Finding your Tribe

Author: Masticina Akicta

Date: 22 September 2020

Entering a new Home

You move through the places of the internet, local area or meet people with the same interest. Maybe it is your sexuality, faith, or even something simple as your like for a sports team. You meet others of equal mind and insight. Maybe you are young and seek teaching, or a place among people who understand your situation where your family might not. A tribe is not always family or those predefined, but one that gathers together through law of attraction.

Home is a feeling, you know it when you find it. You just feel this is right. 

What is a tribe

A tribe is a group of people. We used to live in tribes, in small villages, Farm areas either we owned the area or as serfs to those in power. You can find small villages everywhere. These things are tribes. 

A church also can be a tribe, people know you and that share good and bad times. They are not direct family but through the group of faith you are bound. For good or for bad. 

And a tribe also can be online these days. So much is online, and Covid has made that even more obvious to many.  In the "good old days" manyh things were offline.. As long as there is a shared interest and reason to be there for each other to accept each other as member of an extended family. There is a tribe.

The Good and the Bad

Tribes come with good and bad things, sad but true. Some tribes help younger members out to deal with their situation, identity and allow them to grow in safety. They have teachings, insights and more.

But tribes also can become cults where your own ideas become wrong-think. And where you better follow someone else command/lead else you are evil. 

This is the problem every group has, how do you keep it inviting and deal with the influence without being corrupted by it. 

There is a saying "There were is power, there is corruption." And in many places such is showing. But a good leader tries to make sure such corruption has little to no chance. Ah that is another topic though.

Lets just say that it is hard for tribes to always stay as they originally were created. Sometimes they are co-opted as old leaders disappear, sometimes the leaders use false-words to draw people in. And sometimes the tribe is just a cult. 

What does this mean for the vampire community

So within the vampire community the Tribe is a place where others accept you as you are. As a vampire, donor, or swan.  Where there can be discourse, we can teach each other, we can learn things. Where we can talk with others about the troubles we are having. And many solutions are within the grasp of members.

The tribe has information, knowledge for those seeking it. We have older vampires who have been through things before, young vampires still learning and those facilitating groups.

But also some groups are more for drama and news sharing. MAYOR events! Not as much for calling it a home. But around the big busy city in what we connect with each other and share information and news. We have our own cozy little tribes that we call home. In a culture of cats it is almost inevitable that hissy fits will break out. Or big fights, or people will try to abuse power. It just is inevitable. 

What makes a tribe your home?

A tribe should feel safe, inviting, caring and understanding. It should offer things that can help you grow and get stronger and learn many things. And over time grow into a role to aid others who are fresh into the tribe. No matter the age everybody who finds their tribe within the vampire community will learn through time just what that specific tribe offers.

They are bound to find others who know more, and have tips, insight, and hopefully long term support.

The Power of Archetypes

Nobody is 100% an Archetype, they are mere tools, pure types of personalities and what they do. But many archetypes are pretty common, the teacher for instance teaches others. The Leader leads the group, the healer heals those who are hurt and so on. And you'll notice that as you survive longer in a tribe and definitely within the vampire community that you'll find your place among others. A seat to take in a way, you might find that you want to teach others and protect them above the other things. Or you have skills that help organize things and seem to make you a natural leader.

Every vampire once was young and knew little, some had a family who had vampires or understood vampirism to the point that they could teach their kids. But not all had. 

And if one finds their way finally to the vampire community and one of the little tribes where one can get training one soon enough. Donors and black swans find hopefully a little tribe where it is safe too. Safety over all. 

We grow into our roles to end up keeping an eye on groups to make sure the new members are safe and learning. And all is fine. 

Archetypes are bound to shine through. Some will roll into leadership positions, other teachers, other researchers, other support networks and more. We are all connected in that weave of thinking.

Leaving the Tribe

Sadly reality is that not always a tribe is good for you. There are many reasons why a tribe might change. For instance if the tribe turns poison, if it works like a cult and tries to extinguish all own thought and personality to be replaced with "right-think." If a tribe automatically deems you wrong and judges you without knowing truly who you are. 

Or you might just not feel at home. What if you are a psy vampire in a tribe of medsangs. And you really don't have much touching grounds with their topics and vice versa. Then maybe it is better to find a tribe that is mixed, or has vampires of all types.

I highly suggest that, diversity is strength after all. Mixed Communities always seem to have an answer on situations.

Retaining Yourself

It is important that in the end you retain your own identity even if one shares connections with others in a tribe. You are an individual, with your own strengths and weaknesses and that can be added to said tribe. Nobody is perfect and within our communities and with our nature hissy fits can happen. Just remember to retain your own identity.

Safety

And that is just it, whatever you do, don't lose yourself and remember to be safe and smart. In the end we are responsible for our own actions.