Werewolves and Lycanthropes: those who seemed to change spiritually due to certain events over an extended length of time. They also have an animal spirit within them, however they feel like they don't belong in normal society. This place is here to offer guidance to those and teach them to embrace who they are inside. In this group we still call these individuals therians . . . the term "lycan" and "lycanthrope" do -NOT- apply to those individuals. Those terms were invented through fiction and they typically signify those type of creatures often portrayed in movies as vicious mindless killing things, which we are -not-.
Therians: All their life these individuals knew they were different than others, because of certain behaviors and mannerisms. They feel they are an animal, inside, and always have been. This is a spirit connection they were born with and had not chosen. Shifting is the term used for when a therian's animal nature becomes prevalent over their human side. The shifts so far identified range from mental or spiritual to astral or what has been called phantom shifts. These shifts tend to occur commonly through raised emotions or stress, where the animal side essentially takes over, or in some cases merely surfaces. In the midst of a shift, a therian will potentially gain a heightening of senses, and an inevitable physical reaction to this increase. There have not been, however, any proven cases of the ability to physically shift into a theriotype, and most considerations of such a theory leave it to be quite improbable. (But do not fully discount the possibility of it truly being impossible, as if it were not possible there would have never been any stories of such things through out the history and in a vast amount of cultures). Physical traits, which have been noted, are the change of eye color, physical demeanor or posture, and heightened physical senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing).
The mental/spiritual shift, being the most well known, occurs on an internal level where the mindset of the therian turns towards the nature of their theriotype/phenotype, sometimes as far as the therian losing full control to that nature. The typical causes of a shift of this type are moods, strong or raging emotions, and intense physical or mental stress. Loss of control occurs usually when the rage of emotions reaches an extreme, or when the stress becomes strong enough to overwhelm the therian.
Phantom shifting is much like the phenomena of phantom limbs, in relation to the amputee. In this shift, a therian will feel or sense parts of their theriotype which are not there, ranging from limbs and ears to tails and even wings. Although in such cases the therian will often find they have control over these phantom parts, the phantom parts themselves serve no practical purpose, other than in a sense bringing the therian closer to their theriotype for a period of time. This sort of shift has been known to occur simultaneously with a mental/spiritual shift as well.
Other forms of shifting which have been noted among the therian community are astral, dream, and lucid dream. These shifts differ greatly from the above mentioned in many ways, but still deserve mention as therian traits. In these shifts, though in the midst of a dream or meditative state, the shift occurs without effort or conscious reasoning. Difficulty comes in relation to defining these shifts, as they are also easily confused with other phenomena, unrelated to therianthropy by any specific means.
This group's purpose is to create a safe gathering place for Therians and those who are interested in this belief/life. I encourage all to openly discuss all things Therian as long as you remeber to show each other respect. Please do not bash others who views differ from your own, listen with an open mind as you never know when you may learn something new or have a new light shed on something that you thought you already knew. |
