As an extension to the theory defined in this mixed methodology study
we will attempt to explain the viewpoints of real vampirism rather than
propose a controversial "universal" definition that would ultimately
serve to exclude certain participants in the community. We recognize
that claims of what comprises "true" vampirism or "living" vampirism
varies to an almost infinite degree within the Community. However,
generally there are universal characteristics shared among the majority
that we hope will temporarily unite those who hold differences of
opinion while completing this survey. Only the individual understands
his or her own vampirism, path, and code of ethics and therefore,
should answer all questions out of respect and in accordance with their
own personal beliefs.
A vampire is essentially a blood drinker or an energy feeder that may
display various levels of psychic ability. The vampires that are the
focus of this study are individuals who cannot adequately sustain their
own physical, mental, or spiritual well-being without the taking of
blood or vital life force energy from other sources; often human.
Without feeding (whether by a regular or infrequent schedule) the
vampire will become lethargic, sickly, and often go through physical
suffering or discomfort. Vampires often display signs of empathy, sense
emotions, perceive auras of other humans, and are generally psychically
aware of the world around them.
The following section represents the various categories that relate to
the modern classification of vampires as defined by feeding method.
Terminology is haphazard and problematic within the Community, and the
attempt is made below to acknowledge alternative spellings, and
identify distinctions (some of which are controversial) which are made
by some Community members.
Vampirism
The most common and universal distinction made within the Vampire
Community is the distinction, based on feeding method, between
Sanguinarian and Psi Vampires.
Sanguine Vampires (Sanguinarian) feed by the drinking of blood - either
human or animal. Sanguinarian vampires can vary in their experience of
blood hunger and in how often or in what quantities they need to feed,
but the unique craving for blood and the physical symptoms associated
with neglecting to drink blood are unifying features of sanguinarian
vampirism. This term is commonly shortened to sang. Not all members of
the Community actually acknowledge the difference between psychic and
sanguinarian vampirism, and there is a popular but not universally-held
theory within the Community that the life force energy or "prana"
contained within the blood is the source from which they feed, rather
than any physical component of the blood itself. This theory is
supported by the notably small amount of blood that vampires consume to
alleviate their hunger, but challenged by the fact that vampires who
consider themselves primarily blood drinkers often do not display as
many or any of the psychic tendencies that psychic vampires do, and
more often report more physical symptoms, such as sense acuity and
physical strength, than do the psychic vampires.
Psi Vampires are understood to feed psychically on life force energy.
Psi (or psy) feeding is usually performed on a willing individual or
from the ambient energies of a large group or crowd. This term is often
mistakenly confused with the pop psychology use of "psychic vampire" or
"psychological vampire", used as a metaphor to describe specific
socially manipulative behaviors. The most common usage within the
Community, however, does not include this metaphor. Psi vampire, refers
to a vampire who feeds by some manner of energy transfer; this term may
also be shortened to psivamp. Psy vampire, and "psychic vampire" are
sometimes considered synonyms for psi vampire, but are also sometimes
employed as separate terms with distinctive meanings. For example,
"psi" is often employed as a synonym for ESP phenomena in
parapsychology, and "psy" is short for either "psychic" or
"psychological". Those who make distinctions between these terms may
use these meanings as the basis for their reasoning.
Hybrid or Psi/Sang Vampires claim to have no primary feeding
method, being able to feed from either source at any time. Others
report changing their primary feeding source from energy to blood, or
vice versa, at various points in their lives. Some, but not all,
vampires who can feed or have fed via both methods choose to describe
themselves as Psi/Sang or Hybrid vampires.
Some Community members go further to define sub-classes of vampirism
based on the detailed methods and sources of psychic feeding. These
classes are most often distinguished from one another based on the type
of energy gained. Those who feed from natural or elemental energy, and
those who feed from humans either during sexual contact, during
magickal rituals, or during times of high emotional output may be
described as specific types of vampires. Further subcategories of psi
feeding energy exist, including terminology to describe those who feed
from direct contact with the human aura, those who feed from the
ambient energy of crowds and public places, those who can only absorb
certain kinds of emotions, etc.
Energy Work & Manipulation
Many questions in this study pertain to, and to a considerable extent
rely on prior knowledge of or practice of, what is generally referred
to throughout the survey as "energy work". We realize that this is
easily as problematic a category as "vampirism," due to the various
metaphors and philosophies that various groups have assigned to the
practice throughout history. Various theories posit the nature and
origin of the "energy" in question, and many philosophies, religions,
and spiritual or occult paths teach rules for manipulating this
phenomenon, as well as theoretical limits of the practice. Of course,
these philosophies and theories all differ in various ways, and also
all seem to be describing at some level the same types, or similar
types of phenomena.
To further complicate matters, there are no objective methods,
instruments, or theories with which to measure or examine the set of
phenomena and perceptions that we collectively address here with the
blanket term "energy work". Therefore, all questions regarding energy
manipulation or perception have arisen from the observed conversations
and collective experiences of Community members who may be far more
likely to practice a technique than to have a name for it, more likely
to have experienced a perception than to have a theory with which to
explain or contextualize. We have gathered a range of questions from
what we perceive to be either widespread Community practices or
traditional religious, philosophical, or occult practices which speak
to the vampire experience. The purpose of these questions is not to
define the term "energy", to prove or disprove its existence, or to
promote one philosophy or spiritual path over another. It is simply and
exclusively to gather information about what the Community does, and
possibly where we get our ideas.
In asking questions about so poorly-defined and contested a category,
we attempt to make use of both existing traditional terminology and
common Community terminology. This is necessary to establish enough
communication to answer questions accurately. We realize that for many
individuals, the term they have developed on their own, or the one
handed down to them by their tradition will be more familiar or more
accurate for them. However, for the sake of clarity and establishing a
common arena in which to discuss this phenomenon, a few terms have been
chosen, based mainly on our perception of how widely they appear to be
used within the Community. The following section briefly explains the
use of terms as they will appear in the survey.
Energy
Common synonyms may be Psi, Prana, Chi, or life-force, although these
synonyms may be loaded with cultural theories as to their nature.
"Energy" is often defined simply as the ability to do work; in this
case, there is no clear judgment as to the nature or measure of that
"work". Energy, as a synonym for the terms listed above, most often
refers to an insubstantial but semi-objectively perceivable force,
which many vampires (and other cultures with energy theories) regard as
a naturally-occurring phenomenon connected to living things, the
natural world, magickal ritual, and sometimes even electricity or
kinetic energy.
The categorization of energy is problematic. Some of these aspects are
under serious dispute by those who accept the existence of at least
some kinds of energy. It is not always perceivable by every observer,
and many cultures religious traditions have very defined beliefs
surrounding this phenomenon. Our use of the word energy does not
necessitate the acceptance of any one tradition that has something to
say about its nature; we attempt to use it as a container category for
the specific events that vampires tend to relate to these beliefs and
traditions. For example, these events include psi feeding, which
requires the acceptance of the theory that some kind of life-sustaining
energy exists or is generated in human beings; and the perception of
spiritual entities, which requires the acceptance of the theory that
non-embodied creatures, entities, or beings can exist and be recognized
by a sense that has not been objectively defined or measured in any
study.
Energy Work
Any practice of manipulating, cultivating, or perceiving energy,
regardless of the personal theory of the energy's nature, origin, or
spiritual significance. Persons who conduct such "work" are referred to
by a myriad of different names including "energy workers", "energy
manipulators", "energy practitioners", "psions", "pranists", etc.
Aura
Aura refers to the energy field emanating from the surface of a person
or object. This emanation is visualized as an outline of cascading
color and may be held to represent soul vibrations, chakric emergence,
or a reflection of surrounding energy fields.
Empathy
The posited ability to sense information about the emotional state of
another human or animal creature. According to some theories, this may
also extend to include the ability to influence or project emotions to
other creatures as well.
Energy Constructs
The practice of shaping energy into a perceivable form is known as
energy construct formation. Anecdotal reports suggest that the form
that the energy takes is perceivable as an objective phenomenon by
other parties. An extremely common form chosen by many energy workers
seems to be a ball, or sphere, which can be given properties, such as
motion, temperature, color, texture, or natural element, which can be
perceived by others as well. Other constructs are possible, and even
common (see, "shielding"), and many members of the Community have not
fully explored the intricacies of other modern occult practices, nor
has there been a serious study of the traditions of human philosophies
with similar practices. Similar (but not identical) ideas from other
traditions might include thought-forms, and tulpas.
Meditation
Meditation is the practice of focusing the mind, often formalized into
a specific routine. Meditation is usually recognized as a component of
Eastern religions, originating in Vedic Hinduism. It encompasses any of
a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity
or quiescence.
Shielding
The act of forming energy into the specific shape of a barrier is known
as shielding. As with psi balls, anecdotal reports suggest that these
are perceived as having similar characteristics as they were imagined
to have by the energy worker. Therefore, shielding is also a somewhat
objective phenomenon, which can be sensed accurately by some
individuals. Shielding is a very common term which has few synonyms,
and few competing theories as to its purpose or nature. The commonly
accepted use of a shield structure is to form a barrier of energy to
prevent the movement of some or all kinds of energy, most often to keep
energy out or keep it in. This is most often considered a defensive
tactic whose purpose is to protect the user from harmful outside
influences. Many traditions posit a natural shield system inherent to
the energy system of most human beings, although some conflate this
with the aura, and the theoretical distinction between a posited
"natural shield" and an aura is unclear.
Spiritual Entities
Spiritual entities refers to theorized non-corporeal or non-embodied
creatures, which may, according to various belief systems and
practices, be either constructed through the willpower of an energy
worker or magician, or be a naturally-occurring being of natural, human
or otherplanar origin.
Other Energy Related Terms
See the definitions associated with individual questions within this
survey for further use and explanation of more specific conceptual
terms related to energy, perception, and energy work.
Therians, Otherkin, & Other "Non-Human" Groups
Several cultures and groups of energy-aware people tend to refer to
themselves and are consistently referred to by outsiders as "nonhuman,"
or are identified as their magickal type in opposition to a perceived
majority that is designated "human". The terms therian, were, otherkin,
and vampire are some of the more common blanket terms for these types
of people.
In adopting this dichotomy between human and other than human, the term
human is stretched significantly, and it appears to be more of a
metaphor or verbal shortcut to allow the speaker to illustrate the
difference between vampiric humans and mundane humans than any sort of
deeply-felt assertion that vampires, weres, therians, and otherkin are
actually not human.
Therefore, we must acknowledge that while the use of these terms does
not exclude the magickal subcultures from humanity, a distinction is
definitely being made within popular discussion in these respective
communities between three major groups. First, magickal types of humans
who are identified with the terms below and often referred to using a
nonhuman metaphor (such as "elf", werewolf", "vampire", etc.), second,
mundane humans who are not energy-aware, and third, those humans who
are energy-aware (magickal practitioners, energy workers, shamanic
practitioners, etc.) but who are always referred to with a human
metaphor.
Therianthropy, Therian, & Were
Although definitions surrounding the practice or phenomenon of
human-animal transformation, affinity and identity are atomistic and
individual to many cultural and social groups, we attempted to borrow
what appears to be a widely-used convention in the various magickal
subcultures, which is to use Therianthropy as a greater category of
animal magick, totemism, transformations, and identity. The members of
this group are commonly referred to as Therians, and the Weres
(Lycanthropy) can, under this definition, be considered a sub-category
of Therian. We also acknowledge that Were is conventionally applied
very loosely, with possibly conflicting meanings among Weres
themselves. In this survey, we are adopting what we perceive as the
more common application of the term Were, in which the term simply
refers to any human with an animal-related identity that goes beyond
standard shamanic or magickal transformative practice, totemism, spirit
animal belief or other affinity. Weres themselves may have varying
theories about the nature of their animal identity, including but not
limited to species-mismatched incarnation, reincarnation from a
previous animal life, or even inheritance of genetic traits. However,
our use of the term is meant to simply distinguish those with
affinities to animals or nature through magickal practice and
philosophy (Therians) from those who claim an actual identity or
partial identity as their were-side. According to this distinction, one
may acquire the practice of Therianthropy, but one can only discover
his nature as a Were. While we do not have vast experience in the
Therian community, we believe that this distinction is grounded in the
perceptions and terminology of that community, having meaning to the
members of that community and not an artificial distinction imposed by
outsiders.
Otherkin
Otherkin is a subculture made up of people who describe themselves as
being non-human in some way, sometimes believing themselves to be
mythological or legendary creatures. Many otherkin believe that they
have non-human aspects that are either spiritual or philosophical in
nature. Some otherkin claim that they are human in a physical sense,
but non-human in a mental or spiritual one. Still others believe
themselves to be biologically non-human with a direct relation to the
species they associate themselves with or descended from that species.
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