Changelings and Other Nonhuman Humans, Pt. 1

"Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand."

- W.B. Yeats, "The Stolen Child" (adapted in song form by Loreena McKinnett )

Let's talk incarnate spirits for a minute, ch'y'all. Faeries, angels, gods, goddesses and many, many types of spirits incarnate into human form from time to time, for any number of reasons (their purpose on earth is typically roughly defined by their plane of origin - I'll get to that in a second).

But they're everywhere - and in every religious tradition. Well, in many traditions anyway. In general, Hinduism considers it a relatively frequent occurrence for various deities to incarnate into human form, and in fact several of these incarnations are alive and well today, and are actively venerated by swarms of devotees. These include the famous "hugging saint" known as "Mama Amma," whose enormous influence has seeded numerous successful faith-based charity organizations.

The Dalai Lama is considered one of many incarnations of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, a compassionate being who periodically descends to earth to be born in human form and liberate human souls from suffering. Other bodhisattvas (such as one of my personal favorites and patrons Manjushri) are also considered to have living incarnations as well.

Other traditions that may or may not identify as exclusively Christian consider at least the possibility (if not the stark reality) of angels incarnating on earth to be born as humans (the popularly-venerated Melchizedek - also a patron of mine - is seen as such a figure. Though he is identified as a human prophet in the Old Testament, many modern devotees consider him an archangel who was born into human form to play the role of Abraham's priest). Still others recognize ancestral spirits and various spiritual masters as beings who also incarnate when the need arises. Even elementals such as mermaids, gnomes and others are sometimes believed to incarnate in human form.

In various Celtic traditions (particularly those from the British Isles), at times faeries are considered spirits who incarnate. Older traditions state that faeries who desire to have a human child will steal a human infant and leave in its place a child of fae; this was a popular explanation given for abnormal behaviors and/or what is now deemed mental illness within a child. The faerie child was seen as one who could not understand or was uncomfortable with the bylaws of human society and the physical reality within which it resides, and thus rejected them by acting unusually or having an atypical mindset.

Angel and faerie communicator Doreen Virtue asserts in her book "Fairies 101" that human children who are born and are dissatisfied with earthly life for any number of reasons may choose to depart this plane in spirit while they are still infants. In this case, a faerie child may take their place within the same physical body. This is often marked by a period of severe illness from which the infant recovers unexpectedly, suddenly or miraculously. This marks the point at which the fae child has successfully entered and integrated with its human body (the soul of the human child may be assumed to have "gone home" to wait for another incarnation, or - depending on how much it is dissatisfied with life on earth - to remain in the spirit world indefinitely. Though the human soul may be spirited off to the world of fae, it is my and others' impression that the human spirit simply returns to its own plane of origin - i.e., the idyllic world(s) where human souls converge and congregate between lives).

These beings were and are known as "changelings," and, let me assure you, they exist. I have only met two that I know of, and I have no way of knowing whether or not these are the only two I have met, or if there are others I have met but whose nature I have remained unaware of. Thus, like the incarnate angels I have met (though at least one author claims that there are millions of these, scattered across the globe), I have no sense of how prevalent changelings are, where or if they are geographically concentrated in one or more areas, if there are certain life situations (ethnicities, cultures, socio-economic statuses, etc.) that they are more likely to be born into, etc. 

However, I can say with certainty that, though the traditions that begat changeling awareness and its accompanying lore are primarily Northern European, one of the two changelings I met was Mediterranean and not light-skinned; this gives rise to the notion that, at least in our modern era, fae children are not necessarily limited to being born into human bodies that fit the ethnicity of their mythological origins. 

Furthermore, this Mediterranean changeling lived in Houston, while the other fae child I met was Aryan - blonde, light-skinned, with blue eyes - and she resided in Denver. This similarly hints that fae children may not be bound to climes similar to those from which their lore originates (i.e., the damp, wet, grey weather of the British Isles - Houston is damp but far from grey, and Denver is dry and sunny - not to mention wayyyy more mountainous than Ireland).

So what's my proof, right? Here I have this like encyclopedic definition of changelings, gathered from a variety of sources, and I'm claiming to have met these beings in the flesh, right? Where's the evidence?

Well, to be honest, I don't have much. Though I have witnessed incarnate spirits demonstrating some pretty interesting feats of what some would call magic, each feat relating specifically to their planes of origin, they have not been particularly earthshattering ones (I have witnessed ordinary humans demonstrate far greater such feats, simply because they are magically gifted and steeped in knowledge and training). So, sadly enough, at this point I can't really say anything like, "you'll know somebody's a changeling 'cause they can make shit disappear or like fucking fly or something!" Because, as far I know, though many incarnate spirits may naturally demonstrate meaningful feats of energy work with little or no training, it's nothing over 9,000. So far as my experience goes. 

In other words, you could be sitting next to a changeling on the bus, and they could be doing magic on such a small and/or subtle scale that you'd have no idea. In fact, they might even have no idea, because so many nonhuman spirits born into human form have no awareness of their spiritual roots - and they do things like magic and skillful energy work without even realizing they're doing it. Which can be problematic in and of itself - but I'll get to that in a little.

So, like I said, there are a ton of incarnate nonhuman spirits out there who have no idea what they are. I have met many of them - and, though I was able to inform a few of their extraplanar origins (with good results - I know how to play this shit y'all), and though some were even already actively aware of these origins and had methods for coping and/or channeling the gifts that come therewith (and supportive people with whom to share their thoughts and feelings regarding this aspect of themselves), for the most part the ones I have met will probably spend most if not all of their lives completely unaware of where some of what I'd call their biggest spiritual roots lie. 

Obviously I'd love to tell these folks what's up, but, you know, you can't exactly walk up to a coworker you only kind of know and go, "dude, how was your weekend? You did what? Oh, man, that sounds like a blast. Yeah, mostly I just did stuff around the house and hung out with friends. Oh, shit, by the way - you're an angel! Gad damn, I've been meaning to tell you that, so sorry I forgot until just now! Anyway, if you need any copies made I'll be across the hall, guzzling coffee and ferociously regretting that I ever said that."

...yeah. That wouldn't work out too well. Unless you don't like your job; then it would work out great because you'd probably get fired for being a weirdo.

#jokes aside, this is actually a pretty tragic phenomenon, for the following reasons and more: 

a) just like a person who is naturally tall is more likely to experience pulmonary issues, or people who are naturally more creative/artistically inclined are more likely to experience mental health issues, those hailing from nonhuman planes are more likely to experience certain kinds of issues (I'll get into specifics in Part 2, which I'll hopefully be able to post tomorrow). 

These issues typically stem from individuals' planes of origin and the way those planes interact with Earth, but the issues themselves seem to follow definite patterns and thus can be assuaged upon realization of the planar connection that begets them. Let's be real, y'all - everybody is going to go through some kind of bullshit because of who they are naturally, and in so many cases, the closer you get to the roots of who you are, the better a time you'll have of working out your shit and being healthy, wealthy and wise (as much as one can in today's world, that is). Like I said, more deets about this in a bit.

b) magic or energy work (whatever you prefer - sometimes they may be considered distinct, though some maintain that they are one and the same. It's a little of both if you ask me. Another complicated thing for an entirely different post) may not be necessary to sustain life, but it sure as hell can make a difference. 

Like I said, I haven't seen anything quite over 9,000 from nonhumans born into human bodies, but what I have seen has been meaningful, and damn well enough to make positive changes in the world. I won't go into details here; you're just gonna have to trust me - though maybe I'll do a separate post with some of the stories I have about all this, or include one or two of them in Part 2. So, long story short, if you're a nonhuman born into - I quote Donnie Darko - a "stupid human suit," realizing what you are and learning a) what your natural gifts are, and b) to use your natural gifts to make positive changes, can be extremely empowering - not to mention good for your health on a number of levels.

...and yeah, like I said, there are more reasons, but I'll keep it to that for now. Stay 'tuned for Part 2!

Also, afterthought: W.B. Yeats was pretty much a boss. Though many are familiar with his poetry, few are familiar with his somewhat secret involvement with the Golden Dawn and other magical societies (that's a real thing, you can Google it). He also spoke with an Irish medium, who, while in a state of trance, caused Yeats to see what he described as a "bright lady," who spoke with him about changelings and informed him to his surprise that she knew several who he had met personally. That's another story for another time, however. For now, here's his poem about changelings.

Here's a bit of art from a popular roleplaying game based on the concept of changelings (it's called Changeling: The Lost, and it's amazing, and everyone should play it whether or not they're interested in real changelings).