Sevenfold Silence

I didn't know until I read the Field Guide that "becoming otherkin" was a controversial idea. That still seems, at least to my eyes, a little odd, particularly if we're dealing with some of the less literal interpretations of the phenomenon (energetic resonance, identification with archetypes), or if we accept walk-ins or certain theories of multiple systems as valid, or if we're adhering to certain theories of vampirism (whether psi or sanguinary). In the case of these, turning yourself otherkin--or being turned into the same--seems perfectly natural. Assume it, invite it in, have somebody else 'initiate' you.

Why you'd WANT to become otherkin, however, is beyond me. Generally, speaking as someone with no past life memories and no giant angst, I find my otherkin status to just be something I am, not really bragworthy and not really special. It's got bonuses and drawbacks. I don't know why you'd seek it out specifically.

For shits and giggles I recently took the semi-humorous You Might Be Otherkin If... quiz on otherkin.net. (I say "semi-humorous" because of the notes about how starred items "count more"...and those entries typically aren't silly or funny.) I pasted it into Word--four pages--and deleted things that didn't apply to me, adding occasional brief notes to qualify or explain. I also made note of certain things I consider 'kin traits that the test didn't deal with. I'm synesthetic, for instance.

When I got done the whole thing was three pages, nearly bleeding onto four, meaning about three-quarters of the items applied to me. That's far more than I'd expect on an initial eyeballing of the test, and a lot of them were those critical starred points. I had never done that exercise before, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten such a high score when all this otherkin stuff started for me. (Which, for context, is anywhere from one to three years ago--I had stirrings three years ago, and only accepted it about a year ago.)

I don't think I inducted myself into an identity as otherkin. I do, though, think that as I've come to terms with who I am better, I've settled into the identity. In other words, I've become more demonstrably otherkin over time. This doesn't mean I'm a faker, and it doesn't mean I wasn't otherkin before--it just means that this addition to my identity has allowed me to settle down and get to know myself better. I like it this way.