Therianthrope

therianthropes (also known as: weres, werecreatures, were(animal species) and therians) are people qho have spiritual connections with a given type of animal.

they differ from furries in the sense that furries want to be the animal, and therians “are” the animal. often therianthropes feel that they share some part of themselves (mind, soul, etc) with their animal, essentially feeling that their “two halves” are one in the same.

therianthropes, by definition, do not:
— enjoy b-st–lity
— draw/create “furry p-rn”
— wear fursuits
— have actual, diagnosed mental issues

on the whole, most of them are pretty well-adjusted. generally, any weres that seems a bit “off” is probably either 1) a troll, 2) 14 years old and not quite understanding what they’re getting themselves into or 3) just plain dumb.

therianthropes do not think they can turn into animals in a physical sense. if you here one speaking of “shifting” or “changing” they are most probably either speaking of mental shifting (where you go into a trance, much like meditation) or dream shifting (dreaming you are an animal). anyone who says they -can- turn into an animal physically is either crazy (lycanthropy) or they think they’re being funny/cool.
i am a wolf therianthrope– a werewolf if you will. i do not change my shape, but i do consider wolves are my spirit animals, and therefore they are a part of me.
n.(from greek “ther”, wild animal, and “anthropos”, human) a person who feels a strong spiritual connection with a particular species of animal. therianthropes may define the connection as totemic (having an animal spirit guide or guardian, or a religious connection to the archetypal spirit of that animal) or the result of reincarnation from an animal form into a human one. therianthropy has existed for millenia in tribal cultures across the globe and also in popular religions such as buddhism, but the word itself is a recent coinage.
the therianthrope had a spiritual connection to cougars.
a human being who feels that their soul/mindset is not that of a human, but that of an animal. also referred to as transspecies, animal people, therians, weres. we have some human instinct and thoughts, and some animal ones. the word for the condition of being a therianthrope is ‘therianthropy.’
i am a leopard therianthrope, and my site is about therianthropy.
“therianthrope” is just a fancy term for people that want to feel special and tell everyone they have the soul of an animal. they were probably not paid attention to as a child, which explains their incessant need to be set apart and feel different. this doesn’t work, however, and they wind up looking like loons. they frequent sites like gaia online and numerous mmorpgs, as most geeks do.
john, a therianthrope, swears that he has the soul of a golden retriever. he has recently taken to sitting on his porch & barking at all the people that walk by.