by Hannah Leichstein

Created on: April 16, 2008

Otherkin. Now that's a word I'm going to hope you haven't heard before. Why? Because if you haven't, I have a clean slate to work with.

If you have heard of it, well...I apologize if your bias gets in the way of understanding.

So what does "Otherkin" mean, exactly?
The word "Otherkin" has mysterious origins, but it is thought to have originated in its use in the so-called "online elven community." Other sources point to the therianthropy (another word I hope you have not seen) which grew out of the newsgroup alt.horror.werewolves.

Regardless of the word's origins, it represents a belief that is at once simple and extraordinarily complex. Persons who call themselves Otherkin believe that some internal part of them (the soul, the spirit, and/or the mind) is somehow, in some way, not quite human.

"How in the world could anyone come to such a ridiculous conclusion!" you exclaim. But the portrayal of Otherkin as being nothing but self-deluded, socially withdrawn and abused kids is quite inaccurate.
Most Otherkin question their existence, their beliefs, and themselves every day. Most otherkin did not come to such a conclusion overnight, but rather, spend years of their lives trying to figure out if there is some alternate cause for what they feel and experience.

What is it that they feel that makes them come to such a belief? Well, that differs for every person. Some people feel the strangest sensation as if they have extra limbs that aren't really there - a phenomena referred to as "phantom limb syndrome". However, unlike in the case of amputees sensing the missing limb is still there, Otherkin may feel limbs that do not fit a human template - such as wings, beaks, claws, tails, hooves, horns, or any number of possible limbs. So far, there has been no scientific research into the causes of these extra "phantom" limbs, but the fact remains that some people feel them.

Others may have a feeling of being "out of place" their entire lives. Now, sure, this does often coexist alongside being picked on at school. But think about this: If you already felt out of place to begin with, why would you bother trying to fit in? Why would you adapt yourself to human ways when you don't feel like they "fit"? So it's hard to say for sure what the exact cause of this is.

Some may even learn about past-life regression, and will regress and find that they have had a life as something that is not human! This does not mean they are lying or making it up, nor does it mean necessarily that they are any more "crazy" than people who have differing beliefs. The past-lives of Otherkin vary greatly. Oftentimes, a person who has remembered such a life will see that the animal they used to be, somewhat resembles something from mythology. So, in the absence of proper terminology, that is what they name the creature, and that is what they begin to identify as.

These are not the say-all end-all of Otherkin experiences, but they seem to be the most common. What's interesting to note is that many otherkin whom I've talked to have been psychologically evaluated, and found to be quite stable and reasonable.
I can't provide very much in the way of "definite facts" about Otherkin, because for one thing there is no formal study being done on them; and for another, their beliefs all differ too much to even start to categorize!

In lieu of better information, however, I will provide some links to some good places to start researching Otherkin:

http://otherkinphenomena.org
http://kinhost. org/res/Otherfaq.php
http://otherkin.net/wiki/index.h tml
http://otherkin.net/articles/what.html
http://www. thegreenwolf.com/afgto.html

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