I want to know what everyone's opinion is on what otherkin are. What makes us, us. Is it our soul? our awareness? What clasifies a being as being kin? what clasifies a being as not being kin? What do you believe, feel, theorize, think? On our journey we often wonder who we are or what otherkin we are, but, in your point of view, what are otherkin?

Firstly I think Kin are the best of the past, and the best hope for the future.
I think Kin-ness ( I love that word) is found in the very essence of your being. The part of you that moves from life to life living until the body dies, and then moving on again.
I think kin are the ones who are one thing on the outside, but critically, not necessarily the same thing on the inside. The non kin are all the rest. (humans, animals, plants, trees etc)
I think kin are the ones who live on, despite death.

I believe I am different, partly because I feel dissatisfied with the idea of being human, somehow that is just not enough. I know I feel differently about things and do not look at things the same way as those who are not kin, simply because they are always telling me I do and asking me why I don't think the same as they do! Bit of a give away that!
I seem to look at the world from a different angle, almost like I am walking on a world that although exactly the same world as the humans it spins slightly on a tilt. And possibly a little slower too, giving me more time to appreciate the world and all it's wonders.
I also consider the world differently and I'm willing to put myself second in many cases, in an effort to ensure that there is a future for me to be reborn into. Human's don't have that worry and so many of them think they can afford to be more careless about the whole destruction of the planet thing in general.
I see the world, I do not just look at it. I do not drift through it, I connect to it. It cares for me and I care for it. I am responsible for it and ensuring my place in it's future.
I cannot say what all otherkin are as I only know myself, but this is what I am and what I think.
I would be very interested in what the author has to say about the questions asked.
So Katie, what do YOU think?

Well I've heard that Otherkin are aliens from outer space. I don't know that I would argue with that too hard. I think that when humans first saw us they searched desperately for an explanation for us and some decided that the alien theory was it. Other's decided that Angels from God were the answer.
We are the creatures from above, whether you call above heaven, outerspace or whatever.
I think we are the past, the future and the keepers/guardians of both.
I think trying to classify kin would be a mistake, it means so many different things to us.
The other thing I think about kin is that there are not as many as there actually appear to be on forums and various websites around the internet. I think some people are playing make believe and that some people frankly, lie.

I agree that there is no true definition of otherkin and you can't classify it into a simple few sentences to encase every kin's belief on what otherkin is. But i do think it's interesting to hear what everyone believes it to be, to see the many different angles of the prism that is us.
I'll post again in a couple of weeks my response to my question when i have more time. so... more people should share their views.

I think that even when you have a firm belief about what kin are and what makes kin kin, it is incredibly difficult to put into words.
For me it is not something I've ever tried to define. Knowing that is what I am I just accepted and never analized it too closely.
It wasn't until I read your question Katie that I thought about what words I might use to describe it.
Any thing I thought of really didn't come close to explaining or describing what kin is or what it means to me.
I cannot relate properly to you as I do not have the words, (an incredibly difficult thing for a teacher to admit to. lol) I can just say inside, deeply embedded in my essence is a thing that will not be denied.
It screams kin and it refuses to be quiet.
I have never had to explain it to myself or convince myself or my family that to believe it does not mean that I am insane.
I have no idea if this even makes any sense to anyone but me.
Finally I will say I think it is about both essence and awareness.
Kin-ness is in your essence and the more awareness you have of that kin-ness the more like your true self you become.
Love the alien theory Dea. And really beings from on high we certainly are, so who is to say one human word is right and another human word is wrong. A word is just a word and a name is just a name. They can call us whatever they want, it is what we call ourselves that matters.
I am kin. And kin.....Well that is what I am.

Lady C.

I think it is in the soul, but it is so much more than that.
It's in the way you think and the way you act. It's in the time you spend thinking why you don't fit in when you're a child. It's in the relief you feel the first time you find out that you may not be crazy after all. It's in the way you're treated by humans and in the way you take it, over and over and over, even though after years of being treated like a second class citizen just because you don't 'fit in', you just want to rip them to pieces.
I think it's in your conviction that you are different and your belief that the difference is good, not bad.
I have always felt different and I have heard many others say the same thing, I have always felt bad because I could not fit in with humans. It seems to be understood that compliance is the best way to go, and the only way to be considered 'one of them', I can't do that and so feel like I am being punished for that.
Since I became aware of kin and the kin-ness within me I no longer feel like not fitting in is so important, and their approval is no longer desperately sought.
To me kin-ness means freedom, it means that even though I am not a good human I still have value. It means that although they do not consider me one of them I still matter.
It means everything.
I believe that if you don't feel that then you are not kin, you cannot be.
Otherkin I consider my family and the spiritual keepers of my history, my values, and my dearest treasure...........My future.

This was hard Katie.
For me kin is not just something I am it is all I am and all I have ever wanted to be.
I feel most comfortable when I am NOT confined to this body, freedom to me is my escape to the Astral realms and the shedding of my human shell and all the confines that brings to my existence.
Although I know it is just a word, for me a soul is a human posession, I prefer the words Spirit or Essence to describe my immortal quality, but yes I believe kin-ness is held/carried and preserved there. I think our awareness allows us a chance to give that kin-ness direction, force, intention and meaning. An aim in life and a course bearing for our future.
I could not tell you what makes me believe I'm kin. I can only say I am, and of course that is no help.
I completely agree with Dea that classifying otherkin is impossible, at least it is for me. I cannot define what it is that makes a kin, kin, it is a feeling you get from them, a certain vibration in the aura that is incredibly obvious to some and completely undectable to most. But trying to capture it long enough to dissect and analyze it I find impossible.
As for the non-otherkin, that is slightly easier. Non-kin simply do not have the vibration. If you check their aura it is missing!
So a feeling, a vibration, or whatever 'it' is, Kin have it and non-kin do not. How you would define something like that is a puzzle for me.

Wraith.

If you look deep inside yourself and think about being whatever kin you are. Take the lovely warm feeling you get and try and capture it.
(You'll never do it, but it kills a few hours!)
THAT feeling, that warmth, that special glow you get inside is what makes us kin. It comes from the actual being of kin, from your spirit/essence/soul or whatever you call it.
It can't be manufactured/bought by the pound and it doesn't come in a box. Although it is a gift you cannot be given it by anyone else, you don't have to steal it or swap it, you just have to let yourself have it, it is the special gift you allow yourself to have every day.
No-one who is not kin is ever going to feel that and I feel very sorry for them all. And very happy for myself and all of us here.

I have loved reading all your answers.
It's been so interesting to see what it means to us, and see the differences and similarities between our thoughts.

This can only help us all to understand each other and ourselves better. And of course better understanding aids acceptance and tolerance of others views and opinions.

This has been a wonderful thread and has taught me a lot.
Thankyou everyone.

I absolutely loved what Fallen Kin had to say.
I feel the warmth and the glow, but would never be able to describe it myself, so thankyou very much Jardinn.

TeeHee.
Careful Death No More.
They'd have your head for that on some forums.

Darkness.

I think kin are more than any one person can grasp or understand, I think the truth of kin is far too huge for that. I think they are more important than many wish them to be, and I think trying to explain where it comes from is like trying to rationalise magic. It cannot be done, and to attempt it removes the lustre of the indefinable from it.
Not that I have not enjoyed reading all of your explanations, and I have recognised and connected to much of what you have all said.
I just can't do it myself, and I will not try if you don't mind, as my kinship means far too much to me for me to risk that. I might spoil it all for myself and/or some of you, and I'd never forgive myself for that.

Darkness.

You might have a point there.
A pearl without it's lustre is just another piece of grit.

As far as I was aware Katie didn't expect us to be able to explain what kin were, only what kin were TO US!

I have feelings and ideas as to what kin means to me and I don't think that explaining it takes the lustre away, in fact I think that thinking about it long and hard enough to explain it in words merely polishes the feeling and makes the lustre sparkle a little brighter than it did before!
Pearls are no good if you don't wear them, and their shine dulls through neglect just as much as it does if you wear them. But if you do risk wearing them, both you and they have the fun of being out together.
My advice is to take your kinship out and polish it up a bit, wear it for a while and remind yourself why you love it so much.
Don't be so afraid of it. You can't lose it, or wear it out, you can only make it look 'loved'! And in my view, there's nothing wrong with looking loved.

thank you everyone for giving this little piece of yourselves. I did mean both what are otherkin and what are otherkin to us. both answers are so interesting and without sharing how can we grow?

So first i'm going to answer what it means to me. What otherkin are to me are home, family, understanding. A place to be welcomed and understood without being called names or to be seen as crazy, less than, or an outcast. In this world, for the most part, i have found beings of immeasurable wisdom, strength, understanding and support. It is a sanctuary from the realm where we simply do not exist for we are not on the same page. It is the place i had always come to for answers and strength when i felt lost and confused simply because i see the world differently than most around me. and those who see the same as me are afraid to say it for fear of being rejected. i suppose it is simply sanctuary, a place to be safe and to be cared for.

For my second answer i'm just going to say that this is what i believe, so i'm going to say it as if it were fact, because it is for me. what i believe otherkin are is awareness. With this awareness otherkin are able to connect with the past, present, future connecting to all their previous lives in physical form and all their time during non physical form all the way back to the creators. I believe everything that has the Will to live has a soul. the soul then has a vibration. This vibration has many different frequencies that occur for different reasons that all come down to awareness, awareness of the Self and surroundings. Otherkin have a very unique frequency, it is why we can know each other without knowing why. But i also believe that any being can have this awareness if they have the Will to see it. Most kin are born with the awareness. I think this is because they became aware in a past life. But i believe that the completely unaware can become aware if they are either thrown into the world, or brush up against it. They merely have to have the Will to change, the Will to see and the Will to grow. Unfortunately most of those who have the will to be aware already are so those that remain probably don't want to see. Those who are unaware are the mundanes. In most cases they choose to remain in ignorance, but they don't have to. The reason i believe this is because i've met several mundanes who felt like a low humming as all the rest and yet as i share myself in pieces and let them discover their own connection with everything their hum has changed. I do not guide them to this site or to the otherkin world simply because they are not kin, but i think they are realizing the kin world and changing their hum on their own. There will always be mundanes, but patience can help them find their way to growth and understanding and awareness. so i believe that in the core of a life there can be the awareness of kin if the life chooses, though many mundanes do not. it is not the form that controls it, but the Will. i am not speaking merely of humans but of other living things as well. Those that are born in a physical family with closer connection with the earth and life itself have a better chance of becoming aware if they aren't already, those that are born in a detached state have a harder time finding this awareness and even those born with it have a harder time awakening.
and now i'm starting to ramble on with my ideas, so i'll stop here.