| Alpha - The Greek alphabet has been used for some time now to designate positions in social hierarchies. It was originally used to describe social organization among school children in the science of sociogrammy. Later it was applied to relational networks among social animals, most prominently wolves. Although some Therians describe their positions among their relations using such terms, it does not seem to be a general usage in the Therian community. Most established Therians tend to avoid animalisic terms to refer to themselves. If that seems paradoxical behavior for animal people, remember that the labels themselves are particularly human things. Nevertheless, some Therians, and among them, some well established Therians prefer to use the Greek alphabet to designate positions in the social groups.
Alter - in a multiple personality ensemble, an individual personality residing with others in a single body. It may refer to nonpathological transient personalities used during roleplaying games (usually referred to as an "alter ego") or to the intense experience of being multiple people living in an individual body in the case of Multiple Personality Disorder. Theriotypes are sometimes experienced as alters. As such, research literature on dissociative disorders occasionally reports "animal alters".
Draconic - a person who considers themselves to be a dragon - either a dragon spirit or mind in a human body or, more classically, a dragon in their human form. Draconics used to distinguish themselves sharply from Therians and it was held that there were intrinsic differences between Draconics and Dragon Therians but, more often now days, there is less tendency to make that distinction. I have spoken with several Draconics and I cannot find any difference between their life experiences and those of Therians.
Empathy - taking on another's emotions. Empathy is a human reaction to other people, but in some Therians, it can look like mind reading. The actual mechanisms haven't been delineated but it may be very skillful and subconscious reception of body language and other nonverbal language.
Furry - a person who identifies with nonhuman animals as a matter of choice, entertainment, or aesthetic expression. Although there is some overlap between the Therian and Furry communities, they are not equivalent. Furries identify with animals (or more accurately, anthropomorphic versions of animals); Therians self-identify as particular nonhuman animals.
Gathering - Not necessarily a Therian word, a gathering is simply an event where people congregate. A specifically Therian gathering is called a "Howl" (usually capitalized). Various types of Therians may gather and call the gathering a Hiss (for Lizard Therians), Yowl or Meow (for Feline Therians), and so forth.
Hell Hound - a recurring phenomenon in the Therian community, hell hounds are entities that have been reported by different individuals on several instances separated by location. They seem to appear in groups as emaciated, roughly canine, shadowy figures with blazing red eyes, and attended by an obnoxious odor and projecting a feeling of panic. To my knowledge, these entities have never harmed anyone nor do they seem to portent any event. I've never heard any speculation as to what they are or why they appear at times. They seem to be just one more instance of the Therian ability to attract weirdness
Howl - a generic get together for Therians. Established Howls usually take the form of campouts, cabin weekends, or house parties. Less formal Howls are simple visits, road trips, dining out, or shopping trips. Most activities at Howls are pretty much what would be expected with any recreational group of people - most outsiders would not be able to distinguish between a Howl and any other outing without close observation - but some Howls include ritualistic elements such as sweatlodges and drumming circles. The character of a Howl is generally determined by the personalities of it's participants.
Kin - abbreviated term for "Otherkin", which see.
Kintype - in the Otherkin community, the type of being a person is - e.g., Vampire, Therian, Fae, etc.
Mental shift - a change in mind set in which a Therian's thought processes change significantly. It usually refers to a change from a human to a nonhuman change of thoughts and behavior or vice versa.
Otherkin - a blanket term signifying any person identifying strongly with a nonhuman existences - often including Vampires and Fae along with Therians, Draconics and other people with animal self-images. A more restricted use of the term distinguishes people who identify as extant and/or extinct animals (Therians) and people who identify as mythical or fictional beings (Otherkin). There is some contention at present about the inclusion of Therians in the Otherkin community.
Persona - see Alter
Phantom (body) - where some Therians experience their "otherness"as a shift in mentality or emotions, others feel the presence of a "second" body which has the partial or total (and sometimes alternating) form of their theriotype. This phantom body can be a salient feature of the Therian's life to the point of being uncomfortable if injured. Therefore, some Therians experience pain with long sitting on a phantom tail. They may also be able to use phantom parts to establish a sense of balance while climbing or walking over rough terrain. Sometimes only certain parts are present; for instance, some Therians will only experience a phantom tail or ears; whereas, other Therians may experience an entire phantom body, even to the point of being able to see it as an overlay in mirrors.
The phantom may be related to the nonhuman dream image many Therians have or the "power body" often reported by practitioners of shamanism. It may also be similar to the inaccurate self-images perceived by sufferers of anorexia, in which they perceive themselves as fat when they are, in fact, emaciated.
Phantom shift - a change in the awareness of the phantom body. For instance the awareness of a tail or a wing may become so intense as to make sitting uncomfortable, or a phantom tail may become useful as an ai for balancing.
P-shift (physical shift) - a change in body form, either partial or total, from human to some nonhuman being. It is often a point of contention on Internet forums with Therian members where some members will make the claim to be able to preform a p-shift. It is the common consensus that a p-shift is not possible but many Therians still maintain hope that it is possible and a way to achieve it will be found.
Outsiders often associate Werewolves with p-shifts and see the physical change as the essential characteristic of the Werewolf. The idea originated in the witch trials of the Renaissance in which mentally ill persons charged with brutal crimes claimed the ability to change into animals. Before the 15th century, first person accounts of lycanthropy did not include p-shifts, though. More common were shamanic practices in which practitioners changed into animals during out-of-body experiences (see Ginzberg's accounts of the Benandante in The Night Battles and the descriptions of Berserkers in Charolette Orren's A Lycanthropy Reader.
Posing - is acting in the character of one's theriotype or a fictional character. Online, for example, a poster may "wave their tail" at people or "offer them cookies". It can be thought of as informal roleplaying, A particular forum may or may not encourage such behavior.
Roleplaying - action in a game in which the participants take up imaginary characters in stories, often moderated by "game masters". Roleplaying can take place as a boardgame or in real time acting. A popular Werewolf-based roleplaying game is White Wolf's Apocalypse. "Roleplaying game" is often abbreviated as "RPG".
Often outsiders on a Therian forum will think that there is a roleplaying game is going on and try to join in. Such behavior is usually recognized and discouraged rather quickly.
Shapeshifter - in a narrow sense, a person who changes their shape (i.e., a p-shifter). In a broader sense, a Therian.
Shift - a change of state. There are several types of shifts recognized within the Therian community where the Therian becomes less human=like. In other words, in a Therian shift, the nonhuman element, the therioside, becomes more dominant. Shifts are not unique to Therians. Everyone experiences changes of personality from one context to another. It's common, for instance, for a business man to be a "different person" at home than when he is at work.
Shifts may occur spontaneously or they may be triggered by some external factor.
Therian - a person who has a strong internal self-identification as a being of another species. The condition is assumed to be intrinsic, that is, not chosen or the result of some artificial mechanism such as hypnosis or acquired pathology. Therianthropy is either congenital or acquired in very early childhood so that a Therians don't have a memory of ever having not been a Therians ( though there may have been a period of not recognizing the nature of their therianthropy).
Therian Community - the global collection of Therians. Since some degree of cohesion is implied in the idea of "community" there has been some controversy whether there is such a thing as "Therian community", but that controversy is weakening as the occurrence of Howls, Therian households, and connections between members of the Therian community become more common.. Some distinction is made between the online and offline Therian community as the constituents of online Therian forums make up only a fraction (and possibly a small fraction) of the entire global Therian community.
Therianthropy - the nature of a therian. The word is the generic form of "lycanthropy". "Therios" is a Greek word meaning a "higher animal" and "anthropos" is a Greek word meaning a "human". Where lycanthropy is the nature of a wolf-human, therianthropy is the nature of an animal-human. It involves the state of having a strong internal self-identification as a nonhuman being, along with the underlying mechanisms that cause and modify that condition. The term may also apply to Therian society as a whole.
Therioside - in Therians who display distinct shifts, the different mindsets or personas involved.
Theriotype - the form of the internal image of a Therian. A Wolf Therian, then, would have the theriotype as Wolf. The term replaced the now defunct "phenotype" which was seen to parrot the biological term too closely.
Were - the generic term for a human who strongly self-identifies as a nonhuman being. The most comon historic variet is "Werewolf" but other usage can be found in the literature when refering, for example, to the werejaguars of South and Central America, the wereleopards of Africa, etc.
The early Therian community founded on the AHWW website referred to themselves as "Weres" and, although the term has fallen out of favor recently with the advent of the term "Therian", many vestiges remain such as the Werelist website, the Werewsource, and other Internet resources for the Therian community. Many older and offline Therians also use the older term to refer to themselves and it may show some increased usage.
Werecreature - see Were
Werelist - An Internet site, the Werelist has been the foremost source of information for the Therian community since the last part of the 1990s. Primarily a way for Therians to find each other offline, it is also a "safe" forum and outlet for information sharing between Therians.
Werename - the name, either a nickname or given name - that a Therian uses within the Therian community, The term is not much in use anymore. Forums often discourage the use of personal, identifying information online in order to protect the individual and the larger community by providing anonymity. The concern is not only concern that an individual Therian will be "outed" but also that some indiscretion may cause legal problems for the website itself. |
