Discovering Your Theriotype

A theriotype is the specific animal (or animals) a therian identifies as on a deep, involuntary level. It's not your favorite animal, your spirit animal, or the result of a personality quiz. It's the animal you ARE internally.

Common theriotypes include wolves, foxes, cats (domestic and big cats), birds, dogs, deer, bears, and horses. Less common but equally valid are reptiles, fish, insects, and prehistoric animals (paleotherians who identify as dinosaurs or other extinct species).

Discovering your theriotype is a personal journey that takes time. Consider: What animal appears most in your dreams? When you have phantom shifts, what body does it feel like? What animal behaviors feel instinctual to you? What species do you feel an unexplainable kinship with, not admiration, but recognition?

Meditation, journaling shifts, researching animal behaviors, and spending time in nature can all help. Be honest with yourself: your theriotype is who you are, not who you want to be. A wolf theriotype isn't “better” than a house cat theriotype.

Polytherians identify as multiple animals simultaneously. This isn't indecision; each theriotype is a genuine part of their identity. A person might be both wolf and crow, experiencing different shifts from each.

Varitherians (or shifters) experience their theriotype as fluid, shifting between different animals over time rather than having a fixed set. Contherians experience their animal identity as a constant undercurrent rather than distinct shifts.

While most therians identify as real-world animals, the broader alterhuman community includes: fictherians (identifying as fictional species like dragons or Pokémon), theriomythics (mythological animals), and otherkin (non-animal non-human identities like elves or fae).

Paleotherians specifically identify as extinct animals: dinosaurs, mammoths, saber-toothed cats. Their experiences are just as valid, though connecting with your theriotype through research and fossils rather than direct observation brings unique challenges and perspectives.