Otherkin
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[edit] Otherkin Overview
Otherkin are people who believe themselves to be something other than a human being on a spiritual, psychological, energetic and some even on a biological level, and choose to identify with that non-human fragment of themselves to the point where they count it as a permanent and ingrained part of their personal mythology and/or identity.
Some Psychics claim to be able to even see the non-human traits of certain individuals in their Auras, whether it is wings, horns, or a completely different form altogether.
There are many theories to how an individual is an Otherkin. Most common are:
- Reincarnation. The non-human soul, or a soul with a strong imprint from a non-human life, is born into a human body for this lifetime.
- Energy. The energy of the person in question is believed to be of an "other" origin even if the person doesn't believe in souls.
- Multiplicity. This is where a soul of another being, such as a Celestial, Terrestrial, Elemental or Non-Terrestrial being shares a body with the body's human soul.
- Descendant. This meaning that an individual believes, or perhaps even is a descendant of some in-human being, such as Angels. This can be in reference to bilblical tales where Angels mated with human women, creating the Nephilim, or to folklore references such as changelings of fae, faerie, elf or troll origin. There are also theories that there's a genetic disposition towards developing psychological otherkinism or to be born into a family where many of the memebers are otherkin through reincarnation. Not all Otherkin are in agreement, however, that someone who is blood related to something in-human, would indeed be able to be classified as Otherkin.
- Psychological. There are some otherkin that which believe their other-ness is a self-made construct. Their psychological makeup has created the identity of something other than human for a reason and they choose to keep identifying themselves as such. There are good reasons to continue accepting a psychological aspect of one self even if it’s possibly constructed as there are good reasons for the human psyche to create these things, self defence for instance. As long as being otherkin is not interfering with the otherkin’s ability to live a healthy and relatively balanced life there is no reason to change that either.
There are many, many forms of Otherkin, which will be further explained in their own respective categories, but here is an overview of types.
[edit] Terrestrial Otherkin
Terrestrial Otherkin are people who believe themselves to be on some level a non-human being from planet earth, more commonly referred to as Therians.
This is not to be confused with Lycanthropy.
Examples of Terrestrial Otherkin include, but are not limited to:
- Wolves
- Foxes
- Jackals
- Lions
- Leopards
- Tigers
- Bears
- Bats
- Hawks
- Eagles
- Orcas
- Horses
[edit] Mythological Otherkin
Mythological Otherkin are basically Otherkin who consider themselves beings from human mythology or choose to use words from human mythology and/or religion to refer to their kin-type as that is the closest available term. They quite often claim to not even be from Earth originally, though the concept of mythological beings ever having inhabited planet earth is a subject of much debate. Some mythological otherkin types can be considered elemental by some though not all and vice versa.
Examples of Mythological Otherkin include, but are not limited to:
- Dragons
- Kitsune
- Griffons
- Unicorns
- Pegasi
- Phoenix
- Hippocampi
- Rocs
- Kirin
- Selkies
- Mermaids
- Gargoyles
- Centaurs
[edit] Elemental Otherkin
Elemental Otherkin are, in essence, also beings found in myths and legends, but are more elemental-based then other forms of Otherkin, such as an Undine would be water-based, while a Salamander would be fire-based.
Examples of Elemental Otherkin include, but are not limited to:
- Fae
- Fairies
- Elves
- Sylphs
- Sprites
- Undines
- Salamanders
- Gnomes
- Leprechauns
- Dryads
- Pixies
- Mermaids
- Selkies
- Tree people
- Brownies
- Nymphs
- Will o' Wisps
[edit] Celestial Otherkin
Celestial Otherkin are most commonly Angelkin, which in itself separates into several categories. Celestial Otherkin are one of the more common kinds of Otherkin.
Some Celestials appear to enjoy being incarnated as humans, but others loathe it immensely, and constantly look for a way to break the seals on them that bind their powers and their forms. Almost all Celestial Otherkin seem to have been bound by magic or powers, some by themselves, some by an outside party. Many Celestial Otherkin fear breaking their bonds because they feel that their power would overflow, destroying their physical form and leading to yet another incarnation.
Examples of Celestial Otherkin include, but are not limited to:
- Heavenly Angels - Most often viewed to be in service of god(s) or goddesses of the good alignment, also sometimes called Holy Angels.
- Fallen Angels - Formerly Heavenly Angels, who have rebelled against their master or mistress and been cast out of the realm they served.
- Dark Angels – A more rare type of Celestial, these are neutral, mercenary-like Angels who are swords for hire, and/or help a given side depending on their own personal beliefs, and never were in the service of a god or goddess.
- Beings of the stars, heavens, or skies
