Physically Nonhuman - Blog Posts

I think I wanna start calling myself a therianthrope instead of a therian. I know the change is small. But they have the same meaning (to my knowledge) and therianthrope isn't used as much. The terms therian and therianthropy have been watered down so much on places like tiktok, youtube, and even instagram and pinterest. I personally wear masks and tails and all that stuff and I even do quadrobics sometimes, but I seriously wish that wasn't the most common perception of therianthropy.

UGHHHHHH i have to go back to school and actually humanly socialise with humans

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Ngl I really don't see my therianthropy as being either "physical or non-physical". It just is.

I view it much the same way I view my gender identity. I would never say Im physically nonbinary or psychologically nonbinary or anything along those lines. There might be physically androgynous traits to my body, or certain aspects of my gender may manifest internally more than they do externally, but at the end of the day I simply am nonbinary. I simply am nonhuman.

No hate whatsoever to anyone who does categorize their therianthropy in those ways ofc, more power to you do whatever feels right, just personally I can't picture myself in that sense yk?

Earlier today I was making a ceramic necklace pendant and was like "hey, I wanna make something werewolf related I can wear" so I was thinking and started wondering if there was any kind of general "werwolf symbol" out there that I could carve onto said pendant.

I found out that there is! It's an ancient shield emblem originating from Germany and Eastern France called Wolfsangel, which translates to "wolf's hook" and was sometimes associated with lycanthropy, and was later adopted by peasant revolutionaries as a symbol for German liberation in the 15th century. Pretty cool right?

Well not so much actually.

Im really really glad that I kept researching before I started carving because apparently Wolfsangel was actually appropriated by the Nazi's during WW2 and is now globally classified as a hate symbol. Great :|

All of this is to say that I think it's about time we created/found a new symbol for werewolves, one that doesn't have a shitty double meaning lol. Something like the theta-delta or elven star, but for werewolves (or werebeasts in general) specifically. Not sure if one already exists somewhere, I couldn't find one while researching but I wouldn't be surprised if there was one tucked away in some dusty old 2000's internet forum that someone would like to clue me in on. But if not, I think it'd be cool to start trying to figure out a new one, something that anyone who identifies with the "were" label for any reason can use!

If for no other reason, than at least just so I can find something to put on my pendant lmaooo

Ever since I learned to cut the "but I know Im still completely human btw" bullshit in regards to my nonhumanity and instead just embraced the whole "Im literally a werewolf" mindset, Ive honestly been sooooo much happier and more confident with myself and my identity.

I feel so much more in-tune with my authentic self, and my overall expression is much better aligned with how I perceive myself. My species dysphoria certainly hasn't disappeared, but it's miles more manageable than it was even compared to a year ago, which ironically has also helped me learn to love the parts of me that are still human. Im so much more balanced now, and the internalized shame I struggled with for so long is steadily eroding away. Even something as simple as casually making jokes to my friends about how they might catch me prowling the forest on a full moon is infinitely more affirming than constantly trying to convince humans that I "didn't actually believe I was an animal".

I am a real life lycanthrope. I'm never going to deny that part of myself ever again. Fuck trying to make yourself palatable for human social norms.

call me cringe or cliche or whatever idc I cannot be silenced any longer

as a werewolf, i wanna make out with a vampire sooooo bad you have no idea. like pls bro i need a forbidden were x vamp romance irl right noooww i am on my knees

Personally I call it the veil or glamour, but I like visage/aspect as well!

Little off topic but glamour has special significance to me since it describes the magic of the fae. Fairies are often described as “wearing” a glamour to hide their true form. For me this means I am charmed to look like a human being even though I am not one.

Offering a term to fellow physical nonhumans* for more natural sounding language/ease of explanation:

The/a visage OR aspect.

What you might see or others see of you even if it isn't actually what's really there.

These are preexisting words that are practically synonymous - visage is defined as being synonymous to aspect which literally means the "appearance to the eye or mind."

So I can say I am physically nonhuman, but my aspect or visage is human - humans see me as a fellow human because they simply are not calibrated to perceive otherwise. My aspect/visage isn't actually me.

*I guess you could use this as a non-physical nonhuman but if you acknowledge your physical humanity I'm not sure where it would fit? Oh well, I don't gatekeep the English language, LOL.

I totally get this. I do feel a bit bad for those who don’t have the form they’re supposed to. I can relate on some level to them since no one can see my true form, but I don’t wish for my scales or fangs or anything else in the same way those who aren’t physically nonhuman do.

I feel the tiniest bad when I read posts saying that others wish they had tails and ears and fur and fangs- I suppose it is because since I am physically nonhuman, I do, it's just not something that can be seen outwardly by prying eyes- that is besides my fangs which are natural and are able to be seen by the naked eye. I'm just a giant werebat and it's hard to comprehend even for myself I suppose. /lh

Trying to stay normal about the physical nonhumanity symbol and not give in to the urge to immediately get it tattooed.

Δ⚓︎ Anchor Delta ⚓︎Δ

• symbol for physical nonhumanity regardless of preffered label.

( combined image version; soft and sharp edges)

The delta symbolises difference, and to quote; the anchor symbolises and is: ""an anchor"(a nonhuman/supernatural) "is a heavy object attached to a vessel"(who is attached to physical inhumanity) "by a cable, rope, or chain" (by endelity, holothery, pshifting, or more)."

The idea for the symbol itself was created by @/einaobject and @/harloqui, with me just combining the character versions into one.

Physical Nonhumanity

A physical nonhuman is anyone who is physically nonhuman, inhuman, or dishuman. Nonhumanity is the state of which one is not human. Inhumanity is the state of which one is not ordinarily human. Dishumanity is when someone is dis-human, excluding or the opposite of humanity. This includes;

Holotheres

https://holothere.carrd.co/

Endels

https://endel.carrd.co/

Clinicals

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_lycanthropy

(If you have another source OTHER than a wiki or medical web, made by clinicals, i would be so happy to change the link.)

Shifters

https://spiritshifter.wixsite.com/harloqui

Most of these listed above are the most common reasons for being physically nonhuman and has nothing to do with being the only way to be physically nonhuman.

Outsiders tend to separate these into boxes, which is what we don't want to do when talking about identity. But the degrees of physical are not boxes, but they are describing the degree between physical, somatic, and metaphysical.

In general, Shifters can encompass all three at the same time. Clinicals and Endels usually encompass the somatic area, but can blend into the others with possible metaphysical/spiritual influences. Holotheres, like Shifters, can encompass all three. At the end of the day, it is very easy to break out of these three and simply be physically nonhuman in whatever way you want.

being physically nonhuman explains why I don’t really experience mental shifts. I am always mentally me. My brain is not human, and so I never shift from a more human brain to a more nonhuman brain. I just am.