How do you know you're a Human? Most Humans take it for granted because it's pretty obvious to them.

I take it for granted that I'm a Werewolf because it's that obvious to me. It would be more odd for me to question that I'm a Werewolf than to question why I think I'm one.

well said SilverFang...I just know it...

How the full moon effects us,the weird mood swings, the aggresion, meat cravings, unnatural heightened senses, the physical changes. It's different for every werewolf and then there are those who just know what they are.

Could any of this be explained in more detail? As a therian, I find I disagree with most of this, especially the "physical changes" part. I'm not trying to seem hostile in any way. I just feel that comments like that shouldn't be made lightly. It can easily leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, even within the community.

I somewhat agree with the second statement. It is different for every therian, but it seems like there a lot of common threads there, mainly a deep knowing of what one is. But, I don't agree with anything that makes us physically different than any other human. There's therians who are vegetarian, there's therians who are very timid, and there's therians who never feel they have "heightened senses".

Personally, I don't find myself affected by lunar cycles, I don't have "weird mood swings", and I'm not aggressive by nature. My senses are not always heightened, but I do have sensory shifts. That's a lot different than stating that I have "unnatural heightened senses".

Now, I understand that I'm not a werewolf. If we're using terminology like that I would be a werecougar. I personally don't agree with any term like that, either. I'm a therianthrope, or therian. My theriotype is a North American Cougar. That doesn't give me supernatural abilities, nor does it make me special. I'm a human who has a close connection to a primal nature inside me. Sometimes the "person" in me is more dominant, and sometimes the "feline" in me comes forward.

I'm sorry if you feel like I'm being in any way aggressive about this, I assure you I'm not. I just feel that there needs to be more details in what has been stated.

Because of the way the full moon afects us. Because of our cravings. Because of our phisical changes. Because of the darkness within.

Once again, please explain. What darkness within? What physical changes? How does the full moon effect you more than it effects any other human? Why does it effect you more?

The phrase 'darkness within' would also make Therians seem rather dark, possibly evil...which I know isn't true in my case, and I think it's safe to assume the same in many others cases! Unless WVZ is secretly planning world domination and ruling with an oppressive regime...but that isn't true, right VanZandt?

I read somewhere a while back that a full moon affects non-therians in a way too, but I couldn't confirm that. As for me, yeah the full moon does affect me a tad, I just feel a bit more ubeat and lively, but nothing too major. As WVZ said, it is most likely a psychological thing.

As for meat cravings, I haven't had many of these really...I'm generally a junk food person, burgers and any microwaveable meals with meat in them are what I tend to live off. The only time I can recall a meat craving would of been a week back when I was on a bus to a friends, I'd never been on this particular route before and it went down a road with fields full of sheep and lamb either side. Having never actually eaten lamb before, I was quite surprised at myself when I realised I was thinking "They look tasty."

And for aggression...I don't think I experience any extra aggression due to my therioside, and I'm a ridiculously laidback person most of the time, so any aggression would be noticed easily by me or others.

Haha...indecisive eyes? There's only been 2 times where my eyes have changed colour, from their usual bright blue to a pale green, and I think it was due to dashing from the train station in York, through the city centre just to make it to a lecture on time. The other time was the same, but needed to make it to a coach so I could attend a trip to a Gurdwara in Leeds. I was really stressed at the time, having only just over 5 minutes to make it. I'm not a morning person either, so it seemed to be "having to wake up at 5:30am + early morning travel and traffic + a mad dash through York = stress = possible reason for eye colour change" but who knows? XD

I've never really seen Therianthropy as something 'cool' either. It just...is there, and I think to a lot of 'outsiders' reading a basic outline of what Therianthropy is, they're more likely to see it as 'weird' or 'crazy', which is probably why for me denial was the first thing, as I feared the 'crazy guy' label. Labels are indeed a bad thing imo
I tried to think of other possible reasons for how I felt, trying to think of other reasons for how I felt, as the idea of "Yes, I actually do feel like I am a wolf in many  aspects, I just feel it." seemed a really weird thought for me...I initially saw it as something really stupid, as my logic just couldn't comprehend that. It still can't, but it's getting there, as I'm starting to realise that it's hard to rationalise with the response of "I just know, I feel it."

Since I've opened up to myself about it though, I think my wolf theriotype is making up for the time I'd repressed or bottled it up. I tend to get minor m-shifts and sometimes a phantom ear feeling at moments I don't want to. Now my task is adjusting to this, as although I'm open to myself about it now, with other people...not so much

Ah what the heck, I might as well throw a question in randomly. By saying "I just know" however, there still could be possible reasons, a persons judgement on themselves can be very dodgy to say the least. People can think they have depression, when it's just a 'down' spell, upon reading the symptoms of Paranoid Schizophrenia they can relate to some of them and come to the conclusion that they have a form of Schizophrenia, I can admit that for a very short period of time I considered that I could of had Autism, after reading about a few symptoms, which I somehow related to myself. People can jump to conclusions very easily. So what I'm trying to say is, people can say that "They just know" but could it be a phase? Could they be seeing Therianthropy as the easy label to something they can't describe?

Sorry if any of the above doesn't make sense! Sleepiness tends to get the better of me!

WolfVanZandt wrote:

Anyway, I'm a Water Wolf. Where many Therians are energized by the moon, I get the same effect by lots of moving water - big rivers (such as the one I live on the bluffs over) and waterfalls. Other Therians are affected greatly by fire or storms or trees and monoliths.

A water wolf? Hmm...I'm guessing that this 'elemental affinity' (the only way I could describe it) isn't exclusively a Therian thing, and that its also applicable to non-therians right?
I've never really considered this for myself. A full moon does get me feeling a bit more energised, but so does sitting on top of a hill looking down (not in an arrogant way, just in a "I'm currently on a hill, I can't exactly look up to many people here" kind of way) on everything around me, seeing the village I live in, taking it all in. That really does get me feeling refreshed too.
It might be something I'd have to take a look at. I don't share many characteristics of my supposed astrological sign Sagitarius, so maybe I'm just a bit mixed up?

WolfVanZandt wrote:

Phase.....hmmmm, I'm 56. Long phase. Some people are indeed going through a phase and one day they'll look back and laugh at themselves for thinking they were a Werewolf. They aren't Therians. And, honestly, if you ever start associating with other Therians, the differences will become quite clear.

Yeah, that would be one heck of a phase, so I think it's very safe to assume thats not the case. Associating with other Therians is something I would love to do, as it would really show me what its like. I do believe I'm a Therian, as I feel I am but, people can be wrong, very wrong. By having 'real life' experience, and not just being reliant on the interwebs, I can truly get a good representation. I've met and spoken to one Therian in 'the real world' currently, but we couldn't really get talking much...damn me and my hobbies.

Triox wrote:

Of course this can happen. I know a few years back they called it "Shifter's Disease" and it was exactly what you spoke of. I'm 32, and have known I was somehow linked to a cougar since I was about 4. I didn't learn the terms "shifter" or "therianthropy" or any of that until I was about 25 (around 2001). So, 21 years of knowing who I am before I ever read a single piece of information on it is all the evidence I need that I am indeed a therian. But, I agree completely with what you're saying. I see a lot of people on forums who I would seriously question their sincerity to themselves or the community. With any group you're going to get this, though. In the long run, those people fade out of the community. You can't keep up a "fad" for that long.

After the film, "The Craft" came out, suddenly every girl I knew started dressing in black and saying they were a witch. I had never seen so many copies of "The Complete book of Witchcraft". I'm sure "The Craft" is one of Raymond Buckland's favorite films. It made him a ton of money.

It's things like what we've been discussing that made me question the replies in this thread initially. I question the sincerity of anyone who makes claims like these. It just reminds me of all those girls, dressed in black, throwing "curses" at each other and anyone who crossed their paths.

Thats what I'm afraid of, people going going through some kind of phase, and Therianthropy being the target of it. For me, I do feel pretty certain that it is not a phase. When it all clicked into place, I realised a lot of stuff that had happened before me realising that seemed Therian related in some way. Its not meaning to sound arrogant, but I worry that due to others using at as some kind of phase, it casts doubt onto other Therians. Me only being 19, I feel that I'm also at that age where some people tend to go through these 'phases', which not just makes me think that other Therians see me as  'another one of those over imaginative teenagers' but I also sometimes doubt myself.

It's probably just due to me always doubting everything I do and am, who knows though?

I do agree that the ones who aren't actually a part of that community to tend to fade out, phases are just that...phases, they appear, and then go.

hmmmm. the moon affects everyone. not just werewolves. I'm affected by the moon and water. ''darkness within'' are you implying werewolves are evil?

anyways my eyes change color too. they change from brown to green. but also yellow. i know what ppl say. People who notice my eyes are either creeped out or fascinated. over the color.

May I ask how you came to the conclusion you were a water wolf? And in your method of discovering this, was it the standard "Four Elements" concept, or the idea of there being hundreds more, that was used?

Shamans? The only thing I've ever really learnt about shamans and shamanism is what we studied very briefly in university, and it was just one lecture within the module "New Age and Paganism" so it was rather vague, and I'm guessing it can be argued whether it resembles anything to do with Pagan ideas. I'll have to have a good read into it, and find myself a few books on it too.