Life bleeds. Life is raw. Life has teeth and bones, sinew and skin. For all too many of us, though, life is a plastic paradise filled with toothless distractions and virtual vitality. We live our lives surrounded by computer monitors and neutered beasts, claiming to love a feral inheritance but doing little to cherish that legacy.

Lupa wants to change that.

By way of her blogs, the website she shares with her husband Taylor Ellwood, and — best of all — the books they both edit and author under the Megalithica imprint of Immanion Press, Lupa is trying to bring the Wild back to the wasteland of plastic Paganism. Sure, she lives in a modern home; she and Taylor maintain active web presences… and yeah, they're total geeks. Still, Lupa refuses to settle for an air-conditioned life that's factory-sealed for her protection. Lean, fit, and active, she lives the path she describes, and inspires others to do likewise. A shaman in deed as well as name, Lupa favors the raw edge of modern magic, working up a new future with her hands in the soil, in fur, and occasionally even in blood.

(a sidebar to Lupa: Reclaiming Our Feral Inheritance)

Drawn from post-Jungian psychology, aspecting refers to the practice of identifying different parts of one's self through archetypal characters or "aspects." To say, for instance, that you see yourself as a lover, a fighter, and a poet — and to give each of those elements a specific "voice" and personality — would be aspecting yourself through a Lover, a Warrior, and a Poet. Not to be confused with Multiple Personality Disorder, aspecting involves creative, conscious visualization, not disassociation with one's material-reality self.

Otherkin and Therianthropes

Although both terms have been used in various contexts, the term Otherkin usually refers to people who believe they have a non-human essence, while therian (or therianthrope) refers to folks who perceive a soul-deep affinity for animals (not always of the earthly variety) and/or feel they are truly animals at heart. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, they refer to different identifications; therians may be considered Otherkin, but not all Otherkin are considered therians. Both names remain controversial — their subcultures even more so.

Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation refers to the widespread practice of adopting the terms, trappings, and other elements of marginalized and/or indigenous cultures by people from outside those cultures — often by folks who belong to the cultures that marginalized them. Among some communities, particularly Native American activists, this "plastic shaman syndrome" is a source of great (and understandable) resentment. Generally, though, the term refers less to folks who feel inspired by a particular culture than it does to people who profit from someone else's sacred works, or who pretend knowledge or connection where they truly have none.

Satyrblade