Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alright heres the cold hard truth. Shifting is only possible in the sence of altering the way that your energy aura manifests. It is possible for you to change your aura as you see fit. Changing your body is, going to reguire alot of energy like more than you could call without burning out or a tone of money. Money for a medical procedure.

Wait... you said that as though all magic was evil. Magic is what you make of it, largely. That's like saying that a brick is inherently evil because you can bash someone's head in with it. You can also build buildings with it.

Though I suppose it also depends on what you call magic. ::shrug::

Anyway, no, physical shapeshifting isn't really regarded as possible. Some VERY few and very powerful Shamans were said to be able to shapeshift, but they're not reports that have been confirmed. Still, I could see someone who devoted their life to spirituality and magic potentially being able to pull it off... But that would not be a matter of simple daily "training" or anything like that. It'd be a life's work and accomplishment... Something you could manage if you spent your entire life with and on that one path.

So... Though you can manage the non-physical shifts with practice and daily training, I think we all missed out on the physical sort. : P

::considers:: I'm not sure it's that Shamanism itself has become diluted so much as it's no longer something Shamans devote their lives to. Religion in general isn't like that anymore, which is, in a way, a shame... But regardless.

I agree with you on the point that it would be nigh impossible to withstand a physical shift. I was just allowing for the possibility in certain very special circumstances because, well, the greatest Shamans WERE said to have physically become their animals from time to time. Also like I said, though, it's never been confirmed. I'd like to, on some level, believe it though. But then, I also hold the belief that more or less anything is possible with enough time and energy dedicated. Time is where most humans fall short - we just don't live very long. ::sigh::

You don't have to be possessed by a demon to hurl fireballs, it is called pyrokinetics and is a psychic ability that can be developed with many many hours of hard concentration. As for shape shifting it is improbable, but not impossible. The mind has quite a lot of influence on the body and people who have truly convinced themselves that they are a certain way start becoming that way. I have tried to shape shift in a way. One of the body types I remember best is one with pale skin, really long fingers and limbs, white hair, and large blue eyes that have no white showing, its quite interesting. Anyway, I visualize my hand the way I described over my hand and make it look more real, I literally feel my fingers stretch. This requires a good imagination to visualize the hand in complete detail over your real hand, fortunately I have a VERY good imagination.

I've only heard one person call us monsters, and he was horribly flamed by normal people, Therians, and even furries.

In terms of visible phantom limbs, I've heard of, and I've also experienced tangible phantom limbs, which I've already alluded to. However, truly changing into your theriotype with such a method is nigh impossible. At best you could achieve a kind of hybrid form, and the strain could possibly kill you. That kind of thing goes beyond the limits of what power humans are allowed. To exceed that does not mean death necesarily, but it is very risky ground.

I believe things I see with my own eyes. I've seen wiccans conjure fire, and I've felt the oppressive mental presence of a summoned demon. I've never seen psychic abilities displayed without fraud without some kind of magic influence or focus. Nor have i met anyone capable of sustaining visible wings for more than a few seconds.

I do not write things off as false simply because I haven't seen them, I am just very skeptical. I myself do not practice magic, but I find it an interesting thing to hear or read about, or even witness.

However, while I understand your fascination, I would advise staying away from magic. Once you are so deeply involved that you learn some of the truely horrifying truths about it, you will find yourself drawn deeper and deeper, sometimes directly against your will. I saw this happen to several people I knew, and, to an extent, myself.

Oh don't worry, its not like I'm going to kill people and sacrifice their souls to demons. There is a big difference between practicing magic and the occult. Anyway I don't really believe in the typical definition of demons. Most "demons" are ghosts/spirits that have spent too long in the astral plane and have become corrupted by hate and other negative things. They are like onions made of dirt, peel of all the layers of hate, greed, jealousy, ect, and you will find an ordinary person underneath. They are quite dangerous though, thats certainly true. But we are getting off subject.