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By LadyTia

First off its easy to see how we could coexist in a world with others who may or not be native to Earth. Mostly I'm speaking in terms of spirit. Otherkin are those who feel they are different than humans because they don't possess a human spirit, but one or many of another spiritual being; i.e. elves, dragons, angels, etc. More often than not, the idea of a person being otherkin can explain a lot of things about them, for instance, why they feel a certain way towards other people; why they may feel a pull towards a particular set of subjects of interest or towards a particular religious path. The majority of what you'll find in this article and series will be observances I've noted from matters that arise for various types of Otherkin, the sites that refer to them, and from my own experiences as an Otherkin.

The old and newer versions of documents by the forerunners in On-line information regarding Otherkin subject matter basically go through a list of frequently asked questions covering matter such as: types, awakenings, doubt and disbelief, memories, and a deep longing desire to go where we feel at home. Types of Otherkin I will discuss in depth, later on. Awakenings, I don't think I can completely cover, but I'll give an intro into it to prepare you for a later larger article.

In an awakening, the subject realizes through various forms of evidence that their soul is not solely (or at all) human. The subject goes through a period of personal re-evaluation of their lives. Sometimes a new consciousness develops, with new belief structures and thought patters from sometimes very old memories. Something triggers this 'awakening' as it is called.

Doubt and disbelief is anything that threatens to tear down a deeply rooted reality by the arrival of a new memory or way of thinking, triggered by an awakening. Sometimes doubt can hold us back from further walking the path that will lead us to more awakening experiences, and to some, a little bit of doubt is always an integral part of the maintenance of one's sanity. There is no standard here; it is different with each person. One of the biggest clues in the exploration of the otherkin self comes from one's likes and dislikes; same as when exploring past life memories. Exploring past life memories is one of the experimental processes through which one has the greatest chance regaining memories, regardless of whether its a solitary or group exploration. However, having a group to share thoughts and updated progressions with can often times be very beneficial to both the individual and the group.

Memories are not always pleasant but are always an integral part of the awakening. If the memories don't flow then it may take more time. Sometimes they rush right in like a flooding of information. The painful or traumatic ones can be so difficult that the individual ends up, inadvertently, repressing them again. If this happens that's alright. They'll come back to the surface all in due time. This isn't a rush process, its a long and repetitive one. What matters is that events are remembered, not how long it took for them to be remembered. Sometimes, during the awakening, the subject goes through countless moments of depression which can often lead to a deep desire to go somewhere else. Somewhere the subject feels more 'at home', than their present location. Another reason why a group effort would be beneficial; to assist each other through the more difficult times of the awakening.

Below is a survey compiled from Otherkin.Net with some additions from myself and others. It is intended as humour, and not a standard marker of Otherkin, however if you find any that seem to apply to you, just nod and smile, and go on to the next one. And with that having been said, I leave you with a set of links and parting words. Go and explore, if that is what you desire to do. If not, you can always wait until next time, and find out why a community of support for Otherkin are really necessary.

http://www.otherkin.net

Otherkin Survey
You might be Otherkin, If...v. 3.0

1. You miss a place, yet cannot explain where it is.
2. You find it very frustrating that you can't breathe under water or fly.
3. You have phantom body parts that you can feel move, and that sometimes become really annoying with clothes (fur, wings, claws..)
4. You have the occasional really annoying itch on your back, right where your wings would be.
5. You are always the first to hear something in the distance (approaching car, person, storm...)
6. You suffer more allergies than most folks or less allergies than normal folks (and have never been prone to illness)
7. You suffer allergies to metal, stones, certain herbs, or other substances not commonly considered allergenic.
8. You have naturally dilated pupils or see very well in the dark.
9. You have eyes with multiple or bright colours in them, or eyes that change colour.
10. The 'you' you see in the mirror and the physical shell experienced by other people are entirely different entities.
11. The 'you' you see in the mirror actually shifts between what others see and what you see.
12. You know, see, and feel a deeper depth and viewpoint of the cycle of life and death than many people do.
13. The woods, glens, etc. speak to you and call you to come join them.
14. You remember your dreams with more detail, clarity and relevance than your waking moments.
15. Dance, music, art, beauty are not luxuries, peripheral experiences or mere entertainment, but physical necessities.
16. Linear thought is a problem, and linear time is an even greater one.
17. You think trees or holes in the ground are great places to live.
18. You catch yourself referring to David Bowie as 'cousin'.
19. You on occasion try drawing fantasy characters that everyone else identifies as David Bowie.
20. No religion seems to fit you no matter which one you try, or there is a strong calling to a particular religion.
21. You feel better hiding in natural places when emotionally or otherwise upset.
22. You don't match your 'real' age in looks, thoughts, words, wisdom, etc.
23. The weather and your moods have more than a coincidental link.
24. You write such good stories cause they aren't stories...its all real.
25. You have an obsession with honor that most people just don't understand.
26. You've been in or almost caused an accident because you were distracted by the sunset, sunrise, rainbow, moon, stars, lightning, and/or interesting cloud formations.
27. You bore very easily.
28. As a child you always knew where to find the berries in the woods.
29. You are fascinated with language, linguistics, theology, anthropology, slang, subculture and the madness of crowds.
30. Weddings make you depressed and funerals elate you.
31. You see through spiritual charlatans like they were made of glass.
32. Your personality changes outright depending on the clothing you wear. That includes a mixed personality if you mix two kinds of clothing.
33. You always go for things in silver rather than gold, bronze, etc.
34. The human language just isn't enough to fully convey what you are trying to say. You feel telepathy, empathy, and visual sendings make up most of your language and you often tend to use these more than spoken words, much to the dismay of those around you.
35. Your friends and family have always thought of you as 'different'.
36. You never quite see things from the same point of view as your non'kin friends.
37. Your non'kin friends never quite get your sense of humor.
38. Non'kin think you are eccentric, very intelligent or crazy, but you think that you are normal and they are the ones who are odd.
39. Your friend's cat, who hates everyone including your friend, loves you.
40. People either love you or hate you and you cannot figure out why.
41. Animals and trees are better friends to you than most non'kin.
42. You attract the strangest people. They seem to congregate around you as if attracted by some pheromone only they can perceive.
43. You almost never play a human character in role-playing games.
44. People often ask you if you're on drugs.
45. Hospitals, most schools, government buildings, and large, impersonal corporations either depress you to the point of tears or trigger panic attacks.
46. Small children come up to you and hug you for no apparent reason.
47. Small children can tell you about your past lives.
48. You think nothing of adjusting your energy to a peaceful signature to calm down someone who's agitated.
49. Your dreams bleed over into the waking reality.
50. You catch glimpses of an alternate reality superimposed or side by side with waking reality. When you're half asleep and half awake, the worlds tend to blur and you can see numerous realities existing at once.
51. Your wishes affect waking reality in a tangible way.
52. There are too many synchronicities happening to pass them all off as coincidence.
53. Small children run up to you and point out the nice lady with pointy ears or the big furry man or the dragon.
54. You dream prophetically.
55. When really stressed/relaxed/magical you speak in a foreign unknown language, make animal noises, or start speaking in what sounds like gibberish to other people.
56. You've met someone you instantly knew from dreams you've been having since you were five.
57. You sense spirits residing within rocks, trees, waters, buildings, mechanical object,etc., and you converse with them regularly.
58. You didn't know that not everyone did lucid dreaming (astral projection, hands-on healing, aura sight, telepathy, precognition...) until you read about it.
59. You 'smell' what kind of mood the people around you are in.
60. Computers often malfunction, act up, or do a lot of unusual things in your presence, causing your coworkers to ask you to 'stand over there, please' and causing your company's resident computer tech many hours of heartache.
61. Sometimes when you see or meet a stranger you see a flash of their true nature without even trying.
62. You can alter time, manipulate the weather, conjure things or teleport by accident, etc. without ever having learned how nor understanding how these are possible.
63. When they unearth an ancient earth artifact that 'no one' knows about you not only find that you recognize it, but also that you had been telling your friends about it for the last few years.
64. You don't just dream, you go planet-hopping (or galaxy-hopping for that matter).
65. Time always does weird things around you.
66. You cannot wear watches or other timepieces on your person. If you do, they are rendered completely useless within days.
67. You can hear the stars singing.
68. You can't understand why people need all those props to do anything magical, when its so much simpler to just reach and change something. You're unable to grasp that there are people who can't feel magical flows, no matter how often you hear otherwise.
69. All of your best friends/lovers/etc. awaken to their Otherkin natures within a few months of meeting you.
70. You can't ever remember the color of someone's eyes, but you can describe their aura/astral form in detail.
71. You draw something that looks familiar but when you show it to a friend, he's white as a ghost because you've just revealed a part of his past.
72. You're more inclined to draw or write in an unknown language than to pay attention in class.
73. Ancient deities do what you tell them and you don't know why.
74. Ancient languages sound like music to your ears.