Amaya’s Den 🍂

From the Otherkin ask game:

6 - Do you feel any phantom/astral sensations? Explain

What is a shift?

A shift is a temporary, often sensorily transformative experience that one attributes to their alterhuman or non-human identity. Not all alterhuman individuals experience shifts, but many do. One who experiences a shift is called a "shifter". There are a few types of "shifts" one can experience:

• Phantom shift – sensing the presence of a supernumerary phantom limb or body part of a non-human entity. Feeling the presence of a pair of angelic wings on your back is one example.

• Mental shift – a change in an individual's state of consciousness and/or way of thinking to that which is closer to their non-human identity. Letting your mind calm and drift into a more animalistic state, like that of a dog, is one example.

• Dream shift – a transformative experience where, while asleep and dreaming, one takes on aspects of or is transformed into a non-human entity. Having a lucid (or non-lucid) dream of yourself as a horse galloping with other wild horses on the Eurasian steppe is one example.

I actually picked up these definitions from an otherkin poll a while back and found them to be pretty useful in describing what a "shift" is exactly. I put it in my own words of course.

My experiences

For me, shifting is an unusual experience that can't typically be "willed" into happening. It typically happens when I'm in a calm and relaxed, but can also arise while I'm busy doing something that requires concentration. Sometimes I can feed into the sensation but oftentimes I cannot, even if I want to. It happens rarely, often randomly.

These "shifts" are almost always phantom shifts consisting of sensing the presence of differing from but related to existing physical traits. Some notable examples of this include sensing the presence of feline ears flicking atop my head, and sensing the presence of paws where my hands and feet are.

I've sensed the presence of a tail, usually nonspecific but also canine or feline in form, connected to my body where my coccyx (tail bone) meets my skin around my lower back. It usually sits in a gentle downward curve behind me. It can flick, twitch, or sway side-to-side. Sometimes I can move it to the side or raise it. It seems to be affected by my emotions but this is uncertain, such as flicking being associated with irritation or boredom.

On the extreme end I've had sensations of taking on a taur-like physical form, which is a bizarre feeling that your body is a little bit longer than it actually is with an additional pair of forelegs where your hips or lower abdomen are, or of a feral-like body extending behind you when standing up. I can move those forelegs/hindlegs and tail too. This kind of experience is rare but damn is it cool.

If I had to point out a potential point of origin, I would attribute these experiences to my neurodivergence and not with anything spiritual or religious.

Thanks for the ask Snowy! I hope that anecdote helps you in your research.