AnOtherWiki - User contributions [en]

Therians

2012-04-28T17:10:46Z

Citrakayah: /* Egypt */

[[Image:Theta-delta.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Theta-Delta]] is used by many as the symbol for therianthropy.]]
'''Therians''' (also known as therianthropes or animal people) are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (or to have existed) on Earth. Sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons, griffons, and sea serpents. The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, atypical neurology, and atypical psychology).

==Origins==
The term, therians, is derived from therianthropy, which is the over all name for the therian experience. Therianthropy comes the Greek words therion, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthropos, meaning "human being".<ref name="root">{{Website | title = Wikipedia:Therianthropy | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>The modern use for therianthropy first arose in 1994 on the alt.horror.werewolves Usenet discussion group as a label for general animal-people, since some felt that lycanthropy was too specific.<ref name="timeline">{{book|first=Orion|last=Sandstorrm|title=Otherkin Timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people|url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/|place=Online|publisher=http://orion.kitsune.net|year=2011}}</ref>

==History==
The history of therianthropy in its current form is a fairly short one, reaching back to around the Usenet era of the Internet. Nonetheless, tropes and ideas integral to therianthropy have been present since very early in human history, and animal-human hybrids can be found in many cultures, most notably the Ancient Egyptians.<ref name="root"></ref>

===Egypt===
The deities of Egypt are widely famed for being depicted as part human and part animal, and in the modern era they have been absorbed into neopagan practices, science fiction<ref name=”stargate”>‘’Stargate’‘. Dir. Roland Emmerich. MGM, 1994. Film.</ref>, anthropomorphic art<ref name=”dark natasha”>{{website | first = Dark Natasha | title = The Art of Dark Natasha | url = http://darknatasha.com/#!gallery=fantasy | date = April 11, 2012}}</ref>, and the beliefs of some therianthropes and otherkin. In addition to the more famous deities (Sekhmet, Bast, Anubis, and Thoth), a host of other Egyptian deities had associated animals. Isis, for example, was associated with the kite, and Hekt had the head of a frog.

Animals themselves were held to be of import. They were not worshipped, as is often thought to be the case, but were instead regarded as associated with the deity in question. An Egyptian would no more worship a cat or crocodile than a Chrisitan would worship a cross, or a Jew a Torah, but they were treated with high degrees of respect because of their association with the deity. Animals associated with deities, including cats, fish, crocodiles, and ibises, were mummified and buried in tombs as a sign of this respect.

It should be noted that, due to the highly variable nature of Egyptian religion, the above cannot be said to be universally true with certainty.

===Other Areas in Africa===
Lions and leopards figure heavily in African folklore, frequently as sentients that ravenously eat cattle and other livestock (or humans), possibly as a result of their frequently antagonistic relationship with native African peoples. Often these big cats are given human characteristics<ref name="African Myths">{{Book | year = 1963 | title = African Myths & Tales | place = New York | publisher = Dell Publishing Co., Inc}} </ref> or said to be able to transform into humans. This last is often done so that they may marry human women, who typically (with the assistance of a male relative) discover the deception and arrange for the lion shapeshifters to be driven away or killed.

During the early and mid 20th century, the Leopard Society, from Western Africa, was active in countries such as Liberia, killing individuals with metal claws, wearing the skin of leopards, and eating the flesh of those they killed in the belief that it would bring them strength<ref name="leopard men">{{website | last = "van der Kraaij" | first = "Fred" | title = 1900-1950: The Leopard Society in 'Vai country', in Bassaland | url = http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/RitualKillings1900_1950b.htm | date = April 28, 2012}}</ref>

While the true concentration of therians in Africa cannot be determined, for many intents and purposes there are few to none. Africa has a fairly low level of Internet penetration (though that's rapidly changing), and any therians in the area would generally have to rely on lower-tech methods of communication, if that, making the presence of a noticeable therian community in Africa unlikely outside of the urbanized areas.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Therian Community]]

Therians

2012-04-28T17:09:49Z

Citrakayah: /* Egypt */

[[Image:Theta-delta.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Theta-Delta]] is used by many as the symbol for therianthropy.]]
'''Therians''' (also known as therianthropes or animal people) are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (or to have existed) on Earth. Sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons, griffons, and sea serpents. The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, atypical neurology, and atypical psychology).

==Origins==
The term, therians, is derived from therianthropy, which is the over all name for the therian experience. Therianthropy comes the Greek words therion, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthropos, meaning "human being".<ref name="root">{{Website | title = Wikipedia:Therianthropy | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>The modern use for therianthropy first arose in 1994 on the alt.horror.werewolves Usenet discussion group as a label for general animal-people, since some felt that lycanthropy was too specific.<ref name="timeline">{{book|first=Orion|last=Sandstorrm|title=Otherkin Timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people|url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/|place=Online|publisher=http://orion.kitsune.net|year=2011}}</ref>

==History==
The history of therianthropy in its current form is a fairly short one, reaching back to around the Usenet era of the Internet. Nonetheless, tropes and ideas integral to therianthropy have been present since very early in human history, and animal-human hybrids can be found in many cultures, most notably the Ancient Egyptians.<ref name="root"></ref>

===Egypt===
The deities of Egypt are widely famed for being depicted as part human and part animal, and in the modern era they have been absorbed into neopagan practices, science fiction<ref name=”stargate”>‘’Stargate’‘. Dir. Roland Emmerich. MGM, 1994. Film.</ref>, anthropomorphic art<ref name=”dark natasha”>{{website | first = Dark Natasha | title = The Art of Dark Natasha | url = http://darknatasha.com/#!gallery=fantasy | date = April 11, 2012}}</ref>, and the beliefs of some therianthropes and otherkin. In addition to the more famous deities (Sekhmet, Bast, Anubis, and Thoth), a host of other Egyptian deities had associated animals. Isis, for example, was associated with the kite, and Hekt had the head of a frog.

Animals themselves were held to be of import. They were not worshipped, as is often thought to be the case, but were instead regarded as associated with the deity in question. An Egyptian would no more worship a cat or crocodile than a Chrisitan would worship a cross, or a Jew a Torah, but they were treated with high degrees of respect because of their association with the deity. Animals associated with deities, including cats, fish, crocodiles, and ibises, were mummified and buried in tombs as a sign of this respect.

It should be noted that, due to the highly variable nature of Egyptian religion, the above cannot be said to be universally true with certainty.

===Other Areas in Africa===
Lions and leopards figure heavily in African folklore, frequently as sentients that ravenously eat cattle and other livestock (or humans), possibly as a result of their frequently antagonistic relationship with native African peoples. Often these big cats are given human characteristics<ref name="African Myths">{{Book | year = 1963 | title = African Myths & Tales | place = New York | publisher = Dell Publishing Co., Inc}} </ref> or said to be able to transform into humans. This last is often done so that they may marry human women, who typically (with the assistance of a male relative) discover the deception and arrange for the lion shapeshifters to be driven away or killed.

During the early and mid 20th century, the Leopard Society, from Western Africa, was active in countries such as Liberia, killing individuals with metal claws, wearing the skin of leopards, and eating the flesh of those they killed in the belief that it would bring them strength<ref name="leopard men">{{website | last = "van der Kraaij" | first = "Fred" | title = 1900-1950: The Leopard Society in 'Vai country', in Bassaland | author = Dr Fred van der Kraaij | url = http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/RitualKillings1900_1950b.htm | date = April 28, 2012}}</ref>

While the true concentration of therians in Africa cannot be determined, for many intents and purposes there are few to none. Africa has a fairly low level of Internet penetration (though that's rapidly changing), and any therians in the area would generally have to rely on lower-tech methods of communication, if that, making the presence of a noticeable therian community in Africa unlikely outside of the urbanized areas.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Therian Community]]

User:Citrakayah/sandbox

2012-04-28T17:07:49Z

Citrakayah: /* Other Areas in Africa */

This is my great big WIP for the therian article. Feel free to add to it.

Yes, yes, I know I should find sources first, write later, but much of this I remember but can't recall where it came from.

==Background of Therianthropy==

===Other Areas in Africa===
Lions and leopards figure heavily in African folklore, frequently as sentients that ravenously eat cattle and other livestock (or humans), possibly as a result of their frequently antagonistic relationship with native African peoples. Often these big cats are given human characteristics<ref name="African Myths">{{Book | year = 1963 | title = African Myths & Tales | place = New York | publisher = Dell Publishing Co., Inc}} </ref> or said to be able to transform into humans. This last is often done so that they may marry human women, who typically (with the assistance of a male relative) discover the deception and arrange for the lion shapeshifters to be driven away or killed.

During the early and mid 20th century, the Leopard Society, from Western Africa, was active in countries such as Liberia, killing individuals with metal claws, wearing the skin of leopards, and eating the flesh of those they killed in the belief that it would bring them strength<ref name="leopard men">{{website | title = 1900-1950: The Leopard Society in 'Vai country', in Bassaland | author = Dr Fred van der Kraaij | url = http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/RitualKillings1900_1950b.htm | date = April 28, 2012}}</ref>

While the true concentration of therians in Africa cannot be determined, for many intents and purposes there are few to none. Africa has a fairly low level of Internet penetration (though that's rapidly changing), and any therians in the area would generally have to rely on lower-tech methods of communication, if that, making the presence of a noticeable therian community in Africa unlikely outside of the urbanized areas.

===Europe===
Werewolves, werecats, and similar creatures were common across European folklore and legends. Primarily, these were not kind creatures; they were evil, degenerate, and killed and ate humans<ref>cite</ref>. Frequently they gained their abilities to transform through dealings with demonic forces<ref>cite</ref>. If the Christians saw themselves as sheep, evil was seen as wolves. They were to be mercilessly hunted down and destroyed, whether they were literal wolves or figurative wolves--or both.

While it might seem like being a wolf in mind (and not managing to hide it) would earn one an automatic death penalty, this wasn't always the case. It was (depending on the area) understood that some individuals ''thought'' they transformed into wolves but actually didn't, and they were treated as other mentally ill individuals, though the conditions such individuals were kept in at the time were hardly liveable<ref clinical lycanthropy during peroid>cite</ref><ref conditions of mentally ill>cite</ref>.

In the contemporary era, therians have a significant presence in Europe, particularly in countries such as the UK and Sweden. Swedish newspapers have mentioned therianthropy (either by name or not)<ref transspecies stuff in that newspaper></ref><ref any other aticles>cite</ref>, and Susitar once gave an interview in a Swedish newspaper regarding therianthropy<ref the interview>cite</ref>.

===Asia===
Asian shapeshifters were often trickster characters, and were most famously foxes, in the example of the kitsune. Cats were also sometimes presumed to be shapeshifters, and it wasn't unknown for cats to be killed over such suspicions; tricksters were frequently not benign. But there were stories of good shapeshifters, even among the cat shapeshifters.

===North America===
Animals given human attributes are relatively common in various Native American mythologies, with Coyote<ref></ref> and Raven<ref></ref> being some of the more common examples. Shapeshifters themselves, as a specific set of entities rather than just specific characters with the ability to shapeshift, were far from widespread, with a notable exception in the Southwest.

Skinwalkers legends were told among the Zuni<ref name="Zuni skinalker">cite</ref> and the Navajo<ref name="Navajo skinwalker">cite</ref>. The entities [verify]were believed to have figured in the demise of the Anasaszi[/verify], and were considered evil and corrupt--they were the equivalent of witches in European mythology, and indeed were sometimes ''called'' witches. Besides shapeshifting, they had other powers, often ones associated with dead bodies (considered unclean)<ref name="dead bodies">cite</ref>, and could only be killed with certain special weapons.

Therianthropy currently seems to have its heaviest presence in North America, where most of the individuals seen on the Internet are based. Exactly why is up to debate, but the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s may have something to do with it, and its known that otherkin were present in the same subculture that Greenwhich Village was part of<ref name="village voice article">cite</ref>. The Internet is also generally prevalent in the United States, and the lineage of therianthropy on the Internet is generally traced back to Usenet discussions that [verify]were in English.[/verify]

Despite the best efforts of networks like Discovery<ref name="Primal Productions">cite</ref>, therianthropy is not a commonly known about phenomenon, though this may change as knowledge of therianthropy slowly spreads throughout the Internet and begins to trickle into the offline world, and as more and more individuals try to get money by making therianthropy a freak show. While there have been efforts to produce a therian-written documentary about the subject of therianthropy, for the most part these efforts are small or died (Project Pawprint of the Werelist being an example<ref name="project pawprint">cite</ref>).

Therianthropy has a fringe presence in the offline community if one looks carefully. While formal howls are themselves not necessarily the most common event, it's hardly unknown for therians to plan meetups, and in some cases live together, even if they aren't mates (and in the therianthropic community, quite a few therians have mates that are therians). The matter has received relatively little scholarly attention; Laycock is apparently writing a paper on the matter, and therians were mentioned in "We are Spirits of Another Sort" but for the most part the phenomenon hasn't been studied, and when it has it typically has been in the context of sociological studies or studies of belief systems rather than as psychology. Of course, the number of studies where therians were mentioned but not mentioned by name due to being called otherkin are probably higher.

Various concepts for planned therian communities have been floated, and the vast majority have failed or simply never gathered enough interest, though Ashen has recently formed a moderately active social group on [[Werelist|the Werelist]] to discuss the issue.

===South America===
Queztalcoatl was depicted both as a human and as a feathered serpent that killed and devoured his enemies. Other deities were also associated with animals--Smoking Mirror, for example, was associated with the jaguar and said to turn into one. [verify]Werejaguars were associated with him, and to some extent they have made their way into popular culture, though to a lesser extent than werewolves<ref name="balam">cite</ref><ref name="jaguar princess">cite</ref>.[/verify]

===Internet===
Therians are most prominent on the Internet. Utilization of the Internet allows therians, which under other circumstances would be far spread and quite possibly go their entire lives without realizing that there were others like them. Due to the rather unique issues faced by therians, the fact that there ''is'' an online community that affirms their identity and provides a sense of not being alone has probably made it invaluable to many.

Over the years, a number of therianthropy related message boards have sprung up, with some of the more active ones being [[Weresource]] (with the chat only being very active), [[Wulf Howl]], [[Therian Wilderness]], and [[Werelist|the Werelist]]. The wide availability of webhosting has also allowed a multitude of small personal sites to spring up, and it isn't uncommon to see individual therians having their own websites to host their essays.

The personal essay as it relates to therianthropy is relatively common among therian Internet culture, with forums frequently having entire sections devoted to it<ref name="WHCC>Wulf Howl articles</ref><ref name="Werelist Library">cite</ref>, and entire groups focused around the writing of essays<ref name="AQ">Animal Quills</ref>. It's hardly universally written, but there's a definite tendency among therians to write long essays about their philosophical views in relation to therianthropy, what they think causes it, their own experiences, how they interact with their theriotype, interactions with non-therians, and a variety of other matters.

==Schools of Thought==

===Origins and Causes===
The origin and cause of therianthropy are the subject of lively (sometimes, some might argue, ''too'' lively) debate on the subject. The average group of ten therians probably has twenty different ideas on what causes therianthropy, many of them probably mutually exclusive and held by the same person. The bottom line on the matter is that no one really knows for sure. Naturally, in the gap a multitude of different ideas on how therianthropy originated have formed. They range from the metaphysical to the religious to the neurological to the psychological to basically the therian version of Unitarianism.

====Metaphysical====
A substantial number of therians profess the belief that therianthropy is due to metaphysical causes, whether phenomena such as reincarnation (one of the more common explanations given)<ref name="Laycock">cite</ref> or other similar happenings.

====Religious====
Infrequently therians will turn to religious explanations, or metaphysical explanations that are integrated into religious systems. Religious systems that believe in reincarnation, such as Buddhism, would seem to be natural choices, but religions such as Christianity also have had reincarnatory themes worked into it, despite the fact that Christianity traditionally hasn't held reincarnation to be fact.

====Psychological====
The opinion that therianthropy is psychological or neurological has traditionally taken a backseat to metaphysical and religious explanations<ref name="Akhila norms essay">cite</ref>, but recently has gained a certain amount of popularity (the fact that the Werelist, one of the larger communities, is run by individuals who take a psychological/neurological approach to the matter may have had something to do with this). And in many cases suggesting that therianthropy is psychological is, if not necessarily given immediate credence by all, not resulting in the same stigma it used to.

Individuals adhering to this viewpoint sometimes face criticism for (allegedly) equating therianthropy with mental disorders, a charge which is frequently responded to with the argument that a mental ''condition'' is not the same as a mental ''disorder'' as mental ''disorder'' implies that the condition is maladaptive<ref name="different is not insane">cite</ref>.

====Neurological====

===Other Groups===

====Otherkin====
Noticeable rifts exist between the therian and otherkin communities; it is not uncommon to see therians who consider otherkin to be incorrect in their beliefs (to put it politely). The criticism frequently boils down to several points:

1. Theriotypes are commonly known to exist. Kintypes are not.
2. Among therianthropes taking a more clinical or psychological approach, the fact that many otherkin claim spiritual reasons such as past lives gives them a certain quantity of distaste.
3.

====Vampires====
The vampire and therianthropic communities

<references/>

Template talk:Infobox website

2012-04-24T21:52:42Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "The edit I reverted made the words below appear in one of those lined shaded boxes at the top of any page containing the template. {{#switch: Active | Active = [[Category:Ac..."

The edit I reverted made the words below appear in one of those lined shaded boxes at the top of any page containing the template.

{{#switch: Active

| Active = [[Category:Active Websites]
| Defunct =
| TBD =
|

}}

--[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 14:52, 24 April 2012 (PDT)

Template:Infobox website

2012-04-24T21:51:21Z

Citrakayah: Undo revision 1460 by Jarandhel (talk) Was causing problems with any page including template.

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User:Citrakayah/sandbox

2012-04-20T22:42:35Z

Citrakayah:

This is my great big WIP for the therian article. Feel free to add to it.

Yes, yes, I know I should find sources first, write later, but much of this I remember but can't recall where it came from.

==Background of Therianthropy==

===Other Areas in Africa===
Lions and leopards figure heavily in African folklore, frequently as sentients that ravenously eat cattle and other livestock (or humans), possibly as a result of their frequently antagonistic relationship with native African peoples. Often these big cats are given human characteristics<ref name="African Myths">{{Book | year = 1963 | title = African Myths & Tales | place = New York | publisher = Dell Publishing Co., Inc}} </ref> or said to be able to transform into humans. This last is often done so that they may marry human women, who typically (with the assistance of a male relative) discover the deception and arrange for the lion shapeshifters to be driven away or killed.

[stuff about Leopard Men]

While the true concentration of therians in Africa cannot be determined, for many intents and purposes there are few to none. Africa has a fairly low level of Internet penetration (though that's rapidly changing), and any therians in the area would generally have to rely on lower-tech methods of communication, if that, making the presence of a noticeable therian community in Africa unlikely outside of the urbanized areas.

===Europe===
Werewolves, werecats, and similar creatures were common across European folklore and legends. Primarily, these were not kind creatures; they were evil, degenerate, and killed and ate humans<ref>cite</ref>. Frequently they gained their abilities to transform through dealings with demonic forces<ref>cite</ref>. If the Christians saw themselves as sheep, evil was seen as wolves. They were to be mercilessly hunted down and destroyed, whether they were literal wolves or figurative wolves--or both.

While it might seem like being a wolf in mind (and not managing to hide it) would earn one an automatic death penalty, this wasn't always the case. It was (depending on the area) understood that some individuals ''thought'' they transformed into wolves but actually didn't, and they were treated as other mentally ill individuals, though the conditions such individuals were kept in at the time were hardly liveable<ref clinical lycanthropy during peroid>cite</ref><ref conditions of mentally ill>cite</ref>.

In the contemporary era, therians have a significant presence in Europe, particularly in countries such as the UK and Sweden. Swedish newspapers have mentioned therianthropy (either by name or not)<ref transspecies stuff in that newspaper></ref><ref any other aticles>cite</ref>, and Susitar once gave an interview in a Swedish newspaper regarding therianthropy<ref the interview>cite</ref>.

===Asia===
Asian shapeshifters were often trickster characters, and were most famously foxes, in the example of the kitsune. Cats were also sometimes presumed to be shapeshifters, and it wasn't unknown for cats to be killed over such suspicions; tricksters were frequently not benign. But there were stories of good shapeshifters, even among the cat shapeshifters.

===North America===
Animals given human attributes are relatively common in various Native American mythologies, with Coyote<ref></ref> and Raven<ref></ref> being some of the more common examples. Shapeshifters themselves, as a specific set of entities rather than just specific characters with the ability to shapeshift, were far from widespread, with a notable exception in the Southwest.

Skinwalkers legends were told among the Zuni<ref name="Zuni skinalker">cite</ref> and the Navajo<ref name="Navajo skinwalker">cite</ref>. The entities [verify]were believed to have figured in the demise of the Anasaszi[/verify], and were considered evil and corrupt--they were the equivalent of witches in European mythology, and indeed were sometimes ''called'' witches. Besides shapeshifting, they had other powers, often ones associated with dead bodies (considered unclean)<ref name="dead bodies">cite</ref>, and could only be killed with certain special weapons.

Therianthropy currently seems to have its heaviest presence in North America, where most of the individuals seen on the Internet are based. Exactly why is up to debate, but the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s may have something to do with it, and its known that otherkin were present in the same subculture that Greenwhich Village was part of<ref name="village voice article">cite</ref>. The Internet is also generally prevalent in the United States, and the lineage of therianthropy on the Internet is generally traced back to Usenet discussions that [verify]were in English.[/verify]

Despite the best efforts of networks like Discovery<ref name="Primal Productions">cite</ref>, therianthropy is not a commonly known about phenomenon, though this may change as knowledge of therianthropy slowly spreads throughout the Internet and begins to trickle into the offline world, and as more and more individuals try to get money by making therianthropy a freak show. While there have been efforts to produce a therian-written documentary about the subject of therianthropy, for the most part these efforts are small or died (Project Pawprint of the Werelist being an example<ref name="project pawprint">cite</ref>).

Therianthropy has a fringe presence in the offline community if one looks carefully. While formal howls are themselves not necessarily the most common event, it's hardly unknown for therians to plan meetups, and in some cases live together, even if they aren't mates (and in the therianthropic community, quite a few therians have mates that are therians). The matter has received relatively little scholarly attention; Laycock is apparently writing a paper on the matter, and therians were mentioned in "We are Spirits of Another Sort" but for the most part the phenomenon hasn't been studied, and when it has it typically has been in the context of sociological studies or studies of belief systems rather than as psychology. Of course, the number of studies where therians were mentioned but not mentioned by name due to being called otherkin are probably higher.

Various concepts for planned therian communities have been floated, and the vast majority have failed or simply never gathered enough interest, though Ashen has recently formed a moderately active social group on [[Werelist|the Werelist]] to discuss the issue.

===South America===
Queztalcoatl was depicted both as a human and as a feathered serpent that killed and devoured his enemies. Other deities were also associated with animals--Smoking Mirror, for example, was associated with the jaguar and said to turn into one. [verify]Werejaguars were associated with him, and to some extent they have made their way into popular culture, though to a lesser extent than werewolves<ref name="balam">cite</ref><ref name="jaguar princess">cite</ref>.[/verify]

===Internet===
Therians are most prominent on the Internet. Utilization of the Internet allows therians, which under other circumstances would be far spread and quite possibly go their entire lives without realizing that there were others like them. Due to the rather unique issues faced by therians, the fact that there ''is'' an online community that affirms their identity and provides a sense of not being alone has probably made it invaluable to many.

Over the years, a number of therianthropy related message boards have sprung up, with some of the more active ones being [[Weresource]] (with the chat only being very active), [[Wulf Howl]], [[Therian Wilderness]], and [[Werelist|the Werelist]]. The wide availability of webhosting has also allowed a multitude of small personal sites to spring up, and it isn't uncommon to see individual therians having their own websites to host their essays.

The personal essay as it relates to therianthropy is relatively common among therian Internet culture, with forums frequently having entire sections devoted to it<ref name="WHCC>Wulf Howl articles</ref><ref name="Werelist Library">cite</ref>, and entire groups focused around the writing of essays<ref name="AQ">Animal Quills</ref>. It's hardly universally written, but there's a definite tendency among therians to write long essays about their philosophical views in relation to therianthropy, what they think causes it, their own experiences, how they interact with their theriotype, interactions with non-therians, and a variety of other matters.

==Schools of Thought==

===Origins and Causes===
The origin and cause of therianthropy are the subject of lively (sometimes, some might argue, ''too'' lively) debate on the subject. The average group of ten therians probably has twenty different ideas on what causes therianthropy, many of them probably mutually exclusive and held by the same person. The bottom line on the matter is that no one really knows for sure. Naturally, in the gap a multitude of different ideas on how therianthropy originated have formed. They range from the metaphysical to the religious to the neurological to the psychological to basically the therian version of Unitarianism.

====Metaphysical====
A substantial number of therians profess the belief that therianthropy is due to metaphysical causes, whether phenomena such as reincarnation (one of the more common explanations given)<ref name="Laycock">cite</ref> or other similar happenings.

====Religious====
Infrequently therians will turn to religious explanations, or metaphysical explanations that are integrated into religious systems. Religious systems that believe in reincarnation, such as Buddhism, would seem to be natural choices, but religions such as Christianity also have had reincarnatory themes worked into it, despite the fact that Christianity traditionally hasn't held reincarnation to be fact.

====Psychological====
The opinion that therianthropy is psychological or neurological has traditionally taken a backseat to metaphysical and religious explanations<ref name="Akhila norms essay">cite</ref>, but recently has gained a certain amount of popularity (the fact that the Werelist, one of the larger communities, is run by individuals who take a psychological/neurological approach to the matter may have had something to do with this). And in many cases suggesting that therianthropy is psychological is, if not necessarily given immediate credence by all, not resulting in the same stigma it used to.

Individuals adhering to this viewpoint sometimes face criticism for (allegedly) equating therianthropy with mental disorders, a charge which is frequently responded to with the argument that a mental ''condition'' is not the same as a mental ''disorder'' as mental ''disorder'' implies that the condition is maladaptive<ref name="different is not insane">cite</ref>.

====Neurological====

===Other Groups===

====Otherkin====
Noticeable rifts exist between the therian and otherkin communities; it is not uncommon to see therians who consider otherkin to be incorrect in their beliefs (to put it politely). The criticism frequently boils down to several points:

1. Theriotypes are commonly known to exist. Kintypes are not.
2. Among therianthropes taking a more clinical or psychological approach, the fact that many otherkin claim spiritual reasons such as past lives gives them a certain quantity of distaste.
3.

====Vampires====
The vampire and therianthropic communities

<references/>

User:Citrakayah/sandbox

2012-04-20T22:35:01Z

Citrakayah:

This is my great big WIP for the therian article. Feel free to add to it.

==Background of Therianthropy==

===Other Areas in Africa===
Lions and leopards figure heavily in African folklore, frequently as sentients that ravenously eat cattle and other livestock (or humans), possibly as a result of their frequently antagonistic relationship with native African peoples. Often these big cats are given human characteristics<ref name="African Myths">''African Myths & Tales''. Dell Publising Co., Inc. 1963.</ref> or said to be able to transform into humans. This last is often done so that they may marry human women, who typically (with the assistance of a male relative) discover the deception and arrange for the lion shapeshifters to be driven away or killed.

[stuff about Leopard Men]

While the true concentration of therians in Africa cannot be determined, for many intents and purposes there are few to none. Africa has a fairly low level of Internet penetration (though that's rapidly changing), and any therians in the area would generally have to rely on lower-tech methods of communication, if that, making the presence of a noticeable therian community in Africa unlikely outside of the urbanized areas.

===Europe===
Werewolves, werecats, and similar creatures were common across European folklore and legends. Primarily, these were not kind creatures; they were evil, degenerate, and killed and ate humans<ref></ref>. Frequently they gained their abilities to transform through dealings with demonic forces<ref></ref>. If the Christians saw themselves as sheep, evil was seen as wolves. They were to be mercilessly hunted down and destroyed, whether they were literal wolves or figurative wolves--or both.

While it might seem like being a wolf in mind (and not managing to hide it) would earn one an automatic death penalty, this wasn't always the case. It was (depending on the area) understood that some individuals ''thought'' they transformed into wolves but actually didn't, and they were treated as other mentally ill individuals, though the conditions such individuals were kept in at the time were hardly liveable<ref clinical lycanthropy during peroid></ref><ref conditions of mentally ill></ref>.

In the contemporary era, therians have a significant presence in Europe, particularly in countries such as the UK and Sweden. Swedish newspapers have mentioned therianthropy (either by name or not)<ref transspecies stuff in that newspaper></ref><ref any other aticles></ref>, and Susitar once gave an interview in a Swedish newspaper regarding therianthropy<ref the interview></ref>.

===Asia===
Asian shapeshifters were often trickster characters, and were most famously foxes, in the example of the kitsune. Cats were also sometimes presumed to be shapeshifters, and it wasn't unknown for cats to be killed over such suspicions; tricksters were frequently not benign. But there were stories of good shapeshifters, even among the cat shapeshifters.

===North America===
Animals given human attributes are relatively common in various Native American mythologies, with Coyote<ref></ref> and Raven<ref></ref> being some of the more common examples. Shapeshifters themselves, as a specific set of entities rather than just specific characters with the ability to shapeshift, were far from widespread, with a notable exception in the Southwest.

Skinwalkers legends were told among the Zuni<ref name="Zuni skinalker"></ref> and the Navajo<ref name="Navajo skinwalker"></ref>. The entities [verify]were believed to have figured in the demise of the Anasaszi[/verify], and were considered evil and corrupt--they were the equivalent of witches in European mythology, and indeed were sometimes ''called'' witches. Besides shapeshifting, they had other powers, often ones associated with dead bodies (considered unclean)<ref name="dead bodies"></ref>, and could only be killed with certain special weapons.

Therianthropy currently seems to have its heaviest presence in North America, where most of the individuals seen on the Internet are based. Exactly why is up to debate, but the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s may have something to do with it, and its known that otherkin were present in the same subculture that Greenwhich Village was part of<ref name="village voice article"></ref>. The Internet is also generally prevalent in the United States, and the lineage of therianthropy on the Internet is generally traced back to Usenet discussions that [verify]were in English.[/verify]

Despite the best efforts of networks like Discovery<ref name="Primal Productions"></ref>, therianthropy is not a commonly known about phenomenon, though this may change as knowledge of therianthropy slowly spreads throughout the Internet and begins to trickle into the offline world, and as more and more individuals try to get money by making therianthropy a freak show. While there have been efforts to produce a therian-written documentary about the subject of therianthropy, for the most part these efforts are small or died (Project Pawprint of the Werelist being an example<ref name="project pawprint"></ref>).

Therianthropy has a fringe presence in the offline community if one looks carefully. While formal howls are themselves not necessarily the most common event, it's hardly unknown for therians to plan meetups, and in some cases live together, even if they aren't mates (and in the therianthropic community, quite a few therians have mates that are therians). The matter has received relatively little scholarly attention; Laycock is apparently writing a paper on the matter, and therians were mentioned in "We are Spirits of Another Sort" but for the most part the phenomenon hasn't been studied, and when it has it typically has been in the context of sociological studies or studies of belief systems rather than as psychology. Of course, the number of studies where therians were mentioned but not mentioned by name due to being called otherkin are probably higher.

Various concepts for planned therian communities have been floated, and the vast majority have failed or simply never gathered enough interest, though Ashen has recently formed a moderately active social group on [[Werelist|the Werelist]] to discuss the issue.

===South America===
Queztalcoatl was depicted both as a human and as a feathered serpent that killed and devoured his enemies. Other deities were also associated with animals--Smoking Mirror, for example, was associated with the jaguar and said to turn into one. [verify]Werejaguars were associated with him, and to some extent they have made their way into popular culture, though to a lesser extent than werewolves<ref name="balam"></ref><ref name="jaguar princess"></ref>.[/verify]

===Internet===
Therians are most prominent on the Internet. Utilization of the Internet allows therians, which under other circumstances would be far spread and quite possibly go their entire lives without realizing that there were others like them. Due to the rather unique issues faced by therians, the fact that there ''is'' an online community that affirms their identity and provides a sense of not being alone has probably made it invaluable to many.

Over the years, a number of therianthropy related message boards have sprung up, with some of the more active ones being [[Weresource]] (with the chat only being very active), [[Wulf Howl]], [[Therian Wilderness]], and [[Werelist|the Werelist]]. The wide availability of webhosting has also allowed a multitude of small personal sites to spring up, and it isn't uncommon to see individual therians having their own websites to host their essays.

The personal essay as it relates to therianthropy is relatively common among therian Internet culture, with forums frequently having entire sections devoted to it<ref name="WHCC>Wulf Howl articles</ref><ref name="Werelist Library"></ref>, and entire groups focused around the writing of essays<ref name="AQ">Animal Quills</ref>. It's hardly universally written, but there's a definite tendency among therians to write long essays about their philosophical views in relation to therianthropy, what they think causes it, their own experiences, how they interact with their theriotype, interactions with non-therians, and a variety of other matters.

==Schools of Thought==

===Origins and Causes===
The origin and cause of therianthropy are the subject of lively (sometimes, some might argue, ''too'' lively) debate on the subject. The average group of ten therians probably has twenty different ideas on what causes therianthropy, many of them probably mutually exclusive and held by the same person. The bottom line on the matter is that no one really knows for sure. Naturally, in the gap a multitude of different ideas on how therianthropy originated have formed. They range from the metaphysical to the religious to the neurological to the psychological to basically the therian version of Unitarianism.

====Metaphysical====
A substantial number of therians profess the belief that therianthropy is due to metaphysical causes, whether phenomena such as reincarnation (one of the more common explanations given)<ref name="Laycock"></ref> or other similar happenings.

====Religious====
Infrequently therians will turn to religious explanations, or metaphysical explanations that are integrated into religious systems. Religious systems that believe in reincarnation, such as Buddhism, would seem to be natural choices, but religions such as Christianity also have had reincarnatory themes worked into it, despite the fact that Christianity traditionally hasn't held reincarnation to be fact.

====Psychological====
The opinion that therianthropy is psychological or neurological has traditionally taken a backseat to metaphysical and religious explanations<ref name="Akhila norms essay"></ref>, but recently has gained a certain amount of popularity (the fact that the Werelist, one of the larger communities, is run by individuals who take a psychological/neurological approach to the matter may have had something to do with this). And in many cases suggesting that therianthropy is psychological is, if not necessarily given immediate credence by all, not resulting in the same stigma it used to.

Individuals adhering to this viewpoint sometimes face criticism for (allegedly) equating therianthropy with mental disorders, a charge which is frequently responded to with the argument that a mental ''condition'' is not the same as a mental ''disorder'' as mental ''disorder'' implies that the condition is maladaptive<ref name="different is not insane"></ref>.

====Neurological====

===Other Groups===

====Otherkin====
Noticeable rifts exist between the therian and otherkin communities; it is not uncommon to see therians who consider otherkin to be incorrect in their beliefs (to put it politely). The criticism frequently boils down to several points:

1. Theriotypes are commonly known to exist. Kintypes are not.
2. Among therianthropes taking a more clinical or psychological approach, the fact that many otherkin claim spiritual reasons such as past lives gives them a certain quantity of distaste.
3.

====Vampires====
The vampire and therianthropic communities

<references/>

User:Citrakayah/sandbox

2012-04-20T22:34:40Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "This is my great big WIP for the therian article. Feel free to add to it. ==Background of Therianthropy== ===Other Areas in Africa=== Lions and leopards figure heavily in ..."

User talk:Shiro

2012-04-15T23:19:02Z

Citrakayah:

By the way, didn't you rejoin Werelist under the name Shiro? --[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 16:19, 15 April 2012 (PDT)

User talk:Shiro

2012-04-15T23:17:57Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "{{welcome}} By the way, didn't you rejoin Werelist under the name Shiro?"

{{welcome}}

By the way, didn't you rejoin Werelist under the name Shiro?

Therians

2012-04-12T22:46:07Z

Citrakayah: /* Egypt */

Therians

2012-04-12T22:40:00Z

Citrakayah: /* Egypt */

Therians

2012-04-12T22:35:55Z

Citrakayah: /* Egypt */

Therians

2012-04-12T22:33:54Z

Citrakayah: /* History */

Category talk:Safety

2012-04-09T20:48:00Z

Citrakayah:

Was Navi-kin even a hoax? --[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 09:31, 9 April 2012 (PDT)
:Yes, it was. The tothehometree LJ community, the Navi Anti-Defamation League and tireanavi himself were all part of an elaborate and apparently highly successful trolling attempt. I'm still not sure how they were so successful in getting others to take them seriously when tirea frequently made comments like "My partner did put her foot down at the dressing our child in blue clothes and turning down the heating so that their skin has a light blue tinge, however, and on reflection I agree that this was not a good idea." [http://tothehometree.livejournal.com/8606.html?nc=42#comments Link] and "By "higher being" I mean that my true form is taller than humans by a considerable amount, actually." [http://tireanavi.livejournal.com/1080.html Link] that completely gave away the game. To date, I am not aware of any individuals even within the fictionkin community who have made serious claims of Na'vi as their kintype. [[User:Jarandhel|Jarandhel]] ([[User talk:Jarandhel|talk]]) 10:09, 9 April 2012 (PDT)
::Maybe because some people really are just that... foolish. --[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 13:47, 9 April 2012 (PDT)

Category talk:Safety

2012-04-09T16:31:24Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "Was Navi-kin even a hoax? --~~~~"

Was Navi-kin even a hoax? --[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 09:31, 9 April 2012 (PDT)

Werelist

2012-04-09T16:29:23Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox website
| title = Werelist
| image =
| caption =
| author = <span>'''Moderating team''':<br>
* Savage
* Earth Listener
* Jakkal
* elinox
* Anoulf</span>
| url = http://www.werelist.net/index.php
| status = Active
| began = 2008
| genre = Community resource
}}

The Werelist (current iteration operated 2008-present) is a therianthropic forum, and one of the more populous and active ones. The admin team is currently Savage, Earth Listener, Jakkal, elinox, and Anoulf, though there are a variety of docents (who perform the same duties as helpstaff as defined [http://www.werelist.net/forums/showthread.php?t=23691 here]) and ambassadors.

[[Category:Therian Community]]
[[Category:Websites]]
[[Category:Message Boards]]

Wulf Howl

2012-04-09T16:23:20Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Therian Community using HotCat

{{Infobox website
| title = Wulf Howl
| image = [[File:WulfHowl2.png|250px|link=http://www.wulfhowl.com]]
| caption =
| author = <span>'''Sheikh''':<br>
* [[Shiro]]</span>
| url = http://www.wulfhowl.com
| status = Active
| began = October 2011
| ended =
| genre = Community resource
}}
'''Wulf Howl''' is an online community and resource website for [[otherkin]], [[therians|therianthropes]], and [[vampires]], created by [[Shiro]] in October 2011. It features articles, a forum, an IRC channel, and other resources.

==See also==
* [[Wulf Howl Forum]]
* [[Wulf Howl IRC]]

[[Category:Community resource]]
[[Category:Therian Community]]

Therians

2012-04-09T16:22:12Z

Citrakayah:

Werelist

2012-04-07T15:53:13Z

Citrakayah:

The Werelist (current iteration operated 2008-present) is a therianthropic forum, and one of the more populous and active ones. The admin team is currently Savage, Earth Listener, Jakkal, elinox, and Anoulf, though there are a variety of docents (who perform the same duties as helpstaff as defined [http://www.werelist.net/forums/showthread.php?t=23691 here]) and ambassadors.

[[Category:Therian Community]]
[[Category:Websites]]
[[Category:Message Boards]]

Citrakayah

2012-04-07T15:24:40Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox person
| name = Citrakayah
| othernames = cheetah, Scopimera
| image = [[File:Cheetah4.jpg|200px]]
| born = December 2, 1994
| profession = student
| theriotype = cheetah
| url = [http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/ The Savannah]
| country = United States
}}
{{Contributor}}

Citrakayah (a version of the word 'citrakāyaḥ' that doesn't use any special characters) is a cheetah therian based in the United States. He is male, autistic, and currently a high school student planning on going into zoological architecture.

==Views on Therianthropy==
Citrakayah views therianthropy as a strictly natural process due primarily to atypical psychology. The exact cause of this atypical psychology, in his opinion, varies, even within the same person<ref name="Result">{{Website | title = Therianthropy as a Result | year = 2011 | url = http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/index/therianthropy_as_a_result/0-7 | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>, and can probably not be pinned down very well in relation to the exact cause (though there's certainly no harm in trying, as it makes for a pleasant diversion).

Because of his views, Citrakayah finds the concept of otherkin/therians of fictional species perfectly believable, assuming enough has been written about said fictional species, especially in regards to behavior.

==Citations==
<references/>

[[Category:Therians]]

Therians

2012-04-07T15:22:18Z

Citrakayah:

[[Image:Theta-delta.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Theta-Delta]] is used by many as the symbol for therianthropy.]]
'''Therians''' are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (or to have existed) on Earth. Sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons, griffons, and sea serpents. The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, atypical neurology, and atypical psychology).

==Origins==
The term, therians, is derived from therianthropy, which is the over all name for the therian experience. Therianthropy comes the Greek words therion, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthropos, meaning "human being".<ref name="root">{{Website | title = Wikipedia:Therianthropy | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>The modern use for therianthropy first arose in 1994 on the alt.horror.werewolves Usenet discussion group as a label for general animal-people, since some felt that lycanthropy was too specific.<ref name="timeline">{{book|first=Orion|last=Sandstorrm|title=Otherkin Timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people|url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/|place=Online|publisher=http://orion.kitsune.net|year=2011}}</ref>

==History==
The history of therianthropy in its current form is a fairly short one, reaching back to around the Usenet era of the Internet. Nonetheless, tropes and ideas integral to therianthropy have been present since very early in human history, and animal-human hybrids can be found in many cultures, most notably the Ancient Egyptians.<ref name="root"></ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Therian Community]]

Help:Gadget-HotCat

2012-04-06T20:08:43Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Help using HotCat

HotCat enables you to add categories without clicking the edit tab. This is useful.

It has absolutely nothing to do with felines, or the energy of particles in a substance.

[[Category:Help]]

Vampires

2012-04-06T20:08:02Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "At their must fundamental, vampires are individuals who gain energy from other individuals, usually in the form of blood or 'psychic energy'. A fair number of otherkin and the..."

At their must fundamental, vampires are individuals who gain energy from other individuals, usually in the form of blood or 'psychic energy'. A fair number of otherkin and therians are also vampires, and the otherkin and therian communities have links to the vampire community by shared members and similar interests.

Help:Gadget-HotCat

2012-04-06T20:03:39Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "HotCat enables you to add categories without clicking the edit tab. This is useful. It has absolutely nothing to do with felines, or the energy of particles in a substance."

HotCat enables you to add categories without clicking the edit tab. This is useful.

It has absolutely nothing to do with felines, or the energy of particles in a substance.

Werelist

2012-04-06T20:01:56Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Message Boards using HotCat

The Werelist (current iteration operated 2008-present) is a therianthropic forum, and one of the more populous and active ones. The admin team is currently Savage, Earth Listener, Jakkal, elinox, and Anoulf, though there are a variety of docents and ambassadors.

[[Category:Therian Community]]
[[Category:Websites]]
[[Category:Message Boards]]

Werelist

2012-04-06T20:01:07Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Websites using HotCat

The Werelist (current iteration operated 2008-present) is a therianthropic forum, and one of the more populous and active ones. The admin team is currently Savage, Earth Listener, Jakkal, elinox, and Anoulf, though there are a variety of docents and ambassadors.

[[Category:Therian Community]]
[[Category:Websites]]

Werelist

2012-04-06T20:00:25Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Therian Community using HotCat

Werelist

2012-04-06T19:59:58Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "The Werelist (current iteration operated 2008-present) is a therianthropic forum, and one of the more populous and active ones. The admin team is currently Savage, Earth Liste..."

Category:Therians

2012-04-06T19:48:24Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Therian Community using HotCat

Individuals who are [[Therians|therianthropes]].

[[Category:Therian Community]]

Therians

2012-04-06T19:47:12Z

Citrakayah: /* History */

[[Image:Theta-delta.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Theta-Delta]] is used by many as the symbol for therianthropy.]]
'''Therians''' are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (or to have existed) on Earth. Sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons, griffons, and sea serpents. The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, abnormal neurology, and abnormal psychology).

==Origins==
The term, therians, is derived from therianthropy, which is the over all name for the therian experience. Therianthropy comes the Greek words therion, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthropos, meaning "human being".<ref name="root">{{Website | title = Wikipedia:Therianthropy | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>The modern use for therianthropy first arose in 1994 on the alt.horror.werewolves Usenet discussion group as a label for general animal-people, since some felt that lycanthropy was too specific.<ref name="timeline">{{book|first=Orion|last=Sandstorrm|title=Otherkin Timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people|url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/|place=Online|publisher=http://orion.kitsune.net|year=2011}}</ref>

==History==
The history of therianthropy in its current form is a fairly short one, reaching back to around the Usenet era of the Internet. Nonetheless, tropes and ideas integral to therianthropy have been present since very early in human history, and animal-human hybrids can be found in many cultures, most notably the Ancient Egyptians.<ref name="root"></ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Therian Community]]

Awakening

2012-04-06T19:46:18Z

Citrakayah:

'''Awakening''' is a term used by the otherkin, therian, and vampire communities to describe the process of becoming aware of the fact that they are in some way other than human. The term itself likely derived from the roleplaying game [[Wikipedia:Mage: The Ascension|Mage: The Ascension]] by [[Wikipedia:White Wolf, Inc.|White Wolf]] first published in 1993. Due both to the association with roleplaying games, and the metaphysical tone of the word, some therians and otherkin prefer not to use the term, or simply dislike it but use it anyway.

Awakening often takes place during the teen years<ref name="amenti1">{{website|first=Countess|last=Amenti|title=The Dilemma Over Awakening Teens|year=2007|url=http://www.sanguinarius.org/articles/Amenti_dilemma.shtml|publisher=Sanguinarius.org|date=April 2, 2012}}</ref>, though it can occur earlier or later, and may involve experiences such as an awareness of one's [[astral form]] being nonhuman, the development of a need to [[feeding|feed]] on blood or energy, the development of metaphysical gifts such as [[empathy]], or even the recovery of memories from nonhuman [[past lives]].

Some groups, such as the [[Lostkin Project]] use the term awakening more narrowly, to refer to "the process of reclaiming memories of other lives, and/or powers generally attributed to the Fae."<ref name="lostkin">{{website|first=Gazer|title=The Lostkin Project|url=http://lostkin.org|year=1999|date=April 2, 2012}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Jargon]]

User:Citrakayah

2012-04-06T19:43:00Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox user|

contributor=Citrakayah| dreamwidth=citrakayah| livejournal=citrakayah| deviantart=scopimera| wulfhowl=cheetah}}

User:Citrakayah

2012-04-06T19:41:52Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox user|

contributor=Citrakayah| irc=cheetah| dreamwidth=citrakayah| livejournal=citrakayah| deviantart=scopimera| wulfhowl=cheetah}}

Citrakayah

2012-04-06T15:23:02Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox person
| name = Citrakayah
| othernames = cheetah, Scopimera
| image = [[File:Cheetah4.jpg|200px]]
| born = December 2, 1994
| profession = student
| theriotype = cheetah
| url = [http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/ The Savannah]
| country = United States
}}
{{Contributor}}

Citrakayah (a version of the word 'citrakāyaḥ' that doesn't use any special characters) is a cheetah therian based in the United States. He is male, autistic, and currently a high school student planning on going into zoological architecture.

==Views on Therianthropy==
Citrakayah views therianthropy as a strictly natural process due primarily to abnormal psychology. The exact cause of this abnormal psychology, in his opinion, varies, even within the same person<ref name="Result">{{Website | title = Therianthropy as a Result | year = 2011 | url = http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/index/therianthropy_as_a_result/0-7 | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>, and can probably not be pinned down very well in relation to the exact cause (though there's certainly no harm in trying, as it makes for a pleasant diversion).

Because of his views, Citrakayah finds the concept of otherkin/therians of fictional species perfectly believable, assuming enough has been written about said fictional species, especially in regards to behavior.

==Citations==
<references/>

[[Category:Therians]]

Citrakayah

2012-04-06T15:19:56Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox person
| name = Citrakayah
| othernames = cheetah, Scopimera
| image = [[File:Cheetah4.jpg|200px]]
| born = December 2, 1994
| profession = student
| theriotype = cheetah
| url = [http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/ The Savannah]
| country = United States
}}
{{Contributor}}

Citrakayah (a version of the word 'citrakāyaḥ' that doesn't use any special characters) is a cheetah therian based in the United States. He is male, autistic, and currently a high school student planning on going into zoological architecture.

==Views on Therianthropy==
Citrakayah views therianthropy as a strictly natural process due primarily to abnormal psychology. The exact cause of this abnormal psychology, in his opinion, varies, even within the same person<ref name="Result">{{Website | title = Therianthropy as a Result | year = 2011 | url = http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/index/therianthropy_as_a_result/0-7 | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>

==Citations==
<references/>

[[Category:Therians]]

Citrakayah

2012-04-06T15:19:09Z

Citrakayah: I hereby certify that this is true; insert the usual legal whatsit, yada yada.

Help talk:Templates

2012-04-06T15:18:06Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "What do we use for a static webpage that isn't changed, if the book template applies to the Orion Sandstorm's history? --~~~~"

What do we use for a static webpage that isn't changed, if the book template applies to the Orion Sandstorm's history? --[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 08:18, 6 April 2012 (PDT)

Citrakayah

2012-04-06T14:45:44Z

Citrakayah: added Category:Therians using HotCat

Category:Therians

2012-04-06T14:45:11Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "Individuals who are therianthropes."

Individuals who are [[Therians|therianthropes]].

Therians

2012-04-05T22:41:55Z

Citrakayah:

[[Image:Theta-delta.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Theta-Delta]] is used by many as the symbol for therianthropy.]]
'''Therians''' are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (or to have existed) on Earth. Sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons, griffons, and sea serpents. The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, abnormal neurology, and abnormal psychology).

==Origins==
The term, therians, is derived from therianthropy, which is the over all name for the therian experience. Therianthropy comes the Greek words therion, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthropos, meaning "human being".<ref name="root">{{Website | title = Wikipedia:Therianthropy | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>The modern use for therianthropy first arose in 1994 on the alt.horror.werewolves Usenet discussion group as a label for general animal-people, since some felt that lycanthropy was too specific.<ref name="timeline">{{book|first=Orion|last=Sandstorrm|title=Otherkin Timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people|url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/|place=Online|publisher=http://orion.kitsune.net|year=2011}}</ref>

==History==
The history of therianthropy in it's current form is a fairly short one, reaching back to around the Usenet era of the Internet. Nonetheless, tropes and ideas integral to therianthropy have been present since very early in human history, and animal-human hybrids can be found in many cultures, most notably the Ancient Egyptians.<ref name="root"></ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Therian Community]]

Therians

2012-04-05T22:41:15Z

Citrakayah:

[[Image:Theta-delta.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Theta-Delta]] is used by many as the symbol for therianthropy.]]
'''Therians''' are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (or to have existed) on Earth. Sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons, griffons, and sea serpents. The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, abnormal neurology, and abnormal psychology).

==Origins==
The term, therians, is derived from therianthropy, which is the over all name for the therian experience. Therianthropy comes the Greek words therion, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthropos, meaning "human being".<ref name="root">{{Website | title = Wikipedia:Therianthropy | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy | date = April 2, 1012}}</ref>The modern use for therianthropy first arose in 1994 on the alt.horror.werewolves Usenet discussion group as a label for general animal-people, since some felt that lycanthropy was too specific.<ref name="timeline">{{book|first=Orion|last=Sandstorrm|title=Otherkin Timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people|url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/|place=Online|publisher=http://orion.kitsune.net|year=2011}}</ref>

==History==
The history of therianthropy in it's current form is a fairly short one, reaching back to around the Usenet era of the Internet. Nonetheless, tropes and ideas integral to therianthropy have been present since very early in human history, and animal-human hybrids can be found in many cultures, most notably the Ancient Egyptians.<ref name="root">

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Therian Community]]

Talk:Main Page

2012-04-04T21:16:44Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "How welcome are we to promote this site on other sites?"

How welcome are we to promote this site on other sites?

Citrakayah

2012-04-03T21:40:27Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "{{Infobox person | name = Citrakayah | othernames = cheetah, Scopimera | image = 200px | born = December 2, 1994 | profession = student | theriotype = c..."

User talk:Citrakayah

2012-04-03T01:53:41Z

Citrakayah:

Hi Citrakayah. :) Welcome to AnOtherWiki. Hope you're enjoying it so far, and thank you for expanding the articles here. Just one note: the Infobox_person template is more meant for articles about people. The Infobox_user template is the one meant for your userpage. You're absolutely welcome to create an article about yourself as well, though. :) Also, I'm going to correct the apparent error in the Infobox_person template when a country is specified without a city or state. Didn't notice that before now. [[User:Jarandhel|Jarandhel]] ([[User talk:Jarandhel|talk]]) 18:08, 2 April 2012 (PDT)
:I'll fix that tomorrow. And create my own article, though I'm nervous of my own bias. --[[User:Citrakayah|Citrakayah]] ([[User talk:Citrakayah|talk]]) 18:53, 2 April 2012 (PDT)

User:Citrakayah

2012-04-02T23:42:08Z

Citrakayah:

User:Citrakayah

2012-04-02T23:40:59Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox person
| name = Citrakayah
| othernames = cheetah, Scopimera
| image = [[File:Cheetah4|200px]]
| born = December 2, 1994
| profession = student
| theriotype = cheetah
| url = [http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/ The Savannah]
| country = United States
}}

User:Citrakayah

2012-04-02T23:33:42Z

Citrakayah:

{{Infobox person
| name = Citrakayah
| othernames = cheetah, Scopimera
| image = [[File:Cheetah4.jpg]]
| born = December 2, 1994
| profession = student
| theriotype = cheetah
| url = [http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/ The Savannah]
| country = United States
}}

User:Citrakayah

2012-04-02T23:32:18Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "{{Infobox person | name = Citrakayah | othernames = cheetah, Scopimera | image = File:Cheetah4 | born = December 2, 1994 | profession = student | theriotype = cheetah | u..."

{{Infobox person
| name = Citrakayah
| othernames = cheetah, Scopimera
| image = [[File:Cheetah4]]
| born = December 2, 1994
| profession = student
| theriotype = cheetah
| url = [http://citrakayah.ucoz.org/ The Savannah]
| country = United States
}}

Therians

2012-04-02T23:27:04Z

Citrakayah: Created page with "Therians are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons ..."

Therians are individuals who identify as an animal that is known to exist (sometimes, more 'feral' creatures that are not known to exist are included as well, such as dragons and sea serpents). The exact definition of therianthropy varies significantly, a condition increased by the fact that the explanation for therianthropy varies wildly depending on who is being talked to (common explanations include reincarnation, conditioning, abnormal neurology, and abnormal psychology).