Hi there I have no intent on making you or your followers feel bad and disrespect your beliefs, I'm just curious how can your 'kin' be discovered and if it's something like a roleplaying game or it's something that you truly believe in?
First of all I am a pagan and a polytheist and I have some spiritual experience . From what I researched and found out from my spiritual guides and guardians it's true that humans can have a non human origin ( angel, fairy, elves etc.) but animals cannot be born in human bodies due to them not possessing a higher self ( your soul in its true form that exists as en entity in the spirit realm). Animals do have a spirit body but when they die Gaia ( earth's energy) absorbs them and then puts them into a different body of the same species.
The souls humans have are more complex and do live a separate life in the spirit realm as a body made of energy/light.
Another thing is that shape shifters are an incredibly rare non human core one can have, a few cases worldwide , so I doubt they are all here on tumblr.
I'm not judging those who want body modifications but they aren't necessary, if they identify as an angel they already have the wings attached to their astral body. It's just a bit sad that they want to reject their human form or see it as hideous when they can have both. Their ' true form ' is there and can be seen by someone who possesses clairvoyant abilities , they still look like whatever entity they identify with , but for now they live as a human.
As I said I don't want to laugh at you or destroy your fun , you are not hurting anyone with some posts on the internet but I'm curious if something spiritual has gone into the process of finding out your origins? Most of one's behaviour and thoughts come from the ego persona which has dealt with different traumas, situations , born into a specific culture with different traditions so this isn't a reliable source since it cannot match 100% to your' true self '.
...There is a lot to unpack here. I am going to assume that you are very new to the otherkin and pagan communities and you are asking genuinely. I'm sorry if any of this comes off as harsh, I'm not trying to be.
First of all, no, otherkin is not a roleplaying thing, although I suppose it's possible that some people discover their affinities through the act of roleplaying (the energetic vampyre community more or less grew out of Vampire: The Masquerade, for example. This doesn't mean they're just roleplaying, it simply means that by being able to take on a certain persona, they were able to discover a piece about themselves. Much like how crossplay can often lead to people discovering things about their gender. [And I say this as a trans person.])
Secondly, YOUR belief that animals can not have a "higher self" is YOUR belief. Just because your "spirit guides" have "told" you this does not mean they are correct. The first step to understanding other people's points of view is understanding that what they believe in may not match up with what you perceive as "true", especially when it comes to things of esoteric or metaphysical nature. You are very much sounding like Christians who are 100% certain that their beliefs are true, that other people who believe something else are just mistaken. Speaking as a Pagan: stop trying to force your view of other people into a box that you have created. Your beliefs may be true to you but they definitely are not the absolute fact.
....And I want to know, genuinely, if you go up to people who are getting their ears pierced or a tattoo and tell them that their body modifications are not necessary. Because frankly, and pardon my language here, but telling somebody that a body modification they want that will make them feel more at home in their bodies, (or for ANY reason, actually--we don't need a reason to get a body modification)-- is fucking rude.
Getting body mods is not a rejection of your natal body.
My body is a temple that I will decorate how I see fit.
Accusing people of wanting to get mods because they hate their bodies is disgusting and ill-informed. I hear the same crap from transphobes who don't want me to take HRT because they've deluded themselves into thinking I hate my body.
I love my body. I think I look amazing. But I would feel more like myself with HRT. I would feel more like myself with fangs. I would feel more like mys'elf if there were a way to grow more arms, wings, and a tail. (Unfortunately not a possible modification, but that's what costumes are for.) And I feel more like myself with two tongues! Splitting my tongue was the best decision I've ever made in my life! And it had nothing to do with hating myself or my body!
There are other people much more equipped to dealing with the rest of your questions. I'm not a thinker, I don't really care about the philosophies or the hows or whys of otherkin and therians. I just know what I am and I take people for their word about what they are, and stress that it's okay to not know also. Because who the hell am I to tell anyone else what they are?
I don't go into the tags much anymore and I've lost a lot of the really good blogs who have done deep dives into otherkin culture, but I believe @aestherians has a lot of really great resources.
Sorry if this came off as harsh. People in the body modification community--and trans people--of which I am both--get told ALL THE TIME that we're "mutilating our bodies" and that we should "just accept your natural body and quit hating yourself" and I'm not one to sugar coat my feelings towards that mindset. It's triggering and I'm sorry if my irritation came off as an attack, but it's a frankly harmful mindset, full stop. Furthermore, some cultures have beliefs that tattoos and other modifications give them spiritual powers and have deeper meanings. So already, your ignorance shows that you have a lot to learn when it comes to body modification specifically. Body modification is a beautiful thing that has roots in many different cultures, and has been practiced for centuries.
I'm hoping that my language hasn't deterred you from wanting to learn further or ask questions.