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By LadyTia

It is certain that nearly all otherkin experience a heightened awareness among their senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and the specific sensitivities to different elements in the bounds of their perception; things like the humming of electronics, sunlight, electricity (lightning), and so forth. Clearly it doesn't seem to stop with simply the material abilities, though encompasses mental and spiritual as well. Mental being more of the psychic nuances and Spiritual, those of energy. As you might have noticed several weeks back with that survey, some questions address abilities and senses. Although serving as a humorous break from soaking in large amounts of information, the survey served as a listing of possible explanations as to why you might relate to some of the questions about abilities or sensitivities and I'm sure has peaked the interest of those of you who were looking at the screen and going, "Yeah..!" or , "How'd they'd know that?"

A lot of Otherkin share sensitivities and abilities, in fact, it seems more and more difficult to find someone they don't have something in common with, regarding the senses. The senses play a very major role as they help to define what type(s) of Otherkin one might be. If one doesn't care what they are and just wants to know who they are, the senses are equally as important. For instance while some have an innate ability to hear electronics, others may be able to feel certain elemental energies, such as lightning or thunder, and know when a storm is approaching. Some with impecable hearing can detect rainfall within 20 ft or more - who knows. Others may be in tune with the Earth and nature, or perhaps even be able to see spirits and speak in 300 different languages.

Every ability helps define the individual, however these abilities and sensitivities have both benefits and hindrances. For instance, the person who can feel lightning running through their veins is instantly alarmed when a storm is upon the horizon, however, that kinship with energy can make them susceptible to calling it towards them more than they would like. I'm the lucky one who gets to experience this everytime a storm is on the rise, and everytime I go near an outlet, it sparks - which is something I could certainly do without.

For any of you who have played Dungeons and Dragons, 3rd Edition, you ought to remember that traits came with a price, no pun intended. Not only did you have to pay for them, but you also had two sides to the coin. For every trait taken they were either beneficial or they served as a drawback to the character in some way shape or form. Well, while we're not exactly paying for these traits on a monetary level, some are good, some are harmful, and some are both. For those of you who take offense to the D&D comparison, sorry - its the only thing I can compare it to, to fully convey my point.

Its been said that everyone needs sunlight in order to live. Imagine now how you'd react if someone told you they had an aversion to sunlight. I knew a man who had an aversion to sunlight, as he was highly sensitive to it, so he would always wear sunglasses, even at night. Things like this do tend to add a stigma to one's lifestyle and everyday habits. Like anything else, these traits are a signature part of the individual who possesses them.

I don't have a grimorum full of the traits of all the different types of Otherkin, therefore I cannot share that many of them. However, I think the best way to figure out what traits each of us have would be to discover them for yourselves. Discovery is a rather exciting thing in this day and age. Next time, a deeper look at dreams.