Therian

From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.

Main article at Therianthropy.

Therians are people who believe that they have an intrinsic, personal, and integral connection to (an) animal(s). That is to say that part of their core being is animal, be it spiritually, mentally, et cetera. Unlike furry lifestylers, therians do not try to outwardly project their animalistic nature, nor do they choose the animal side they are inherently born with. 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 and more reflect a human-animal state by having an animal soul and a human body.

There are three categorized types of shifts acknowledged by the therian community:

Mental (M-Shift) - A case where, for psychological reasons, a person has an animal-human mental state.
Spiritual (S-Shift) - A case where, for spiritual reasons, a person has an animal-human mental state.
Physical (P-Shift) - People who can magically or scientifically change forms.

Other types of shifts have been categorized from these terms and can be found in the links as listed below.

In spite of these formal definitions M-shift has become the dominant term to refer to any non-physical shift, whether for psychological reasons or spiritual reasons.

Shifting, in general, means times when animalistic aspects become, either through voluntary methods like meditation or drugs, or involuntarily, dominant over human aspects of the person's personality. 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 shifting, however, is not limited to therians alone, as anyone is capable of bringing on an animalistic shift. Shifting is not an inherent, or required part of therianthropy.

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. Any respectable therian community will require proof before they would allow anyone to discuss this ability. As such, no self-proclaimed Pshifter has ever offered up proof of their shifting ability. 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.

Therians differ from the Furry lifestyle in that they do not try to mimic or bring their animal into their daily lives. Therians understand their nature as being -human- and -animal- and as thus feel no need to pretend or 'play the role' of the animal, save in some circumstances. Therians also do not, in any way, choose their animal side, they are born into it. It takes a great deal of introspection and understanding for a therian to come to terms with their inner animal nature. The therian nature is not based on stereotypes (such as a wolf howling at the moon, or a lion's courage).

Usually, therians have one animal aspect, or 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.

A distinction between mythical therians and otherkin can be found however, as many otherkin seem to believe they have a 'past life' or an 'alternate existence/persona' which makes up their otherkin nature. Therians do not see their animalistic nature as being separate from themselves and as thus many of these types of mythicals have joined therian community.