jackdarkness

See the animal as yourself, not a separate entity

When I refer to “the animal”, I’m not talking about a separate being. I am simply referring to the aspects of a person that are nonhuman; therefore I tend to refer to “the wolf” and “the human” as two collections of traits with some overlap that all create me. When I awoke, I didn’t gain anything; I simply became aware of what was already there. When I shift in moods, I’m not possessed by a wolf spirit, I’m simply shifting myself to a difference balance between wolf and human.

Part of the problem is that we only have certain informational inputs to learn from. Most of us don’t have regular access to “our” animals. I’ve never met a wolf in the wild, and my exposure to captive wolves has been limited. While some behavior is instinctual, some is learned (including respective social “etiquette”). So often we have to turn to human interpretations of animal behavior to learn how to work with the nonhuman aspects of ourselves.

It doesn't have anything to do with whether you look like your animal spirit, or if you get crazy during the full moon, or if you crave a raw steak. It's about your Pack. It's about the comfort of others like you, that familiar scent, the brush of fur against fur. It's knowing your place in the Pack. It's understanding that your place is as important as any other, that it's not just about the alphas, whose power comes with the price of their responsibility towards the Pack and keeping it safe. See, the alphas aren't just alphas because they ripped the shit out of the other wolves. Their decisions determine the health and well-being of the other wolves. A Pack is not a human tyranny, with absolute rule. Alphas are the rulers who know that it is their place to serve those they are in charge of.

And it's about food, and play, and mating, and pups. The arguments that happen, the occasional fights--those are normal among social animals. Every family has them. It;s no worse than siblings getting testy with each other. Wolves aren't vicious--we may snap and snarl, but the only violence we participate in is for survival--the hunt, and protection of the territory, and the occasional unfortunate ousting of a wolf who no longer is healthy for the pack, physically or otherwise--either a pup who waited too long to go out on their own, or one who has rabies or another dread disease.

Considering how much most other animals rely on the sense of smell, I think that there’s a whole lot that we’re missing out on, even those who claim “heightened senses” as a result of their therianthropy. We can’t develop extra folds in our nasal passages to accommodate more olfactory nerves, so I’m inclined to think that the better sense of smell is most likely a matter of paying more attention to what we do have access to.