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So, after a long hiatus, I’m very pleased to announce the re-creation of the Straight Tracks Webring.

Nor is the new hosting situation the only change with the webring.  While I’d still like to see high-quality otherkin sites joining it, what I’m hoping this ring will do is connect otherkin community resources the way the old straight tracks or “ley lines” connected many ancient sites.

It is my hope that these straight tracks will prove as magical as their namesakes, and help bridge the gaps that have sprung up in our community, making it easier to connect with one another again.

If you’ve got an Otherkin website and would like to join the Straight Tracks Webring, just click here.

Also, if you own an otherkin or magical webring that isn’t hosted on ringsurf.org or webring.com, please let me know about it.  I am interested in joining other webrings as well.

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What is Attunement?

Attunement is an act of energywork that allows you to connect to and attract specific types or “frequencies” of subtle energy^,.  In many ways, it’s similar to how your radio can “tune in” to specific radio stations.  Just as tuning into 101.7 on your radio may bring you classic rock to listen to, attuning yourself to fire or water is a way of bringing out those elemental energies to work with.

Attunements are sometimes also referred to as “energy initiations” or “empowerments”, because they are often used by people experienced in working with a certain type of energy to introduce new people to that energy.  This is frequently confused, as in the popular attunements of Western Reiki, with bestowing an ability to work with that energy^,.  However, the ability was always there… you simply hadn’t learned to tune into that “frequency” of energy yet.  Time and experimentation have shown self-attunement to be equally effective^,,.

How Do You Attune?

Close your eyes.  Imagine yourself surrounded by a vast ocean of the energy you would like to attune yourself to. Imagine this ocean as your whole world, your whole universe.  Slowly breathe in and out, imagining the energy flowing into you with each breath, breathing it in through your mouth and lungs, letting it fill you, swirl around inside you, and permeate your entire being, imprinting itself within you.  Imagine the concentration of energy inside you increasing with each breath, until you are a beacon of the energy, radiating it back out into the ocean of energy from which it came in a blinding flare.  Then, slowly, bring your awareness back to your physical surroundings, holding onto the feeling of the energy filling you until you’re ready to let it go.  That’s all that’s really necessary for a basic attunement to any energy form.

It may also help, while visualizing the energy entering you and imprinting itself within you, to visualize symbols or even words connected with the energy imprinting themselves on you as well.  This could be anything from the alchemical symbol of fire (an upright triangle) to the mantra Cho-Ku-Rei, depending on what energies you are trying to connect with.  Just choose something appropriate to the energy you are working with.

Once you’ve been attuned to an energy, it’s much easier to access and work with it even without going through all the steps of attunement.  Having been in that state once, it’s familiar and easy for you to return to without needing visualization to guide you, though going through the process of visualization prior to working with any energy may help deepen your connection.  If you used symbols or mantras during your attunement process these may also help in reconnecting with the energies outside the context of attunement.

What Comes Next?

Attuning to Your Tools

As you continue to work with energy, you may start to collect tools.  Perhaps a wand or athame, if you go the ceremonial route.  Perhaps a piece of jewelry that you wear only during ritual.  Maybe even just a stone that carries a certain feel.  You can attune yourself to the energies of these specific objects, just as you would to more abstract energy forms.  Just close your eyes, hold the object in your hands, and let its energy fill you… each breath deepening your connection to the tool, deepening the resonance between you.  Let it imprint itself within you, as you have imprinted on it already through your use of it.  This connection, this intentional link, will help you call upon the energies of the tool even when it’s not physically present, should you need them.

Attuning Objects

Attunement isn’t a one way street, either.  Just as you can attune yourself to your ritual tools, you can attune ritual tools to various energies as well. For example, to attune a crystal to the energy of elemental fire: hold the crystal in your hands.  Close your eyes, and imagine an ocean of fire surrounding you and filling up the entire universe, as far as you can possibly imagine.  Slowly, raise the crystal up to eye level and imagine a swirling vortex of fire pouring down into it, filling it with flame, the crystal glowing brighter and brighter as the energy concentrates within it, the fire imprinting itself deep inside the crystal, becoming part of its very essence.  It may help to imagine symbols accompanying the fire… perhaps the upright triangle that symbolizes fire in alchemy, perhaps Kenaz rune of the Elder Futhark, perhaps something more personal… and inscribing themselves into the crystal.  Finally, imagine a flare of fiery energy flashing out from the crystal, a sign that the imprint has taken and the attunement is sealed.  As it fades, allow yourself to become aware of your surroundings again, still feeling the new fiery energy of the crystal in your hands.

Attuning People

Before we get into this section, a word of caution: attuning people can be complicated.  Not in terms of the actual attunement process, but in terms of the human interactions it creates.  It’s very easy for a person receiving an attunement to come to the conclusion that the person attuning them is somehow more spiritually advanced than they are.  Such hero worship should generally be gently discouraged.  On the other hand, it’s equally possible for the person receiving an attunement to decide that they don’t like the person giving the attunement, and that the attunement is really an attempt to work harmful magic on them.  And those are just two possibilities, without going into the various ways in which people can react to the energy of the attunement itself (which of course vary depending on the types of energy involved).  My best advice is: tread carefully, and good luck.  And if anyone does become obsessively attached to you, either as a hero or an enemy, try to be a good sport about it.  They may grow out of that stage later, and feel awfully embarrassed.

The easiest way I know of attuning someone is adapted slightly from the process used in Imara Reiki.  Have the person sit in a comfortable chair.  Stand behind them, placing your hands on their head with their ears between your middle fingers and ring fingers and your thumbs meeting at the top of their head.  Close your eyes, and imagine again the ocean of energy surrounding you, of whatever type you intend to attune them to.  If you are including symbols or mantras, imagine them appearing as writing over top of the person’s head, written in glowing letters of concentrated energy, of the same type you are attuning them to.  Now, imagine a spinning vortex of energy coming down and going into the person, filling them until their entire being is glowing with energy.  Imagine the vortex carrying any symbols or mantras that you have imagined down into the person.  Imagine these symbols, and the energy itself, imprinting themselves deeply onto that person… as if they are becoming a part of them.  In reality they already were, but this attunement will help awaken them to that fact.  Finally, imagine a flare of energy spilling from them, sealing the attunement.  The connection has been made, and the energy now issues from them.  Slowly, bring your awareness back to your surroundings, and check on the person being attuned.  They may need some food and water to help ground them, and it’s often a good idea to have them practice “running” whatever energy they’ve been attuned to… connecting with it on their own (you can use the self-attunement visualizations to help with this, or any symbols or mantras used during the attunement) and projecting it into various things.  If the energy is a healing energy like Reiki, this may include doing basic healing sessions for others.  If it’s an elemental energy, I’d recommend sticking with inanimate objects to start.

Wrapping Up

If it hasn’t become obvious by now, I’ve placed attunement here as the third technique of basic energywork for a simple reason: attunement, at its core, is the process by which we build connections with the various energies we work with.  Without such connections, one isn’t going to get very far manipulating energy.

Many systems of metaphysical study lead people through the experience of a connection with energy without discussing the actual processes that are taking place until the student is more advanced.  For instance, in Western Usui Reiki as popularized by Hawayo Takata, the student receives attunements in levels 1 and 2, but only in level 3 (or 3b, depending on the school) are they generally given information about attuning others or what attunement really involves in an energetic level.  Likewise, in other esoteric traditions, neophytes are initiated and in the process symbols are placed within the candidates aura to help connect them with certain energies but information about performing initiations is reserved for higher grades^,.  I’ve chosen instead to make these connections explicit, in the hopes that consciously working with them will allow the seeker both a deeper understanding of the processes involved, and a deeper connection to the energies with which they are working.

I’ve also provided this information as an aide to anyone who may find that they already have a built-in connection to a certain type of energy.  Not all attunements or initiations are the work of human hands; some are worked by entities seen variously as gods, angels, or spirits and some are spontaneous developments that can occur in the heart and mind of any seeker when they’ve reached a certain point in their development all on their own.

As always, if you find more ways to attune yourself (or objects, or other people) or more techniques for taking the process of attunement further, please feel free to share your findings in the comments section.  The next article in this series will be on Thoughtforms.

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What is Grounding?

Next to centering, grounding is one of the most fundamental acts of energywork.  It’s used to discharge excess or negative energies safely, and also to replenish your energy if you’re feeling a little low.  Staying grounded also helps one to be fully present in their body, and aware of what is going on around them in the present moment.  If your mind is wandering and you’re metaphorically “off in the clouds somewhere” or otherwise off-kilter, that’s a strong sign that you may need to ground. Grounding, in most cases, is exactly what it sounds like: connecting to the Earth, and sending any excess or negative energy down into the ground to be absorbed by the planet, then taking in fresh energy to replenish yourself, repeating the cycle until you feel pleasantly energized but not “bursting” with energy.

How do you Ground?

A Basic Technique for Grounding

As with centering, there are many techniques available for grounding.  One of the simplest, and the most commonly used, is to visualize oneself as a tree.  Even kids can do this one.  Just close your eyes, perhaps take a moment to center yourself, and imagine yourself becoming a tree. Feel your roots extending deep into the earth, connecting and anchoring you to the planet itself.  Feel the strength of the earth, the stability as it supports you, nourishes you.  Feel yourself releasing any negative energy to sink down and be absorbed by the earth, while taking in fresh new energy through your roots.  Continue the visualization for as long as you like, cycling energy back and forth, until you feel stable… energized, but not overflowing with energy, fully present in your body in the here-and-now.  Other visualizations are also possible… you could visualize yourself as a mountain, for instance, rather than a tree.

Physical Grounding

Visualizations aren’t the only way to ground.  There are a whole host of techniques for grounding excess energy that don’t require any conscious manipulation of your mental state.   These range from activities like physical exercise to simply eating something.  I’m a big fan of walking, myself, though make sure to stay hydrated.  Some people also find working with certain minerals aids in grounding^,.  Iron is one of the most traditional for this, though it isn’t exactly gentle about it.  Personally, I prefer copper if I’m going with a pure metal, unless I can get my hands on Bog Iron from New Jersey.  I’m also a big fan of a combination of iron pyrite and magnetite known in metaphysical circles as “Healer’s Gold”.  Other good stones for grounding include Moss Agate, Black Obsidian, Smokey Quartz, Staurolite, and Black Tourmaline.

What Comes Next?

Grounding in Other Elements

So far, this article has focused on grounding in the element of Earth.  But it’s equally possible to “ground” in any of the elements.  All of them have a physical component capable of anchoring one in the here-and-now, all of them have the capacity to receive and transform unwanted energies, and all of them have the capacity to help refill one’s energetic reserves.

The basic procedure for doing this is very similar to the exercises for grounding in Earth.  If you care to ground in Fire, you can visualize yourself as the heart of a flame, continually releasing energy and taking in new fuel, at once stable and yet always engaged in the act of transformation.  Equally, you could visualize yourself as a phoenix or a star, whatever imagery speaks to you.  If Water is more your style, you might imagine slowly sinking into the ocean and letting yourself dissolve into the foam, merging with the waters, letting them carry any unwanted energy away while at the same time replenishing you, the boundaries between yourself and the larger ocean murky and unclear until it is time to return again to a more tangible form.  For aficionados of Air, you might imagine simply letting a wind blow “through” you, carrying away what is unwanted and filling you up with its own energy.  All of these are equally valid, as are any other methods of reaching a stable “grounded” energetic state.  Nor are you limited to grounding yourself in classical Western elements… wood and metal from the eastern elemental system are just as valid, as are light and shadow.  If in doubt, experiment.  Try grounding in something and see if it works.  If it does, great.  If it doesn’t, try something else.

Wrapping Up

Grounding may seem fairly basic but without it it’s far too easy for someone working with subtle energies to become disconnected from physical reality, overloaded by more energy than their system can metabolize on its own, be impaired by negative energies, and overall simply become a less effective channel for energy.  I strongly recommend grounding both before and after any act of energywork.  During the working itself, it may be more appropriate to center without grounding.

As always, if you find any more ways to ground yourself, or any more techniques for taking grounding further, please feel free to share them in the comments section.  The next article in this series will be on Attunement.

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What is Centering?

Centering is the single most fundamental act of energywork.  Grounding may be a close second, and the two are often talked about and even performed together as a single act, but I thought it might be useful to consider them separately.  There may well be times you will want to center yourself without grounding, though I admittedly can’t think of any times the reverse would be true.

Centering is literally a return to one’s center… a place of calm, balance, and focus within us.  It allows us to set aside stray thoughts and external influences, to still our minds, to marshal our energy and concentration, and to prepare a place to begin our Work.  This is the first step in almost any occult procedure, and one it’s helpful to return to during the course of most workings to keep the subtle energies you are manipulating focused for the task at hand.  If your thoughts get scattered, your energy gets scattered too.

How Do You Center?

A Basic Technique for Centering

Luckily, there are lots of techniques you can use to center yourself.  One of the easiest is simply to visualize yourself surrounded by a giant sphere of energy.  Imagine that energy contracting, pulling in until it is a thin shell around your body.  Then, imagine it contracting further, becoming a dense little ball inside of you at a point just below your belly button.  That’s one place you can center yourself, known as the low Dantian.   Hold it there as long as you want, just breathing in and out slowly, until you feel calm and focused.

Standing at the Crossroads

Another technique is to visualize two roads crossing in front of you.  At the center of the crossroads there is a large tree.  Imagine yourself going to sit at the base of the tree, your back against its trunk, the roads stretched out around you.  Cast your mind down each of the roads… one before you, one behind you, one to your left and one to your right.  Imagine what might be down each of them, then slowly allow your mind to return to the crossroads, to the center.  As time passes, allow yourself to become aware of a fourth road… the road formed by the tree… and allow your mind to follow its branches up into the sky, and its roots down into the earth.  Each time, slowly allow your mind to return to the crossroads, to the center.  Finally, become aware of the final road… the road within you.  Follow it to the heart of the crossroads.  Follow it to your center.

Centering with Breath

Still another technique relies on the breath.  Breathe in and out through the nose.  On each exhalation, exhale all the way out to completely clear the lungs.  Then slowly inhale, allowing your stomach to expand as you breath in and the air to settle in the deepest parts of your lungs. Hold it there for a few moments, then continue… breathing out completely, then slowly breathing in deeply so it feels almost like you’re inflating your belly.  Try to keep your chest relaxed while you’re doing this, it doesn’t need to expand along with your stomach.  When you have the hang of this, try visualizing a golden ball of energy growing in your lower Dantian, just below your belly button.  The ball is like a miniature sun inside you, and with each breath you take it grows brighter and brighter.

What comes next?

Obviously, you can mix and match any of the preceding exercises to create a method of centering which works for you.  You can also learn other methods of centering, whether through a google search for centering techniques or just experimenting and following your own intuition.  As long as you end up in a calm, centered state there really is no wrong way to get there.  But what if you want to take things a little further?  Centering may be basic, but there are some more advanced techniques associated with it.

Centering on Something

So far, we’ve taken a look at finding your center. Now, we’ll consider a method of working with that center, by focusing it on something specific.  One of the more common things to center oneself on is the divine, and this practice is often used to facilitate a direct connection with divinity.  To do this, follow the same steps as before to arrive at your center.  Once there, hold an image of the divine in your mind… even if that image is just a clear, pure light.  If other thoughts arise, acknowledge them and then set them aside if they are not relevant, and return your attention to the image.  If it helps, you can also mentally repeat a specific word over and over… perhaps simply “<insert your deity’s name here>”.  Do this as long as you like, and just listen and see what happens.

Centering on the Go

Centering oneself when you’re all by yourself and still and seated and comfortable is fairly easy.  But what about when you’re on the go?  Think you can center yourself while walking around, or in the middle of a traumatic situation?  You may not think you can, yet, but this is generally when you most need to.  Here’s a technique to get you started.  Whenever you become aware of not feeling centered in your daily life, it may be useful to take a few minutes to consciously do this, to create a habit of bringing oneself back to center that will then carry over even into extraordinary or traumatic situations.

Begin walking, at whatever speed is comfortable with you.  As you walk, slowly breath in and out, taking two or three steps as you inhale and then two or three steps as you exhale.  Allow the breath to go all the way down to your belly and push it out, just like the last exercise.  Then exhale completely, emptying your lungs, before starting the process over again.  Become aware of the sphere of light brightening in your Dantian as you walk and breathe.  Each step, each breath, makes it brighter.  Now, center your thoughts on an image of calm and peace held within that sphere of light.  Perhaps a simple scene from nature, perhaps the image you use to connect with divinity, perhaps just the word Peace and the feeling that goes with it.  Feel that image suffusing your center, till the combined energy overflows and runs down your body to your feet, still growing with each step, each breath, an endless inner fountain.  Imagine yourself leaving little puddles of this energy behind you with each step, little seeds of peace planted in the world.

Wrapping Up

Obviously there are many more ways to center, and many more things one can do with centering.  I strongly encourage anyone interested to look into it further.  Sources dealing with meditation may be a great deal of help, as centering lies as the heart of most forms of meditative practice.  If you find any more ways to center yourself, or any more techniques for working with your center, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

That’s about it for centering, and I hope you’ve found it useful.  The next article planned for this series will deal with Grounding.

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After a great deal of struggling, I’m pleased to announce that Dreamhart.org now has a searchable directory listing for otherkin up and running. To add your information to it, first you have to register for the website. Then, edit your profile: you’ll find all of the Directory information in its own section, so you can choose exactly what you want to display. You’ll also find a radio box that lets you decide whether or not you want to display your information in the directory. I’ve made very very certain that if you check “Do Not Display”, your information will never show up in the directory by any means; not as part of regular display, not as part of search results, and not even if you type the user-id in by hand in the url for individual profiles.

I believe I’ve tested everything fairly thoroughly in the course of implementing this new system, but as always if you run into any bugs please let me know. Also, if you think any fields should be included that aren’t, let me know. I can’t guarantee that everything people want will be included (I don’t actually know how to program in PHP, I know just enough to be able to read and edit someone else’s code), but I may be able to work something out.

Edit: One other small thing, I’ve now added another option for people who want to be slightly more private about their data.  You can now set it to display only to logged-in users of this website.  I will warn that registration is open, and anyone can register, though.  It should prevent indexing by google and other search engines/bots, however.

Please note as well, privacy settings for the directory do not affect visibility of your profile on the forums.

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Edit: We’ve had to move from Dalnet to Mibbit.net due to restrictions Dalnet places on the number of users who can connect through Mibbit clients. Anyone using the webclient should notice no real changes, anyone using their own IRC client should now direct themselves to irc.mibbit.net.

Edit: So, the widget for counting how many people were on the channel in IRC turned out to be unreliable. So far, I haven’t found a direct replacement for it, the best I can do at the moment is a count of how many people are using the mibbit widget to chat in the channel, rather than how many users are in the channel itself. I’m not sure that’s really useful, so my recommendation at the moment is if you care about how many people there are to chat with, sign onto the channel and check.

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As always, let me know if you encounter any bugs, especially in the forums after this change. The css interactions were complex, and annoying. I think I’ve worked around all the major issues that came up, but I can’t be sure I’ve found everything just yet.

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I’ve decided to make that entry public, and to republish my survey answers here. They have not been updated, these are my answers as they were six years ago, though I have modified the links of any resources referred to in order to point to their present locations. At some point, when I have time, I may write a second entry representing how I would respond to this survey if I took it again today.

1. Jarandhel Dreamsinger. Jarin, if you prefer the shorthand. 24 years old at the moment, I’ll be 25 in February 2006. Currently living in Arlington, VA near Ballston Commons Mall. Physically male. Don’t really identify with a specific gender, view gender as more fluid than that. Don’t really understand the question “Do you keep track of these things for any other life/existence/aspect?” but would happily answer it if clarified.

2. I identify as quite a few different types of nonhuman beings, to the point where listing information about each of them would be difficult. The primary one that I am public about is elven, from a world known as Alorya. Some refer to our type of elves as Eldari, though I don’t care for that term myself. We’re pretty much your typical tolkienesque elves. I believe this does manifest in my current body, in particular my eyes. I am entirely of european heritage to my knowledge, but have been mistaken by others as anything from chinese to native american; most recently I’ve been told I could pass for hispanic. Depending on the form I identify with most strongly at any given moment, I do sometimes experience phantom limb syndrome, and also at times a phantom sensation of clothing specific to a particular life other than my present one.

3. I generally work with my otherkin sides from the premise that they are past lives. This seems to fit, as I have explicit memories associated with them. However, I’ve also explored the possibility that the memories may be allegorical, or concurrent or even future incarnations. So far, the past life interpretation makes the most sense to me though.

3a. Yes, I remember things about most (I think all, but hesitate to be quite that certain when I haven’t gone through and catalogued them all) of my otherkin past lives. My culture varied by quite a bit depending on the life we’re referring to, as did what I was like. I remember being everything from a warrior to a young child training to be a healer, and I’d describe my personalities as markedly different, though there are recurring trends in different lives. The quality of the memories varies depending on the life, some are quite spotty while others have gotten very detailed over time. They almost always start out spotty at first. I’m not sure I understand what you mean by how consistent are the memories, could you clarify? The main means I’ve used to determine they’re not just products of my subconscious is if others remember the same thing. Among the kin I associate with, the tendency is to share partial information about a memory while holding things back and see if others mention remembering any of the things you’ve held back without prompting. I’ve had shared memories with quite a few people over the years.

4. What was my awakening like? You’re in luck, I’ve written a whole essay about that, plus it has a link to the essay I originally wrote when I entered the community, you can compare the differences in perspective for yourself. http://wanderingpaths.heliwood.org/articles/jarinawakening.html A lot has changed in my perspectives since my awakening, but I haven’t really doubted myself since sharing memories with others, and that happened fairly early on.

5. I’m not really sure how much being otherkin affects my everyday life. In the end, I think the question may be somewhat like how has being male or female affected your daily life. Unless you’ve had the experience of not being otherkin, how do you answer that? And not being awakened, in my book, is not the same as not being otherkin for purposes of this question, since even before I had memories of other lives I notice certain themes showing up in my poetry that at the time I was not even conscious of. Things that are clear references to some of my otherkin sides in retrospect. I feel fairly comfortable in the body I was born in, though I could do without the male pattern baldness and the slow metabolism. The environment is another story; I don’t feel that I will ever be truly comfortable in this culture. Though I’m not sure if that’s because I’m otherkin, or just sane in my approach to the world. Consumerism really doesn’t appeal to me that much; I do like buying things now and again but I’ve never seen shopping as something to do for its own sake. I don’t like seeing the world covered over in pavement and buildings to the degree it is. Things like that. Though, again, this is hardly a trait specific to otherkin and many humans share these same objections to modern society. It really doesn’t affect my choice of career or home so far as I know; I live in a normal house and am going to start school for a career in computer networking and security soon. As for the people I associate with? That’s harder to answer. I do have friends outside of the community, but my closest and most enduring friendships have been with otherkin, and the majority of my friends are members of the otherkin community. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m otherkin, or just because I found a large concentration of people I like there, even if I had to hunt them out among a lot of others who weren’t even close to the same quality. Some people seem to sense something different about me; not animals, though, at least as far as I’ve noticed, though I’ve heard some stories from when I was very young that may show they have reacted to me oddly in the past. Apparently, when I was quite young (still in a stroller) and my mother took me for walks with her in the woods around our property, our cats would follow along with me and not stray away. People’s reactions have been more interesting… young children often seem to see something odd about me. I’ve had children in stores point at me and go “Mommy, look at those people!” (I’m a multiple, hosting one other person presently, though at the time I think I may have been hosting one or two more.) I’ve also had some interesting experiences with more spiritually aware individuals, though the most recent (and most interesting) of these was someone claiming to be a shaman whom I have never met who approached my mother in Minnesota and apparently made references to things about me and even referred to me by name though my mother claims not to have mentioned my name before he did. I’m still not entirely sure what to make of some of the things he reportedly told her about me and about herself.

6. I’m really not sure how being otherkin has affected my spirituality or religion. Both my religious beliefs and my spiritual practices have evolved since my awakening, but I do not think that is because of the awakening itself. And though I have been influenced by individuals within the otherkin community, that has more to do with agreeing with their thoughts than them being otherkin. I do practice magic, but I can’t really say whether or not being otherkin is a factor in that beyond sometimes using past-life memories of techniques as inspiration, which humans with past-life memories of magical work could also do.

6a. I have participated in glamourbombing, though not for many years (the last time I glamourbombed was October 31, 1999). I think the best tools I used were gold and silver ink to write certain phrases and certain Reiki symbols related to true forms, clarity of sight, and so forth on bits of paper left in books in libraries and such.

7. Have you ever questioned your sanity? Of course. I believe that wondering if you’re crazy is a sign of sanity. The really crazy people are positive they’re sane. Has anyone else ever questioned your sanity? Yes, but I’m not sure it counts if done by obvious trolls on internet forums. How do you deal with either/both situations? For the former, usually I take a moment and remember that I’ve verified most of my memories with others who have independently had memories of the same events and places. For the latter, I simply ignore it, but then I’ve never had my sanity questioned by anyone who’s input on the subject I would actually value. Have you ever received therapy, voluntary or involuntary, due to being Otherkin? No. I’ve never felt that I’ve needed it.

8. I’m fairly open about being Otherkin. Most of my friends know, my parents know, my boyfriend knows; though I don’t go out of my way to advertise it to casual acquaintances or in forums where there is no reason to bring it up. The main people I’ve told that needed to react were my parents, most of the others were kin themselves, and it’s hard to tell how my parents reacted to it because I also dropped being bi, pagan, and poly on their heads all at the same time. They seem fine with it now though.

9. I know many otherkin, both in person and online. At this point in my life, the majority of my friends are members of the otherkin community. My impression of the otherkin community varies. The local one I’m quite impressed with, a number of very high quality people have managed to gather in this area. On a whole, though, I think the majority of people in the otherkin community are idiots, same as any other large group of people. In the otherkin community, I primarily blame that on the tendency for newly awakened kin to be relegated to certain lists that are separate from the main lists where a handful of more experienced (in some cases only slightly so) kin try to act as gurus. It’s one of the reasons that on Wanderingpaths I have encouraged newbies to participate and ask any questions they want, though the focus of the list is not specifically on Awakening. I’ve been to many otherkin gatherings. I’ve been to WtT 2 through 8 (1999-2005), as well as several mini-gatherings hosted by different people and of course Ri’s biweekly Open Study.

10. What advice do you have to people who suspect they may be Otherkin—or, for that matter, may aid me in making this a better book? I’m not even sure where to begin. I’ve learned a lot in the time I’ve been part of the otherkin community, and I’m still processing a lot of it and trying to put it into words and into practice. If there was just one thing I could say to them, though, I think it would be this: Awakening is a process, not an event. Realizing you’re not human, even finding memories, is just the beginning. Exploring your relationship with that which makes you Other can take a lifetime, or more. Don’t stagnate, don’t convince yourself you’ve already got it all figured out, and never stop working towards personal refinement. Or you might as well never have started to Awaken at all. Do you recommend any particular resources—books, websites, etc.? Otherkin.net is alright for a very basic overview, I guess. I prefer Rialian.com, generally. And of course, I’m working on my own website, http://wanderingpaths.heliwood.org Static websites in general, though, don’t have a lot. Mailing lists are a bit better; elven-realities on both yahoo and google groups is a very high quality list, and I think my own list Wanderingpaths@googlegroups.com is good as well. But they’re really best for meeting people you can talk with elsewhere, I think. AIM, Livejournal, private email, and of course gathers and minigathers. Ultimately, I think I’d end up referring newbies who struck me as honest seekers to specific people more than specific resources, though I might mention the general sites and lists as well if they weren’t already familiar with them.

11. Do you have anything else you’d like to add? Nothing I haven’t already shared with you on AIM or LJ.

12. (Clarification of a portion of Question #1) As in, do you know the sex/gender/etc of other lives/existences/aspects/etc.

Yes, I do. My elven life, which as I mentioned before is the main one I’m public about, was male. That’s actually the life I’ve taken the name Jarandhel from, and it still seems to fit me rather nicely. Dreamsinger, however, is not from that life; it’s more descriptive. I’d estimate my age in that life somewhere between 16 and 20, I think probably around 17 or 18. (Speaking, of course, in equivalent human age and judging by apparent physical maturity as I’m not sure how days and years there match up to days and years here) Though that is presently just the age it was at the last point that I recall; I may have grown up there afterwards, or something may have happened to me, I’m just not sure. I had thought once before that I died at a certain point in my memories where they seemed to just abruptly stop, but I’ve had memories since then that seem to be after that point and have been corroborated by others who were there, so that interpretation seems to have been in error.

I believe I was bisexual in that life, as I recall being attracted to Arhuaine from a young age (elves of my culture do not seem to have the incest taboo), but as far as I currently recall my only actual romantic encounters in that life involved other males. Probably had a fluid view of gender in that life as well, as I specifically recall shifting into a female form at times. (My particular family had an inherited gift for shapeshifting.)

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Additionally, I’ve set up forum.dreamhart.org as a domain which should redirect to our forums. It will be a few hours before this can be tested, however, as the DNS change needs to propagate.

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