Where Should We Stand On Otherkin?
Modern Paganism is a pretty eclectic religious grouping. Our family of faiths encompass Celtic Reconstructionists, Asatru, modern Druids, Goddess worshippers, Radical Faeries, Discordians, and Starhawk’s Reclaiming tradition. Often arguments and debate rages over who is and isn’t included under the “Pagan” (or “Heathen”) tag. Some of the more conservative elements often try to separate (or fight against) from what they see as an increasingly “fluffy” and eclectic mainstream in modern Paganism.
This tension over the issue of inclusion has increased as segments of youth/underground culture have adopted Pagan (or Pagan-influenced) belief systems. Gothic/Dark Paganism, Vampirism, Burners, Setians/Religious Satanists, members of the magickal “Ultraculture”, and the rise of teen Witches have all given certain segments of the better-established modern Pagan community the vapors. One of the groups that has evoked quite a bit of debate, mockery, and soul-searching over inclusion recently has been the Otherkin.
This week The Witches Voice (one of the main Internet hubs for online Paganism) published its first essay by a self-proclaimed Otherkin.
“Otherkin are a pretty controversial group of people, even within the relatively tolerant realms of NeoPaganism. While we live within the same world as everyone else, working and/or going to school, building and maintaining a variety of relationships, paying the bills, and otherwise leading completely mundane existences, we have other aspects to our personal realities that aren’t quite so everyday. We know/believe that there’s something not quite human about us and we can spend this entire lifetime figuring out just who we’ve been and who we are now.
Some identify as nonhuman, relatively humanoid species such as elves and faeries; others believe there is something of the dragon, gryphon or sea serpent about them; and still others identify strongly with animals native to this plane, well beyond the totemic bond. Yes, it can be a bit of a brain-breaker to try to resolve the conflict between what’s commonly divided into “fantasy” and “reality.” That’s why most ‘kin spend time trying to figure out just why it is we feel that we’re different in a such a. er. different manner.”
The ‘kin frequent several communities on LJ, and an Internet hub of sorts. They also frequent several “tolerant” places on the Internet including Pagan communities. This growing overlap between Otherkin and modern Pagans has produced some strong emotions.
“So, at what point, if any, if ever, will the Pagan community finally put its collective foot down? At what point will we finally have the guts to say, “Whatever you are is ok. Whatever your delusion is is fine with us. But it isn’t what we are, take your particular flavor of nutty and get it the heck out of our religion.” In short, whatever your particular brand of psychosis may be is fine, but stop pretending it has anything to do with this religion. You’re making the rest of us look stupid.” – shadowkat01
This tension over Otherkin points to a growing concern among modern Pagans. How inclusive should we be? Is there a limit? If not should there be? Should we even be paying attention to groups like this, when we haven’t settled relations between larger established groups like eclectic Wiccans and various reconstructionist faiths.
I’m sure most modern Pagans would adopt an ignore, live and let live attitude, but as our faith(s) grow and gain the spotlight we know that it is “interesting” cases that get attention by the media. Journalists have a hard time writing stories about “normal religion”. So we get a lot of coverage of the black-clad flamboyant Salem Witches, and not so much of the average practitioner living in the midwest raising a family. Which would a reporter on a deadline prefer? A story concentrating on a local Heathen group throwing a charity event or a profile of someone who thinks they are a dragon?
This points to the need for our community to become even more media-savvy and aware of who is covering the religion-beat locally and nationally. If they want to do a story on Otherkin, fine, but we want to make sure they have the proper context and understanding of that movement within the larger spectrum of modern Pagan belief. Sadly most of the Pagan groups don’t seem to have the time, energy, or money, to monitor and respond, but as we continue to grow a pan-Pagan media response group may be essential. What do you think? I would love to hear your comments on tolerance, groups like the Otherkin, and our relationship with the media.
11 responses so far
This is why I actually have quit calling myself “pagan” in a lot of circumstances. My beliefs have little to do with this kind of thing and I don’t want to be associated with it. I’d rather call myself a “Thelemite” those days. You know it is bad when it is better to be publicly associated with Aleister Crowley instead of the pagan community.
There’s a tyranny operating here, I think, and it’s the tyranny of those “religions” who claim there can be no religions before them — Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Do those of us who follow other religions necessarily need to lump ourselves together into a category called “pagan” — or anything else? It seems to me this is a way of putting ourselves down, of defining ourselves against the dominant “us-and-us-only” religions. The fact is, there are many religions in the world. Why should anyone else’s religion have any impact on the validity of mine? Or necessarily have any relation to mine?
Maybe the problem resides in the term “pagan.” Barbara Walker (Woman’s Encyclopedia) says that the word “pagan” comes from the Latin “pagani,” meaning country people who held onto pre-Christian religions longer than city people did. I think that most of us today calling ourselves “pagan” could just as well call ourselves “pre-Christians.” We are following religions that Christianity, Islam, Judaism and others violently oppressed anywhere from 2000 to 6000 years ago. I think that’s what binds us together
I’m one of those crazy people who think they’re not human. I’m also, depending upon the viewpoint of the person making the judgment, one of those crazy people who believe that spirits exist, that magic can work, that omens mean something, that the bible is not the innerant revealed word of God, and that I don’t need any intermediaries between me and the divine.
I think anyone in the pagan community who worries overmuch about being taken seriously is in the wrong religion. Sure, some ideas within the realm of paganism are easy to admit to in mixed company, but there will always be ideas we discover on our paths which will *not* be acceptable to other people whatever point of the religious continuum they’re on. It is vitally important that we defend those ideas with not so much seriousness, but love, because to sublimate our sense of truth for approval is self-destructive.
(This is not to say that we ought to fling ourselves into areas where we will be persecuted, but that we should not persecute ourselves)
Athena,
While I agree with you that lumping us all under the label “pagan” and trying to have some cohesive identity doesn’t entirely make sense, I don’t agree about calling ourselves “pre-Christian.” There’s nothing pre-Christian about many of our beliefs. Personally, I am a Wiccan and I see little pre-Christian about our beliefs, they are throughly modern constructs from many different practices, many of them very much post-advant of the Christian faith. This only points out more clearly how odd and possibly unworkable it is to try to fit us all under one big, cozy label like “pagan.” I get the impression from some, Pitzl-Waters being one of them, that the point of this label is political clout, that there is safety in numbers and I can see some validity to that. And, certainly, there are some parallels and connections between many of our different faith traditions. Still, this doesn’t quite compel me to work hard at defining the “pagan” word and building coalitions between these faiths, but that may be my shortsightedness.
My Path is post-Christian, not pre-Christian. I am sure that people like me existed before Christianity steamrolled over all the diverse religions, but it’s rather difficult to be anything close to ‘pre-Christian’ since the Christians are present.
As for the Otherkin, and other unconventional beliefs, let them be. I really don’t think that they’re really Pagan as a group, although I am sure that individuals within that group can be practicing Pagans.
It’s more a mindset than a religious faith.
Thought you might enjoy seeing a “rebuttal”
http://www.livejournal.com/users/xnightsbeautyx/24664.html
That hurt my brain.
Good. I am glad my journal entries please you. sadist humans all of you! *lmaorotf*
Goddess! We ARN’T a religion! Who the f**k ever said that anyway? I get SO pissed off when I read these type of articles because WE arn’t associated with ANY religion. OTHERKIN is not a religion–it’s what we ARE. It’s just a term we use to make it easier for all of us to explain what we are to newbies. Yes, I am aware of pagan otherkin, but there are also catholic otherkin, jewish otherkin, muslim otherkin and so many! I even know a otherkin priest, for goddess sake.
Why don’t people just leave us the hell alone? We don’t bother you! Why the hell are all of you bothering us? I read so often of these pagan people claiming we’re screwing up their religion, but they’re doing it themselves! To cast the blame on us is just so immature! We aren’t the people running around in bright colored cloth, waving sticks and claiming to be the “old religion.” We are just PEOPLE and we are ALWAYS the first to admit that our beliefs are insane.
COME ON! You people have no room to talk. I’ve met REGULAR NON-OTHERKIN PAGANS who believe in mythical creatures, talk to animals and move things with their minds. I’ve met christians who swear the end times are coming and comb the newspapers looking for the anti-christ. I’ve met muslims who claim they’re the greatest and truest religion and scorn all other religions.
I’ve met people of all sort of religions tearing up other people simply because they think they’re better. They’re out there being a pain in the ass and tormenting some poor kid whose only crime was to be of a different religion.
I am OTHERKIN and I am DAMN PROUD OF IT! We don’t claim to BE the pagan religion. There are just pagan otherkin out there. That is IT. We arn’t out there saying we’re the original pagans and whatever. It’s just our RELIGION. OTHERKIN IS NOT A RELIGION!
GET IT RIGHT!
Otherkin is like being Human. There is nothing wrong with it. If you believe in souls, then why can’t a person be of a different soul-species? Humanity has this ego a galaxy big of “We’re-the-greatest” and disregard everything they see as underneath them. It shows in everything you do! Humanity is out there destroying the environment, using up resources, at each others throats and Goddess knows whatelse!
At least as Otherkin, we are attempting to create a world for ourselves and live in peace with our environment. Why is it so hard for people to just let us be? You’ve never walked in our shoes, lived our life and will never truly understand us. We just want to be left alone.
Why do you have to be this way? Why do you have to take us and put us on the stage, something for the world to rag on? When you walk a mile in our shoes, then you can rag on us, but until then–Keep your f**king mouth closed.
Leave us ALONE!
…Goddess…and you wonder why we’re so ashamed of you all!
I want to know who proclaimed the “otherkin” to be a religion at all. A religion is a lifestyle built around a spacific set of rules according to belief. In my experiance otherkin do not have a spacific belief. I have personally met plenty of otherkin, all with very different beliefs. Some were even Athiest and formed thier belief around science. So don’t assume that all otherkin are Pagan or even religious. And don’t ridicule the Pagans just because “some” of thier general population consider thier otherkin to be a magickal aspect of thier spiritality.
“Judge not, that Ye not be Judged”
Otherkin are not all Pagan. It is not a branch of paganism, it is a group of people who believe they have animal souls. (And even that is a broad definition since some otherkin don’t even believe in souls.) There are Christian, Islamic, and Jewish otherkin, not to mention athiests, agnostics and a slew of other religions. Please get your facts straight.