How to Make a Therian Journal You’ll Actually Use
Starting to learn more about the therianthropy community and how your self-expression will evolve alongside your theriotype research can feel overwhelming. An easy way to help you navigate these challenges is through the use of a therian journal.
You’re going to feel and experience a lot of new things about your non-human side. Using a therian journal helps you reflect on what is most important to you while feeling safe and not judged by those who don’t quite understand.
Here are a few tips, tricks, and prompts for how to make a therian journal you’ll use daily, weekly, or whenever you want to chill out and escape the world for a bit.
What is a Therian Journal?
A therian journal is much like any other diary, logbook, or journal you’d find around the world. Everyone from the teenage boy down the street to incredible thinkers like Charles Darwin and artist Frida Kahlo rely on journaling as a way to clear their minds and lay out different thoughts, expressions, and feelings.
Inside your therian journal, you’ll write down moments you feel strongly connected to your various theriotypes, what makes you happy, and any struggles you’re currently dealing with. You can use a standard journal you find on Amazon or go the homemade route. It is all up to you.
How to Make a Therian Journal
The easiest way to make a therian journal is to purchase one online or get a kit from a local art and craft store. The beauty of creating your therian journal is having fun and using the things most appealing to your unique journey for inspiration. Here are the two pathways people take:
- Choose Your Journal: Amazon, Target, Walmart, and most other big box stores have journals with specific animals on the front covers. They also sell journal kits to build your own notebook aligned with your unique personality.
- Handmake Your Journal: The handmade therian journal is a little tougher to create. There is a fantastic article on building a DIY journal that will help you get started. How you turn that basic model into a therian journal is by adding pawprints of your theriotypes to the cover, decorating it with natural things (leaves, flowers, twigs, etc.) that appeal to you, and making it a reflection of your outdoor lifestyle.
Take your time with this project. A lot of the joy behind how to make a therian journal has to do with the process of building piece by piece. You’ll feel a great deal of accomplishment when it is finished.
You can also invite your parents, partners, or trusted friends to make one alongside you. Even if you’re not comfortable discussing therianthropy with them, you can make a “generic” version together as a fun way to connect with people.
Helpful Therian Journal Prompts to Get You Started
Not sure what to put into your new therian journal? No worries at all. That blank white page may seem scary at first, but it can be your best friend if you give yourself the freedom to feel safe and confident. Here are some ideas to help you get started:
- Document Your Theriotypes: Write down the various theriotypes you are researching and what characteristics seem most aligned with your personal identity.
- List of Fun Therian Activities: A lot of therians are unsure what to do to feel that connection. Make a list of fun therian activities that make you feel more like yourself and your theriotypes.
- Track Your Therian Shifts: Every time you experience a physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, phantom, or other therian shift, write it down. Explain the experience and compare it to shifts that come later on. Think about where you were, what may have triggered the shift, or how it felt.
- List Your Environments: Talk about the environments like the ocean, woods, or tall grass that make you feel 100% comfortable as a therian. There are the spaces where your non-human instincts feel strongest.
- Therian Entertainment: Many therians have favorite books, movies, music, and games that resonate with their theriotypes. Making a list will help you feel rooted whenever you are a little “lost” in your research.
- Reflective Writing: Include any other thoughts, reflections, emotions, dreams, or ideas that feel relevant to your personal therianthropy. Let your thoughts roam free so you can read them later to see how you’ve grown.
Other Therian Journal Tips
Owning a therian journal is a fantastic way to explore your therian journey. However, not everyone will understand what it is you’re doing and why. Here are a few tips to make things a little smoother as you write, draw, and reflect.
- Always keep your therian journal safe and secure from prying eyes. Not everyone will be your friend and you don’t want to feel exposed by someone reading your personal thoughts without permission.
- Leave plenty of space for your creative side to burst out onto the paper. You can sketch, draw, and paint in your therian journal besides just writing words.
- Try to avoid using markers, pens, or paints that “bleed” from one page to another. You want to be able to read your journal later on. This is the same tip for making a therian mask.
- Some therians enjoy scrapbooking inside a therian journal. This may involve using Polaroid pictures, newspaper/magazine cutouts, tickets from recent events, and other physical items you can glue into your journal.
- Lean into your animal instincts as your personal identity shines on the page. Creativity has no limitations. You should feel safe documenting whatever you feel is best.
Caution: Do Not Expose Your Therian Journal
The final thing to mention about how to make a therian journal is you don’t want to show it around to a lot of people. It is unfortunate that many people out there will make fun of you for being a therian.
Only share your journal with the people you trust without question. Always be cautious about exposing it to others. You may want to designate a safe space to write or draw away from unwanted eyes looking over your shoulder.
Final Thoughts
Using a therian journal to write and reflect about your unique therianthrope journey is a wonderful experiment. It gives you the space and freedom to reflect on your creativity as you grow in your theriotypes.
Creating a journal by hand is a wonderful way to express your identity, but there are plenty of journals for sale online that you can purchase and personalize. Whether through words, drawings, or scrapbooking photos, your animal instincts and behaviors will shine through as you create in your therian journal.
If you would like to learn more about the Therian Guide, feel free to leave a comment below, share this article, or drop us a line on our contact page. Thank you for reading!
FAQs
What do you write in a Therian journal?
A therian journal is the perfect space to write about your therian shifts, emotions, thoughts, fun activities, and shared experiences with other therian community members.
Why can’t you choose to be a therian?
Being a therian is not a choice. It is an identity. You feel a deeply ingrained connection to an animal or animals through a spiritual or psychological sense of being.
How to start a journal first page?
Write a little about yourself and your theriotypes. Think about the first time you felt these emotions and how they have changed over time. That is always a good place to start for what is a therian journal. Others look at how being a therian affects their faith, friendships, family, and daily lives.
