What is an a Therian?

Question

What is an a Therian?

Answer 1

Therianthropy is a very real and very misunderstood condition.  Therians do not “think” they are an animal, we are human and we are completely sane and aware of our humanity.  We have the spirits, or souls of an animal and sometimes of more than one animal inside us.  Our human mind coexists with our animal selves.  I am an arctic wolf and housecat therian.  I do not think I am a werewolf.  I cannot turn into a wolf.  I have what we call shifts.  

My most frequent wolf shifts are astral, dream and phantom shifts.  But there are many more types of shifts.  When I have an astral shift, my aura will take the form of the wolf.  Normal people will react to astral shifts subconsciously.   For example, there have been times I have had astral shifts in public and my aura extends both in front of me and behind me more than usual, and normal people will not walk close to me.  They will subconsciously move to the side to let me pass before they need to, to compensate for my wolf aura.  I have also seen people react to otherkin that have wings, such as angels, demons, dragons and other winged otherkin having aura or phantom shifts,  in much the same way.  They will walk around the otherkin’s wings.  Dream shifts are when we dream of our animal’s life.  I believe that both my wolf and cat were once alive and when they sleep they dream.  My dream shifts are different than normal dreams in a few ways.  Normal dreams tend to be a mixture of things that happen during the day and memories that are blended into fantasy.  Dream shifts are often like watching a movie from the animal’s eyes.  It is constant.  If I am chasing an elk, it does not randomly cut to being in a den with cubs.  It is a memory of the hunt, then feeding on the animal.  Phantom shifts are like phantom limbs.  There are times when I can feel wolf parts.  I mostly feel a tail and ears.  Sometimes I can feel phantom fur.  

My cat shifts are a bit different.  My cat is more blended with my normal self, so I have quite a few catlike characteristics.  My cat shifts are usually mental shifts, in which the cat sort of takes over. I tend to run faster, jump higher and hear better.  I will stalk things.  When I am at home, my mental shifts seem to consist of kneading my bed and napping.  I still able to talk normally during these shifts, and most of the changes seem to be behavioral.  During my cat mental shifts, my pet cats react differently to me.  

Therianthropy has a rich history in ancient cultures.  It is just not called the same thing.  You will often have to read between the lines to see it.  Many Native Americans tribes tell of animal spirits guiding and helping their warriors and sometimes they say that a certain individual has the spirit of the hawk, or of the bear.  Many shamans of ancient religions were animal like when out of trances and even in Europe many people who had dog or wolf like characteristics were thought to be werewolves.  It is easy to see therianthropy in history if you dig deep enough.

Answer 2

im a otherkin and would very much agree with the top answer we are just like normal everyday people but have a other side that is kinda out there that only we can understand, its kinda like being at one with the otherkin that we share our spirit and soul with,

Answer 3

The guy with the first answer sure knows his stuff! Yes we are most often described as people with the soul of an animal, and the way it affects our daily lives varies from therian to therian. We sometimes "shift" into another state. The 3 basic being Astral shift ( our astral bodies resemble our therian animal) Aura shift (our auras resemble our therian animal) and the mythical Physical shift, which most therians do not believe is real but many strive for.

Answer 4

Therian is a subset of the general term "Otherkin" which denotes someone who believes their Self to be, in some way/shape/form, not human the way the body is. This can be either through mental archetypes (Lone wolf, crafty fox, fierce dragon, etc), spiritual causes (soul is made in a "type" that is not human, but is born in a human body), or through beliefs in reincarnation (past life as a non-human that had a strong imprint upon the soul/spirit/Self).

Therians specifically are the earth-native creatures. The other group is, in general, referred to as the mythics. These are the fae, the dragons, the aliens, etc.

Mature otherkin are willing to admit that their beliefs are quite out there. However, they also don't obsess over their beliefs, nor let them impact their lives in a detrimental way. They hold jobs, go to school, raise families, just as the rest of humanity does. And they frequently embrace their being human now as well.