Dream shift (DS or d-shift): occurs when an individual is partially or entirely an animal within a dream while the physical body remains unchanged. The dream might also include the transformation into the animal. A dream shift can occur in both lucid and non-lucid states.
This is a common type of shift that is often discussed in the community. Seeing or sensing oneself as an animal during a dream was taking place in the earliest days of the community as Alt.horror.werewolves was transitioning from a group about werewolf fiction to a group for people who intrinsically identified as nonhuman creatures.
People who do not identify as Therianthropes can also dream of being animals. Never automatically assume that seeing yourself as an animal in a dream means that you are a Therian or that the animal is your theriotype. Many other experiences, research, and introspection should also be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not you identify as a Therian.
Seeing oneself as an animal other than the known theriotype, may only be a dream cameo shift and does not always indicate that one is a polytherian. Not every dream may be relevant to one's therianthropy. Sometimes animals appear symbolically to represent events or mental/emotional states that the dreamer is experiencing in life.
References
http://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Dream_Shift
Scribner, O. "Otherkin lexicon: A multi-lingual dictionary of jargon used in the communities of otherkin, therianthropes, and other similar peoples, v. 0.1 Abridged." The Art and Writing of O. Scribner. 8 September, 2012. http://frameacloud.com/otherkin/nonfiction-otherkin/otherkin-lexicon/
Shifters.org Encyclopedia (2006 web archive) - http://web.archive.org/web/20060901112859/http://www.therianthropy.org/SO/encyclopedia.htm
"Stop howling, we heard you already" November 7, 1993, https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/alt.horror.werewolves/cnaZs0KC9Bk
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The Types of Therian Shifts
Non-FictionThis book goes in depth into describing and explaining Therianthropic Shifts including the history of the shifts and references for each.
