otherkin

below are some links to my shrine pages that explain my otherkin identities. underneath is a brief description of what otherkinity is, and a longer description of what it means to me. these are my guys and they are me and it is important to me to honour that!!

what is otherkin?

in short, otherkin are individuals who identify as partially or entirely non-human.
for some, this identity stems from a spiritual or religious belief (reincarnation, past lives, possessing a non-human soul), and for others it's of psychological origin (trauma, dissociation, mental illness). We know we are physically human; our identity as non-human does not take away our ability to understand that.

if you're looking for a more comprehensive understanding of otherkinity, check out the otherkinity information hub written by azure/bede. it's a pretty comprehensive page of information and first hand experience that will answer most questions about otherkinity.

what is otherkinity to me?

home.

okay, there's a longer answer that makes more sense. when i say home, what i mean is that my kintypes make me feel, for the most part, at home. comfy. all of my kintypes give me a sense of belonging, nostalgia and familiarity that is quite hard to describe to people who haven't experienced it, but is incredibly strong.

i am otherkin for both psychological and spiritual beliefs. i believe in reincarnation, past lives, the multiverse theory... and while they aren't concrete ideas or rulesets, i do believe in their existence. i believe my kintypes are my past lives, and that certain dreams can be interpereted as memories of these past lives. i was also raised in a mixed household of catholic, christian and jewish ideology, and identify as agnostic, so my kin beliefs are influenced by this as well.

i would say my belief and identity stem from those religious/spiritual ideas mixed with psychological factors including my neurodivergency (asd/adhd), mental illness (mdd/gad), health, and queerness. i detail it further in each kintype's page, but for example, remus and jack help me deal with the psychological effects of chronic pain, and my identity as a canid and blackbear help find comfort from prejudice and dehumanisation of my queer identities, particularly as an aroace-spec, nonbinary being.

if you've read my about pages, you'll know im a psychologist. and i can understand that hearing a psychologist not only talk positively about this, but identify as it, can be a bit confusing. so why do i?
there's several reasons, and they're the same as why i don't discourage age regression (but do condemn ageplay/ddlg). as long as it's not hurting anyone, why should i worry? otherkin is an identity; it is not inherently harmful or beneficial, it is what the individual makes with it. if a client told me they were otherkin, i'd say, "that's great, tell me about what this means for you. do you feel it helps or hinders your life, and how?"
if someone's otherkin identity gets to the point that they are unable to distinguish between their objective reality and another identity, then yes, that is a problem. but that isn't generally considered otherkinity.