Bit Of A Rant

Wolf shifter here 🐾.

Do you have any tips to getting motivation to start shifting again??

hi!

I think something that might help with motivation is going back to the beginning of your journey and why you want to shift in the first place. what are your goals and dreams and what do you want to achieve by shapeshifting? I feel like surrounding yourself with feelings of empowerment and inspiration could help jumpstart motivation and help you get back on track.

also, triggering m-shifts or surrounding yourself with themes or feelings relating to your instincts/species etc could help too. for me, having m-shifts or phantom shifts inspires me to want to p-shift.

if you have stuff like masks, tails, ears, or other things that can make you more wolf-like, it might help to dress in the colors of your wolf side or put things on that makes you look like a wolf. for me when I put on ears or tails I always wish they were physical and when I wear brown clothes (bc my fur is brown) I tend to wish it was my fur, so putting things together to make yourself look like your wolf self might help with motivation to shapeshift so that you CAN have your ears/tail/paws/fangs/fur again.

if anyone else has any other tips, feel free to add on!

Ingmar Bergman

Okay now that I got the bitchiness out of my system a bit, let's see if I can write a bit on """"rules"""" of witchcraft as I would like to see them.

Stop bitching about other people's practices and focus on your own. If you spent a lot of time worrying or raging about how other people practice, how will you ever grow your own? Focus on yourself and your own power and let other people do their thing.

Other people's practices are inspiration, not goals. On the flip side, if there is someone who you look up to, or someone's practice you love seeing, take it as inspiration for your own, but don't look it at as a goal to achieve. Firstly, what people share online is not the whole of their practice, and secondly you're not them and their path is not yours.

Be curious. Why are people harping on "black and white magic"? Why are Starseeds bad, but Alienkin and Starkin are fine? Why is cultural appropriation such a bad thing? (If you answered "because racism" on all three of these, have a cookie!) And not just curiosity about these concepts, but also about correspondences (Why are red roses a symbol for love?) or ingredients you have in your home (will this basil work as well as rosemary for this spell?) or other paths and techniques, or spirits, or -- you get the point. Once you know the "why" you can use your own discernment. Does this work for me? Do I agree with the why? Etc. etc.

Be respectful -. To other people, to other practices and cultures, to spirits and deities. Find out their customs and cultures if you can, and act accordingly. Did you know that not saying "thank you" to the Fair Folk is only a custom in Irish and Scottish folk tales? Yeah, exactly.

-But don't be terrified. You're a witch/wizard/warlock/unicorn/whatever dammit! Act like one! Witchcraft is about empowerment, so be fucking empowered! An anarchy saying is "no gods, no kings, no masters". As a polytheist witch who works with the Fair Folk for me it's more "lots of Gods, some Kings, no masters!" I meet them with respect, but on equal footing. I experiment because if I screw up, well, I'll have learned something, and I've learned a lot about getting myself out of weird stuff.

Have fun. For fuck's sake, your practice is supposed to bring you joy. If it doesn't bring you joy or make you feel fizzy with inspiration and energy, try something else. If you need to, toss the whole thing out and start over. Trust me, it helps.

Beware of the "I wish I was a cat" to "I am not human. This body is not mine, it's just an illusion designed for suffering." Pipeline

Fine. Here you have it. The one true rule of witchcraft:

Stop bitching about other people's practices and focus on your own

Strong plural feelings have gone away for the most part, but I don't feel like a singlet either, like hardly at all. I really do feel like some sort of... plural-esque-thing. Like, I'm both plural and singular at the same time. I may just try calling myself a plurallet just because and see if it fits.

I don't know the exact name of the wolf from a couple days ago. Maybe it's because I know (knew?) her as a lycanthrope, but her name is Lyka, I think. It's probably my brain playing tricks on me, considering how close it is to lycanthrope, but I know that some folks have animal alters that are just named Bird, Bear, Wolf, Coyote, or something like that. Something significant, though, I now recognize her as me? It's like sometime between the past 3 days, we've merged. She's now me, but not, at the same time, rather than her being a whole other entity. When I think of myself, I think of these... "beings" but to the very, very slight left or right of me. They are nearly me, like fragments, but they aren't exactly fully-fledged. I don't know anything about them, but I constantly feel them there. She's probably still there, too, but she isn't at the same time. Ever since I "lost" my system, I've still felt plural in some way, like my system is empty, and no other alters have formed since then, and I'm blocked from headspace so whoop-de-doo. Is there even a term for that? I'm about to just call it plural and call it a day. I really don't feel like getting into plural stuff, considering my past with plurality has been very rocky.

Like, I know I'm not a singlet, but I don't know if I want to call myself plural either. I think I'm more afraid of backlash for being an endogenic plural. Being plural is not a huge part of me, and I'd rather just not really have that be the forefront of my identity for a bit. Especially after my past with plurality sorta being... I don't know, I wouldn't say traumatic, but it was very chaotic and I do want to sorta avoid the subject too deeply until I feel more strongly about it again.

Angrboda

the stereotype that physical nonhumans are "harmful" does more damage than good.

this really shouldn't be a hot take, but it is for some reason. no matter how you consider yourself to be physically nonhuman (pshifters, holotheres, endels, clinical lycanthropes/zoanthropes, extra limb growers or other titles/identities i forgot to include), i strongly believe that we all deserve a space to exist in.

no, physical nonhumans aren't out to get you. we aren't out here to scam you or hurt you, we are simply living our lives amongst you. the shitty groups and people of the past gave us a bad name, not because we're actually physically nonhuman. just bc we have different experiences doesn't make us lesser; it just makes us alive.

in my eyes, we are all equal. if you identify as a song, concept, plant, the vibes of a room. if you are able to physically change yourself somehow, internally or externally, whether or not other people can see this transformation or if you are/were growing extra limbs, we are all equal no matter if we are able to understand each other or not. i like to think we can agree to disagree and be kind, but clearly for some it's hard to do that.

anyways i know ive made this post before like 100 times but the topic of excluding physical nonhumans REALLY bothers me because we are an important part of the nonhuman/alterhuman/therian etc community as a whole. it bothers me a lot that there's people out there that think nonhumanity is exclusively spiritual/mental and throws out the "pshifters are abusive scammers" card. like, girlie pop we are just minding our own business in circles we've created bc YOU THREW US (the ones who had no connection to the actual shitty individuals of the past) OUT.

TLDR; stop throwing out physical nonhumans because of some shitty individuals that ruined our reputation. also i know i say this a lot but it's a topic that's on my mind quite a bit bc i feel like physical nonhumanity is excluded a lot and it feels unfair to have our community watered down to just "delusional or gullible ppl/children" or "toxic lying scammers".

anyways (again) i love u all fellow shapeshifters and critters and other things/folks in the world out there somewhere! /p

Does anyone here believe that their animal self isn’t just themselves?.. am I the only one who believes that my wolf isn’t only me but that of an entity?

I’m always told, “your animal is only you” like… no?? It’s really not just me. I refer to my inner wolf as a female as it’s what I have felt over the years from MY own experience.

I know I’m not the only one who believes this. No, it’s not DID or any mental illness. It’s not a defense mechanism either. Sigh.

If anyone knows of any users who have this experience, let me know! 😅

Hi! Fellow werewolf p-shifter here. I have a few questions if you don’t mind!

Have you ever heard of a user named Sheangel before?

Do you believe in multiple awakenings and further development of being a shifter/were? As in what’s called a “growth phase”?

Thanks!!

hello!

that name sounds familiar, but I don't personally know them or know anything about them. I might've heard that name before from somewhere, but I can't recall from where! sorry about that!

also, I think to some extent, yes, I think that "growth phases" or further development in someone's journey is expected, no matter if you are nonhuman or not. we're always figuring out who we are as individuals and I don't see why it would be impossible to have different phases or sudden personal growth spurts. I think I'm even going through it myself currently! I'm relearning a lot about my nonhumanity and what I feel connected to.

you're welcome, and if you (or anyone else) has any other questions or comments, feel free to add on ^^