.[xv] [xvi] In her "Law of the Jungle" article, Robertson interpreted the therian community’s focus on making sure new members in online groups can rationalize their identity and that their experiences match how therianthropy is defined as being nothing but “quashing alternative opinions and promoting elitism” as she describes it on page 269.[xvii] In the same article, she also oddly took issue with the therian community's negative view on people claiming to be able to physically transform into a nonhuman animal even to the point of banning people who make such real world claims.[xviii] Despite the therian community having very good reasons to disallow or be critical of people claiming to be able to do something against known science.[xix]

Natalie Bricker also had criticism for both Roberts and Laycock's methodology. In her dissertation, Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model Bricker does criticize both researchers who looked at therianthropy from a strictly spiritual perspective, not exploring the identity itself, and ignoring how a large chuck of the therian community views their identity as strictly non-spiritual.[xx]

Like Robertson and Laycock, Troy Allan characterizes therianthtopy as a “cyber-spirituality” and having a strong connection to pagan and occult beliefs. Strangely, he references totemism as examples of therianthropic experiences even after directly quoting a therianthrope's online article explaining that said therianthropy wasn’t the same as totemism the paragraph before on pages 22 and 23. [xxi] Also, oddly, Allan characterizes therianthropy as an anthropomorphic thinking and considers it a subgroup of the furry fandom.[xxii] Something that there is evidence that show otherwise.

Subset of the Furry Fandom (Or Not)

The furry fandom is a fandom/subculture focused around an interest in animals that are given anthropomorphic traits or humans given zoomorphic traits in media (such as in art, comics, movies, and so on). Research into the furry fandom has predominantly been done by a team of small dedicated psychologists and sociologists who give out surveys at various conventions for furries every year as a means of gathering data. They collectively call themselves the Anthropomophic Research Project. Their findings since they began their research in 2008 have consistently shown that most furries tend to identify with certain animals or use a certain animal as an artistic persona (called a fursona within the furry fandom); however, a notable minority within the furry fandom actually identify as a nonhuman animal non-physically or even consider themselves therian (or otherkin) by label. Due to this notable minority within the fandom, various publications by this research group have touched on therianthropy (by name and/or by definition) numerous times.

In their 2008 article, "Furries A to Z: (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism)" part of their article dealt the results from asking participants if they consider themselves to be less than 100% human and asking if you could become 0% human would they and found that roughly 40% of the respondents agreed with this feeling to some extent. [xxiii] Further, they found that roughly 24% agreed with the statement of feeling “‘a persistent feeling of discomfort’” relating to having a human and roughly 30% even feeling that they were a “‘non-human species trapped in a human body.’” [xxiv] Interestingly, the authors coined the term “species identity disorder” which mirrors “gender identity disorder” but relates to animals instead of gender to describe their findings. However, while more or less defining therianthropy and even talking about dysphoria relating to species (which is often talked about in the therian community), they never specifically use the term within this particular paper. [xxv] They continue to find a portion of the furry population as people who actually identify as nonhuman animals throughout their research findings over the years. For example, in their 2015 article, "Clinical Interaction with Anthropomorphic Phenomenon: Notes for Health Professionals about Interacting with Clients Who Possess This Unusual Identity," again label therianthropy as a “subset of furries” on page 7 while noting nearly 20 percent of the furry fandom self-identify as therians. They go on to quickly note it is a psychological or spiritual identification as well as even liken it to “the spirituality experienced in some indigenous cultures.” [xxvi] This reference is noted again in their 2015 article, "The Anthrozoomorphic Identity: Furry Fandom Members’ Connections to Nonhuman Animals," they touch on the topic of identifying with or as nonhuman animals throughout the paper. They do use the term therians however they note it by stating “A small (20%) subset of furries, called therians, have a spiritual connection with animals, belief in an animal spirit guide, or the belief that they are the reincarnation of an animal spirit, while others believe that they are less than 100% human in so much that they feel like they are animals trapped in a human body.” [xxvii]

However, there is plenty of evidence over throwing the assumption that therians are inherently a part of the furry fandom. Surveys done within the therian community consistently find that only about half of the therians tend consider themselves furries. (In a 2013 survey, when asked " Do you consider yourself to be a member of the furry fandom?" only 41% of the responders did consider themselves furries.[xxviii]) Also resource pages describing therianthropy almost always have a section explaining that therians are not furries.[xxix] [xxx] This differentiation is not lost on some other researchers. In a guest lecture done in 2013 at American University called “Therianthropy: A State of Being,” Trevor spends several minutes differentiating between being a therian and being a furry. Stating that the two groups often overlap but that doesn’t mean the groups are the same.[xxxi] The authors of “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community” also make a quick mention of the difference between furries and therians. [xxxii]

To their credit, in the Anthropomorphic Research Project’s ebook, FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, they state on page 78, “One common misconception about furries is that they believe they are non-human animals. This definition more precisely describes therians and otherkin than it does furries, who, while regularly representing themselves through the use of anthropomorphic animal avatars known as fursonas are not necessarily defined by their beliefs about, or identification with, non-human animals.” They go on to say that identification as nonhuman animals relates to therians rather than furries and that therians and furries are not exactly exclusive or inclusive to the other. Thus, beginning to slowly acknowledge that the therian community are not a subset of the furry fandom and the groups are merely overlapping to an extent.[xxxiii]

As an Identity

Only a small number of researchers as of yet who have looked into therianthropy on an academic level have tackled therianthropy without looking at it strictly from a spiritual lens or only noting it from within a community other than the actual therian community. Instead, they focus on talking about the overall identification therians feel.

While Jay Johnston's background is in religious studies and her perspective on otherkin (with a specific focus on therians, people who identify as animals), and her article "On Having a Furry Soul: Transpecies Identity and Ontological Indeterminacy in Otherkin Subcultures,” does have hints of religious perspectives, her article especially focuses on what it means to be "other" and "animal" as far as self-identity is concerned from a philosophical. During her article, Johnston contemplates what differentiates between "human" and nonhuman "animal." Most of Johnston's citations deal with philosophical contemplations of what is self, what is nonhuman, and similar musings and her only source on otherkin comes from a non-academic book on the topic of otherkin (Lupa's Field to Guide of Otherkin).[xxxiv] While the article is interesting, it is not fully clear how the contents of the article fully relate to otherkin in general or therians specifically. While a number of her sources deal with how philosophers have mused about the self and animality, she never really deals with how therians view their actual animality and their sense of "other."

During Addie Trevor's 2013 guest lecture at American University on therianthropy, he focused heavily on introducing therianthropy as an identity, a “state of being” as the title states and he notes many times throughout the nearly hour long lecture. He focused on the experiences therians, uses statistics from a survey the therian community itself had done, and had worked with three therians to compile his information.[xxxv]

The creators of the academic paper, “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community,” had a similar approach and perspective throughout their paper. Their paper focuses on the in-depth interviews they conducted of five therians and their personal experiences as therians and how it has impacted their identity. Their work was a case study in an attempt to begin to delve into the topic of what being a therian means to people personally by focusing on these five individuals. The reason they focused on five individuals was started in their article, stating that they found it more useful as they desired to get personal responses from each person interviewed rather than selectively choose responses from a large group. They conclude their article by stating, in part, "Identity formation for therians appears to be a self-reflective process that, due to the sociocultural climate, results in a careful balance between self-expression and self-presentation." They add to this by stating, "Achieving this balance and successfully developing an identity as a therian that allows for personal expressivity is fundamental, given the positive associations between well-being and a clear sense of personal identity." [xxxvi]

Natalie Bricker's dissertation, Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model, also goes into detail on the therian community, covering all aspects of therian experiences including both spiritual and psychological explanations. Her dissertation deals with exploring the identity of therians using Dan McAdams’ life story model of identity and how identity development might play into the identity of a therianthrope. Talking about the concepts of identity formation from several different psychologists. Her dissertation also includes information she gathered by interviewing several therians. She found that all of the participants defined therianthropy in fairly similar ways (many using words like “identity,” “non-physical,” “personal,” and “integral”) as well as stressing the difference between their nonhuman animal identifies and their human bodies.[xxxvii] Other common themes include feeling they were nonhuman from a young age, all of them recalling a childhood experience where they felt therianthropic, feeling a kinship with nonhuman animals, their discovery of the therianthope community being because of their own experiences leading them to search for others in their teenage years, having recurring experiences with species dysphoria, and dealing with various social obstacles due to feeling different for fearing how others might react to their identification as nonhuman animals.[xxxviii]

Response and Criticism to Research by Therians

An important aspect of this research has been how therianthrope community has reacted to being researched and what research has been published over time. The response to serious research into the topic of therianthropy overall has been very positive and welcomed. At least one large therian forum called Werelist even going so far as creating a subforum specifically for researchers to request research participants, where members could review and discuss their thoughts on published works, and similar. However, while the overall existence of researchers looking into therianthropy (or otherkin as a whole) has been met with welcome across the community as a whole, a fair portion of the therian community has also been quick to critique and even criticize the methodology or ethics of the researchers at times if they feel their results were biased or they felt the researcher’s ethics were questionable. One therian, who identifies as a cheetah, even made a personal essay titled, “A Laycat's Review of ‘We are Spirits of Another Sort’” where he critiqued Laycock’s academic article, “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community.” Citrakayah’s strongest criticism for Laycock’s article being that Laycock is “biased heavily towards spiritual and metaphysical explanations” for otherkin and Citrakayah wishes Laycock would have given at least some attention “to more scientifically-grounded theories of therianthropy.” Citrakayah also criticizes Laycock’s main sources, “Vampire and Energy Work Research Study” and Lupa, both being biased toward spiritual and metaphysical viewpoints.[xxxix]

Conclusion

It has more or less been agreed by all current researchers that clinical lycanthropy and therianthropy is different things and so it is unlikely that any articles in the future will blur the two together. (Outside of perhaps an article that might delve into cases of clinical lycanthropy to see if there were any other cases that better suit the experiences of therians rather than it.) Looking at therianthropy (or otherkin in general) from the perspective of queer theory and as the exploring of what it means to be human does have its potential and could possibly work well with looking at therianthropy as an identity, the few articles on the topic thus far have not been followed up on as of yet. It is with the perspective that therianthropy is a spiritual movement or belief that there is the most contention as far as the actual therian community is concerned and there is evidence that contracts their viewpoints. While spirituality has a definite influence within the therian community for many of its members, to say the origins of the community and the themes of the therian community are wholly taken from paganism or the occult can be shown to be not fully accurate to the whole of the community. The perspective of therianthropy coming out the researchers looking into the furry fandom has had a rocky history; however, as the knowledge of both their main focus and aspects that overlap their focus (therianthropy) their information has become clearer and more accurate to how these two communities view each other. Finally, there are the few academic articles that get to the heart of how therians describe therianthropy – as an identity as a state of being which is experienced. The academic materials that have taken this stance are not as numerous as other perspectives but it is one which appears to be more accurately representing what the therianthrope community is about.

Nevertheless, of these different perspective, the underlying conclusion all of these researchers can agree on is that therianthropy (and even otherkin in general) is something legitimately experienced by a number of people. That there are people who do identify as nonhuman animals. All of these various researchers across different disciplines also feel that this topic deserves to be researched further. What they have concluded therianthropy is, or what they focus on in relation to therianthropy varies depending upon their discipline, but they all do feel that therianthropy is something being experienced by these people.

One the biggest hurdles thus far in the research into therianthropy has the lack or severely limited use of the actual thoughts of therians within the community thus far. Many of the researchers, most notably, those who feel that therianthropy is a spiritual belief and those who see it as connected to the furry fandom, have gotten most or even all of their information from either secondary sources or from therians found in circles outside of the actual therian community. Which has not given their research referencing therianthropy an accurate spectrum of how therians within the therian community actually perspective themselves and what they experience. Only a handful of researchers thus far have taken the time to have interviews or handout surveys to a number of therians directly within the therian community itself. Research into the therian community can and will shed further light into the complexity and fluidity of self-identity and body image. Therianthropy is one of any number of topics that deal with identity and sense of self that and further enlighten the depths that identity can go.

[i] Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh, “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community,” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014): pp 113.

[ii] Addie, Trevor. “Therianthropy: A State of Being,” ANTH-331 "Taboos," American University, March 5th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEkuOW5pjs (accessed August 20 2014).

[iii] Kulick, Aaron, Pope HG Jr, & Keck PE Jr., “Lycanthropy and Self-Identification,” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 2 (Feb. 1990): pp 135, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405100 (October 14 2014).

[iv] Kulick, Aaron, Pope HG Jr, & Keck PE Jr., “Lycanthropy and Self-Identification,” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 2 (Feb. 1990): pp 136, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405100 (October 14 2014).

[v] Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh, “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community,” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014): pp 113.

[vi] Shane, Margaret, “Chapter 16: Some People Aren't People On the Inside,” In Educational, Psychological, and Behavioral Considerations in Niche Online Communities, by Vivek Venkatesh, pp 269, Hershey: Information Science Reference, 2014.

[vii] Coudray, Chantal Bourgault Du., "The Cycle of the Werewolf: Romantic Ecologies of Selfhood in Popular Fantasy," Austrailia Feminist Studies, Vo.l 18 No. 40 (June 9 2003): pp 67-68. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0816464022000056376?journalCode=cafs20 (accessed March 18 2016).

[viii] Laycock, Joseph P., “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community" Nova Religio. Vol. 15, No. 3 (Feb., 2012): pp. 67-78, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65 (accessed November 24 2013).

[ix] Venetia Robertson, "The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement," Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, Vol 14, No 2 (Dec., 2012): pp 257-258.

[x] Robertson, Venetia Laura Delano. "The Beast Within: Anthrozoomorphic Identity and Alternative Spirituality in the Online Therianthropy Movement." Nova Religio, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Feb 2013): pp. 23.

[xi] Allan, Troy D., Other-Than-Humans: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry into The Spiritual Development of Therians, (Argosy University, July 2014.), 12-14.

[xii] Laycock, Joseph P., “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community" Nova Religio. Vol. 15, No. 3 (Feb., 2012): pp. 67-68, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65 (accessed November 24 2013).

[xiii] Lupa, "Letting Go of Therianthropy for Good," Therioshamanism, April 2nd 2013, https://therioshamanism.com/2013/04/02/letting-go-of-therianthropy-for-good/ (accessed October 19 2016).

[xiv] Scribner, Orion. "Scribner's marginalia upon Lupa's A Field Guide to Otherkin." The Art and Writing of Orion Scribner, December 12 2015, http://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Scribner_marginalia_Lupa_0-4-finished.pdf (accessed December 1 2016).

[xv] White Wolf, “2012 Therian Census Results. Werelist. June 21 2012. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ythgrrx7ez25f6l/TSurvey.pptx (accessed June 25 2012).

[xvi] White Wolf, “2013 Therian Census Results. Werelist. March 17 2014. https://www.dropbox.com/s/y8vmmanknlvqpek/2013%20TSurvey.pptx (accessed March 30 2014).

[xvii] Venetia Robertson, "The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement," Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, Vol 14, No 2 (Dec., 2012): pp 269.

[xviii] Venetia Robertson, "The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement," Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, Vol 14, No 2 (Dec., 2012): pp 270.

[xix] Savage, " Policy on discussing p-shifting and "powers," Werelist, May 31 2008, http://www.werelist.net/showthread.php?15410-Policy-on-discussing-p-shifting-and-quot-powers-quot&highlight=real+world+claims (accessed December 1 2016).

[xx] Bricker, Natalie. Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model, (Lake Forest College, April 2016), http://publications.lakeforest.edu/seniortheses/63/ (accessed September 10 2016), 11.

[xxi] Allan, Troy D. Other-Than-Humans: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry into The Spiritual Development of Therians. (Argosy University, July 2014), 22-23.

[xxii] Allan, Troy D. Other-Than-Humans: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry into The Spiritual Development of Therians. (Argosy University, July 2014), 5.

[xxiii] Gerbasi, Kathleen C. et al, "Furries A to Z: (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism)," Society and Animals, Vol.16 (2008): pp 213.

[xxiv] Gerbasi, Kathleen C. et al, "Furries A to Z: (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism)," Society and Animals, Vol.16 (2008): pp 214.

[xxv] Gerbasi, Kathleen C. et al, "Furries A to Z: (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism)," Society and Animals, Vol.16 (2008): pp 220.

[xxvi] Roberts, S., Plante, C., Gerbasi, K., & Reysen, S., "Clinical Interaction with Anthropomorphic Phenomenon: Notes for Health Professionals about Interacting with Clients Who Possess This Unusual Identity," Health & Social Work, Volume 40, Issue 2 (February 2015): pp 42-50. Page …

[xxvii] Roberts, Sharon E., Courtney N. Plante, Kathleen C. Gerbasi, and Stephen Reysen. "The Anthrozoomorphic Identity: Furry Fandom Members’ Connections to Nonhuman Animals," Anthrozoös. Volume 28, Issue 4 (December 2 2015): pp 535.

[xxviii] White Wolf, “2013 Therian Census Results. Werelist. March 17 2014. https://www.dropbox.com/s/y8vmmanknlvqpek/2013%20TSurvey.pptx (accessed March 30 2014).

[xxix] "Therian Community," Therian Guide, http://www.therian-guide.com/index.php/6-community.html (accessed November 27 2016).

[xxx] Strill, "Are You a Therian," Project Shift, July 2008, http://project-shift.net/are-you-a-therian/ (accessed November 27 2016).

[xxxi] Addie, Trevor. “Therianthropy: A State of Being,” ANTH-331 "Taboos," American University, March 5th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEkuOW5pjs (accessed August 20 2014).

[xxxii] Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh, “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community,” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014): pp 113-114.

[xxxiii] Plante, Courtney N., Reysen, Stephen, Roberts, Sharon E., Gerbasi, Kathleen C., FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, (Waterloo: FurScience, 2016), 78.

[xxxiv] Johnston, Jay, "On Having a Furry Soul: Transpecies Identity and Ontological Indeterminacy in Otherkin Subcultures,” Animal Death, edited by Jay Johnston and Fiona Probyn-Rapsey, 306, Sydney: Sydney University Press, 2013.

[xxxv] Addie, Trevor. “Therianthropy: A State of Being,” ANTH-331 "Taboos," American University, March 5th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEkuOW5pjs (accessed August 20 2014).

[xxxvi] Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh, “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community,” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014): pp 133.

[xxxvii] Bricker, Natalie. Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model, (Lake Forest College, April 2016), http://publications.lakeforest.edu/seniortheses/63/ (accessed September 10 2016), 24.

[xxxviii] Bricker, Natalie. Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model, (Lake Forest College, April 2016), http://publications.lakeforest.edu/seniortheses/63/ (accessed September 10 2016), 27-37.

[xxxix] Citrakayah, “A Laycat's Review of ‘We are Spirits of Another Sort,’” Spirit of the Wind, March 2012, https://web.archive.org/web/20160806120323/http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/index/a_laycat_39_s_review_of_39_we_are_spirits_of_another_sort_39/0-20 (accessed November 17 2016).

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#long post is long #otherkin #therianthropy #therians #wrote this for a college paper once #therian

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