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Are therians considered weres?

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:46 am
by Morkulv
Just curious. Do you think that therians are considered weres?

According to otherkin-believes they are. Personally I wouldn't have any problem with it, but it depends on what your vision on weres is.

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:17 am
by White Paw
i dont know really... im a therian but i dont think of myself as a "were" i dont feel like i shift but i do feel "phantom limbs or extra apendages" from time to time i.e. my tail or my fangs or my ears. i guess i feel that the only time i go to my true form as a wolf as far as looks go is when i pass out of this human body that im in. other than that, as far as personlity goes, i feel im a wolf 24/7

:)

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:26 am
by Morkulv
Most 'regular' people see basically all were's as shifters, so in that way therians wouldn't be were's. I personally don't really agree with that much.

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:10 am
by MoonKit
I consider myself a were. I hate the word therian. It sounds like a mental patient. Id rather call myself werewolf and be associated with evil beasts that can shapeshift then call myslef therian and be associated with some of the so called therians you find on the net who are dragon-horse-wolf- cats and have no actual real idenity for themselves. :P :D

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:28 am
by PariahPoet
It's fun to think of myself as a were, but I guess it all boils down to your definition of "were". I still think of weres pretty much as physical shifters, so under that definition, then no, I am not. But if you consider a were to be someone who shifts(any kind of shifting like mental or perception)between human and animal, then yes, we would be.(yes, I know contherians don't shift, but I still cosider them shifters)

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:51 pm
by Teh_DarkJokerWolf
Oh I like this topic lol :jester:

Yes I do believe a therians should be considered as were especially if one can truly feel their animal side an others can see this as well including were's themselves. Therians to me are were's that have not learned to shift yet..To me it is like an awakening when one has mastered the shift an can take their true form. To feel the inner were inside is enough to say your a were like me. Granted if your talking to a werewolf or were creature..It's something that if u feel it you'll know it :howl:  :oo :jester:

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:22 pm
by Kaebora
If I were to speak realistically, none of us are "weres". We are human. However, our imaginations can let us breifly beleive otherwise. Therians take it much more literally, and see themselves existing with their animal on a spiritual level. (That is, if I have interpreted the nature of a therian accurately.) Then again, what do I think I'm talking about?

Do I have to put the ducky on the wolf's head again?

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:31 pm
by Set
If you go by the origin of "were" as in this example:

Werewolf = man + wolf, literally "man-wolf"

Then yes.

If you consider the word to mean "shifter", then yes.

If you go by a definition of "physically changes form into something else" then no.

Most people do use were as a synonym for therian, but less often now than they used to. Certain members of the therian community didn't like the use of "were" because of the hollywood image of a mindless snarling beast it normally brings to mind. They didn't want themselves linked to the creatures you see in cheesy horror flicks.

I personally am not overly fond of the word "therian".

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:36 pm
by BlackWolfDS
I consider myself both becuase both mean the same thing to me....in a way. They both mean wolf. What am I? A wolf. Therefore, I am both :D
....that was confusing....

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:59 pm
by ravaged_warrior
Alright, I admit it... I don't believe in therianthropy. However, from what I understand from what I've read by people who do, it sounds nothing like the word werewolf's original meaning, and I think that the original meaning of a word is important, so I say no.

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:24 am
by Darth Canis
I consider myself a therian, depending what u read therian and the word were go hand and hand. Although i have experienced intermintent dream shifts and the occasional mental shift I wouldn't care if someone referred to me as a were so honestly either way it doesn't matter. But first and foremost i am a therian.

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:28 am
by White Paw
i guess after thinking about it a bit they are in a way the same and i do think of it someties so yeah i guess i am both.... well definately a therian thats for damn sure... but also a bit of a were.. :D :howl:  :oo

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:32 am
by PariahPoet
*agrees with Darth Canis*

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:40 am
by Morkulv
MoonKit wrote:I consider myself a were. I hate the word therian. It sounds like a mental patient. Id rather call myself werewolf and be associated with evil beasts that can shapeshift then call myslef therian and be associated with some of the so called therians you find on the net who are dragon-horse-wolf- cats and have no actual real idenity for themselves. :P :D
Hmm, I gotta agree with you. :D

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:54 am
by Darth Canis
I also have to agree with moonkit the "poly-weres or poly therians" confuse me a little.... I sometimes question my belief in the otherkin thing as well but hey who am I do judge right. I mean I believe my soul is animal so yeahs lol. But yes moonkit I think they don't have a real sense of idenity or they are just pretending to be something they aren't. If you disagree and you are a poly were or whatever hey that is cool. Just the way i see it is all.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:26 pm
by wolfman1991
White Paw wrote:i dont know really... im a therian but i dont think of myself as a "were" i dont feel like i shift but i do feel "phantom limbs or extra apendages" from time to time i.e. my tail or my fangs or my ears. i guess i feel that the only time i go to my true form as a wolf as far as looks go is when i pass out of this human body that im in. other than that, as far as personlity goes, i feel im a wolf 24/7

:)
Same thing goes on with me. No actual shifting. Plenty of mental shifting tho....i have tons of dreams involving me in a pack

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:45 pm
by lupine
Try this, it might help

I would go with YES. Therianthropes are were's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:04 pm
by BlackWolfDS
wolfman1991 wrote:
White Paw wrote:i dont know really... im a therian but i dont think of myself as a "were" i dont feel like i shift but i do feel "phantom limbs or extra apendages" from time to time i.e. my tail or my fangs or my ears. i guess i feel that the only time i go to my true form as a wolf as far as looks go is when i pass out of this human body that im in. other than that, as far as personlity goes, i feel im a wolf 24/7

:)
Same thing goes on with me. No actual shifting. Plenty of mental shifting tho....i have tons of dreams involving me in a pack
ditto

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:30 pm
by Vuldari
It depends on what you mean. ...though I answered NO...


It is true that there are alot of Therians who call, or have called themselves "Weres" for years...but as far as I'm concerned, that is a completely different meaning to the word, and ultimately a different word entirely from the one it is based off of. ("WereWolf")


The construction of the word "Werewolf" is essentially just saying "Wolf Man" in German (or whatever language that is), which can be interpreted as simply a creature that is both "Man" and "Wolf".


However, when the word was originally used, it was applied as the name for the creatures that are Humans that physically fully transform into the body of a Wolf and back again.


Therians are not those creatures. ...they are a completely different phenomenon, and a group that has chosen to refer to themselves by the same base word, inspired by the legends of said creatures, but with a different meaning.


If I start a club, and call it "The Marines"...then as a member, I could truthfully say that "I am a Marine" ... but that would not make me the same kind of Marine that has been through years of training with the US Military. ...merely someone else who calls themself the same thing.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:35 pm
by PariahPoet
Heh heh, not a bad analogy.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:41 pm
by RedEye
Perhaps Therians are just shift-challenged Were's. :)

Please don't hate me, Vuldari...

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:55 pm
by Vuldari
RedEye wrote: Please don't hate me, Vuldari...
I don't hate anyone for having ambitious and creative dreams...I just prefer that they maintain a firm grip on reality.

...fewer failed "Leaps of Faith" and Shattered Dreams that way...


On that subject though...I think that a Therian that is a Therian based off of the physical heritage of being a Werewolf that can not shift would be a different meaning and interpretation of the word "Therian".

A physical Therian is different from a spiritual Therian ... is different from a shapeshifting Were ... is different from a Spiritual Were, which is the Same as a Spiritual Therian.


...or something like that...

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:11 am
by PariahPoet
Reality is over-rated. ;)

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:12 am
by BlackWolfDS
I couldn't agree more... *nods*

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:01 am
by Morkulv
PariahPoet wrote:Reality is over-rated. ;)
_0_

:D