Weāre just a humble system of 37 people on an island because thatās really how itās like, thereās nobody weād rather be on an island with than each other. Weāre bodily adults.
Tulpa Development Criteria made Comprehensible, the 3+2 Model
Introduction
Tulpamancy is a fairly simple practice. You mentally interact with an imagined character in such a way and with just the right framing that they rapidly begin to become far more than just a mere character. If you stick with the process, you will quickly find them becoming entirely unique and beautiful individuals. Go long enough and they will become your equals in every shape way and form, all you have to do is provide them the opportunities to grow. This does raise some questions however the longer you think of it, small doubts eating at the back of your head. Most of these doubts stem back to a simple question with a whole lot of not so simple answers historically in the community: What the hell even is a tulpa?Ā
I know that sounds stupid, you're probably thinking of some basic definition right now that you would find on tulpa.info or r/tulpas. I promise you however you're going to want to keep reading, this is going to get interesting. Throughout the history of the community there has been many different forms of Tulpa Theory, or attempts to logically, scientifically, or philosophically explain what tulpamancy is and how tulpamancy works. The main goal of these efforts has usually (but not always) been the development of a universal model that finally explains tulpas forever and lays to bed any doubts. This goal, while noble, is generally impossible by practical definition. Psychologists have been studying the human mind for centuries now, and while great strides have been made even some of the most fundamental questions remain an utter mystery. To think we can trivialize or fully understand all the phenomena and mechanisms at play in tulpamancy is misguided at best, and hubris at worst.Ā
So, let's try something different. Let's do something new. What you find below is not Tulpa Theory for Ultimate Truth, but instead Theory for personal and practical understanding and insight. It cannot explain everything by its nature, and it cannot tell you with 100% certainty whether your tulpa is real or not. If you pay attention however you will quickly find that such a concern is pointless anyways, because in the realms of thought your beliefs help shape reality. This essay shall cover our criteria for what makes a tulpa a tulpa, how you can measure these criteria, and compare it to some alternative models of tulpa identification to show strengths and weaknesses. Before we can progress to the actual criteria however, first we need to briefly discuss the things that are not tulpas. Let's talk about thoughtforms.Ā
Thoughtforms
A thoughtform, as used in this community, is essentially any form of mental construct. Sounds broad right? That's because it is. That daydream character you imagined an hour ago? Thoughtform. The servitor in your wonderland used for tuning your mental radio? Definitely a thoughtform. That lemon you just imagined during an intro to hypnosis 101 exercise? Yep, it's technically a thoughtform. This of course also includes tulpas, tulpas are thoughtforms. You're a thoughtform too, don't think about it too much.Ā
As you can see this definition covers a lot of things, and it alone doesn't bring us closer to what a tulpa is or isn't. A way to solve this issue is to sort thoughtforms into a hierarchy based on which ones are closer to a person or not. This works, but most people have wildly differing criteria to base what falls into what arbitrary category. There is no defined barriers within your mind afterall, just thoughts and the interwoven structures which emerge from your mind and neurology. We can make it simple however. Let's look at the defining characteristics of a tulpa, and see how other generalized ātypesā of thoughtforms compare. As a readers note, thoughtform from here on out is mainly going to refer to any imagined characters such as in daydreams or a wonderland NPC, up to and including tulpas. I think most people know the difference between an imaginary bench and a tulpa, no need to include them.
The three non-negotiables
In our understanding of tulpamancy, there are three core pillars of necessary experience to consider something a tulpa:Ā
- Autonomy,Ā
- Self Awareness, and
- Autobiographical memory
Let's go over each of these three non-negotiables.Ā
Let's begin with autonomy. At it's simplest for you as a tulpamancer, this means you aren't doing everything for them. This is what a lot of people get hung up on when first making a tulpa, but honestly it's probably one of the easier ones. Anyone who's been deeply immersed in a daydream has felt it. You've also experienced it at night with dream characters. Autonomy is the sense that they can make decisions without feeling bound to your identity and its choices. To do this, you simply have to train your mind to not associate imagination with your control. In fact, Psychoanalyst Carl Jung was quite famous for his meditative practice of Active Imagination, in which all imagined characters, all thoughtforms, were autonomous. Autonomy is an absolute requirement for a developed tulpa, but autonomy alone does not a tulpa make. So let's add another component.Ā
Next up is self awareness. This is what separates a standard daydream character from the next step up the thoughtform independence hierarchy. Self awareness requires the thoughtform hopefully soon to be tulpa- to be aware of its nature inside the mind, aware of the physical world, aware of its own identity, and aware of you and what you actually are. A properly self aware tulpa has access to all the knowledge you have, if they so choose. Self awareness is incredibly easy to grant a tulpa. It can be done in almost an instant, and if you're developing a tulpa from scratch it should always be there from step one. That said, you may be surprised to find that there are certain scenarios where self awareness falls short of being the magic ingredient that solves it all. As an example of this, a writer may have a character that is autonomous, and self aware, but what if each time you speak to it, it was as though it was the first time? Nothing carried over. This is where our third non-negotiable comes in.
Autobiographical memory, the ability to remember something from your own perspective, and tie memories together into a chronological order. This is a really key one as it's what takes the former two and raises them to something that can now be generally considered personhood when all brought together, in the less pretentiously strict definitions anyways. This is where a tulpa is not only autonomous in actions and aware in mind, but also persistent in identity over a prolonged period of time. A child's imaginary friend or an independently acting character of an author may meet the first two requirements at times, but it also may reset itself or be reset, not remembering between interactions. This would disqualify it from being a tulpa in our books, because it can't develop as an individual. A tulpa should be able to recall what it was thinking, feeling, desiring, and build upon those experiences and their memories to grow as people, even between periods of dormancy or low activity. This is what will give a tulpa depth, personality, and dreams and ambitions to meet over time like any other person.
The third point is also why after a considerable amount of time, it basically becomes impossible to dissipate a tulpa unless both you and your tulpa are willing or fully committed to it. This is because their autobiographical memory is not just on a mental level but a neurological one. It develops new habits and behaviors, reinforced memory circuits, tastes and interests. The tulpa, if given the time and attention it deserves, will become deeply rooted in the mind, and develop entire new neural pathways for habits just like you do with yours. That can't just casually be undone. This is also one of the reasons a walk-in is stupid easy to remove, it's not anchored in any way like a tulpa becomes after a prolonged period of time.
OK! So now we have a general outline of what a tulpa is! A tulpa is an identity/thoughtform in the mind with autonomy, a sense of self, and autobiographical memories to call their own. They have desires, opinions, passions, behavioral quirks, dreams, the ability to make their own decisions (within the limits of what sharing a brain allows for), and remember their experiences and grow from them as individuals. It just so also happens that this description lines up with some definitions of personhood, for instance the Enlightenment Thinker John Locke. Generally, you could probably stop right here and be just fine in terms of knowing whether something is a tulpa or not purely in capacity, but there's still some holes left to fill. For instance what about walk-ins? That odd phenomenon some but not all tulpamancers experience where a seemingly developed tulpa-like entity appears out of the blue (due to various reasons some of which may be hard to identify). It's a bit complicated. Generally keeping every walk-in that comes around is terrible practice. It simply isn't good system hygiene. Some people get iffy about kicking them out the door because they can be considered tulpas, but we don't think they should be considered tulpas, not until they are allowed into the system as such anyways. This is where we introduce two new pillars to the tulpa criteria model, we shall call these two the additionals.Ā
The 2 additionals
The first additional may be an obvious one, but it is incredibly important, intent/acceptance. This is an additional because there is an argument to be made that anything that fits the above three for an extended period of time is a tulpa even if not treated as such. Acceptance however will majorly benefit the tulpa's growth, happiness, development, and generally is the only path forward for a long and sustainable existence. It's also why something could generally meet the requirements of a tulpa, but not be accepted as a system member despite that such as in our walk-in example above. Generally speaking anything that meets all three of the non-negotiables will sooner or later get this additional too, but only if it sticks around for long enough and the host/original is willing. Knowledge of tulpamancy as a practice isn't even required, just acceptance that they're part of your life.Ā
The second additional is a relationship with you, others, and the wider world. To put it even more simply: attachments. This ties in with the autobiographical memory point pretty closely, and is again why we don't consider walk-ins tulpas. A tulpa, to be fully developed and growing as an individual, needs meaning in their lives. Not the poetic secret to life type of meaning, although that's always a fun and insightful conversation, we mean a reason to stick around. That mainly comes in the form of relationships, often with other people. It can also be with more abstract things such as knowledge, art, or nature. A tulpa should have a relationship with the host, the other system members, other physical people, and the world in general with things like hobbies, interests, passions. It can be anything that helps anchor them to this world and keep them active and with purpose so that they engrain themselves deeper into the brain.Ā
Walk-ins can theoretically meet all three of the Majors, but often don't meet either of the additionals. This is why they can be easily removed, and it's not a bother to do so. Of course there is other models you can take on this, tulpamancy isn't a science but a modality of thinking. It's a practice, subculture, and way of being. That said however, this particular model of what defines a tulpa is something we believe to be not just sound in theory but genuinely useful as a reference in practice. Each of the pillars can be improved upon even more with the right mindset and techniques, even for already established tulpas. If you find something doesn't meet the requirements of a tulpa as laid out here, you can just help them reach it! We also think that this model can help to poke holes in some of the other commonly accepted beliefs and concepts in this community. Most importantly, it should show where some alternative models of tulpamancy are lacking or outright potentially harmful to the long term development of your tulpas, and give you a clearer idea of who is worth listening to and who isn't.
Conclusion
We hope you gained genuine insight into the nature of tulpamancy and how tulpas work reading this. Remember no model is true, but some are useful. This was made to be as useful as a model of tulpa development criteria can be. It covered all of the major factors we believe are necessary for the proper development and individuality of a tulpa, and discussed some of the nuances to be had in each category. As a general note: this was designed by tulpas about tulpas for tulpamancers. If you experience other conditions or forms of Plurality such as DID, some of this material may not be entirely compatible with your system dynamics. Please use discernment when adopting tulpamancy materials.Ā
ā Cowritten by Dawn and Astra of the Candlelight Society, part of the Tulpa Scholastica project.
When I was drunk one night and watching the Jellyfish livestream, I reached out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with a dumb question about their jellyfish... And they actually emailed me back.
(yes, these are actually my own screenshots, I am in tears laughing)
DO YOUR ANIMAL EXPERTS HAVE TO UNTANGLE THE JELLYFISH
AND THE ANSWER IS FUCKING YES, THE JELLIES GET TANGLED SOMETIMES LMAO
being plural means a headmate pulling you into headspace to cuddle with you and help you go to sleep because of your& insomnia
being plural means smiling and laughing at a joke one of your headmates made, or having witty banter with them as you make a meal that you'll both be able to enjoy
being plural means a headmate going "its okay, you don't have to do this, i can do it" and you thanking them because yeah, you cant do that, and thats okay
being plural means thinking about your headmates when buying new clothes, or seeing a shirt or pair of pants for sale and going "they'd love that !!"
being plural means making one of your headmate's simplyplural profile, and spending lots of time perfecting it so that it fits them to a T
being plural means knowing you aren't alone
being plural means knowing that your headmates, your friends, your family, are always there for you
being plural means love.
THIS POST IS INCLUSIVE OF SYSTEMS OF ALL ORIGINS !!! DO NOT BRING SYSCOURSE ONTO THIS POST.
We've been here over five years now and internalized pluralphobia still gets to us sometimes. We worry our experiences might be used as a weapon to target others, or understanding that different things are best for different people might get lost. But fuck it. Cringe culture is dead
We're addgenic. When we haven't gotten anyone new in a while, the desire to have someone new form/arrive creeps up on us and grows more and more intense. We'll try and delve into a huperfixation to see if anyone forms naturally, or try reconnecting with old headmates, but if it's been too long one of us usually cracks and creates someone new intentionally. It's not a bad feeling for us- only suppressing it makes it feel bad, really. It's euphoric when the desire is actively fulfilled.
Perhaps it's connected to being a shapeshifter for us. The instinctive need to change and to be someone new. But that's just our thought on the matter
cringe culture has done so much damage to how fictives are viewed and it's wild when you think about it
you have people who are desperately trying to prevent fictives, especially fictives of their favorite character, for pretty much no other reason than they're embarrassed about it
even if you do feel too much shame about it, you don't even need to share who your fictives are, fictives aren't something you're tainted if you have
like when you really step back it's like damn why are we letting gatekeepers on the internet police what we do in our own heads to that degree
being a sex positive asexual is so weird because ill be actively campaigning for sex equality or whatever and people are like "mnehhh youre asexual it doesnt matter why do you care" SHUSH YOU MOUTH LET ME HELP
"porn shouldn't be banned" "you watch porn?? i thought you were ace" no um i just think porn shouldnt be banned
i hate it smmmm especially when they use it to call you fake
Many fictives, but less than other types of headmates
About half fictives, half other types of headmates
Majority fictives
Entirely fictives
Voting ended onAug 18, 2025
Singlets, don't vote. Nuance/Unsure, choose whatever feels right. Results, just wait 'till the poll is over.
[More info: This is a poll about fictives in plurals, or otherwise a representation of a fictional character, no matter source attachment/comfort. This does not include factives or any other types of introjects unless the system thinks it would be more accurate if it did.
This poll does not include numbers, besides "one fictive", as the size of a system is not the focus. For plurals who are smaller or single [not singlet] with fictives, meaning multiple options make sense, such as 4 headmates with 2 fictives, whatever feels most accurate can be chosen.]
Singlets, don't vote. Nuance/Unsure, choose whatever feels right. Results, just wait 'till the poll is over.
[More Info: This is a poll about the size of your system, plural, collective, or any other words you may use to describe it. If you consider yourself polymind, you can vote, even if you don't consider yourself a system/plural.
"Single, but still plural" may or may not include empty systems, broken singlets, plural adjacent, plurallets, syslets, plural non-system, polyminds, or anyone else who finds it is the best option for them.]
man. remember early in the pandemic, shortly into the telework phase, when a lot of women started vocalizing āwow, i didnt realize just how much time, energy, and even money i was wasting on dolling myself up for work every damn morning, until i didnāt have to do it anymore. i donāt think iāll go back to doing that when we return to the office? i wonāt be a slob or anything, of course, iām just not going to go out of my way to look pretty at work"Ā and then,
so many people proceeded to lose every last crumb of their shit about it, writing the most asinine crybaby articles ever where they were just. utterly horrified by the possibility that more and more women might become comfortable looking natural/plain and completely opting out of the expectation to look as appealing as possible at all times, even when all theyāre doing is spending all day in a cubicle. that was bonkers. lmao.
some ladies were like āduring lockdown, i saw myself in the mirror without makeup much more often, and got used to it, so now i donāt feel as anxious for others to see me without makeup on either. iām comfortable with the face i have, itās fine just the way it isā
and some absolute dork ass losers heard this and went ātruly, this is the death of femininityā
TERFS who think theyāre welcome on my posts: youāre not. the freedom to reject conventional beauty standards should apply to and be shared with trans women as well, moreso, in fact, because trans women are literally held to an even harsher, stricter standard when it comes to rando third parties feeling entitled to meticulous over-performance from them - demanding they put every last possible ounce of resource and effort into altering their appearance just to be seen as acceptable, demanding they āproveā their validity through excessive glamour, to ensure they are not āfakingā - and the consequences for a trans woman if she does not flawlessly comply with these demands can be so dire as to be lethal for her.
That should not be the reality these women have to endure! That is a horrifying injustice, and anybody who not only lacks compassion for that, but promotes the ideologies that enable it, is not welcome here. I will not debate with you on the matter. Get lost.
dailybridgerton
kianamaiart
2087
izzy806
theartofmadeline
