Otherkin

[TeaDidikai]

To be blunt- I think any given sect of Otherkin, Furries etc. Have their own idea of what they are and what they are not.

Ask ten different people what group X is and you''ll get ten different answers.

Read through a couple of the pages you missed. Slaine addresses the point I believe (that or she does on another guild.)  

[SlaineWildfire]

TheDisreputableDog

From the first couple of pages of this thread, it seems that that's not exactly right. Are the furs I know really Otherkin and just don't know it? Or do "true" Otherkin think furs are poseurs?

I don't know, I think that there are a lot of people out there who simply do not know what their soul is. There's nothing wrong with identifying yourself with an animal... It happens all the time. Some people have totem animals that they align themselves with, some people have familiars that they get along with great, some people like anthro-art and some people like to roleplay that they are their fursona. I would say that it's a matter of degree. The word therian does typically relate to someone who is an otherkin with a soul that is of a natural animal, but there are many types of otherkin that don't posess animal souls. So it's roughly right... And like Tea said, you're going to find people who disagree on what the definitions of words are, especially in an area that is so obviously multifaceted and in the realm of pseudoscience and possible fantasy.

Personally, I believe that to be an otherkin you must have a non-human soul. What you call yourself after that fact is up to you, but otherwise, you're not an otherkin at all. Just to clarify, this also means that if you see a cat and you have ideas that it's not a cat's soul in that cat body, that cat is also an otherkin. But anyway, I'm an otherkin purist. Lots of people disagree with me, even within the otherkin community. I'm not making a value judgement on people who are furries or whatever, I'm just stating my personal opinions.  

[SlaineWildfire]

Tsuzuki

Not seeing the point means that it's flying past you.

Do you know what it means to "dehumanize" someone? Is that something that you would like done to you?

I don't think that it is dehumanization. I may not have a human soul, but that doesn't mean my life is any less valuable. I believe that all beings have an intrinsic right to life; cats, dogs, cows, horses, bugs, viruses, all beings have the right to be alive because everything happens for a reason.

Whether I'm purple or a cat in people clothing, it doesn't matter, I deserve to live and to have just as many rights as you do. Claiming to be an otherkin isn't a valuative statement. It doesn't mean I'm better or worse than you. To me, it's just the same as saying that I'm gay or I'm Caucasian or I'm a witch. It doesn't mean anything about the quality of my life, it simply is a part of me.  

[Tsuzuki]

SlaineWildfire

I don't think that it is dehumanization.

dehumanize

Otherkin, like gays, Caucasians, and witches, are all human, and should be treated with the same respect. But if you insist on claiming to be something other than human, there are those who love to dehumanize you.  

[SlaineWildfire]

Tsuzuki

SlaineWildfire

I don't think that it is dehumanization.

dehumanize

Otherkin, like gays, Caucasians, and witches, are all human, and should be treated with the same respect. But if you insist on claiming to be something other than human, there are those who love to dehumanize you.

Then that is their own disfunction, not mine. If you even bothered to read my post, then you would know how I feel about that.

Soldiers will dehumanize their enemy in wartime in order to make themselves "more okay" with slaughtering human beings. Homophobes dehumanize gay and lesbian people in order to make it okay that they hate them and/or hurt them.

It will always happen, but that doesn't mean it's right or acceptable, and it doesn't mean that it's the fault of the person being dehumanized.

EDIT: And as an addendum, while I claim to be other than human in my soul, my body is still human, which still gives me the same rights and protection by law and social structure as any other human.  

[Tsuzuki]

SlaineWildfire

EDIT: And as an addendum, while I claim to be other than human in my soul, my body is still human, which still gives me the same rights and protection by law and social structure as any other human.

Aaaand... To get back on topic, we still have yet to define just what exactly a human soul is.  

[TeaDidikai]

I believe she defined it (if not in this thread, then in another on a different forum)- as a soul that was fashioned for a human body within it's first incarnation (or some such- please correct me if I am wrong).

From there you can debate if it is right or wrong.  

[Tsuzuki]

TeaDidikai

I believe she defined it (if not in this thread, then in another on a different forum)- as a soul that was fashioned for a human body within it's first incarnation (or some such- please correct me if I am wrong).

From there you can debate if it is right or wrong.

There are a lot of religions, my own included, that believe that that's the norm.  

[SlaineWildfire]

Tsuzuki

TeaDidikai

I believe she defined it (if not in this thread, then in another on a different forum)- as a soul that was fashioned for a human body within it's first incarnation (or some such- please correct me if I am wrong).

From there you can debate if it is right or wrong.

There are a lot of religions, my own included, that believe that that's the norm.

I'm curious. What do you mean, you believe it's the norm?

I don't know how to define what a soul is, no one has really been able to do that in the years that humanity has been thinking philosophically.

A human soul, though, is a soul that was crafted (or spontaneously created) to reside in a human body. I believe that everything has a soul, trees and plants and animals and virus', rocks, everything. This is why I can differentiate between a soul crafted to reside in a human body and a soul crafted to reside in a cat body.

Does that clear anything up at all?  

[Tsuzuki]

SlaineWildfire

I'm curious. What do you mean, you believe it's the norm?

I already explained this before. For most people, if not all, this is their first time around as human. Before that, they existed as something that was not human. This makes you just the same as everyone else.

SlaineWildfire

I don't know how to define what a soul is, no one has really been able to do that in the years that humanity has been thinking philosophically.

A human soul, though, is a soul that was crafted (or spontaneously created) to reside in a human body. I believe that everything has a soul, trees and plants and animals and virus', rocks, everything. This is why I can differentiate between a soul crafted to reside in a human body and a soul crafted to reside in a cat body.

You admit that you can't define what a soul is, yet you then go on to define a human soul, which you claim to not even have. That doesn't sound very credible to me.

SlaineWildfire

Does that clear anything up at all?

Perfectly. I still think you're full of it, but I respect your right to be so.  

[SlaineWildfire]

Tsuzuki

SlaineWildfire

I'm curious. What do you mean, you believe it's the norm?

I already explained this before. For most people, if not all, this is their first time around as human. Before that, they existed as something that was not human. This makes you just the same as everyone else.

I completely disagree. I believe that a sizeable portion of the human population is (are?) first-timers, both to humanity and to existance. I believe, unlike some (ok, many) people, that the soul can be destroyed in a number of ways. I also believe that souls can fracture into many pieces, and that more than one soul can exist in one body.

But as I've said countless times, I don't believe that being an otherkin makes me different - there are thousands of otherkin in the world. It certainly doesn't make me special or better looking or better at math. It just is a piece of me, like any other piece. I'm okay with being "the same", though I think that's a misnomer. But that's more philosophy that doesn't really apply to this conversation.

About defining a human soul... Well, I can define what a p***s is, even though I don't have one. I can define what a cat is, even though I'm not a cat. What's the difference?  

[TeaDidikai]

SlaineWildfire

About defining a human soul... Well, I can define what a p***s is, even though I don't have one. I can define what a cat is, even though I'm not a cat. What's the difference?

Ummm... that a p***s and cat have objective existance that can experienced by people through a number of senses independently of one another?  

[Pelta]

Ok, I just read through all the back posts on this topic. The title intrigued me because I know people who very strongly believe they're otherkin who are good friends of mine. Hell, I almost convinced myself I was too! Although sometimes their conversations sounded like they could have been heard in a mental institution, they firmly believed in what they were/are. And I'm ok with that. It didn't make them any less wonderful human beings. They're lovely people.
As to my own experience with it, I think what I was trying to do was equate myself with a mythical being that I wanted to connect to. It wasn't that I wanted to feel special, but the being I chose had many traits similar to my personality that I admired. So I found it easy to slip into that guise, and found that by taking on some of it's traits I became more what I wanted to be. Then eventually I realised that what I was doing was striving towards an ideal of how I wanted myself to be. And that can be done in any form - I was just attaching the face of a mythical creature to it. So I stopped thinking that was what I *was* and worked more towards what I wanted to be. Me. I still adore the creature (not telling, if you don't mind) but more for what it stands for, as opposed to thinking I was it.
Those are only my own thoughts on the subject. Maybe I'm just not otherkin, so I can't know. I think it's a perfectly viable path for those who wish to follow it, and maybe those who are born otherkin have no choice but to be what they are. I don't know.
Just as a side note: I noticed a few pages back a lot of dicussion on the enneagram. I'm kinda curious about it. Does anyone know any good links that I could use? We all know the internet is a truly fantastic (note sarcasm) place for personality tests, but if anyone knows any reliable links I'd appreciate it. Thanks.  

[TeaDidikai]

Here we go. Keep in mind that this is the short test and is not as accurate as the longer version you have to pay for.

Save yourself some money and buy the paper version. That way when other people want to take it they won't have to shell out the ten dollars.

To be honest, I think what you spoke of is the natural order for most people who claim to be otherkin. I just think most of them are not healthy enough to understand that, so they buy into a popular delusion that makes them not human.

I know of a lot of people who have come to the same understanding and actually become the kinds of people they want to be by working towards the goal over working within the illusion.

I've also seen this create resentment between the otherkin and the individual leaving the paradigm. The initial reaction from these otherkin is that the person was a traitor, a turn coat, or a liar. The individual cases are complex, but 24/7 exposure to these individuals tips the kind of clues that a high school psych student can pick up on.  

[Lotus Poem]

I was told a few years back that I am otherkin...I never really identified myself that way though. I finally came to the realization that I'm not otherkin. I admit I have a fascination with the good folk and with kitsune, and unicorns, and pretty much all animals. My husband is a dragon, not in the otherkin sense lol he just is. His personality and preferences and such are very draconic but even he admits that is probably a byproduct of being fascinated with dragons his whole life.

As far as my soul goes, I believe I have been other than human in past lives but I am human now. I have also been told that I'm and Indigo Child a fact that my mother insists upon but I'm not too familiar with the concept. I did some research read some books and came to the conclusion I probably am since I identified with the personality profiles and anecdotes provided but then I started hearing that Indigo Children are aliens, or angels or some such and now I'm not sure anymore. I saw them mentioned in an earlier post and didn't realize they were connected to the kin at all so if anyone can enlighten me there it would be greatly appreciated.