by Tanaquil

Otherkin.
A word familiar to us—us on the inside, that is.
At one point or another, almost all of us would have questioned ourselves, “Am I truly Otherkin? Or is this just the offshoot of watching too many {insert name of fantasy series here} episodes? Nobody ever said that it would be easy to establish your own kin identity. In fact; for all we know—we could just be a group of whacked out psychos with serious cases of A.D.D.

Snap out of your fantasy doodad.
You were supposed to have outgrown D&D a long time ago.
If this continues, you’re banned from watching the Lord of the Rings again. (I’ve heard this one way too many times.)
…Whadya mean, ‘don’t call you Elven Princess’? I thought you liked Elves! (Well, yeah, but to be identified with the Elven Princess Syndrome? *shudder*)

Common reactions from others. They think we’re immature; strange…weird. Think a group of D&D players on crack.

But that isn’t the case.

We’ve all felt it. It’s something far more real—and at the same time—undeniably part of some magick.

When I first began my Awakening and started questioning my Kin identity, I was assailed by countless doubts. Where should I start? What if I thought I was an Elf—but it turned out that I was only attracted to that certain race as a result of being a die-hard LotR fan? (Indeed, I must confess.) What if all my memories were just random imaginings?
Was all that I remembered—or claimed to remember—simply a pretty story which I had made up?

I still face those questions sometimes. I think all of us do—no matter how secure we may feel sometimes in our Kin identity.

I was Googling randomly, when I came across an abandoned thread. One of the posts there literally made my blood boil—and I shall quote it, for the benefit of everyone else. This, having been said by a particular misinformed user (whose identity shall be kept secret, lest the whole of the Otherkin community agree to descend upon his/her head in a cloud of righteous fury): “Isn’t “Otherkin” a word used to stereotype a broader range of people?
Like “furries” can be wolves, eagles, dragons, squirrels, puppies!
Also! I must say! Otherkin is rather new! Sounds like someone who tasted Furryism or similar, turned goth and started a new gang! heh heh! Oh well!”
I, personally, find it repulsive that people could have such a warped idea of Otherkin. This is the sad truth, however; and it’s a cruel, hard world. {Cue over-used emo lyrics.}

To me…what makes an Otherkin is something of a psychological deviation that will be manifested on a certain metaphysical level. That is, provided such paranormal levels exist at all. Let’s say that they do, though. In my opinion; you can’t call yourself ‘Kin just because you’re allergic to ferrous metals, or have pretty colourful eyes and pointed ears and an inclination to roleplaying as a half-elven druid, or whatever. A person’s true, honest subconscious sense of self is what defines it all. This can provide a disorienting physical sensation in a person; like in the case of some Otherkin, when they can feel their non-human shape in the form of a phantom limb, etc. You name it.
As an otherkin’s true form is akin to aural energy, it has been suggested that Otherkin get their photos done through Kirlian photography, which brings out the shape and colours of the person’s aura. This has apparently been done, with surprisingly accurate results.

A poseur, on the other hand, would not sincerely believe himself to be something other than a regular human being. In truth, he simply feels like he should be recognized as special, and endeavours to convince himself that he is not human. (Down with teenage wannabe witches, says I!) And, unfortunately, many wannabe vampire sites (c’mon, we’ve all seen them at one point or another) misuse the term of “Otherkin”, in an attempt to identify themselves as being more important. This is the sad reality of communities which have indulged in far too many Anne Rice novels.

I digress.

Being ‘Kin isn’t about wanting to feel special. It isn’t about how much you look like a certain fantasy race-type; or liking vampires; or (oh, the horror) spending your time on an Otherkin forum because Friendster and MySpace crashed on you. To put in my two cents’ worth, I’ll say that being otherkin is not a hobby; nor is it an extension of a roleplaying escapism kind of thing.

I think I would be well justified, however, to say that it certainly does make life far more interesting.