Therian
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
Please fix the article if you are familiar with it.
- Main article at Therianthropy.
Therians are people who believe that they are, in whole or in part, a non-human animal. That is to say that part of their core being is a non-human animal, be it spiritually, mentally, et cetera. Unlike furry lifestylers, therians do not necessarily try to outwardly project their animalistic nature, nor do they choose their animal side. They consider themselves to be an animal within, and do not generally give it a name, or use it as a game persona.
Therians do not agree on the cause of therianthropy--some believe they are animals reincarnated as humans, while others believe their soul itself is a hybrid--some feel instead that their therianthropy is completely psychological, and others feel it is metaphysical, but not of the soul. It has been said that if you ask 4 therians what therianthropy is, you will get 5 different answers. The one thing that remains constant is that all therians feel there is part of themselves that is non-human.
Therians may also be called shifters, though this can be a contentious term as a growing number feel they do not actually change from one state to another, but maintain an equilibium between human and animal nature at all times. Therians who do not shift are referred to as contherianthropes.
Terms such as 'lycan', 'garou', or 'lupine' are scorned in most parts of the therian community, because these terms derive from movies or games. 'Were', 'werewolf', 'were-creature', 'were-animal', or 'animal-kin' are reasonably well accepted, but 'therian' is the preferred term, at present. The term 'therian' is simply a short version of 'therianthrope', which means 'animal-man'.
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[edit] Shifts
There are three categorized types of shifts acknowledged by the therian community:
- Mental (M-Shift) - A change in psychological state, where a person thinks and behaves more like their theriotype animal.
- Spiritual (S-Shift) - A change in spiritual state, often broken down by type (astral shifting, auric shifting, etc). The spiritual self, astral body, or aura change to resemble the theriotype animal.
- Physical (P-Shift) - A change in physical state, physically changing to become more like, or entirely like, their theriotype animal. Controversial, and largely thought to be impossible by the therian community.
Other types of shifts have been categorized from these terms and can be found in the links as listed below.
Shifting, in general, means times when animalistic aspects become, dominant over human aspects of the person's personality or spiritual form. This may include, but not be limited to, feelings of "phantom limbs" or fur, keener senses, desires to bite or hunt, feelings of instincts not usual to humans, etc. This is distinct from invocation of a totem entity, or from any state induced by drugs or guided trances, as it is natural to the individual in question and can generally be easily called upon through simple concentration or will. Occasionally it is involuntary, but generally not to extremes (making it distinct, in the case of m-shifting, from psychological lycanthropy). M-shifting may be minor (animalistic aspects come to the forefront, but only in small ways, and the human persona remains dominant) or major (the therian can no longer speak, may have trouble walking upright, and can no longer behave in a human fashion).
[edit] P-shifting
P-shifting is the most controversial. As a general rule, it's more used as a term to discuss fictional transformations rather than literal ones; people claiming to p-shift in any way are usually met with aggressive skepticism and are often accused of being roleplayers. No concrete evidence has been offered of physical shapeshifting.
Some Therian groups view the "physical shift" as NOT being an actual change into an animal, but an intense physiological change, which may include heightened senses, increased strength, etc.
[edit] Therian and furry lifestylers
Therians differ from the furry lifestyle in that they do not feel a need to costume themselves or pretend to be their animal--they feel they already are their animal, inside, and must cope with this rather than promoting it to the world. Furry lifestylers wish to become and behave like their animal, while therians believe they already are their animal. This is not to say someone cannot be both! There are a number of therians in the furry community (and of course, vice versa). Being therian is not a lifestyle choice, but being furry is--a therian can make that choice as well.
Therians also do not, in any way, choose their animal side. Most believe they are born with it. It may take a lot of introspection and soul-searching for some therians to come to terms with their animal nature. The therian nature is not based on stereotypes (such as a wolf howling at the moon, or a lion's courage), but instead reflects the living animal's behavior more closely.
Therian nature is distinct from aspects of shamanism or working with totem spirits. Therians do not acquire their animal traits from outside of themselves, via invocation of a spirit.
Usually, therians have one animal aspect, or theriotype(formerly referred to as the phenotype), but some have two or more. Generally, these people are referred to as Polyweres [alternate term: Pan-Therian], and can be a source of controversy, as single-aspect therians often cannot relate to how a multiple-animal therian could exist, especially in the context of having an animal soul. Many are therian-otherkin mixes, such as wolf/dragons or cat/vampires. In cases where a therian has two theriotypes (such as wolf and cougar) they do not manifest a hybrid or mixture of traits, but may shift to one or the other at various times--not simultaneously. A therian who manifests a hybrid theriotype (such as a wolf-cat hybrid, for example) is often considered to be more properly otherkin, rather than specifically therian.
[edit] Therians and Otherkin
This has been a point of contention over the years, but most who accept the definition of otherkin as 'those who feel they are, in whole or in part, other than human' also accept that therians are a type of otherkin. The only defining difference between the two is that therians feel their otherside (theriotype) is a known animal, while otherkin feel their otherside is a fantasy or mythical creature. The line is blurred in cases where a person's otherside is a cryptid (ex: yeti, chupacabra, etc.), a person's otherside is an unnatural hybrid (ex: wolf-cat cross), a normal animal with abnormal traits (ex: a bright blue cougar), or an extinct animal (ex: velociraptor). Many otherkin experience spiritual shifting, and some experience mental-shifting. Some therians do not shift (contherianthropy). This makes the line between the two communities quite indistinct, even though they 'evolved' seperately.
