In an effort to jumpstart OKP and get some activity here for new members, here is a new intro from an old member.
Personal Life: I am Elinox, or Eli for short. It's pronounced "Ee-lie-knocks" and is a mix of Gaelic and Latin. I'm a female-bodied, 39 year old, happily married, cat mom of 3 furbabies, wolf/werewolf and feline, eclectic Wiccan, introvert, who loves reading, writing and scuba diving.
Education/Profession: I went to college for English and currently work as a secretary. I left my previous job of almost 15 years for my current one (started just as the pandemic hit in March 2020) and while it keeps me pretty busy all day long, it is so much better for my mental health overall! I am also a published author.
Interests/Hobbies: Besides enjoying writing, I am also an avid reader. My favorite book/movie is The 10th Kingdom (book by Kathryn Wesley) and it was a miniseries that aired on cable in the USA in 2000.
I am a scuba diver and am working on getting my master diver certification. I will be wreck certified soon! Other than that, I have my Advanced Open Water, Nitrox, Rescue Diver, and Full Face Mask certs too. I also volunteer at a local aquarium that has a hammerhead shark in the tank; he's a sweetie!
Spirituality: I was raised UCC Protestant but I've come to call myself an eclectic Wiccan that draws from animism, totemism, Druidry and Wicca all mixed together. I don't follow a specific pantheon, but have found that reaching out to individual deities has worked best for me. I have worked with Hekate and pray to Bast regularly for my furbabies.
Nerd Version:
• Chaotic Good
• Hufflepuff (animagus form: wolf; patronus: otter; pet: cat; wand: 10" ebony wood with unicorn hair core)
• Water & metal furies
• pirates > ninjas
• werewolves > vampires
• Farscape & Doctor Who > every other sci-fi show ever
• Iron Druid forms: mouse, wolf, barred owl, otter
• Misting: Tineye
• Surgebinder: Elsecaller
Otherkinness: I reawakened around 2001 and have been active in both the therian (about 2004) and otherkin online communities (2008) for years. I am a wolf/werewolf, what I actually call a Lupine. (Lupines are similar to the idea of a werewolf, which is why I tend to use wolf and werewolf interchangeably for my experiences.) I am also a feline; this was a recent realization of something that's been inherent in me since I was very little.
I feel both are due to a combination of spirituality (past lives, shifts, phantom limbs, behaviors and instincts) and psychological (brain wiring, identity, disconnect from humanity, species dysphoria).
I experience astral (voluntary), cameo (involuntary), dream (occasional), mental (rare), phantom (frequent/permanent) and sensory (frequent) shifts.
If you want to know anything else, or want more details on something I've shared, please don't hesitate to ask!
Nice to meet you all and I'm happy OKP is up and running again!