This page is a beginners guide for otherkin, to be honest, I don't know what I was thinking when I made this, overall I just get a lot of newely awakened otherkin who tend to look up to me for advice, so I figured I would compile some subjects for starters, and what I know on to this page.

I am not an expert on any of this, it is just my opinion, my advice.

Overall I hope the combined data can help others in their awakening process and growth along their spiritual paths.

SECTION II

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF DRACONITY / OTHERKIN

Should I tell my friends and family that I am a dragon or otherkin?

I would strongly advise against it, your spirituality and personal perceived beliefs are of your own business. Draconity and otherkinsim are extremely controversial and out of the mainstream social norms. Sadly not too many people in the public or within our personal day to day lives will truly be as open minded as they may seem or as much as we may personally feel.

In sharing such a controversial and radical belief with others you potentially risk alienating yourself from friends or family as well as possibly risk damaging your personal relationships or others perceptions of your mental or emotional stability. This does not necessarily mean that you are unwell, we are simply unique, rare and different. We are individuals with our own ideas of our own spirits.

Humanity unfortunately has a pack mentality, the society of this world is heavily prone to tribalism and hierarchy, everyone is in a perpetual state of judgment of those around them. If you go outside the social norms of those around you, you are subconsciously considered a threat to the “packs” social cohesion, norms and hierarchy, be these subtle perceived threats social, emotional, spiritual, political, economical, or any other alteration of the norm the fact remains that if you do not reflect to an extent the acceptable norms around you, you will be considered a threat or outcast.

Look no further than the context of political and religious disputes to see this animosity in action. Perceived differences destroy alliances, this claim does not imply that we are irredeemable or that our personal beliefs are unwelcome. But I simply wish to warn the obvious fact that differences create aversions and so any possible rejection or hostility is not your fault.

The prospect of struggling with the spiritual aspects of draconity or otherkin beliefs is difficult enough without the possibility of possibly imminent and unwarranted alienation or suspicion from our friends or family. Please understand that there is no need to share to those you trust prematurely. Test waters and know who you can truly trust. Know first and foremost that your spiritual path and beliefs are something personal to you, they are your business and of your needs above all else, let no one else dictate the inner truth of your own spirit, it is yours alone to explore, comprehend and discover.

Now in such a statement I do not mean that you should never tell anybody. If you truly trust your friends or a particular family member, then as I implied, please feel free to test the waters and examine how they may react. For example: “I found a website where some people believe they are trans-species, what do you think about that possibility?” or something similar to that. However.. in all honestly and based off my past experiences I have found that a lot of people will not, can not, or will choose not to understand or seek to learn more of such a concept of otherkin, it is more likely to be ridiculed as abnormal or foolish.

On the topic of feeling ridiculed, feeling at social risk or feeling fearful of your spiritual or emotional health. I can not promise that you will not be victimized or possibly experience negative consequences if you are too open or public with otherkin related beliefs. Please, be wise, consider external perceptions and develop your public image appropriately. In today's society not that many people will be accepting of the idea that “I was a dragon in another life on another world, I still feel connected to that old life and that old form, in mind and spirit I still am a dragon!” unfortunately a negative response is the most likely result. Please consider it common sense to put your own personal needs first, keep quiet about your otherkin introspection and self discoveries, at least until you can rationally explain your perceived beliefs and feel secure in the possible reactions from those you share them with.

I can only give fair warning, from my own personal experience and from the anecdotes I have heard from many others. I urge serious caution, please be careful of who you choose to tell. Remember that what you choose to share on the Internet or social media is typically public and accessible to family, educators and potential employers. Anonymity is a wonderful tool whenever it is available, do not fail to embrace and pursue your rights to privacy.

Overall, just be cautious to differentiate between who you feel should know your personal faith and who may be hostile to your personal truth. It is always painful to hear when a potential employer or an overly religious parent discovers that we think about or identify with something other than human. Be safe, tell only those you can truly trust and always use discretion. We sadly do not live in a fair or open minded world. The idea of otherkinism is still too new and too obscure to be seen as a reasonable faith, it is just not socially acceptable at this time in history, please use common sense.

How can I reconcile this new aspect of myself with who I am?

I am certain the way in which I wrote the question or topic above was a grammatical catastrophe, nevertheless, what I meant to write was: “Well hell, all my life I believed that I was a perfectly normal person and now I have discovered that perhaps I once existed as a ______, what do I do from here?”

Short answer is simple! You do exactly what you have always done! It seems that a lot of newly awaken kin suddenly undergo this immense personality shift in an attempt to identify as much as possible with the form or entity in question. All the while they begin shirking the things which they enjoyed no less than a month or week before. You do not need to go crazy trying to identify with said form.

There is no need to change or do anything drastically different unless you truly want to. Exploring or embracing your new inner identity can of course make you feel better or to feel more emotionally or spiritually connected and in tune to your inner self, but please also understand that too much focus or attention to a single aspect of who you are can do more harm than good in the long run. In all you do find a balance and simply be yourself, happy proud and strong.

In short, just stay who you are and do the things you have always loved to do, whenever possible feel free to subtly integrate kin specific things of your choice, strive to relate always with that which you perceived you once were, while at the same time not forgetting who and what you are now. Your otherkin beliefs are just another aspect of who you are, it may perhaps be an awesome, complex and possibly life changing aspect of who you are, but it is still just one of many countless incredible slices of the greater pie that is you!

I would advise you to strive to find a balance within yourself. Not delving so far into the spirituality as to damage your social life or responsibilities, but also, not delving so far into your present life and responsibilities that you fall into bland mendacity and neglect your spiritual or internal needs. Balance again is the key, too far to the left or to the right will bring only pain, remain always centered in your life and pursuits. Find a personal balance that allows for one half of your life to be in the spiritual and internal while the other half of your life is devoted to growth and responsibilities, in all things progress and move always forward.

Here is a bit of advice for dealing with the struggle of who and what you were, versus who you are now. A sampling of many paths in how you can live your life while not neglecting the truth of your past and spirit. Escape to the world within yourself, remember that while at rest in nature you are always free and that while you are within meditation and the silence or sanctity of your mind you are free to imagine experience and believe whatever you wish. Know also that in the imagery and artistic expression of your kintype you can always find relationship and comfort. Through video games, interactive role-play, creative writing and expressive drawing you can express and explore all that you feel within while also sharing with others the joys and expressions of that which you once were.

Through the use of the Internet we have several websites and large communities of otherkin who can relate and listen to your thoughts, you are never alone in your struggles and potential questions. There are many ways to identify or cope with your otherkinsm and trials if you simply are confident enough to explore or search for them. The support, writings, and options we need to find answers and joy are all out there and accessible if we simply take a step forward and search thoroughly.

As for the differences between this present life compared to past perceived lifetimes, forms, personalities, possible genders and so forth, these unfortunately are emotions that can only be reconciled individually, they can only be resolved by you, it is your spirit, your perceived past and your present. But help and advice is again always available while you navigate your personal self discovery.

Just remember that whatever or whoever you perceive that you were in a different reality, no matter what you feel that you did, or whatever you possibly failed to do. You are human now, this is a new life, a new chance with new responsibilities. You have this life to live and to focus on. Remember that you can only dwell on a lost existence for so long. Please strive to live for today, life is short, it is meant to be lived to the fullest!

Above all else, remember that regardless of what or who you perceive you once were you are human now and will remain such for the foreseeable future. There is a time and a place for all things, remember at all times to remain in balance. Also, obviously do not fall into delusion or believe that since you have awakened as otherkin that you are somehow superior or different. Conversely, do not ignore that you are otherkin or unique by focusing so heavily on the tasks and distractions of this world that you perhaps lose respect for or hope of the emotional and spiritual connections that awakening as an otherkin can bring.

Remember, in all things find a personal balance. Find your inner happiness and embrace it. Live life!

I live in a religious family, or am a faithful person, how do I know I am not simply possessed?:

Firstly, if you live in a religious household and you are dabbling with otherkinism, for your own sake please do not get caught. Particularly in regards to the fact that your family or friends may freak out. That was just a personal warning as it seems to be a common problem for otherkin in religious households to have to suffer or hide their beliefs. Particular emphasis for the Abrahamic faiths.

Now as for whether or not you are possessed or are under some form of spiritual attack or test? Unfortunately only you can determine a resolution to that question. I have known others including myself who have had experiences and possibly even spiritual companions (head mates) throughout their awakenings which were deeply supportive and encouraging of this worlds faiths.

I would imagine a demonic entity would be quite the opposite and would strive to push us away from a belief in the divine or our prior faiths, but that is only my personal experiences. In all honesty only you and your interpretation of God can know what is within your heart, mind and soul. This is a deeply theological question beyond my ability to securely respond to, it can only be determined by you as an individual.

A prayer tip for reconciling your present existence with the possibility of otherkinism. For those who may actively participate in a strict religion or within a belief system that inherently disagrees with the idea of reincarnation, spirits or other worlds:

(Particularly Abrahamic Religions)

If you believe in your heart, mind and in your very soul that you are an otherkin but fear holy condemnation I encourage you to pray to your God or deity and let them know that you still follow them now just as you always have and that you are but a child in soul. That you feel a personal calling from your inner spirit to explore this concept, that you know your God can see into your mind and spirit and know that you mean no disrespect in such actions. That you know your God has created all things in this world and as creator of the universe he is sovereign over all other worlds and beings in creation as well. That if you have been granted the gift to sense or recall other possible lives that you will explore them in a way that glorifies your God and leads others to your God ' s truth.

Pray, that if you are in error, that you will be loved and forgiven, that you trust in a loving deity who can see into your heart, mind and spirit and who will know what you are going through and who will support you in love and forgiveness at all times.

If need be, for further spiritual closure, feel free to humbly ask your God in prayer for some form of confirmation that what you believe of yourself is true or of his/her will. You may be surprised!

I want to relate to my kintype more, have more dragon stuff, writings art, etcetera, but my family and friends would never accept or allow such, what do I do?:

First, before I begin, a disclaimer: You know best how to go about this, yours and anothers situations may vary, please do what you know is safest or best for you. As always my advice below is simply what worked most effectively for myself and my friends in the past.

As I firmly touched upon in earlier advice, most people will socially frown upon you getting too involved in what may be deemed as fantasy, childish, sinful or bizarre interests. But you are probably still going to emotionally long for and desire to have physical reminders around to help bring you closer to your kintype. It's reasonable and common to wish to better express and relate more with what you perceive you once were, or still feel you are on the inside. For this topic, I will use dragons, but please do not hesitate to insert your own personal kintype as need be.

Here is my advice to you. If you can not safely have a room or area to display a dragon collection or otherwise be constantly surrounded by dragon paraphernalia, either due to family or social expectations I would like to reassure you that there are still some options. First option: Digital mediums, perhaps create a secret folder on your computer, phone, media player or whatever digital option may be available. If available pay a visit to www.deviantart.com , Google images or any other art site and search for and save all the kintype art that may have personal meaning to you, clear your cache and keep the art in a secret location, view it commonly in private whenever you need a little emotional boost or reminder of who or what you are on the inside. Mixed with equally motivating or personalized music this trick can be quite emotionally rejuvenating!

If you are blocked from such sites, perhaps attempt to gain such artwork through other means, or visit a public library. If nothing else, do an art search through a VPN or from a third party and keep whatever meaningful pictures you can find on a flash drive. If this extent of secrecy is required, then of course it goes without saying, leave no evidence of your activities however benign they may be.

Alternatively, please consider finding a quiet place in nature that you can call your own, a lair or sorts, a personal private little paradise or natural spot where you can be alone and simply be yourself. A place where you can lay in the grass or the shade, sun, feel the breeze, read whatever books you wish, draw whatever your visions may inspire, play whatever games you want and generally be yourself at peace and free of the criticism and eyes of others. Find a place of privacy with no annoyances to laugh or complain about your love of fantasy. Find a small secret piece of Earth to call your own, a spot where it is just you and the nature around you, then relax , be free , and dream!

If that too is not possible, for example if you live in a city or urbanized area you may still always have the privacy of your room. At least I would hope. In which case, perhaps save up a small amount of funds and invest in the purchase of a storage chest with a lock. Then you will have a place to store small meaningful treasures, you could gradually purchase whatever dragon trinkets, literature, art, or small gifts you wish and keep them under hidden lock and key when they are not in use, nobody would need to know unless you wished it, just do not get caught or allow your activities to become obvious.

Be honest, you are probably younger than me if you are reading this, you are smart and clever, the world is yours, have fun, be dragon, own dragons, just be sneaky, it ' s never as hard as it seems, think outside the box! Lastly, never forget, the greatest treasure you own, the purest connection to your kintype that you can ever gain is that which you already have. Your mind, your inspiration, your thoughts, vision and imagination. Creative writings, artistic works and the expression of your soul, these are things that cannot so easily be censored by disapproving forces, they exist within you and only you can access or close off those treasures, you are inherently amazing and everything that you need is within you!

Find your own path, your own truth, and make your own way:

Remember, you are a spiritual being within a physical machine. This world we live in is an adventure! Life is a learning experience and each new life and each new form is only experienced once. You will only get one opportunity at this life in this body and in this world. You could die today, you just do not know when it all may end, so why waste your life in mendacity? You will have your daily dramas and stresses, you will have problems and negatives in your life, we all will.

However, as we go about life in this world there is but one goal to remember, “Each new day could be your last.” Life on this world is simply too short to waste on petty or negative things, you are here to live, yesterday may have been difficult, but why should we let it ruin today? Today may be difficult as well, but we can not let it ruin tomorrow. Happiness is a choice, even in the worst of conditions we must believe that life can always improve. I encourage you to strive to let drama and negatives simply slide down your back and into the past. You must create your own reality, your own truth, your own path. Do not allow yourself to be confined to one road in life, we are souls on a journey, introspective and curious, we detour and explore the roads less traveled, you will never know what you will find until you leap into the fogs of the unknown and chart new paths.

If you are otherkin , you are to an extent an alien to this world, never forget that, take pride in such and seek to experience this reality through external eyes outside the perspective of humanity, strive to learn and grow with this alien perspective, we inherently see unique perspectives, so as you go about your life and grow and learn, seek to find what works for you in this world. Make your own way forward and understand and accept that the truths and beliefs of man may not always be true to your own , we are unique.

We are visitors to this world, man ' s truth is subjective, know yourself and never forget who or what you are on the inside. Be strong and take pride in what you are, you will only live this particular life once, make this life count and do not waste time dwelling on the past, be it the past pains of this life, or the past pains of another, work proudly to live for today and press forward to create your own ideal future!

Responsibilities of being dragonkin or otherkin:

As an otherkin, you have some responsibilities, particularly a responsibility to yourself. You are encouraged to conduct yourself in a mature, introspective and honest fashion or you are going to risk alienating yourself from family, friends and personal support. This subject matter is obvious and has already been repeatedly discussed prior.

However, if you choose to openly portray yourself as otherkin, you are now not only representing yourself as an individual, but you are also representing the very concept of our collective belief system, we are not and never will be an organized religion, our overall community represents a pseudo-religion at best. At our core, we as otherkin are simply a digital collective of individuals each with unique perceptions of our personal spiritualities, we have no spokesman or public propagandists, if one of us looks bad publicly it will reflect adversely upon the whole community and there is little that can be done to prevent or counteract any negative social assumptions that may occur in result.

Our solace and ability to evolve free of ridicule exists due to the fact that we are fairly obscure and unknown to the general public. We are generally separate and individualized. So if you as an individual should fall into delusion and decide to climb upon your rooftop with a sword to declare yourself the god of all dragons or act in some generally outlandish ways, and if the media should happen to arrive to investigate why you are acting strangely, please be silent and avoid any mention of otherkin in the course of your explanations.

If you somehow inadvertently create a scene or social incident please simply allow the public to assume that your delusion is due to a D&D game or LARP which has gone awry. Your actions as an otherkin reflect upon the community as a whole and not just yourself. Please try not to bring any unwanted attention to the larger community by being immature or acting upon unsubstantiated beliefs or claims, please behave yourselves, be at all times introspective, humble and mature, you represent a fledgling digital collective, many of which may wish that our beliefs not become too well known too quickly at this time in history.

However, take note, that when and if you first awaken you may likely awaken to many false assumptions and memories in your first year or two, not everything that your heart tells you may be true. Everything that you come to believe should be reaffirmed with knowledge and wisdom, drawn steadily from inner truth from the soul, deep meditation and of course from emotion and faith, you won't get the answers all at once, you will likely only begin with assumptions, but you have a responsibility to question yourself repeatedly and to evolve in your beliefs. What you believe today may not be what you believe a year from now, your self understanding may change and evolve as you discover more truths from within.

I would personally encourage you not to blindly follow others whom you may meet, their paths are not your own. However, do not shirk their advice either, in all things find a balance, learn from your elders and those who have come and experienced before you, but in the end, remember that your path is your own to walk. I would encourage you to compile advice you may encounter, but to always question the reasoning and rational behind what you were told or have read. What lessons exist within the advice? What mistakes or experiences were involved in the formation of that opinion? What mistakes can you avoid having read this advice and how can you better grow as an individual? Those were simply examples, the goal is to build upon the advice of others and in all things, chart your own path.

Lastly, a mistake I made a lot in my youth, please do not arrogantly ignore those whom you disagree with. Be open to question, discuss and to learn from them. We will all have different perspectives and experiences, what is right for one may not always be right for others. Take their advice and reflect upon it, always strive to be in a state of receptive learning and growth. Lastly, if somebody accuses you of delusion or ignorance do not immediately take it as an insult, they may have probably experienced a variant of the same assumptive beliefs or ideas that you have now, embraced them, failed and matured.

We all start off with some ignorance, so please do not hesitate to question why another may believe you are in error, please be willing to at least listen to their stories. Not all criticism is an immediate attack, many older voices may speak from experience and wish to teach those whom their words can possibly help. If some of us older members of the community have appeared or seemed rude, please forgive us, it ' s not your fault or anything you did wrong, some of the older members may simply be jaded from sharing the same stories and lessons often. Always question your personal understandings, always remain in a state of personal growth! Remember that your maturity or lack thereof, reflects upon us all. Be your best for all of us and more importantly be always at your best so as to express your own priceless self worth!

Otherkinism is not a game:

Speaking personally, my self perceived draconity has been a psychologically detrimental, spiritually hectic and overall long and stressful journey, throughout most of my life, it has caused me far more pain than joy. But the personal faith that I was once a dragon is an inseparable part of who I am.

As a result I know myself better and have become a stronger person. I have also learned that draconity is not for everyone, it is not simply a game, a role-play or an imaginary mask that you wear, it is a state of inner being. One cannot simply choose to be otherkin, you either are or you are not and the experiences that one will face through their personal journey are a mixed blessing at best with both positives and negatives. However, in the end one ' s reward is the knowing of ones true inner spirit.

I personally can only be myself and I am a dragon in mind, emotion and spirit. It was only in the realization and acceptance of the fact that I was a dragon in spirit and in mind that I was able to achieve the peace and balance that I was missing from my life. In eventually accepting and embracing this risky and subjective truth I inevitability felt as if a missing piece to the puzzle of who I was had finally been found and that things finally begun to make sense.

When I denied that I was a dragon inside, it would feel as though a piece of me died, I was without purpose and meaning, When I embraced that I was internally a dragon, I felt at constantly social and cognitive risk, but yet, I also finally felt free. I learned that I can only be true to myself and that truth was “I am a spirit not of man, yet living a life within the flesh of man.”

To be otherkin is to claim to have a personal spiritual belief system with an immensely deep emotional and faithful meaning, it is to claim to have a near inseparable emotional and spiritual bond to one ' s kintype. An individual ' s claim to be otherkin should not simply be in the context of some fictional role-play, a means of escapism, a means to cope, or as an expression of a psychological malfunction, although I am sure there are rare and highly publicized cases in which these are the expressed examples of other kin , the majority of otherkin are generally introverted but overall fun individuals, heavily involved in philosophical debates, metaphysical studies, tech and medical fields, creative activities and mature individuals who live typical social and economical lives while off the Internet.

We are just normal people with odd and somewhat different beliefs. We do not express them for attention or for superficial reasons, we do not wish to escape reality, otherkin is not some game like Second Life, our beliefs are personal, subjective and individualized, for some they are spiritual, for others they're internal or connected to our personal identities and self expression, but in every case our personal faith is simply one of many countless aspects of who we are, we embrace our experiences, we introspect, know ourselves and integrate our internal identity to grow for the betterment of this life!