Desirable forms?

[Amelia]

I've noticed that the forms most of your daemons have are mammalian or avian and "desirable" (ie, no pigs or sheep.) Is there anyone who has a reptilian, fish, insect, or "undesirable" mammalian (ie, not a canid, felid, bear, tiger, etc...something with unsavory connotations) daemon? Sorry if I offended anyone.

I am no exception....I don't think my daemon is a reptile, fish, or insect. I found a book with 19th century ink illustrations of many animals and browsed through, trying to keep my mind perfectly clear. I have come to the conclusion that my hunch about my daemon not being very big was right; I think my daemon is either a desert fox/fennec fox, wolf, or wolf cub. It may also be a bird of some kind, but I'm not sure. I have no idea of whether or not it's settled.

Any help?

Also, how do I talk to it? Not just that, but how do I listen, which is the harder part. I have plenty of experience talking to things I can't see (I've had my share of imaginary friends, and for a little while I've been religious) but I don't know how to listen. How will I know I'm not just imagining a response? Imagination is sooooo powerful...

Help! I have this nagging feeling that daemons are just an appealing idea from the HDM books that we have convinced ourselves are real, and they're just imaginary...but I want them to be real, I really do! Any thoughts?

[Okibi]

"It may also be a bird of some kind, but I'm not sure. I have no idea of whether or not it's settled."

I think you're repeating the same kind of questions here.. If you want to get to know your dæmon, I'd advise visualizing his form, Amelia. Your past imaginary friends? Those were your dæmon... but not really the true him. A 'variation' of him, so to speak. (I'm assuming your dæmon is male. Either way, I don't think your soul would appreciate being called an "it." =P) Begin to envision his shape much like you did those old imaginary friends, but remember that he is your core... you're reflecting a part of yourself that is deep, true, and very real. Don't force a shape on him. Let him change as feels natural. People often make the mistake of thinking their dæmon is settled as something they aren't. Enjoy his changing forms while you can... Let him experiment, so that you can come to see his true shape. It may take months, honestly. Some people know the settled form automatically, but usually this isn't the case. You've been warned. =) But really... getting to know his personality is more important.

You don't need to 'want' your dæmon to be real. He is your soul, and I promise you that this exists. Speaking to him should be a calming, joyful, and easy experience. He's not a mystery to you. He is you. Before even conversing like I do with my Rookie, you know him, and he knows you. Unless you change his words after he's spoken, you CANNOT mishear him. Don't worry about doing that. Imagine his form (I suppose you can start off with that fennec fox), and let him reply to your questions. He may be just as rattled by this new experience as you. Your dæmon is not omnipotent. They feel what you do, and they reflect your emotions. =P

Hope I've been of help to you.

[Aleandra]

Amelia, i asked myself those same questions before (the are daemons real or are they just a fleeting fantasy we made up?) I did struggle with that concept a lot seeing that i'm not religious at all. But i'm not a total scientist either. Well this is my point of view, it's not the same as Okibi's and maybe it'll help you make your own "theory" about Daemons.

This is based on psycology, and less on the soul part. (Well you have to define what a soul is before and i have a headache and don;t want to do philosophy) To me daemons are you, but the unconsious part.(erm, well to understand what i think you'll have to undersatnd that i also base this on the ying/yang principle: everything must be balanced, everything has an opposite) While your personality is the side of you which is concious, you also have another part that is "asleep" deep under you. It is that side that has second thoughts or makes you do things that, if you were thinking you would never have done. But these two parts i am talking about are one, not seperate.

Now with daemons, it's just a matter of letting that dark side of you have a say, so you can make decisions easier and so on. Giving it an appearance is of course up to your imagination, but it's just like your own body You have a set appearance, but you do make adjustments (a certain hairstyle, a peirced earing) to re-affirm your personality and giving it an animal form (or him choosing an animal form) is just like that: afirming your personality. That's why young people might have an "unsettled" daemon, they still change.

And that's maybe why you don't see many "undesirable" (as you put it) daemons because there is a certain amount of choice on your dark side's part (which isn't much, i mean if i chose it's form it would be some kind of bird, but it's a wild cat. He chose his eye color and fur coat for example)

I could go on and on, but i think i put the essencial of my idea, and if i put any more people will boo me and throw tomatoes. ^_^ i know it's quite complicated, but then yourquestion is complicated in a sense. So this is my theory, loosely based as you can see on HDM, and a bit more firmly based on psycology, Freud and a bit of ying and yang. I hope this helps you chase your doubts or make your own theory, if your not satisfied a mix between Okibi's and mine maybe. Good Luck! (has now a great big head ache)

[Echo]

If it makes you feel any better mine started out as a rodent that lives in Alaska XD I think that might be partly because I live in Minnesota though and I don't mind cold too much ^^; But yea, if it was really my choice to choose what I first pictured my daemon as it wouldn't have been a marten, though they DO have a bit of a cat/ferret-like quality. lol

[Annie]

I recomend, when trying to visualize the form, go with your first thought. Even if it's "slug". If you keep doing that, then after a while it will be easier. Once you begin comunicating more It will be more natural and you won't even have to think about it that much. When you talk with him/her, maybe ask a question then any thoughts afterword will probably be him/her answering. In the begining, for me it was all instinct. The first thing that came into my head after a question was Rano's answer. But then it became easier. Just keep trying, even if it seems strange at first, it probably won't later.

[Zoe 'n' Calosta]

Well your daemon takes the form of your emotions and when it settles, your very personality. You could say that a tiger is powerful and proud, which is a description of someones personality or that a cat is soft and lazy but secretly cunning also. How can you describe the personality of a fish? For those who have read books by Cate Tiernan (I used to read the when I was into Wicca) they talk about shapeshiftig and Ciaran says 'Think of the animal that suits your personality, that is you. That's why most people don't become fish or reptiles, it just isn't them'. But as a plus, Cal has become both a fish and a turtle but only for a very short period of time

[Ed]

so fish daemon are rare because..no one quite knows what to make of them?

[Annie]

I guess it's because they don't really have personalities, or have many characteristics to match with a human. I'm pretty sure not very many people will put 'swims around in circles for hours at a time' out there when looking for their daemon's settled form. I'm sure there's something there that we just arent' getting.

[Ed]

Well fish have short memory spans, so i guess its safe to say someone with a fish daemon would have short, or fleeting emotions, maybe a bit of a free thinker....i guess you cant really know the intelligence of a fish. hm. id say, peoples daemons could be fish, but youd probably have to get to know them to know who they are , as opposed to say when someone tells you they have a cat daemon. Because then you can already tell things about them.

[Exiled]

I also think that there is a reason that most who find this forum don't have "undesirable" forms for their dæmons. I was thinking that since your dæmon reflects who you are, that someone with...say, a rabbit dæmon, is not going to be very outgoing, or open to new ideas, such as the idea of dæmons. So people with dæmons with less "desirable" forms(such as fish, insects, etc.) perhaps are not as open, or free-thinking(I'm not sure if thats the word I'm looking for...) as people who have the dæmon forms that people here have are (wow, that was long, hope it wasn't too confusing ). Which is NOT to say that somebody with a butterfly dæmon(or what have you) would not learn about and accept the idea of dæmons, and perhaps even discover their own, just as a general rule, perhaps. Same thing with other forms, even those that are more desirable...I guess it just depends. Though (domestic) sheep aren't generally thought to be particularly smart, so perhaps those who have sheep dæmon are also a bit simple.
By the way, I hope I haven't offended any one, I certainly didn't mean to, I'm just putting forth a possible theory.
I hope I explained myself well enough (though I probably didn't oh well).

I could probably clarify better, so just ask