Lycanthropes

Werewolves is just another way of meaning lycanthrope. Also using the term skin walkers and shape shifters  are fairly common. When most folks here this terminology they think oh something out of a horror movie impossible no way etc.. But its very possible and I will tell you why. There are many animals out there like jelly fish, chameleons, etc that can change its form, color, even shape so why is it not possible that occasionally a human being can do this. What it boils down to is our DNA make up and molecular structure. By simple reorganizing them we are able to change our make up, look, and body structure. The native Americans believed in skin walkers Indians that could change into the wolf which was very sacred to them. Today we call them lycanthropes a legend about people changing into one when the moon is full. The moon plays a big role in our lives it causes tides to change, people to become strange perhaps because its pull has some bearing on our brain cells. Legend has it that the moon causes something to happen to a  person creating a change or activating one thus a werewolf transfigures. I myself have not seen one but these are not new legends but are 100s of years old. We have the old German legends or how about the one medieval one about the boy who wore a belt and changed into one. The start of lycanthropes began in the Greek mythology days about a god who was changed into half of a wolf. In today's society they are very existent we just probably do not pay much mind to it. Often we categorize it as a disease where a person takes on human characteristics.  But often you hear about half man and half wolf creatures then they disappear just as fast as they are talked about  perhaps because the change is not constant maybe these shape shifters only morph once a month or once in awhile. But they are here even sasquatch is said to be a shape shifter the ability to change into a tree or blend with a tree for camouflage.

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AngelOfThyNight-Rick

Skinwalker Legend

Is the Navajo Skinwalker the same as the white man's werewolf? Yes, if the Navajo witch wears the skin of a wolf. But the Navajo witches can mimic any animal they choose, not just the wolf. They can be a cat, a coyote, a dog, a bear, whatever the Navajo witch wants to be. The Navajo witches pick their skins for the type of job they plan to do. The coyote skin is for high speed, accurate sense of smell, and the acute agility. The bear skin is for brute strength, however the bear is not as fast as the coyote. Along with their new abilities, the Navajo Skinwalkers still retain their full mental capacities. If the Navajo witch is a fairly or highly intelligent person, when he or she changes into a Skinwalker they carry that intelligence with them and you have a very dangerous opponent. Unlike the wolf man, the Skinwalker will use their whole bag of tricks - mind control, disease, and immobilization powder.

Scientific Theories On Lycanthropy

The british writer Robert Eisler created an intrincate anthropoligical theory about sadomasochism and lycanthropy. It presents proof that before the last Ice Age (25000 years ago), the human being was vegetarian and not violent. During this glacial time he had to adapt himself to survive in the new environment, and this included eating meat, hunting in groups and covering himself with animal skins to cope with the intense cold. The result of these gradual changes left "deep marks within the human collective unconscious mind" (using Jungian terms, quoted by Eisler), producing several sadistic and masochistic emotions, the guilt and myth of the werewolf.

 

Eisler's theories offer interesting explanations of many of the werewolf's characteristics. For instance, emphasizing the sexual connotations: primitive men wearing wolfskin outfits often had the initiative of fighting their leaders to obtain the desired woman, or of kidnapping her out of a more peaceful tribe. Because of this, werewolves are also believed to be kidnappers. Regarding cannibalism, the ancestral tribes ate whatever they could find when the ice destroyed their northern huts and were forced to emigrate south where they found still fruit-eating, pacific people. If you inhabited one of these southern communities, and suddenly the village was pillaged and burned down, your wives raped by men in wolfskins, and the next day what was left of it was attacked by a real wolf pack, wouldn't you think there was similarity between man and wolf?

 

The doctor and psychoanalist Nandor Fador explains:"The old and savage beliefs about lycanthropy have been banished to our dream life, where there still are active conditions that are exploited by the presentation of criminal motivations, while the transformation is used only sybolically as a self denunciation of our secrets, fantasies and repressed desires".

 

Some lycanthropes (according to tales from the 17th century) assured people that they really were wolves, but that their fur grew inside their body. If we remember the drugs used by witches as "metamorphosing ointments" and self-suggestion, it is very possible that this induced, in the ones who took them, hallucinations of being werewolves, without really being affected by lycanthropy, only by the effects of such drugs combined with suggestion.

Origin of the Werewolf Legend

Werewolf legend originated from the countryside around German town Colongne and Bedburg in 1591. At that time Europe was under the dark shadow of ignorance and superstitions. Towns were underdeveloped and people lived near woods. The fear of wolves was like a nightmare. Their attacks were so frequent that people even feared to travel from one place to another. Every morning, countryside people would find half-eaten human limbs on their fields. They tried their best to kill those bloodthirsty creatures. But one day the inhabitants of the German town Colongne and Bedburg made a horrible discovery that altered the history of wolf killing.

An age-old pamphlet describes those shivering moments vividly. A few people cornered a wolf and set their dogs upon it. They attacked it with sharp sticks and spears. Surprisingly the ferocious wolf did not run away; it stood up and turned into a middle-aged man. They could recognize the wolf shaped man; he was Peter Stubbe of the same village. This Peter Stubbe was the first werewolf mankind has ever faced with.

Stubbe was put on the torture wheel where he confessed 16 murders including two pregnant women and thirteen children. The history behind his downfall was rather strange. He had started to practice sorcery when he was only 12 and was so obsessed with it that he even had tried to make a pact with the Devil. Wearing a magic girdle he started to attack his enemies, real or imaginary, for revenge. After several months, he took the guise of a wolf and continued his evil with more brutality. In the wolf form he used to tear up victims’ throats and suck warm blood. Gradually his thirst for blood grew and he roamed around fields in search of prey. 

The savagery of his crimes was beyond imagination. Once two men and a woman were walking along a road that went through the forest he used to hide in. He called one of them. The man did not return for a long time and the second one followed his trail. He also disappeared into the forest. The woman fled from the area. Later, two mangled corpses were recovered from the forest, but the woman’s body never reappeared. It was believed that Stubbe had devoured it all. Young girls who played together or milked the cows in the fields were his frequent victims. He used to chase them like a hound, catch the slowest one, rape and kill her. Then he would drink hot blood and eat tender flesh from her body. Stubbe committed the most gruesome crime upon his own son. He took his son to a nearby forest, cracked the poor child’s skull and ate brain.

No punishment could match the magnitude of Stubbe’s crime. He was put on the torture wheel and his flesh was pulled off with red-hot pincer. His arms and legs were broken, and finally he was decapitated. His carcass was burned to ashes. As accessories to his misdeeds, his daughter and mistress were also burnt alive. 

The Magistrate of the town Bedburg built a grim monument remembering the ghastly incident.Workmen put the torture wheel atop a tall pole with Stubbe’s head above it. His head was structured with the likeliness of a wolf. Sixteen pieces of yard long wood pieces were hung from the rim of the wheel to commemorate the poor souls of his victims. The words of Stubbe’s trial and execution spread across the lands. His brutality, their ways and atrocity were beyond human experience. His ferocity was readily related with the behavior of wolf. People started to believe that such creatures with the shadow of wolves were living among them. They named them Werewolves.

How this Occurs

1.) Get bitten by a werewolf.
2.) Wear the enchanted skin of a dead wolf or werewolf.
3.) Drink water from a wolf's footprint.
4.) Eat dust from a wolf's footprint.
5.) Drink water from certain springs, especially in the Harz Mountains in Germany.
6.) Drink downstream from wolves.
7.) Possess and wear a moonstone (supposedly not all would do it, perhaps an extra enchantment was required?)
8.) Eat a wolf's brain.
9.) Sleep outside on a Friday night when the light of a full moon can shine on your face while you sleep. This one seems to have originated in Italy.
10) The 7th of 7 consecutive daughters was supposed to carry the werewolf strain (from Germany)
11) Pluck and wear a rare white marsh flower (the flower's name is supposedly lost, but this method comes from the Balkans so it is probably a species that either grows or grew there).
12) Children born on the winter solstice or Christmas eve supposedly had a good chance of becoming a werewolf when puberty was reached.
13) Get cursed by a powerful witch or wizard or god (eg Zeus doing so to Lycaon).
14) Have sex with a werewolf and survive. (This is one of those methods that I believe is a recent addition, but many werewolves seem to vouch for it as being valid. I wonder why? ;-)
15) Participate in the rituals of a secret society, such as one among the Nootka Sound natives.
16) In shamanistic ritual, gain the wolf as your totem animal (or guardian or familiar or whatever applies to the tradition in question) and from this the ability to assume its form. This method would also probably include those who gain such a spirit through meditation or dreams. This is the source for many "spiritual werewolves".

That is all I can remember right now. I am sure there are a few more, but they were even more obscure than some of these, I think. Not included above is the method of just being born with the genetics, since you can not do much about this one way or the other.

-Snowlock

Lycanthropy Concepts

Lycanthropy is a word which means, among other things, the transformation of a man into a wolf. Due the ubiquity of its stories, and the fear these often produce, the Werewolf stands high among all supernatural creatures mentioned in fantasy, fiction and folklore.

 

Stories of werewolves are present in many countries' folklore. Germany has its werewolf (after which the half-man/half-wolf creature is named nowadays); Portugal its lob omen, Italy its lupo manaro, Mexico its nahual, and France its loup garoux, which set a change in this country's middle age history.

 

Werewolves have relatives in countries where wolves themselves are not present: In India tales of weretigers are told, and there are african legends of wereleopards, werehyenas and werejackals. Even in nations where wolves are fairly unknown stories of weredogs, werecats, werefoxes and even weretoads do exist.

 

The degree of terror and obsession the werewolf tends to inspire in the human mind may be caused by several fundamental reasons that relate with the real wolf:

• The wolf frightens the humans because of its howling, its glow-in-the-dark yellow eyes, its hunting ability, its silent walking, and its nocturnal activity. These characteristics are easily related and explained through supernatural and/or demonic phaenomena.

 

• Ever since prehistorical times man and wolf have been hunting rivals. Because of technological advancements, the man has managed to surpass the wolf's hunting prowess; nevertheless, this rivalry unconsciously persists in the man's mind.

 

• The man has sought the wolf's extermination because of superstition, and justified it with the purpose of saving other animal species from the wolf's predation. The truth is the wolf is an integral part of its environment, since the animals it hunts are, in general, the weak, old or sick.

 

• Due to the man's devastation of the natural ecosystems, the wolf must look after a new way of providing itself food and shelter. If the native species are substituted with farm animals, the wolf will hunt them instead. The deaths of farm animals by wolves are, almost in their entirety, caused by urbanization.

 

• The vast literature -much of it proofless- about wolves has given them a bad reputation since ancestral times. The wolf's got many human-like social ways to behave (hierarchy, monogamy, pack protection, etc.) which are always obscured by the image of the ruthless, blood-thirsty beast.

Early Mythology

In early times, tribal hunters wore bear and wolf hides in the belief that they imbued strength and courage to the wearer while in combat. Around the 15th Century the myths concerning men and wolves continued apace. Many believed that a man could physically become a wolf just by wearing its 'magical' hide or a belt made from wolf skin. However, it's also quite likely that a combination of drugs and hypnosis could have made men believe they were turning into a wolf.

This early werewolf mythology is also closely related to a bizare psychological condition called Lycanthropy which causes the sufferer to believe they can become a wolf. In many cases their belief is so strong that they end up attacking and killing others.

Lycanthropy was recognised as an illness as early as the 2nd Century - many supposed werewolves were classed as Lycanthropes when they were put on trial. However, they were rarely set free, and often they were hanged.

Werewolf Folklore

Werewolf folklore has incorporated many other ideas and stories, such as the werewolf's relationship with the moon¹. This connection is believed to have started at around the same time as the domestication of dogs, when their owners would observe their animals howling for hours at the full moon.

As knowledge of werewolves - or the idea of werewolves - became widespread, theories were put forward as to who would became a werewolf. Children born with unusual markings and abnormal hair growth were singled out to become werewolves and in some cases even children born feet first were said to be cursed. The myth progressed to the point that anyone could become a werewolf through such things as drinking from the same water source as a wolf, eating a wolf or even eating a sheep that had been killed by a wolf. Savage behaviour, aggressiveness and a tendency to lash out and bite others are the trademark symptoms shown by victims of rabies, and such cases would have easily added to the werewolf folklore, particularly as rabies was commonly spread by wild animals to humans through bites and saliva. In this respect, there is a strong link between werewolf and vampire mythology. As local fear grew, villagers hung wolfsbane² at their doors in a vain attempt to keep the evil at bay and secure them peace of mind at night.

On the Subject of Shifting
by Reemul
What is this thing called "shifting"? Honestly, i don't know. I seriously doubt anyone could really say one way or another just what shifting is. Even the term "shift" is a flippant label, used for ease of conversation for an event which even those who participate don't really understand. If it were something we could reduce to facts and place in little neat boxes, essays like mine would not be necessary to stimulate conversation and introspection. That is the true purpose of this work, to promote discussion and thought about this complex subject. I don't claim to know all there is to know. The following is merely an attempt to forward ideas formulated over several years of personal experience, observation, and conversations on and about the subject of shifting. There is an old adage, "Ask a dozen Were's to define a shift, and you'll wind up with 13 answers." This could not be more true. 

Shifting is a catch-all term to describe some kind of change. Even in everyday use, this holds true. For a spiritual lycanthrope, it is a reference to a change in mental state, a change in spiritual or aural makeup, or a change in physical form. The techniques, methods, results and stories about shifting are endless. Shifting, while the term is new, is not a new concept. Changing ones mental and spiritual state is a time honored rite, which probably has roots across the entire globe. Of course even as we here have different methods and reasons behind our madness, so to does the concept we call shifting vary from culture to culture and from age to age throughout history. Needless to say, this phenomenon in it's variety is not common in the modern day. Various cultures and groups still use ecstatic trances, possessions and altered states to their own ends, but often pale imitations of old glories if anthropologists are to be believed. 

Shamans, especially the "classic shamanism" practiced by siberian and arctic tribes, could be said to use a form of shift when they ply their trade. Their moments of ecstacy when their Power Animal or Spirit Guides take over their body to use their Power, or when the shamans spirit leaves it's body to enter the Otherworld could be ancient forms of what we might term a shift if looked at from our perspective. While often these spirits the shaman deals with are external and are used as messengers and guides during his trances and so forth, some are used in a more intimate way, or rather, they use the shaman. The shamans spirits are not limited in form, as they can appear as, "...bears, wolves, stags, hares, all kinds of birds... of great worms, but also as phantoms, wood spirits, earth spirits, hearth spirits, and so on... Their forms, names, and numbers differ from region to region." Shifting is often seen in the light of a "possession" of the shaman by these spirits, often handed down by a shamans teacher or ancestors who were also shamans. Here, during the shamanic trance, the behaviors of the spirits are manifested through the shaman during his dance. While this might be looked at as possession, Mircea Eliade, in his book on shamanism, prefers, "... to term it a 'taking possession of his helping spirits by a shaman'. It is the shaman who 'turns himself' into animal..." For further evidence of this, even the name of a tutelary spirit animal of the shaman of the Buryat tribe translates into "metaphorphosis" or "to change oneself/to take on another form". This animal is so linked to the shaman, "... it is in a manner his "double", his alter ego. This alter ego is one of the shaman's "souls", the "soul in the animal form" or more precisely, the "life soul."" For the shaman though, this transformation, or possession of the animal spirit by he shaman is but a tool, a means to an end. The vocation of the shaman, as healer, mediator, guide for the souls of the dead, may or may not require this human/spirit relationship which a spiritual lycanthrope may see as core to his or her being, shamanism being a wide and varied tradition, with only a basic set of tenets and similarities across cultures. The shamanic spirits come with many titles; tutelary, guardian, helping, all these bely the "use" of spirits as a means to an end. 

Vodoun, as well as other western versions of the Yoruban religions, could also be looked at as using a "shift" in their rituals and practices. Their possession, or as they put it "being a Horse/acting as a Horse" for the Loa involves a superimposition of a spiritual entities psyche so to speak over their own. For a moment, they are the Loa. The Loa however are not Totems, nor Spirit guides, nor are they PowerAnimals. The Loa are manifestations of their gods, and anyone who is blessed to act as a Horse may do so for any one of the numerous Loa. The intricate connection between the person and the Totem is not seen as strongly, i feel, in Vodoun between the priest and the various Loa. It is my understanding though, that Loa are not the only spirits which may be channeled, but include the spirits of ancestors (especially so in Santeria) and even animals. As a final note on the lengthy topic of Vodoun and it's religious rites, which i would not dare to go into detail here, i will say that in my talks with two priestesses, the participants in fact seem to go through some sort of "shift" as we understand it. The context is very different however, as we would shift into our "totem" or "wereside" animal, and they would act as a Horse for one of many Loa/ancestors with little preference but the whim of their patron spirits. The end result may be similar, but the road getting there is very different. 

The Berserkr of the Norse could be said to shift as well. The channeling of the Bear energies into their lives, often for battle, means opening up to a part of themselves normally held in reserve. The Berserkr, with their ties to Bear, and the Ulfhednar with their ties to Wolf seem very close cousins to a spiritual lycanthrope and his tie to a particular animal. Where the Norse seemed limited to two predators, there seems to be no modern equivalent, species run the gambit. When they shift, there do seem to be many parallels. One Ulfhednar noted, while in a berserk rage, "You will notice a marked improvement in sight, hearing, and smell. The improvement in smell is, perhaps, the most remarkable of these altered senses... Physical endurance will improve, especially in running. You will gain certain instinct benefits, including the ability to accurately second guess an opponent." This same Ulfhednar also noted, that in his daily life he, "...[would] experience memories of hunting with the pack... and even experience deep love for your brothers and sisters in the pack." Some of these experiences and emotions are very close to those of some of us who shift to Wolf. To contrast this, a Berserkr notes that, during a berserkrgangr, "...Everything will appear to become crisper and brighter, as if you have entered a bright froom from a dark place... There is more clarity and awareness to the vision. You may be aware of objects and people to your sides and behind that you couldn't possibly really see." Further along, "The physical body will tense, and the hands may form into claws as a result of this tensing...The breathing may become rapid...the face will flush red...You will start to assume animal posture." The physical demands put on the body can seem to be quite dramatic as the animal nature shows itself. As a final note by the Berserkr, "These changes can occur in a matter of minutes or seconds, or they may come on so gradually that you are "there" in a long-term mild state without being fully aware of it." To bring this all together, the collective "berserkers", the Berserkr and Ulfhednar, tied to Bear and Wolf, are excellent examples of what can be called "shifters". The bringing together of the Bear, or Wolf, and the Human is the forming of a synergy, where the new whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The Norse traditions kept them to the battlefield. There is little calling for such in this day and age. One must find new pursuits. 

While these examples cross cultural and time boundaries, they are by no means an authoritative study on the phenomenon. In fact, it could be argued that they are not related to the modern phenomenon we know of as "shifting" at all! Of course, modern points of view color how each of us views the world around us. I am no exception to this. A modern group of Asatruar might think that we are all in fact Berserkr's by our description of how we might shift. The same might hold for a Vodoun Hougan. Someone who mentally shifts he might think is really just acting as a Horse for a Wolf spirit perhaps. Be that as it may, our usage of certain words binds us to a certain way of thinking. This being said, on to some explanations of shifting: 

Aura-Shift
The Aura is a field of study which is heavily under debate in the scientific and non-scientific field. This piece is not to go over the various points in favor or against, but rather will assume that for our purposes, auras, be what they will, do exist. 

What then is an aura-shift? Without getting into pseudo-technical discourses on the nature of the spirit, an aura shift is a change in the basic energy/animus/whathaveyou which is part of every living (and possibly non-living) thing. This change may be genuine, or cosmetic, the difference may be irrelevant. An aura change can basically be expressed by whatever sense is used to reveal the aura. If one can see an aura, for example, an aura-shift would involve "seeing" the aura change, presumably to the animal of ones type. There have been cases of using mirrors to gain a fuller effect of an aura-shift, seeing ones face and head change, rather than the hands or other exremities. Seeing an aura is not a cut and dry procedure. As such, most aura-shifts are "felt" rather than seen. 

I have decided to place the phenomonon of "phantom limbs" here with the aura-shift. Phantom limbs, fur, paws, tails, muzzles, etc i all put here for ease of conversation. These "phantom" parts, and i use quotes kind of tongue in cheek, are really just that. Imagine your hand is still a hand, but in your mind, it may feel to you like a paw. Perhaps in that state between waking and sleep, you feel the remnant of a tail. These little quirks seem common once you scratch the surface. They may be related to feelings by amputees, of still having feeling in a limb which is no longer there, having an itch the bottom of a foot they lost possibly even years ago. Their body "remembers" that there should be a foot there, and reacts as such. As far as the Aura is concerned, that foot is still there, since it is part of the spiritual makeup of that person perhaps. 

Dream-Shift
What place do dreams have in the experience that is shifting? To be certain, dreams, as well as Dreams, for what the difference is worth, play a role in a persons psyche and outlook on the world. Dreams can definitly be broken down into two groups, lucid and non-lucid. Whether one is more valid or more important than the other is not for this essay to deal with. That is something to really be decided by the individual, as are most things when dealing in this area. 

Dreams are said to be the subconscious' method of speaking to us of our fears, our loves, our apprehensions. If this is so, shifting while dreaming can take on many meanings, each dependent on the individual dream and surrounding metaphors. A non-lucid dream which has a person shift in some way or another can take a number of meanings, each probably as unique as the dream itself. 

The difference between a dream and a Dream is an arbitrary and subjective one, despite the objections of those who would place a rigid line between the two. It is the person themself who decides on the importance of a dream, based on the subjective effect it has on them during their waking rememberance of it. A Dream is said to be a revelation, a glimpse of wisdom from within, or without. Perhaps dream-shifting is a form of Dream, a sign from the inner animal, a message from the Totem. If this is so, a Dream from this source would definitly not be solely confined to shifting, but could take a magnitude of forms and vistas, as many as there are nights to sleep and to dream. 

As i said before, the difference and importance placed on any dream in particular is a subjective one. Surely some dreams affect us in the waking world in ways we would not expect, and these we often call Dreams. For an aspiring shifter, or even one who is many years down his path, a dream involving shifting is a momentous one. It can be seen as a validation of the desires and hopes in ones heart. 

On the subject of lucid dreaming, we enter a whole new realm. It could be argued that a lucid dream shift might be better handled in a talk on spirit-shifting, but i choose to deal with it here. Lucid dreams, in some way are a conscious, or semi-conscious form of dreaming. One can texture the persona they react with, or in some cases the environment around them, in the dream, with varying success. It would seem to be a simple matter for someone versed in lucid dreaming to enact a shift while dreaming. In this way, they can enact, at will, what they cannot while awake. Does this limit the value of the lucid dream shift? In a way, this can be so, compared to a non-lucid dream shift. Compared to other forms and styles of shifting, this may not be so. While non-lucid dream-shifts can be messages from the inner self, the Totem, the sub-conscious or what have you, a lucid dream-shift is an objective effort, within dream, to achieve a specific end. That they both take place in the context of a dream is really the only aspect tying the two together. 

Mental-Shift:
The subject of the mental-shift is a wide and varied one. It is perhaps the most variable type of shift in terms of what can be experienced, and in what methods can be used to achieve a shift. Because of this, i will break down this section into three parts. First, what makes a mental shift different from any other type of shift? Second, what leads into a mental shift? Basically, there how's and the where's. 

What then is a mental shift? It's hard to nail down a hard and fast description, as everyone who experiences one, will see it from a different view, and have their own definition. In this case, words are limiting, but we have to make due. A quick and dirty definition might be "a oneness with a persons Totem, spirit guide, or power animal, that goes beyond the normal everyday parameters of the relationship with that state of mind, or being, or spirit, (each person sees it differently) brought about either by intent or by accident, and accompanied with some kind of sensory phenomenon not normally seen in everyday life." The intensity, duration, and effects of this shift vary from person to person, and no doubt from shift to shift in that person, assuming it is not a one time occurance. 

Not an easy matter to speak about, to be sure. What does all this mean? A mental shift might be described as losing oneself in the animal for a while. By shifting, one loses part of their humanity for a bit, and lets the animal take over to some degree. The mental processes rework themselves to a degree that sensory inputs may be changed, causing visual or aural distortions, or even visions themselves. If strong enough, one could feel some sort of displacement of their body, or parts thereof. None of these are criteria for a mental shift, but are mere possibilities of experience. Each person will have a unique time with this. Often felt is a strong bond with the animal while shifted. This may be due to the animal being "close to the surface" as the case may be. This is really the key, in my mind, to the validity of a mental shift. Without a strong feeling of closeness with the animal, it is little more than a unfocused ecstatic event or altered state. No actions are necessary when shifted. One could simply be in a state close to sleep when it occurs, and simply lie there. Imitation of the animal is NOT an indication of a mental shift. We can no more act like animals than they can act like us. We are human, with human bodies and human minds. In a sense, they become us, instead of us becoming them. Of course, this is not to say that crawling around invalidates a mental shift. Hardly the case. But, one should not require certain behaviors to be present. 

What degree does the animal "come to the surface" in a mental shift? That is a hard question to answer with any degree of certainty. To be sure, in hearing various stories of shifting, and from personal experiences, it varies. It varies a great deal. Each person will experience a strength of animal that is unique. Some may still be in the saddle so to speak, even while they feel enormously close to their animal, and may have "phantom limbs" and some such, while others may have their human-ness take a back seat while the animal takes over the personality and actions. They in effect, for the time of the shift, are the animal. 

What initiates a mental shift? Again, it varies. Variety seems to be a mantra. For some, it is accidental. For some, ceremonies and ritual may be the key. For others, it is a familiar place, or familiar faces. Still others can initiate a mental shift at will. 

A mental shift is really the only type of shift which can be presented to someone other than the person experiencing it. Since it will generally occur while awake, and involves the conscious mind of the individual, and can, in some cases, be done voluntarily, others can view the effects of the shift as observers. If the shift allows interaction with the outside world, the shifted person may be able to express himself from within this altered state. The exact nature of this expression may vary from person to person, and shift to shift, and could travel the range of intensity from heavily human to heavily animal in strength. 

This is all well and good. It can be taken from all this that mental shifting encompasses a huge range of control and behavioral factors. One other aspect remains, quite possibly one that is even of more importance. We've talked about How's, but now it's time to tackle the Where's. "Where?" do you ask? Basically, where does the animal come from? Is the animal a part of us, or some kind of external force? Could it be both, neither, more? Is mental shifting merely a "channeling", or a possession by some kind of animal "spirit" (whatever that may be)? Is it a summoning forth of a part of ourselves which is tied in some way to the world around us? This is not the limit of possibilities, by all means. Theories include reincarnative soul migration, where one is "remembering" a previous lifetime, to transspeciation, not unlike a transgender situation, where one was simply born into a body with the wrong soul, in this case, an animal soul, to misincarnation, where one is born into the wrong body altogether, meant to be one, but born as another. Shifting would then be simply the animal soul's way of expressing it's true nature. 

What then do we do with this hodge-podge? To be honest, i really don't know. I've basically broken things down into an "external" and an "internal" point of origin, which may color how we approach our animal, and in turn how we approach mental shifting. While the end result may be the same for someone who say, believes they were a Fox in a past life, and can call upon that ancestral force during a shift, and someone who follows an archetypal Fox spirit guide and believes they channel said spirit during a shift, the processes and attitudes which lead to these phenomenon will be quite different. One could be said to "invoke" the spirit, the one who follows an external spiritual force. The other could be said to "evoke" a part of him or herself, this being the one who believes the animal is stems from within. 

Of course, directions in this matter are really irrelevant. When i say "inside", "outside", it's more for convenience. What is important is how the person sees their animal becoming a part of them for the shift. An externally derived spirit may be thought of as residing within the person, but the spirit is still called upon as an external force, it is invoked. Someone with an animal spirit which is believed to be internal may talk about their animal as though it were a separate being, apart from themself, but they may do this only out of convenience, to distinguish the facets of their own core being. In the end, it's all semantics, but at the beginning of ones path, means a great deal as a person finds out about themself and the world around them. 

But, in the end, whether or not the animal within is a spirit entity contacted and cajolled into possessing a host, or if one is a transpecieist, or if one believes they were chosen at birth by an archetypal force of nature, it may not really matter. This is not about "my totem is better than yours, because [insert reason here]...". There is a saying about not seeing the forest for all the trees which is appropriate in this instance. We are all colored by our preconceived notions about how the world works around us. Our perceptions of the animal, how it operates and where it comes from are all affected by this. 

In my mind, the mental shift is the one with the greatest variability and the most promise of any type of shift. It's possiblity of interaction with the waking world around us makes it a storehouse for experience and a vista into our own mind and spirit, as well as the spirit and possibilities of our animals. 

Spirit-Shift
The phenomonon we call here a spirit-shift is possibly one of the easiest to define with some ease. For the purposes of this discussion, a spirit-shift is a shift in mentality or form which takes place in the context of a Vision, Journey, or some out of body event, such as an Astral Travel. In this respect it is much like a dream-shift, in that it occurs in the tapestry of ones own mind and stream of consciousness. It differs from a mental-shift in the dreamlike quality of the encounter, and the fact that it occurs not in the everyday waking world which our senses tell us about, but in the meditative state of the inner mind during it's exercises or ceremonies. 

During the shamanic journey, or the vision quest, one enters a new land, a subjective land of metaphors and semi-conscious threads of reality, wants, hates and desires. Usually, one on such a journey or quest will maintain a conscious or lucid mind, so a shift in form will be a choice made by the seeker. Where the journey comes from, whether it be the tapestry of our own mind, or is a metaphor for our understanding of the universe around us, is really not important. What is important is the decisions we make when presented with the obstacles and enigmas while there. The decision or stimulus to shift is a response to condition we meet there, and can be a metaphor for how we deal with problems in our real life. It may also be, when lucid, a decision to deal with problems in a new way, outside of societal norms. 

The shamanic journey has a long tradition in the world. It is used to this day to deal with problems faced by the shaman (known by a variety of names), the tribe, the nation, or even an individual. The vision quest is a personal act, done to advance the self. While these are simple definitions, and do not encompass the whole range of experiences possible in this line of work and down these paths, they are enough for a talk on spirit-shifting. To speak of all the possibilities would fill an entire book, and is beyond the point. Changing ones physical shape during a shamanic ecstatic state is not unheard of. Dealing with animal spirits in some shape or form is quite common. A vision is a different matter, not in the context of where and how the journey takes place, as they both take place in ones mind. Rather, it is a matter of why. The shamanic journey is done for the people, a vision is done for the self. While it may seem like semantics, it is a vary large difference. Shifting then, takes on a meaning based on this difference, albeit a minor one. 

To shift forms during an out of body experience (OOBE) or a similar astral travel i include here along with shamanic journeys and vision quests. The consciousness leaves the body, and travels about it's business not in the subjective landscape of metaphors and interpretations, but in the waking world itself. However, this is not a discussion of the ways of the out of body experience. 

In a number of ways, the spirit shift during an out of body would be much like any other spirit shift, except that the background changes. One still shifts form. It could be argued that since it takes place in the arena of the real world, and it is the "animus" which has left the body, that this is instead an aura-shift. 

One type of shift which may be easiest placed under this umbrella than any other, is a translocative shift. This really is a tough one to peg into any hole. A translocative shift might be described as having ones consciousness actually existing in two places at once. Ones spirit while of course tied to the body, may also occupy the body of another. While in a trance state, or whathaveyou, your perceptions would shift to that of presumably your totem, for instance a wolf. From this p.o.v. you would experience what the animal experiences, as it happens. There are presumably no hard and fast rules about control in this type of shift. Perhaps you would control the animal, perhaps not. Your milage may vary, as they say. 

Physical Shift:
There is a reason i chose to deal with this last. It is by far the most controversial form of shifting one could slip into conversation. There has been more heated debate about physical shifting than probably any other mystic or spiritual endeavor where our group is concerned. I won't attempt to either prove or disprove it or the claims made about it. It is part of our lore, and so deserves mention. Physical shifting is simply put, a shift in physical form by an individual. As above, with the Berserkr's, Vodoun and shamanism, physical shifting has a history and mythology about it almost world over. Tales vary from culture to culture, but those who change shape to pursue their own (often nefarious) ends are commonplace. With the advent of Hollywood, the half man/half beast has entered common mythology. Our use of the term has no true guidlines. A physical shifter could theoretically become a full animal, a median form, posessing the characteristics of each, to a human with slight bestial characteristics, to any number of combinations inbetween all of these. Rate of shift, speed of shift, in fact even pain felt during the shift all vary with who you ask about the subject. The same goes for permanence, and if impermantent, the periodicity. Even the amount of control the human mind would have cannot be nailed down. Depending on who is speaking, it could be a full human mind, all the way to having the mind of an animal. 

In the end, i think physical shifting more than any other type, reflects the desires of those who dream about it. Physical shifting has been compared to an escapist fantasy, a dream of power for those who feel lost in a big world, to a magnificent display of oneness with the world, the culmination of spiritual control over the physical realm. In the end it may not matter whether or not it truly exists or is some Grail meant to taunt those who pine for it's wonders. It's external nature makes it a target for debunkers more so any any other type of shifting. Other types of shifting take place in the realm of the mind, and are subjective. To claim to physically shift means there /should/ be sound measurable proof. Even if proof is lacking, belief in it gives it power over our wants and needs. For this, if nothing else, it deserves mention. 

Bringing it all Together
I've gone through several types of phenomenon here so far. Using common terminology, i've tried to pigeonhole various experiences into neat little piles. Looking at it all, one might find some common ground in say, Dream-shifting, and then in having "phantom fur", both. How does one reconcile this? I would say there is nothing to reconcile. There is no reason not be be able to shift in any or all of these categories at some point. No one person i think would be just (i use the term "just" with caution) a Dreamshifter, or a Spiritshifter or any other type of "shifter" and have to remain there for life. It is not a badge or fraternity that one joins for life with no chance of advancement or change. Life is not static. Perhaps ones Path begins with Dreamshifting. Later, one learns techniques allowing Spiritshifting. Then, maybe at some point, Mental Shifting becomes an option. The limits here are those you set on yourself. This is your mind, your spirit, your body. Now, granted, i myself have never had a Dreamshift. But that's ok. I may never in my career have a Dreamshift, and i'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Not everyone is cut out to play every position, so to speak. Keep in mind, this series of categories is in NO WAY a checklist to move down as ones spiritual development continues. 

A Final Note
And so we come to the end. I have tried to avoid sprinkling caveats and disclaimers throughout this piece. I hope that the intent of this is clear. While we are unique perhaps in our demographic and sub-culture(s), we are hardly the first to sit and wonder at what we are, and what we are doing. Our terminology, our worldview, our relatively recent emergence on the scene make us novices, despite our study of the "old ways". Hopefully through discussion and introspection we can come to understand who we are, and where we are going. Each of us is individual. We have no dogma to fall back upon, no ritual which holds us together. I don't hope to speak for everyone, i don't want folks to look at this and say, "Ah, so this is how it shall be." I want folks to read these words and think about where the paths of others have gone, and where perhaps their own might lead. 

Works Cited:
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton


University Press. 1951.


Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough.Random House: New York. 1981.


Hann, Vincent B. "Of Wolf and Man, or Mother Should i Build a Wall?".


Idunna5:21 (1993): 38-39.


Nelson, Richard K. Make Prayers to the Raven. University of


Chicago Press. 1983.


Skadhadottir, Gunnvor. "The Berserkrgangr: Going Forth". Berserkrgangr 6


(1995): 10-13.

Lycanthropy...What is it?

Lycanthropy from Greek lykoi, "wolf" anthropos, "man", a psychiatric state in which the patient believes he is a wolf or some other nonhuman animal. Undoubtedly stimulated by the once widespread superstition that lycanthropy is a supernatural condition in which men actually assume the physical form of other animals, the delusion has been most likely to occur among people who believe in reincarnation and the transmigration of souls.

Rarely does this condition surface. Examples of lycanthropy are only now being linked to schizophrenia - having very few cases to study in our present institutions makes this disease difficult to study in-depth.

Usually, a person is deemed to take the form of the most dangerous beast of prey of the region: the wolf or bear in Europe and northern Asia, the hyena or leopard in Africa, and the tiger in India, China, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia; but other animals are mentioned too. Both the superstition and the psychiatric disorder are linked to the belief in animal guardian spirits, vampires, totemism, witches, and werewolves. The folklore, fairy tales, and legends of many nations and peoples show evidence of lycanthropic belief.

Stories of men turning into beasts go back to antiquity. In parts of ancient Greece, werewolf myths, stemming from prehistoric times (based on new evidence), became linked with the Olympian religion. In Arcadia, a region plagued by wolves, there was a cult of the Wolf-Zeus. Mt. Lycaeus was the scene of a yearly gathering at which the priests were said to prepare a sacrificial feast that included meat mixed with human parts. According to legend, whoever tasted it became a wolf and could not turn into a man unless he abstained from human flesh for nine years.

The Romans also knew this superstition. Anyone who was supposed to have been turned into a wolf by means of magic spells or herbs was called versipellis "turnskin" by the Romans.

Stories about the werewolf were widely believed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Outlaws and bandits played on these superstitions by sometimes wearing wolfskins over their armour. At that time people were unusually prone to develop the delusion that they themselves were wolves; suspected lycanthropists were burned alive if convicted. Only rarely was their condition recognized as a psychological disturbance. Although the superstition is no longer common, traces still linger in some primitive and isolated areas.

The term werewolf isn't like the "classic" Hollywood-style ravenous beast stuff. The term lycanthropy as is used here can be found in some medical psychological books as being a disorder, a certain animal like behaveour as a result of an advanced psychosis. This is also not the way i like to use the term werewolf in relation to me. The way i use the term, is as in spiritual therianthropy.

Right, you are now probably a bit dazzled by the terms used by me here, so let me give a short description of them (borrowed from the AHWW FAQ):

Lycanthrope \'li-ken-throp\ n (NL lycanthropus, fr. GK lykanthropos werewolf, fr. lykos wolf + anthropos man) 1: a person displaying lycanthropy 2:a werewolf

Lycanthropy \'li-kan(t)-thra-pe\ n 1: a delusion that one has become a wolf. 2: the assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic - lycanthropic adj.

Theriomorphic \'thir-e-o-'mor-fik\ adj (GK theriomorphos, fr. therion beast + morphe form - more at treacle): having an animal form <~gods>

Mind you, these were taken from some dictionary, and provide a general discription of the terms, not an exact one. Read on to get a better understanding of what is meant.

A Theriomorph is a shapeshifter; a being who can assume an animal as well as a human form. A spiritual theriomorph is someone who at least sees aspects of animals in his or her personality and actions, and those aspects shape who he or she is. More so in the meaning of a spiritual shapeshifter, being able to assume animal as wel as human form in spirit (or a mix of the two). I feel an animal spirit that is an integral part of my being, affecting how i interact with others, what i do, where i go... and in that sense, i am a shapeshifter. I exist mentally and in spirit as both wolf and human (but not seperate, i am one person, one character, one being). When i shift, mentally, the outside world usually notices it... the change in thought produces a change in demeanor that's readily recognizable. Even without a shift though, there are several facets in my mind that are pure wolf thinking, and make me definately different than people around me.

Shifting itself is something that's almost impossible to explain to someone who isn't a shifter himself, but i'll try to give you some idea what this is about. My being is truly integrated, both human and wolf co-operating to do what i have to do, to say what i want to say, to live my life, trying to find one that best suits me as being part human, part non-human. Some other therianthropes feel this differently, have made a clear separation between their human and animal forms, but for me, this is the way it is. Most of the time, to be able to go on mostly unnoticed, i have to let the main "line" of my life being led by my human side, to adapt to human civilization, to "blend in" so to say. When shifting, i let the wolf side take more control, let the animal control my actions and thoughts more. Shifting can be triggered either by will, or (and it's a great advantage then) when the situation i'm in get's really dangerous, or life-threatening even, and the wolf gets me in a state of heightened awareness, being able to cope with whatever will come my way at that moment. Then, although my human side is still there, my thinking has gone almost purely predatorial.

Lycanthropy: Lore & Law by Jennings
from "The Beast Within"