Monday, May 11, 2009

Unicorn Otherkin

Unicorn’s in History and Myth

Unicorns have held a place in human imagination and myth for millennia and most societies on Earth have stories that contain unicorns as main characters. Most common is a description of a white horse-like creature with either gold or silver spiral horn and cloven hooves, a flowing mane and tail (though sometimes the tail is lion-like) and a beard and feathering on the legs. However, there are other descriptions such as Ctesia’s Indian unicorn that was white of body, had a red (or purple in some descriptions) head, blue eyes and a horn that was white at the base, black in the middle and blood red at the tip. In the Orient, the unicorn was very colorful, covered in scales and fur in some telling or just fur in others, and either had a single horn that curved back over the head or had a branched horn like a deer; they looked very much like a mix between a horse and a dragon. Other unicorns have been described similar to rhinos and may very well be those, but the telling got garbled as travelers went from place to place and the descriptions were altered by word of mouth by people that had never seen a real rhino; having one horn automatically makes one a unicorn historically.
The horn of the unicorn is a source of contention and greed in many of the myths; they were hunted for the supposed powers they contained, the unicorn being killed for it. Myths tell that the horn could detect poison, would not allow silk to burn if placed on a burning coal, could kill a spider if a circle was drawn with it and the spider placed within and myriad other uses. They were so sought after that eventually Narwhal tusk was substituted and to find the genuine article those powers were put to the test; it the horn failed, it was a fake. Fortuneatly for the unicorn, as time went by the practice of medicine became the norm and the use of superstition was pushed to the wayside and the unicorn was largely forgotten as anything but a pretty mythical creature. What a mythological unicorn ate is a topic that has stymied researchers for years. No one has recorded what a unicorn ate, and theories abound. Some say that they ate as a horse would, others say they only ate the old plant growth to save the young and there’s even one that says that they needed no food, only sun or moon light to survive.
Today, many people collect things with unicorns on them; shirts, statues, art, pretty much anything that can have one on it does and are in collections in homes around the world. This is proof that the unicorn still holds a place in peoples hearts.


Unicorn Otherkin

For some reason Unicorn Kin are few and far between. There are two theories on this, one is that those that identify with unicorns have not come to terms with it yet and the other reason is that they simply don’t exist in this life yet for one reason or another. Whatever the reason, they are a minority in the Otherkin community and tend to gather together when they can find one another; there are concerns and a commonality that only other Unicorns can address.
One theory as to why we come in so many different color combinations, from white to blue to black to any color in between is that they are our natural colors that we can see and remember. Humans, at least most of them, cannot see the wavelength that is required to see our colors, hence the legends that unicorns are white; those that saw color may have been rare humans that are sensitive to different wavelengths, but that is conjecture.
Unicorn Otherkin, like other Otherkin, come in many shapes, sizes, creeds and colors. And as with many others it is hard to pin down any one trait besides the fact that we all have one horn and are vaguely equine in form. Some have smooth horns while others have spiral. Some have cloven hooves and beards while others have solid hooves and no beards. Some are horse-like, others are more like goats or gazelles. And the colors are too many to mention, the combinations too numerous. Again, there are theories that there are subspecies of unicorn depending on area, as well as a theory that some are not even from this planet originally; coming from a different realm or planet is a common theme in many Otherkin communities, but is by far not the majority rule.
The horn myths cause a lot of discussion in Unicorn Otherkin; were they magic, could they do what the myths said? Unfortunately not much can be concluded from discussion since each Unicorn has their own ideas on how their own horn was used and their own powers; some of the myths may be true for some while untrue for others. It is a purely personal thing with Unicorn Otherkin. Food is another thing that is fodder for talk. Being human this time around, many eat an omnivorous diet but there are a few that are vegetarian or vegan; it all depends on the person.
Unicorn Otherkin are a unique subculture of the Otherkin community to be sure.


* DISCLAIMER*
Needless to say, since no one can prove that Otherkin are right or wrong, all this is conjecture gathered from a myriad of sources spanning from close Otherkin friends to the myths of mankind and must be taken with a grain of salt as most things in this world must be.


References

- http://furry.wikia.com/wiki/Unicorn_Otherkin
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn
- The Lore of the Unicorn by Odell Shepard
- A Wizards Bestiary by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
- And my own personal experience and those I know from the Unicorn Grove, http://unicorngrove.subject-expert.com/forum.htm

May your claws and horns stay sharp and your minds free!
 

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Otherkin Websites

Greetings!

This is a very short list of some of the Otherkin websites that I'm a member of, though some I frequent more then others. All are good though, so check them out if you have time or the inclination to do so.

First, the online Glory (herd) that I belong to for Unicorn Otherkin, their mates and people who have a very strong affinity to Unicorns and want more information on them.
http://unicorngrove.subject-expert.com/forum.htm

This is a good site for those just starting out on their path to self discovery.
http://www.otherkincommunity.net/

One of the oldest Otherkin sites and very good for general information as well as more in depth info.
http://www.otherkinalliance.org/

This one is a small site, but is growing rapidly and is a good place to start meeting other Otherkin.
www.otherkin.net

Both www.livejournal.com and www.google.com are good places to look for Otherkin information. LiveJournal has many groups and individual people that are Otherkin oriented and Google is a good place to start if you just want a general overview of the subject.

I will add more site addresses as I find them, so if you know of one you like send it to me and I'll post it!

May your claws stay sharp and your minds free!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Information about Me

Greetings!

I figured that a little introduction is in order, seeing as how my (potential) readers have a right to understand who's writing and all.

To begin with I am a Unicorn Otherkin. I first Awoke (a topic that will be tackled in a later article) about 2 years ago. I've always had an affinity to Unicorns and have collected them for as long as I can remember; statues, drawings, posters, figurines, they all adorn my rooms, though at the moment they are mostly in storage for personal reasons. I've always known that I was different, that something about me was a little "off" and my mother saw that "off-ness" as well when I was younger. I was never popular, the other children stayed away from me but the only reason I ever got was that I was "weird".

A long story short, I grew up with feelings that I didn't completely belong in my skin. I felt things differently, saw things differently and just went about my business in ways that often confused or even scared others because of the way I approach things. I see things that others don't, I smell things that no one else seems to notice and have had glimpses of places I've never been...at least not in this life.

As many who discover they are Otherkin, I thought for years that I was alone in my thinking. I was scared, depressed and at times thought I was going insane. I started having memories come to the forefront of my mind about two years ago, which made me think that my impending insanity was looming closer and in desperation I went to Google and typed in "people that think they are animals". Much to my joy and confusion I was directed to sites that specialized in something called "Otherkin".

After researching it for a bit I came to the conclusion that I wasn't a horse, though I felt equine in a way, so the sites I found weren't for me per say. So again I went to Google and typed in a general search for "Unicorns" and found a site that was dedicated to Unicorn Otherkin. A light went off in my head and I knew that was what I was; I can't describe the feeling other then that every fiber of my being knew at that moment what I once was and was reveling in the knowledge. Unfortuneatly that site went under a few months after I found it, but thankfully one of my friends from it decided to recreate a similar site for the Unicorns that wanted to stay in contact with one another, so once more I have a "home" with others of my kind.

In the two years that I've been journeying to discover my past I have learnt much and continue to do so. So far I have definate memories of at least two, and posibbly three, past lives. The first life I was a quadrupedal Unicorn, black in color with tri-colored mane and tail. My mane is unique, being upright and slightly bristly with red on the left side, white in the middle and black on the right side. My tail is more horse-like, black as the top shortest layer, red as the middle slightly longer layer and white as the bottom longest layer. My hooves are cloven and my horn short and spiraled; both are black and my eyes are bright blue in color. My second life I have definate memories of is as an anthropomorphic Unicorn with the same color scheme. The third life, which I'm still only catching the fleetest of glimpses is of a black Kitsune (which will be the topic of a different article)

(Above is a picture I drew of my quadrupedal form, with a former family member from that life)


Now, many who have no experience with past lives or Otherkin will think that I and others who believe the way I do are delusional at best and at worse crazy. But we aren't. There are many things in this life that cannot be explained away by science or even "commone sense" and more things are being discovered that put science at a disadvantage. Things that happen are just that, things that happen, and maybe we aren't meant to understand why or how they happen. That is the meaning of faith, to accept things we don't understand and trust that whatever diety we follow knows and will guide us.

Alright, enough of the faith and religion thing, since that isn't really what we're here for, right? The point is, I believe with every fiber of my being that this is what I once was and it has helped to shape who I am in this life, for good or bad. And this blog is my small gift to the Otherkin community and those that are curious about us; articles and information to help those looking for answers or information in one place instead of endless searching with the possibility of not finding an answer.

For those that, like me, are searching for answers, I hope that in some small way this blog of mine can help.

May your claws stay sharp and your minds free!

General Information for this Blog

Greetings and salutations!

I, Shara Moonglow, decided to create this blog in an attempt to further the publics information and opinion regarding the very varied subject and people that encompass the entire Otherkin subject.

This blog will contain articles written by myself and others if they supply them, information on Otherkin, sites to go to if you are or think you might be Otherkin as well as art done by myself and others, again if they supply it.

I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but in doing this blog I hope to further the knowledge in Otherkin for any who are curious about us.

May your claws stay sharp and your minds free!