Therianthropy
Therianthropy (from ancient Greek θηρίον therion "wild animal" and ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos "man") describes the transformation (so-called theriomorphosis ) of a person into an animal or a being that has both human and animal characteristics. It happens either in the context of myths or purely spiritually .
The best known form of therianthropy is the transformation into a werewolf , also known as lycanthropy . The term is often extended to other animals and is used synonymously with therianthropy. Further examples are certain totemic ideas in shamanism or the representations of the Egyptian god Ra as a human with a falcon head.
In the Middle Ages and among many so-called " primitive peoples ", therianthropy was part of the human worldview. In the course of the Enlightenment, people who believed they could transform themselves into animals were increasingly classified as mentally ill and the term clinical lycanthropy was coined as a result. Today a person who describes himself as a therianthropus in the sense of a social identification is not regarded as sick in medicine, provided that this identification does not impair the normal life of the person and his environment. Nowadays a subculture of Therianthropes and animal lovers in the broadest sense, called Furries , Otherkin or Therians , who often communicate over the Internet, has developed.