Furry Fan.

Name meaning: Fans of "furries," which are anthropomorphic (human-like) animals. "Furry" is also a word for the people in this group.
Description: Many Furry Fans roleplay [online] as a character which is a certain [anthropomorphic] animal, and not necessarily because this animal has deep spiritual meaning for them, or because they feel they are personally other than human- although furry fans commonly feel that being something physically other than human could be fun. The Furry Fandom is a hobby, not a spirituality. The community is primarily about the visual art around which it is based. The Fandom has a reputation for being sexually attracted to anthropomorphic animals, but this doesn't apply to everyone within the fandom. The community does foster an attitude of openness/acceptance of sexualities.
Connection: To some Furry Fans, their connection to their Furry persona ("fursona") is that of a roleplayer and their roleplaying character, or that of an author to their book's protagonist or their alter ego, or that of an actor to their given character. The fursona may represent the player themself, just looking a bit different but acting the same, or the fursona may be played as having a different personality. There is no spiritual connection between a Furry Fan and their fursona. They acknowledge that their fursona is a fictional character, like someone in a book or a movie.
Community overlap: There is a great deal of overlap between Furry Fans and Furry Lifestylers, in which case they are collectively called Furries. Some Therianthropes protest that they are not Furry Fans, and try to distance themselves from the fandom. Some Furries protest that they are not Therianthropes, and distance themselves from them too. Other Therianthropes and Furry Fans mix freely, seeing that they have a similar interest in art depicting their animal.
Origin: The name and the fandom predates the Internet, possibly originating in the 1970's or 80's. (Historical estimates greatly appreciated; contact me.) But by far, the Furry Fandom has flourished online, and this has become its home turf.
Associated religion or spiritual movement: None, the Fandom is secular. Individual Fans have any sort of spiritualities.
Explanatory webpages:
• http://www.furcen.org/fgc Furry Grand Central. (Of special interest is the Glossary.)
• http://www.tigerden.com/~infopage/furry Furry Info Page.
• http://www.fur.com/furry Furry Resource Page.
Books:
While there are many books of interest to the Furry Fandom, or created by people in the Fandom, I don't know of any books about the Fandom. Do you?

Furry Lifestyler.

Name meaning: Furry, as in an animal. Lifestyle, as in a way of life.
Description: Furry lifestylers are people who deeply identify with a certain animal. They express this animal in day-to-day life with animal-like mannerisms, [online] roleplay, and general fondness for it as with a favorite animal. The Lifestyle community fosters an attitude of surprisingly peaceful, open friendliness, or at least, it did when I was in it.
Connection: A Furry Lifestyler is spiritually connected to their animal self. The particular nature of this connection varies with the individual. One Furry Lifestyler may feel that the animal symbolically conveys their personality, or vice versa. Another Lifestyler may believe that in spirit they are an animal of that type. The next Furry Lifestyler you talk to may explain that their totem (or spirit guide) is an animal of that type. (See Animal Totemism.) Another may say that they had a past life as an animal of that type.
Community overlap: There's so much overlap between the communities of the Furry Lifestylers and Furry Fans that sometimes they are described collectively as Furries, with no attempt at distinguishing between them. At other extremes, there is strife between the two communities: some Fans think the Lifestylers are too spiritual/strange, and some Lifestylers are disappointed by the superficial, non-spiritual way of Fans. Some Therianthropes protest that they are not mere Furry Lifestylers, that their sense of spiritual identity is deeper. Other Therianthropes see a great deal of similarity with Furry Lifestylers, having more things in common than not. There's quite a few Otherkin and Draconic people in the Furry Lifestyle communities. Some Animal Totemists avoid (or miss out on) the Furry community as a whole, and some Furry Lifestylers are Animal Totemists themselves.
Origin: The Furry Lifestyle community branched off from the online community of Furry Fans, probably in the mid-1990's.
Associated religion or spiritual movement: Any. The spirituality of a Furry Lifestyler can be anything. A Lifestyler's beliefs may be wholly independent, or based upon New Age ideas. It's most common for a Lifestyler to connect their beliefs with Native American spirituality; see Animal Totemism.
Explanatory webpages:
The alt.lifestyle.furry FAQ.
Books:
Books of relevant to Furry Lifestylers are a combination of books of interest to Furry Fans, Animal Totemists, and Therianthropes.

Therianthrope, Were, or Shifter.

Name meaning: "Were" is short for "werewolf" or "werecreature." Shifter is short for shapeshifter. Therianthrope means "human-shaped animal." (In history and mythology, "therianthrope" was used to mean mythical creatures which are half human, half animal.)
Description: Someone who is an animal in spirit, particularly someone who is both animal and human in spirit, switching between these two. This is called shapeshifting, or shifting. Usually this shapeshifting is only on a mental/spiritual level, indicated by changes in mindset and sensation, such as 'phantom limbs,' and enhanced physical senses. Very rarely, there are those who [claim to?] physically shapeshift. Such claims of physical shifting are typically viewed with suspicion, disillusionment, and controversy even within the community, despite how p-shifting is a goal aspired to by most Therianthropes. The community has changed over the years, and lately tends to foster an attitude of snarkiness and cynicism. Supposedly it once fostered a healthy sense of awe and spiritual adventure, or parts of it did.
Community overlap: Some Therianthropes say they're completely different from Furries and try to distance themselves from that as much as possible. Other Therianthropes see things in common with Furries, and mingle with them. Therianthropes and Vampyres are not at war with one another, that only happens in roleplaying games. Draconics and some Otherkin mix into the Therianthrope community.
Origin: Communities of Therianthropes existed and called themselves by these terms prior to the Internet.
Associated religion or spiritual movement: Any or none.
Explanatory webpages:
• The Werelibrary: The largest collection of were-related writings on the Web.
• WikiTherian: The Therian Wiki Encyclopedia.
• The Therianthropy Resource.
• http://www.freewebs.com/moonscape/therianthropy.html
• The long FAQ of alt.horror.werewolves, which is (or was) a newsgroup full of Therianthropes.
Books:
• Greene's 'The Magic of Shapeshifting.' A non-fiction reference book for Shifters.
• Galenorn's 'Totem Magic: Dance of the Shapeshifter.' A non-fiction reference book for Animal Totemists, but with greater relevance/similarity to Therianthropes than most such books, which are usually completely different from anything from the situation of a Therianthrope.

Lycanthrope.

Name meaning: Literally, werewolf.
Definition: There are two very different definitions for a non-fictional person who is called a lycanthrope.
• Clinical.
Lunacy. Type of schitzophrenia in which the person believes they occasionally transform into an animal (a wolf, a different animal, or even a demon) during which they behave erratically and violently, without normal inhibitions. Those who have exhibited this kind of thing are unquestionably a danger to themself and others. Either some individuals called this are real werewolves with other problems, or who are real healthy werewolves who have just fallen prey to a crude politically-incorrect system, or they're merely insane people who have nothing to do with real werewolves. Please keep in mind that many things, including homosexuality, were once thought to be a mental illness, and that the line between spirituality and delusion can be uncomfortably thin at times for outside observers to determine. Clinical lycanthropy is not a community, nor have I heard of communities of them; it is listed here for disambiguation.
• Spiritual.
Someone who has the spirit of a wolf, or other animal. Positive and mentally healthy, without any of the negative connotations of clinical lycanthropy. To avoid being mixed up with that negativity, many people avoid this term as well, using therianthrope or one of its synomyms instead.
Explanatory webpages about clinical lycanthropy:
• Werewolves Versus Lycanthropy.
• Clinical lycanthropy on Wikipedia.
• A case of clinical lycanthropy.
Books:
There are many parapsychology books about clinical lycanthropy. I'll research them later, and list the best such books here.

Draconic or Dragon-kin.

Someone with a dragon spirit. Not as specific as it sounds, what with 'dragon' being a far broader term than any word has the right to be. May mean they had a past life as a dragon- more like Otherkin, or they shapeshift into a dragon- more like Therianthrope, or they just identify with dragons- more like Furry Lifestyler, or they just like the idea of being a dragon but don't take it too seriously- more like Furry Fan. In most cases, they view dragons as strong, noble, and no more "evil" than humans are.
• "Draconic" in this usage apparently started on the Internet, although the people themselves obviously existed before its coining, and the word has always meant "dragon-like" or "of dragons." Term not to be confused with "draconian," which actually means "exceedingly severe and harsh, like a certain Athenian politician named Draco."
• "Dragon-kin" usually indicates they are Otherkin, although the word has been used for other things, such as being a name for human-like dragons.
• Links:
http://www.tomorrowlands.org/draconity/faq The Draconity FAQ.
Mirror 1 and mirror 2 of the Draconity FAQ.
http://www.weyr.org/~raki/drp.html Draconity Resource Project.
http://www.draconic.com

• Vampire or Vampyre.

Someone who considers themself a vampire. There are psychic vampires, who drink people's energy. There are other vampires who genuinely feel the need to drink blood. (I'd like to see a list of the different types, haven't found one yet.) So far as I've seen, they're universally Gothic.
• Term predates Internet, even in this usage.
• Links:
http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/vampfaq.html An especially good vampire FAQ.
http://www.angelfire.com/home/darkrealms/faq.html Another vampire FAQ.
http://www.lionsgrove.com/psivamps/faq.html Psychic vampire FAQ.

• Otherkin.

The term originally referred only to Elves and other humanoids, but it's nearly been made into an umbrella term to include various other non-humans- Draconics, Therianthropes, Vampires, and some Furry Lifestylers. Otherkin with a non-human spirit usually explain it as a past life which they may or may not recall. Otherkin which claim a physically non-human lineage usually explain it as a result of intermarriage with [insert humanoid or shapeshifter here] in their ancestry; this occurs frequently in legend. The Otherkin movement originally arose from the Neopagan movement; however, Otherkin is detached from religion, so now individuals you meet may be of any other faith, from Christian to Hindu.
• Term predates Internet.
•Links:
http://kinhost.org/res/Otherfaq.html The Otherkin FAQ, by the Crisses.
http://www.weyr.org/~raki/drp/kinfaq.html The Otherkin FAQ, by Kaijima.
http://www.otherkin.net

• Angelkin or Angelous or Angelus.

Someone with a non-human spirit, which is angel-like, either in their whole nature (really are angels of one kind or another) or appearance (just a winged humanoid, as angels are often depicted). They're not necessarily from the heaven we know of, but religious arguments start over them nonetheless. They might describe themselves as fallen, or they might see themselves as like the Starseeds- here to help the world- or that they're just here now for whatever reason.
• The term Angelkin itself doubtless branched off from the Otherkin community, though I can't say whether it happened online or offline.
• Links:
http://www.otherkin.drinkdeeplyanddream.com/articles/nature-of-incarnation.html
http://www.livejournal.com/community/once_winged/
http://echthros.thehellsing.org/angelic.php Echthros's resource for and about incarnated angels.

• Starseed or Starfolk or Starpeople.

Someone with a non-human spirit: alien and/or higher being (fourth dimensional). They almost always explain themselves in terms of reincarnation, and believe they are here to heal the world and help bring it to its New Age.
• Term predates Internet.
• Links:
http://www.paoweb.com/starseed.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/or2/spiritspeaks/starseeds.html
http://www.nibiruancouncil.com/html/faq.html

• Walk-In.

Someone whose current spirit is not the one that was originally born into that body; the original either left and the body was taken up by its new resident, or both spirits are cohabiting it as per a Multiple. The Walk-In may or may not be nonhuman, and may retain the memories of the prior bodily occupant. Some Walk-Ins say they didn't even notice when the transition happened; others were very much aware of it, and have been very different people before and after. Some Multiples have members who were walk-ins, who arrived without anyone else departing.
• Term predates Internet, as part of the New Age movement.
• Links:
http://www.walk-ins.com WE International

Animal Totemist.

Name meaning: To have a totem which is an animal. Simple enough.
Description: Animal totemism is one of several traits common in shamanism throughout the world. The New Age movement, and the [Neo-]Pagan movement, in its adoption of shamanism, also adopted a version of animal totemism. Their mversion tends to be based upon animal totemism as it is among the Native peoples of North America.
Connection: Animal totemists usually describe their animal totem as being seperate from themselves. This relationship resembles that of a person with their guardian angel or spirit guide. However, the totem also represents the totemist's inner nature, so it's not quite that seperate from themselves. The totem tends to be an archetype of an animal, rather than a specific animal. (It's the difference between Coyote and a coyote.) There are a number of different ways in which a person finds their totem, and that's best left to the books to describe.
Community overlap: Some Furry Lifestylers and Therianthropes base their beliefs upon animal totemism. To put it differently, some people in the Furry Lifestyle and Therianthrope communities are animal totemists.
Origin: Animal totemism originated way, way, WAY before the Internet. This is cave-painting old. Even the version of animal totemism adapted for New Age has been around for a bit longer than the Internet, and doesn't especially tend to count the Internet as its home turf. Nope, the Internet isn't the birthland of this one.
Associated religion or spiritual movement: Shamanism of various kinds around the world, as it originally was. New Age. [Neo-]Pagan. However, you're not bound to these, as books on the subject say that you can be an animal totemist of any religion.
Explanatory webpages: ...
Books:
• Nearly anything by Ted Andrews, starting with Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small.
• Galenorn's Totem Magic: Dance of the Shapeshifter.
• Steiger's Totems: The Transformative Power of Your Personal Animal Totem.
• Conway's Animal Magick: The Art of Recognizing & Working With Familiars.
• Telesco & Hall's Animal Spirit: Spells, Sorcery, and Symbols from the Wild.
And many more! There are lots of books on the subject of animal totemism.

Thanks to:
Avatara Raki, Baxil, Thrames, Loganberry, Starling, David Fox, Nugator Dester'edra and Caterpillar Girl Esh'ari for their support, corrections, and criticism.

This article may be distributed freely, so long as the name of the original author retained.

This article was created to increase awareness of pathways which operate on certain similar concepts, and to be helpful for individuals who wish to broaden their social horizons of people like themselves. It is written toward an audience which is already involved in one or more of the communities listed, and who is curious about (and may be more suited in) other communities with overlapping interests.

Entries listed in rough order of descending obscurity, as perceived by me in my own experience, and by observation of what order they seem to be in for other people. Your personal experience with that may vary. This was chosen over alphabetical order for organizational reasons so that kinds like one another can be placed together. Chronological order is out of the question, as it's impossible to make without specific dates.

The definitions in this article are very general, and any given person might be able to fit under more than one of these groups, and might fit better under a different category than as they generally/currently describe themself. This article is meant to help encourage outward growth from a single community.

This article is not intended to:
• offend in any way.
• crudely stereotype or segregate any community listed:
  the intent is to increase awareness of diversity, not stifle it.
• argue for the validity of any community listed:
  that's another entire project.
• cover all the various ideas, jargon, or traditions of any community listed:
  please visit the links listed for that information, as that's their own project.
• respond to criticism that any of the communities listed are engaging in escapist delusions:
  that's another entire project.

Spirit. In this article, the word "spirit" is used to mean the nonphysical self, the part that is what it is regardless of the body's form, the core part that "makes you you." This word is used for simplicity and convenience, regardless of individual beliefs about whether the spirit/soul technically exists, whether everyone has a spirit, and so on. The word "mind" or "psyche" did not entirely suit the purposes here, so "spirit" was used instead. I'd appreciate suggestions for an alternative word that readily conveys this concept without raising controversy.

Nonhuman. In this article, the word "nonhuman" is used due to a lack for a general catch-all term for the sort of communities listed. Transspecies could be another word. In most cases, the individuals who exist within these communities don't consider themselves to be totally without human characteristics- a human body and upbringing, if nothing else. Being human and being "other" are not mutually exclusive.

Community. In this article, the word "community" is used to also include the concepts of "group" and "subculture," and those are exchanged as synonyms.

Roleplay. A roleplayer is someone who, in a game, is pretending to be someone and/or something other than they are in their real life. They don't take this seriously, although certain ones of their characters may be very important to them. Much like creating an interactive story, well-played characters can seem like people all of their own. And despite what Jack Chick tells you, it has nothing to do with religion. Roleplaying is a hobby, not a spirituality. Sometimes online, it may be difficult to distinguish a roleplayer pretending to be a nonhuman from someone who takes non-humanity seriously. Also, many nonhumans use roleplaying to express themselves, often in a virtual environment. (Some nonhumans will also use the word "roleplayer" in different sense, as a derogatory term for a "wanna-be" or "poseur.")

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