How does one become a Shifter??? Well, I don't know!

But there are a number of theorys and guidelines, and I will present them here. I do not agree with all of these, and some of these are comepletely the theories of other people, without any input from me. Please use your common sense when thinking about doing any of these excercises and if you are a child or underage, {You shouldn't be able to get here if you are a child or underage} show this to your parents and ask them permission.

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for anyone who trys any of these things and causes a problem, I am not advising anyone to do any of these things, I am only presenting excercises which are reputed to be helpful in Shifterism as a source of information for persons interested in WereCreatures. Meaning: if you do any of this and get hurt, don't blame me.

First, in order for you to understand what is really going on with the excercises suggested here, I must illustrate some theory about what a Shifter is and how they awake and develop. All of us have some of the animal within, a Wild, Wise and Ancient part of our personality. This side is usually asleep, particularly in humans living in a modern, sterile, technological society. This side is often feared and thought of as immoral, sexually deviant, prone to satisfying it's urges no matter who is harmed, unmindful of the needs of other beings, not likely to think much in a logical way, and many other nasty things that just aren't true. This side does often have a different morality. In some ways this morality is more strict, such as a Shifter will become disgusted by all the disgusting habits of humans (that humans often don't notice much) in the same way that humans are disgusted by some animal habits.

Fear, separation from nature, and non-empathy with other species causes this side to tend to sleep. Many of the excercises here will focus on helping you to develop an inner-knowledge about who and what your animal is physically, mentally, and spiritually. What is inner-knowledge? Most good typists can tell you about inner-knowledge. Good typists have taught themselves so well how to type that their subconcious knows how. They have an inner "program" that they can call up that knows how to type, so they don't have to think about it conciously. Many good typers have had their inner-knowledge down so well that after awhile their concious forgot how, and if they started conciously thinking about how they were typing, suddenly they wouldn't be able to do it. It is important to make sure one's concious mind knows something of such skills so that sort of thing doesn't happen. Many very good skills involve inner-knowledge. When you have used these excercises often enough, your knowledge of your animal will be part of your inner-knowledge, and your subconcious will even pick up some things about your animals' temperament and mentality that you didn't read in any book. Getting this kind of inner-knowledge is the first step in a process that continually "hard-wires" more and more of your animal into your subconcious, then your very soul. No you don't lose who you are, or become unhuman. Rather you add things and change things.

So everyone has a Shifter seed within them. In some, the seed pod is very tough, in some the seed is under a rock or buried very deep. But in "born Shifters" and some other people, the seed has swelled with water and started to push a bud to the surface, perhaps even unfurled a leaf or two. Ordinary people who know how to find, water, and care for this seed can cause it to grow. Things such as the excercises included here water the seed. When (if ever) the plant is fully grown, you will become a Physical Shifter. But even then, the plant can still grow more. It is also important to learn not to water your seed too much. When you have added too much water at once, your animal self will feel like it is having trouble digesting something. It is important to give "watering" a rest from time to time. Your animal will need to sleep from time to time, especially in the begining, and it isn't good or balanced to stimulate it all the time. So what happens as the seed sprouts and grows? In the begining, unless your animal was substantially awake already, you will probably notice various intriging subtle things, such as odd moods, that go away rather quickly, but little else. As time goes on, you may have vivid, emotional, spiritual dreams about being your animal or changing into your animal. In the next stage you will probably start going through the emotional/spiritual realizations described in The Practical Aspects of Being a Shifter. You may start experiencing some of the symptoms described in The characteristics of real Shifters. It is likely that, if you progress to the next stage, you will start experiencing Aura Shifts or Mental Shifts or various other kinds of Non-Physical shifts, and that you may be able to bring these on at will by things such as vividly imagining a set of Wolf ears on your head. At the next stage you will start integrating and balancing your two sides, human and Wolf, and will likely experience deeper Mental Shifts and have more control over when they happen, and feel the process of osmosis as you become more a being who is more the real you (beyond culture/species) who has a human aspect and a Wolf aspect. You as a human will likely be subtly Wolfish at all times, with Wolfish thought patterns woven into the way you look at everything. Like a teenager who constantly shifts from child mentality to adult mentality, then gradually blends then into one personality as a young adult, you will shift from human mentality to Wolf mentality, blending them and emerging a new, balanced creature. But the road, like teenagerhood, is long and rough, filled with things you must realize, things you must accept, and things you must discover about the real inner you. It will be hell at times, and a wonderful blessing at times. Note: If you are a teenager who is thinking of becoming a shifter be warned that going through teemagerhood and being a shifter can make life MUCH harder, like puberty from hell. You will discover ugly things (about youself and humanity) and things that are miraculous, beautiful, and amazing. And you will long for the fruits of your labours, the settling down after the growing pains. Becoming a Shifter is like going through puberty, at times you will long for PSing like a horny 17-yr-old male longs for sex, yet you must suffer through it all in the proper way to reach the beautiful loving relationship with yourself and your animal that is the best end product of the growing.

And if you move on to more advanced stages, you will begin to feel things such as a phantom tail, phantom muzzle, or phantom wolf ears. These things will feel much more vivid than any imagination. One Shifter in this stage reported that their feet seemed very long (an animal's backward knee is actually their heel, far up on the leg, of their very long hind feet) as long as they didn't look at their feet or try to walk on them, at which it would go away, then come back when they weren't looking or walking. A WereBear, in a very touching delurking post, described how she had very vivid Dreams of being a bear, then could clearly feel the heavy pads of bear paws for hours after she awakened, there, yet not there.

At the next stage, a Shifter occasionally may feel like they are going to puke, have a heart attack, and pass out all at the same time. This is the start of moving into the ShapeShifting stage. However, there are indications that there may be different symptoms of the pre-ShapeShifting stage depending on what kind of ShapeShift the Shifter is going to be doing.

Of course, being a Shifter does not nessessarily mean that one smoothly progresses through all the stages and eventually becomes a physical shapeshifter. Many people spend years in the Aura Shifting or Mental Shifting stages (in fact, many are perfectly happy like that and see no need to try to move into other stages) and even many with high shifting energy who are trying to move into other stages can stay in the same stage for years. I know of a number of shifters who, both by their symptoms and by what they think about what is going on, are on the verge of physical shapeshifting, yet have been there for a long time, even years. Most of these shifters are afraid, or at least apprehensive, about physical shapeshifting, or have subconcious reasons to fight the change, and quite a number have fears about the possibility of not being able to change back to human form.

And many shifters move into a higher stage only to backtrack into a lower stage again. There is no guarantee that this will all just fall into place. But, on the other hand, I have seen that mature individuals who take care of their animal well can progress very far in less than a year. If you backtrack, or aren't moving into higher stages as fast as you think you should be, don't despair, it's normal and many others are in the same boat.

Excercises In this section many excercises will be outlined to help water the seed. Most of these are things which many Shifters instinctively figure out how to do, before finding other Shifters or before finding New Age books that outline similar excercises. If you have already done many of these from instinct, then I'd say you are definately a Shifter.
Note: these excercises are descibed in great detail to help those who are very new at this, however, there is no reason that they must be done exactly the way I say. The excercises commonly practiced by Shifters are variations of these excercises, but everyone does things a little differently. Also instinct often leads Shifters to things that they need to do for their inner animal (such as taking a camping trip at a certain time when their animal really needs it).
These Excercises will be divided into several sections.

In the Beginner section there are excercises to help awaken the seed, help new Shifters prepare for the other excercises, and help one figure out what species you are.

In the Support section there are excercises to help support you as a Shifter or Non-Shifter, to keep your animal happy and help balance your two aspects, human and animal.

In the Intermediate section there are excercises that won't work or won't make much sense in many cases unless the Beginer excercises are hard-wired. Shifters who already are well past the Beginer stage (through doing the excercises or just having an already-sprouted seed) may start Intermediate excercises without any trouble.

In the Advanced section there are excercises that may not work or not make sense unless the Intermediate excercises are hard-wired. Once again, advanced-level Shifters may well make sense of them without Intermediate excercises. Some of the excercises here may be dangerous if one cannot hold perfect concentration for the required period or for other reasons. Nothing beyond the most low-level elementary white magick will be included there, and it is likely that no magic at all will be included.

What is Meditation? Meditation is basically relaxation techniques that make vividly imagining things easier and make you feel more loose, relaxed, and awake of subtle sensations in your physical body. If you want to learn to become a Shifter, meditation of some kind is essential.

What is Trance? Trance is like meditation, but deeper. Trance is like the state you are in for a bit when you wake up slowly and for a little while your dreams continue even though you are aware of the room and aware you are dreaming, and great (or odd) ideas or solutions to problems might suddenly pop up whole.

What is Dreaming? Dreams, with a capitol D, are much more vivid than dreams and are often deeply emotional or spiritual. A Dream may mark a change in attitude or a personal realization, or even a turning point in your life. Dreams involving shifting into your animal or being your animal are often called "Astral Shifts".

WARNING: ALCOHOL AND/OR DRUGS DO NOT MIX WITH MEDITATION OR TRANCE STATES, THEY TEND TO MAKE THINGS WORSE AND CAN EASILY RESULT IN THE WORST "BAD TRIPS" IN EXISTANCE

Beginner Excercises This is largely excercises to help awaken your inner animal and help find out what species you are. If you do not like animals at all or never think about how they feel, (i.e. worry about Dogs that don't have water left out for them on hot days) then you probably will have a very tough time with these and will probably never become a Shifter.

Excercise #1: Go to your library and check out a whole bunch of books on animals, especially the cat family, (Housecats, Tigers, Leopards, Panthers, Lynxes, Others) the dog family(Wolves, Foxes, Coyotes, Jackals, Dogs,Others) and Bears. Check out some on Hyenas, Badgers, Weasels, Crows, Ravens, Hawks, Owls, and Eagles too. Also, if there is an animal that you've always really liked or been obsessed with, check out books on that animal too. All of these books should be books with many color photographs of the animals, preferably in the Wild, not in pens or as pets. Look at all the photographs carefully, and think about what it might feel like to physically be those animals. Think about where they live, what they do, slinking through the grass, sleeping in the open air, napping in the sun on a rock, rolling in the dust for a dust bath, slipping through the scrubland in the dark of night in the cool night air. Ignore the activitys that humans seemed obsessed with, such as mating, fighting with others of it's own species, and killing prey, for now (especially since these activities seldom happen). Concentrate on imagining the everyday common things that the animal does for hours. What would it be like to live like that? Animals of all species, even (especially) predators actually spend most of their time resting or traveling. Especially try to find close-up pictures of the animal's face where you can see it's facial expression and look into it's eyes. Look into the eyes. What feeling do you get? What do you think the animal's facial expression means? What presence do you sense behind the eyes? Think deeply about what it feels like. It will unlikely be describable by a word or even a few sentences. Try hard to find a close-up facial/eyes picture of every animal you are studying. It is useful to go to a bookstore and look at the animal calenders, which have much better photos than books. The calenders should be wrapped in plastic, but have small pictures of what's inside on the back panel, where you can look at it.

Excercise #2: Find a live representation of your animal, if possible. Go to the zoo (with good binoculars) and watch various animals that might be your species for a long time, looking at them close-up with binoculars if need be. Watch how they move, how they get up and lay down. If you find yourself not wanting to watch anymore (and even feeling sick) because you feel the animal is not happy in a pen, that is a good sign. It still may very well not be your animal, but it is a good sign of your inner animal stirring.

Excercise #3: Read the books in this link. Also, get some WereWolf books, preferably fiction and non-horror (because the non-fiction (and some fiction horror) WereWolf books are full of rot and lots of misinformation so bad, such as connections with cannibalism and devil worship, that it could be harmful to your perception of your animal) and read them. Think about how it would feel if you were the Shifter in each book (unless it's a nasty book) and how you might handle the situations presented. Now how do you feel about this? Explore your feelings. Also try watching the movie "Wolf" (starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfieffer) and think about the spiritual/emotional questions raised by the way the "inner animal" is portrayed there (which is very well from a Shifter's point of view). Also try watching the movie "An American WereWolf in London" and pay attention to the transformation scenes. How do you feel about those scenes? Imagine that kind of transformation happening to you. How do you feel about that? Explore your feelings.

Excersise #4: Read these web pages: How I see Wolves, What Would happen if A Human Changed into A Wolf, and Why Wolves are Not Dogs. Especially study the physical descriptions of Wolves (if you already know you are another animal, modify it to suit your own animal, dig up similar information) and meditate while trying to vividly imagine yourself changing into a Wolf, in such a way that any point in the intermediate form would be like the form of a human (at that point in the transformation) who was in the process of changing into a Wolf over years (i. e. you don't melt into a puddle and re-form or pull your skin off or anything weird like that). It is best, in the beginning, to not meditate and vividly imagine the whole change, but only meditate while vividly imagining one part changing, such as your hand. When you can vividly imagine and sorta "feel" the change of one part pretty well while meditating, then add more parts to your "change" and, eventually, you should be able to imagine the whole body changing at once while meditating. If you don't know how to meditate, it is best to learn how and do "normal meditations" at least a few times without trying Shifter meditations.

Excercise #5: For this excercise, meditate, as vividly as you can picture, being an animal. Try to picture the physical sensations as good as possible, such as the feel of soft mud on the pads of your paws. Here {when I get it done} is a Wolf Vision. Try to mediate and picture, and feel, it clearly, also Here is a Leopard Vision. Make similar excercises with other animals and "try them out" if you want to find out what kind of Were-Something you are. They are very useful kinds of excercises.

Excercise #6 Try to find tape recordings of your animal's vocalizations. Many "relaxation" or "nature sounds" tapes are animal vocalizations. Listen to them a lot. Think about how you feel about them. What perception do you get about how the animal was feeling when it made those noises? If you feel ready, try to make similar noises (preferably when no-one is listening to you) and feel the way the sound vibrates in your throat. How do you feel about it? Think about your feelings. If you felt silly, it is natural. If you felt something indistinct emotionally tugging at your heart, it is a good sign.

Excercise #7: When you feel you have an intuitive sense of your inner animal, it is probably time to try to dream about being it. First, do a lot of relaxation and animal-centered light meditation before bed. Keep yourself in a loose, relaxed state before going to sleep and let yourself drift off. Keep your thought loosely centered on your animal the whole time you are drifting to sleep, gently bringing them back to the subject if they drift into something else. Especially think about your emotional reaction to, and feelings towards, your animal. If you feel you need extra stimulation to help you dream about being your animal, there are some very powerful things that can help you do so. One thing is a dream pillow. There are various dream pillows offered for sale in new age stores and stuff which are filled with fragrant or very, very mildly psychidelic herbs (the kind of which smelling them would have no noticable effect while you are awake, but which make dreams more vivid).

But it is better to make your own dream pillow for this special purpose. To do this, get a clean, fresh-smelling sock and take it with you on a walk in the woods. As you walk, smell the air, noting the scents and what smells the strongest. Gather pine leaves (preferably the flat kind, the needle kind will work themselves out of the pillow and poke you badly), pungent half-decayed leaves from the forest floor, grasses, plants, and some clean earthy-smelling earth. Put all these inside the sock and tie it closed. Put the sock inside your pillowcase before you go to sleep. Your sense of smell is the sense most connected to memory, your subconcious, your inner self and psychic things. If you have ever smelled the brand of pine cleaner they used on the floors in elementary school and had all the memorys of elementary school rush back very vividly at once, you know what I mean. Let yourself notice the smell of your pillow, the strong forest smell. Think of the place you were walking in to gather it while you drift off to sleep.

Also if you own a sound-playing device that can be put on infinite repeat, try doing that all night, with the sound turned low, while you are sleeping, with a "nature sounds" type sound recording of wind, water, forests at night, the voice of your animal (or any animal if you don't know what species you are), or whatever you like. Some shifters have acheived VERY dramatic results with this.

Excercise #8: Make a circle in the center of your room with chocolate candys. Face towards Kentucky and sing the brady bunch song. Put some raw eggs on your head and....... Sorry, :) ha ha ha ha. Couldn't resist putting some humor in here.

All the other excercises in here are completely serious though, it just, well, NEEDED one humorous excercise.

Support Excercises These excercises are helpful in balancing your human side and animal side. Your animal, when not "let out" in some way, will become restless and depressed. In some cases you may feel you are becoming too Wolfish and must supress it to get on with life, but that is not true. It merely means your Wolf needs some freedom and to be let out of the cage it is in when you are too human in your perspective for too long and when you are in a sterile technological enviornment. Citys and Shifters do not get along well at all.

Excercise #1: Watch nature documentaries on TV that have lots of videos of your animal in the Wild. Watch your fellow Wolves (or whatever animals) frolic and do Wolf things and daydream about being there. If the accompanying narration is too depressing, turn off the sound. Documentaries of other species should also do alot of good, don't fret if your animal is seldom on TV.

Excercise #2: Buy your animal a rubber chew toy, a ball, or some pet toy that has appeal to you. When no-one is watching, play with it like your animal would while focusing on the physical sensations. Growl, whine, bark, meow, roar, or purr as you feel like it. Go about on all fours all (or most of) the while and try to move like your animal would. Try hard not to feel silly or inhibited about acting this way. Do not do this in front of others (unless they understand and you feel perfectly comfortable like that). In the beginning this may feel silly, unnatural, or forced. Try to let it flow naturally, but don't feel bad if you feel silly or like it is being forced. Try to explore your feelings of what you would like to do as far as acting animalish and playing with your toy. NOTE: make sure no pet plays with this toy, you could catch germs and get sick by chewing on something your pet has chewed.

Excercise #3 This is one of the most important support excercises. You really need to, as a Shifter, have access to a Wild area, however small, and go walking there alone from time to time. If you live in a City or don't have a car, a Wild portion of a park, college campus, or an overgrown empty lot might suffice somewhat. If you are a female who is frigtened to be alone anywhere or you can't find any Wild place nearby that isn't full of gangs or something, then you should think hard about whether it is wise to become a Shifter when you can't do this important support excercise.

Intermediate excercises These excercises are meant to be done after you have formed at least somewhat of an animal identity. Wait until you feel ready to do them.

Excercise #1: In this excercise, it is assumed that you are good at meditating and visualizing. Lay in bed on your back, with no blankets on your body. Relax and get yourself into a meditative state. Try to picture a Wolf body occupying the same place as your human body, with it's head around/in your head, it's torso around/in your torso, ect. Because of the Wolf having a different shape, not everything will match up well, but that's ok. When you feel this body quite distinctly, raise your arms and legs and all four phantom Wolf legs into the air and imagine they are resting on a surface. This surface is horizontal, and extends as far as you can see. Feel the soil against your paws. It is a grassy field. Feel the gravity of this upside-down (to your human world) world pull you against the soil, feel your weight, paw the ground, shift your weight from paw to paw and feel your weight. When you feel this all well, take a few steps on this earth. Move your human arms and legs in lesser movements reminiscent of your Wolf legs' movements as you move. (If you can keep up the visualization okay, your human limbs don't have to be held in the same place as your Wolf legs, but your legs should be pointed at least somewhat up, not lying flat on bed, and your arms should be held up from at least elbows to hands). Try walking faster. Try troting or running when ready (the rythm and pace is essential, watch the way Dogs, or Wolves on TV, trot and run). Feel the rythmic undulations of your body as you run in leaping bounds......Pound...pound...........Pound..pound ...your feet hit the ground in a soothing effortless rythm. Feel the wind on your face, and run as long as you want to. This excercise stimulates your higher chakras and your sense of other-than-ordinary-ness by putting you upsidedown in an upside-down world. Similar excercises that don't involve Shifting stimulate occult energy and such stuff. The connection to the upsidedown earth, constant paw pounding on it, and forward motion are very beneficial. It should stimulate your Shifting energy well.

Excercise #2: In this excercise, it is already assumed that you have a sense of your animal and know what species you are. This excercise is supposed to develop your sense of your animal in a more solid, real world way. Look at photos of your animal, and read about measurements of your animal, to determine the corresponding information if you are not a Wolf. The rest of this excercise will be written for Wolves, but can be modified for any species.

I am going to assume, since nearly all WereWolves of legend are signifigantly larger than the average Wolf, that you would be too. I am going to roughly use the average arctic Wolf measurements. Find a large, relatively blank wall in your home, one you can look at from at least 7 feet away. Your Wolf should be between 34 and 38 inches high at the shoulder. Measure this height on the wall and put some masking tape there horizontally. Your Wolf should be about 12 inches long from the tip of their nose to the back of their head. Look at pictures to see about how long the neck is in proportion to the head. Put a horizontal piece of masking tape about 12 inches long on the wall, in the place the head would be in relation to the first piece of masking tape you put up (which represents the back), while noting that the neck is carried at a 45 degree angle to the horizontal, also 45 degrees to the vertical. Look at pictures of arctic Wolves again. Put a piece of masking tape on the wall connecting the head-tape (which is above and in front of the back-tape) to the back tape, this tape should be the proper length you have determined for the neck. Now determine how much length should be added to the back-tape (i. e. how long is the back). From nose-tip to rump, many arctic Wolves are 5 and 1/2 feet long. Measure and put more tape to make that so. Now we add a tail. The tail ranges from 12 inches to about 18 inches long. Decide what length is good for you and put more tape on the wall, at an angle to the horizontal back-tape so that you don't confuse it with the back. Then add tape representing the legs. Now you have a full-sized Wolf stick-figure on your wall with the right proportions of body parts. (You can make it more elaborate if you want, even going as far as drawing the parts of a Full-sized, correctly-proportioned Wolf on paper and taping them to the wall). Now look at the representation and try to picture your Wolf there. Stand next to it and see how far the top of it's back and it's head come on your standing body. Picture it standing there, pet it or call it sweet names if you want to. Love it and remember that it is a part of you, not something separate. Stand farther from it and notice it's size and shape in relation to the furniture in the room, picture it taking up space and exploring the room. Do this excercise regularly until you can picture the size, shape and proportions of your wolf anywhere you go in the real world. If the sizes or proportions you first use seem wrong, don't worry, but if they keep seeming wrong persisently, then change them and see if the new proportions/size seem okay. You can also do similar excercises such as putting socks and heaps of clothing in your bed in the shape and proprtions of your Wolf's muzzle, head, neck, torso, tail and legs and laying down next to it or observing it. Or you can even make a cardboard correct proportioned life-size representation of your Wolf that has hinged legs that can be positioned, and see how it fills up space when it is standing in your kitchen with it's front legs on the table, and many other positions that are hard to picture. This excercise can be VERY effective in "solidifying" your inner-knowledge of your animal.

Excercise #3: This excercise is a special meditation position. This position has been used in cultures around the world long before the white man came, and it is believed, in all of them, to be helpful in learning to physically shapeshift. This position is sort of hard to describe, so if I ever get around to it, and get access to a scanner, I will try to put a link to a picture of it here. Start by getting on your knees. Make sure your feet have their top surfaces flat on the ground, with the bottoms of your heels pointed upward. Make sure your legs are not spread, the inner surfaces of your legs must be touching. Your feet should be touching also. Now sit down on so your butt is sitting on your upturned heels. Now put your hands on your knees and rest some of your weight on them. That is the position. This position has been known to create vivid visions of Shifting into an animal (while meditating in it), some so vivid that the persons swore they could feel themselves physically changing, even some persons who were not told what the meditation position was supposed to be for. Many persons who use this meditation position experience at least a vague sense of being an animal. When this meditation position is used to Shift into the same animal several times, it has been reported that animals of that species start acting strangly around the individual, such as animals in the zoo all gathering as close to that individual as they can get and making noises at them.

Excercise #4: In this excercise you will once again "solidify" your inner-knowledge of your animal and connect it with the real world. It is assumed you already have some sense of your animal. First, based on the head measurements of your Wolf and the head/muzzle proportions as can be seen in pictures of Wolves, make a fake muzzle of the correct length and width. This could be a sock (clean, I hope!!!) stuffed with clothing and tied to your face, or a "sophisticated" mask type thing you have made yourself, or anything in between. Make sure it is attatched to your face at about the correct angle and make sure it won't flop around, slip, or fall off if you run around with it on awhile. Try to extend your conciousness into your muzzle. Stroke your muzzle and try to vividly imagine what it feels like. Try to visualize your muzzle as completely as possible, as to how it physically feels, the lips, the teeth, the weight of it and the way you need to adjust all head movements to compensate for it's length and weight hanging out there. Notice that you can see your muzzle in the bottom of your field of vision at all times, yet it does not block your view or get in the way of seeing. Think about how it would be to live like that, with your nose and muzzle, part of your body, in view all the time (this is true even of cats with their shorter muzzle, and human noses, you may not notice it, but the tip of your nose is in the bottom of your field of vision all the time). Try running around the house (probably alone) for a few hours, every so often, while wearing the muzzle. Next, make yourself a fake tail, which could be a rope, a nice thing made of sheepskin, one of those dusters that look just like a long furry Wolf tail in shape, or anything else you find suitable (NOTE: real Wolves are endangered enough, you do NOT need a real tail!!!, with little enough Wolf energy being produced by the few remaining Wolves, killing more will only hurt you, and it is NOT nessessary). Then do the same excercises with the fake tail that you did with the muzzle.

Excercise #5: In this excercise, the purpose is to solidify your inner-knowledge of what it feels like to have fur. First, find the pelt of a wild animal somewhere, such as in a store, if you have never pet a real wild animal or don't have access to a real wild animal. It could be any kind of animal as long as it is wild, (wild animal fur looks and feels different from the fur of domestic animals) a rabbit would do well. If you cannot access a wild animal pelt, just find a cat you can pet, a cat's fur feels more like a wild animal's fur than any other tame animal species. When you find whatever you are using, pet it for at least tem minutes while concentrating on how it feels. Feel how it feels to run your hands through the fur, pet it the "right way" and the "wrong way". Try to concentrate on what this would feel like if you were the skin and could feel the petting. Think about how your skin would have many more nerves in it than your human skin, being very sensitive. Think about every root of the fur being embedded in your skin, connected to very sensitive nerves, and muscles that could lift the fur in all sorts of ways.

Advanced Excercises These excercises should work best with individuals who have already "hard-wired" the lessons of the intermediate excercises into their subconcious. Also some of these exercises are put in this advanced section just because they are "filling in the details" or going into side-areas of knowledge, such as astrological connections.

Excercise #1: Some Shifters find crystals helpful in some way, such as with meditating and energy-work. Some Shifters find that crystals made them feel sick some or all of the time that they are around them. There are two crystals I know of that have Shifting connections in legend. One is the moonstone. Shifting has a lot to do with moon-cycles and the full moon. The moonstone has more moon-type energy than any other stone I know of. And there are legends that anyone who owns and wears a moonstone will become a WereWolf. Obviously, many people own and wear moonstones but don't become WereWolves. Perhaps it requires something extra? You shouldn't need a moonstone larger than an inch across, and should be able to get one for a dollar or two. Moonstones come in white, blue-white, orangish, and brownish, with a pearly sheen and are partially see-thru in a cloudy way. I like blue-white moonstones best. The other stone is Rose Quartz (pink-colored quartz) a pinkish see-thru stone. It's older name is WolfStone and it has connections to Wolves in legend. Rose Quartz is a very powerful stone with strong energy, and very well-liked by psychics. You should be able to get a rose quartz of an inch or less across for 3 dollars or less, depending on how pretty it looks. Another stone with an animal connection is Amber, having an older name of LynxStone, because even though the ancients knew it was pertrified tree sap, it was rumored to be solidified Lynx piss. Much of "amber" for sale is actually fakes, made of plastic. Real amber can sometimes be fairly expensive. To wear stones with the greatest "psychic input", make a little bag, preferably of silk (you can probably find a silk shirt at a "bargain damaged goods sale" with all the silk you'll need for $5 or less, or get some at a sewing goods store for about $7.50 a yard) and make it with a tie-shut entrance. Get some silk cord for about 70 cents a yard at a sewing goods store, and lace it into the ties of the bag and form the remaining length into a necklace so that the weight of the stones in the bag as it hangs around your neck will keep it drawn shut. Silk is a great organic material for psychic/energy purposes. If you can't find silk, cotton is the second-best choice. Wearing stones like rose quartz and moonstone will tend to affect your emotions and make you more spacey or moody or extra-emotional, so it would be good to add a "grounding" stone such as black onyx to the bag to even things out (it won't cancel the effect of the other stones, just balance them).

Excercise #2: Yet another excercise of "pulling details together". This excercise involves how to use astrology to time your animal excercises for their fullest potential. Many Shifters, and Shifting energy in general, runs on moon cycles. This is because the moon has great energy and occult-related energy. Much of occult phenomena will fluctuate with cycles of the moon. So keep track of full moons and new moons. The full moon is when the moon is opposite the sun, and a new moon is when the moon is conjuct with the sun. It can also be "too much" or overwhelming to try animal excercises or encourage your inner animal when it is already being encouraged by astrological phenomena. Either way it is best to keep track of it, especially the moon phases. A time of the year to watch for your animal becoming strong or restless is february, for that is when Wolves the world over have mating season for about two weeks, with heightened feelings and pack togetherness before, during, and after it, even though few Wolves actually mate. It has been known in legends around the world that WereWolves are restless in february (the christian church changed the legends to christmas to argue the "evilness" of WereWolves by having them desecrating Christ's birthday) and many modern Shifters report restlessness or signifigant events in february. So REALLY pay attention to the full and new moons during and close to february. The other things to watch besides the moon are neptune, the 8th house, the 12th house, and fall time (fall is a time of great happiness for wolves and werewolves). Neptune moves very slowly, staying in the same part of the sky for years. But it occupies the 8th house once a day (the time depending on the time of the year and where neptune is that year) and similarly the 12th house once a day, and since the sun and moon move fairly quickly through the stars, they "catch up" with neptune fairly often. THESE TIMES ARE TIMES TO WATCH AND PREPARE FOR: when the sun conjuncts with neptune and there is a new or full moon, and when the sun is opposite neptune and there is a full or new moon. This summer {summer 1996} the sun will oppose neptune in the middle of the summer. Since Neptune moves so slowly and is so large, the opposition should be very effective for seven days on either side (about 2 weeks). The new or full moon that occurs then will have great potential for helping you to release, gain, or learn more about occult energy (the energy involved in shifting). Then in december 1996, the sun will conjunct with neptune, and similar oppurtunitys will be open. The new or full moon that occurs closest to the time of the exact conjunction will have great potential. Remember, when neptune conjuncts with the sun, it passes through the 8th house in the early afternoon, and passes through the 12th house just after sunrise. Remember that when neptune opposes the sun, it passes through the 8th house a little after midnight, in the wee hours of the morning, and passes through the 12th house just after sunset. Neptune in the 8th house "multiplies" the occult energy alot, also so in the 12th house but the energy is more subdued or something and differently textured. A slow-moving planet like neptune will remain in a particular house for about 2 hours each day. Neptune conjuncted with the sun this winter in January, and provoked "weird week", as it was dubbed in many AHWW posts. Weresides were flaring, revelations were happening, many Dreams were being dreamed.

And there is even more good news for WereWolves. In 1998, for all persons born within a few years or so (I'm not sure exactly) after 1974, pluto, a planet associated with great energy and some occult stuff, will start "passing over" their natal neptune. In the years that follow, it should do this 3, 4, or more times, then move on. During the years of passes, it should stimulate neptune in an extra-big way, which means more occult stuff. During this time, the once-yearly sun conjunction and once-yearly sun opposition to nneptune should have even more potential for those WereWolves lucky enough to be born 1974---1976???.

For those born in other years, this same thing has already happened (for older ones) or will happen (for younger ones). {But I'm not really sure about the older and younger ones, I didn't check it out}

Also a very unique and special configuration for WereWolves is happening in 1999 or a year after it but very close to it. The conjunction of the sun and neptune "moves" slowly around the calendar. In 1999 or a year after it but very close, the sun-neptune conjunction will HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME AS WOLF MATING SEASON, the other time of greatest energy for WereWolves. This is a configuration that only happens once in about 150 years (but the Sun-Neptune opposition during mating season that happens every 150 years or so should also be very signifigant for WereWolves, this happens exactly halfway between sun-neptune conjunctions, so the next one will be 70 to 80 years after the 1999 sun-neptune conjunction, so an oppurtunity of this caliber actually shows up every 70-80 years). The full or new moon closest to it should have GREAT activity. For WereWolves of the right ages to also be experiencing the pluto--neptune passover at the same time, it will be even greater. Remember, in astrology, a retrograde planet means the energy will tend to manifest inwardly, and a direct planet means that the energy will tend to manifest outwardly. If this configuration happens during a retrograde neptune, the effects will tend to be inward, such as much greater animal-awareness and such, and if it happens while neptune is direct, the effects would tend to be outward, which in cases that were prepared enough for it, could mean a first manifestation of physical shifting. So, for WereWolves at least, especially those of ages 17-22 or something now, the millenium starts/ends with a big, once in 150 years, oppurtunity. Perhaps it would be a good idea to start preparing now if you think you are already a Shifter.

Excercise #3: This excercise assumes you can already mentally shift somewhat with enough effort or stimulation. First, find a natural place outdoors with soft grass and no rocks or nasty things, and preferably having several slopes, some gentle, some steep. This should be a safe place that is not dangerous to be in at night, and a place where you could easily be unobserved by anyone. When you know you have a place like that, it is time to start some research. Watch some Wolves on TV, (preferably a show you have taped and can watch again and again) noting carefully how they walk, trot, and run, and how they place their feet and the rythm of their run. Watch Dogs and how they run. Meditate on it and try to feel how it is done, try to feel it in your own limbs. When you are confident enough, and when you know your concentration abilities are very good and you won't lose concentration in the middle (which can be dangerous, you could break a bone) then try walking around on your hands and feet. Try walking uphill, which somewhat counteracts the problem of your arms being shorter than your legs (depending on the angle of the slope). Try to move with the rythm that wolves do. With regular practice, you should be able to walk on your hands and legs and have it feel natural and easy. But it takes much practice unless you happen to be able to go into a mental shift of a certain deepness. Do not get discouraged if developing this skill seems to take a long time. After MUCH practice you might be able to walk and run on all fours easily on level ground or even going downhill. One of the features of people who have learned the skill of running on all fours is that they can often run faster on four legs than on two, when the slope and level of terrain roughness are within certain limits. One never notices how much air resistance the human body produces while running bipedally until one runs on all fours. And one never notices how many muscles the human body uses just to balance on two legs until one is running on all fours, skimming above the ground, using practically all muscles in the forward thrust of movement and practically none in balance. There is even a kind of martial arts called "spidering" that is based on fighting and manuevering agile-ly on all fours, it is hard for persons trained in other kinds of martial arts to fight against well unless they have trained for it specifically, depending of course on the level of skill of both fighters.

Things to watch for when doing this excercise are taking things too quickly or doing too much on the same day. Losing concentration can easily lead to nasty trip/falls. When concentration is lost, the legs and arms tend to tangle and throw one on one's face very hard, with a strong tendency to wrench the back and twist the neck. It is easy to imagine the neck being broken in a particularly bad fall of this kind. It is good to know the proper techniques of falling, such as rolling so one falls on one's side, but it is best to take things slowly, be very good at holding concentration, and not try more than you can handle, patience is essential. Another injury that can easily occur is injury to the wrist. One will often find the rythm starting to fall into place and a progression from trotting to leaping bounds, landing on the hands. This puts great stress on the wrists, the joint which accepts most of this shock. Wrists can become sore, inflamed, or even sprained or broken. It is best to keep this in mind when trying to learn 4-legged locomotion. The hands can also be hurt and cut badly by hard sharp stems of last year's grass, brambles, broken grass or cans, unexpected roughness in the ground, especially anthills and potholes, and many other things. Wearing gloves might help. And be patient, learning to walk on 4 legs may take as much practice as learning to walk on two originally did. And if you are underage, (you shouldn't be able to get here) please show this to your parents.

Other ways Shifters get in touch with their inner animal

• Writing stories about WereCreatures or Animals. These can be anything from simple first-person narratives of what the shifter thinks a physical shift would be like {as an exercise in visualizing physical shifting} to elaborate long stories with plots, or anything in between.

• Drawing art of animals or half-animal creatures. Also looking at such art that others have drawn.

• Meeting other Shifters and discussing shifter issues with them, either over the net or in person.

• Going on camping or hiking trips

• Sleeping outside at night with no tent, so the moon can shine on your face.

• Owning a Wolf or Wolf-Dog Hybrid as a pet, or even owning several such animals. WARNING: Wolves and Wolf-Dog Hybrids are NOT Dogs and need very special care and treatment, as well as lots of time and a good understanding of the behavioral differences between them and Dogs. There are also Laws that vary from state to state concerning the owning of Wolves and Wolf-Dog Hybrids, it is legally much more complex than owning a Dog. Please check out the resources on owning Wolves and Wolf-Dog Hybrids that can be found on Desert Moon's Wolf Page.

• Daydreaming about Werewolves a lot.

• Dressing up as a Werewolf or some animal at halloween and any time they can get away with it.
  Note: There is a whole subculture built around dressing up in animal costumes because the person deeply identifys with animals and wants to be one. Most of the participants are Furrys, but I have heard some Werewolves shell out big money for the best custom-made Werewolf costumes.

If you have another method that you use to get in touch with your inner animal, (Note: do not flame me with joking e-mail about wild sex and fraternity parties, only serious proposals will be taken seriously) please e-mail me at slathe@ksu.ksu.edu

How to not become a Shifter Actually, this is not directions to "cure" yourself if you already are a Shifter, for that is dangerous to your health, sanity, and well-being and really doesn't cure you anyway. This is a list of things that will impede your progress and tend to block the growth of your seed.

Emotional problems, not being comfortable with who you really are, and fears about how the outside world will accept/reject you can really interfere with progress. Various versions of these problems are what shifters usually blame slow progress, or non-progress, or backward progress, on.

NOTE: If you seem to have your animals "cycle" or your animal seems to be one species, but then seems to become another, go with it and don't be alarmed. Especially in the begining, as you are discovering who you really are underneath all that human skin, new revelations or discoveries along the path to being a Shifter will cause your animal to change sometimes, either because you now see yourself less another layer of human skin and you look more like another animal, or because you became closer to your animal and, knowing it better, see it was not what you thought it was, or because your perceptions of one or more animals shifted and your perceptions no longer match up with what you know your animal to be, or you have ligitimatmly changed inwardly and are now closer to another animal spiritually. Just because you used to be a certain species but changed to another doesn't mean that the species you used to be is definately not your species. Some new Shifters have a "Flurry" of species-changing, and/or species-adding and/or species cycleing. It is a normal part of the growth process. It should settle down a lot before reaching the physical shifting stages. It is VERY VERY rare for a Physical shifter to have two or more Physical forms. This does not mean that you, if you have 2 or more primary totems, will never physically shift. It could mean that only one form would get physically realized, or that both could and that people like you are rare enough to seldom show up in the legends. Most individuals have, if their "primary" animal is a Cat, (of any kind) a secondary, or background, or even "equal primary" Dog family animal, usually the Wolf. Most individuals have, if their "primary" animal is a Wolf, (or other member of the Dog family) a secondary, or background, or even "equal primary" Cat (of any kind). This is normal and natural since the Cat family and the Dog family are the major totem animal sources, nearly everyone, no matter how strongly they feel they belong to one species will, on close examination, find at least a little cat nature somewhere in them, if they are members of The Dog family, and find at least a little Wolf (or other member(s) of Dog family) nature somewhere in them, if they are a Cat (of any kind). This is common and not something to worry about.

"Where do I go from here? I've already instinctively done excercises like these for years, and seem to have high shifting energy, but I'm not a physical shifter." I've heard some version of that question asked many times. I really don't know where to go from there. My knowledge of such matters is minimal. But I can tell you some things that may help:

One thing to remember is that most magickal traditions say such things must generally be practiced for a long time indeed to produce physical shifting. It may simply mean that more time is needed. Remember, in folklore, most "born shifters" do not physically shift until age 16 or later, yet, because they are born shifters, they often instinctivly do excercises similar to those found on this page for most of their life, so that would be a long time! But don't despair, folklore also reports that in some cases, practice can result in physical shifting in an amazingly short time.

Another thing is that some Shifters with high Shifting energy become "infatuated" with the idea of physical Shifting so much that they tend to neglect other interests and areas of their life. Since other things (such as the things listed in the "how to not become a Shifter" section) must have attention paid to them, and be resolved somewhat so they don't block the forward motion of progress towards physical Shifting, being too concerned with the physical Shift itself can thus prevent it from happening. It is important to clarify and work through your fears concerning physical Shifting, your motives for physical Shifting, and your feelings about physical Shifting, for these things are "wired" into your subconcious too, forming part of your "inner-knowledge", and they can interfere.

Many Shifters with high Shifting energy talk about "the Block", something that prevents them from physical Shifting even though they believe they are perfectly capable of physical Shifting. Many of these Shifters report being sometimes on "the very edge of a physical shift", where they can feel it in their bones, their skin "crawls" or "jumps", very intense feelings of energy move through their body, but then "the Block" interferes, the Shift "aborts" and nothing happens. Sometimes these aborted Shifts then cause sickness or something, sometimes not.

One physical Shifter who was giving out advice about how to become a physical Shifter claimed that cultivating a very Zen-like attitude was helpful, learning to let go to the Animal within without fear (which is a lot harder than it sounds) and learning how to not want to physically Shift. To not try to hard, and not have too much emotional attatchment to the outcome, whatever it was. It reminded me of the way some of the best Christian spiritual teachers I have known talk about the phenomena of "Let go and let God", which is a simple technique, yet very hard to actually do, a way of letting go of worries about your problems without giving up, being fatalistic, or trying too hard. It is very freeing and spiritually uplifting to achieve it, yet it also generally brings a better solution to the problem than I would expect if I had tried too hard or given up or something, but it is a fine balance and even the most saint-like people will have to repeatedly do this with a problem, for their human nature will cause them to start worrying or trying too hard again.

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