What is a Vampyre, exactly?

What is a Vampyre Exactly?

Vampyres, Real Vampyres, Human Living Vampires, etc… All terms that describe basically the same thing… It is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is more prevalent than one would think should you never have been exposed to the idea before. There are tens of thousands of people around the world who identify as part of the vampyre subculture in one way or another. It may even be up into the hundred thousands at this point.

A Vampyre is an individual who feels on a deep intrinsic level that either all or part of their spirit or soul is imprinted with a vampyric essence for one reason or another. They are someone who believes all or part of their subtle body is vampiric in nature and most parts of their lives are influenced by this nature. They realize this part of them exists through what many refer to as their vampyre awakening. It’s no different than any other spiritual awakening, really… It just aligns with this particular path.

WHILE MANY PEOPLE ENCOUNTER SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THEIR AWAKENING STORIES, THIS VAMPYRIC NATURE CAN MANIFEST IN A MYRIAD OF WAYS.

The connection one feels to the mythological and media vampire through this phenomenon varies *greatly.* Obviously when it comes to me, I pull a great deal of inspiration from myth and media. As a witch, I’ve always been close to my mythology anyways, so my vampyric journey follows suit. I have no problem indulging in aesthetics. I believe my vampyric nature has allowed me to grasp confidence by the balls to be able to live the way I do with the attitude that I have.

However, just because many of us feel akin to the myth in some ways, it doesn’t mean people who identify as Vampyres believe themselves to be actual mythological creatures. Immortality is more about reincarnation or the Viking idea of fame & glory and continuing on in a spiritual nature rather than physical immortality. “Powers” that we might possess are more just metaphysical gifts that we may have an edge on. Vampyres seem to have proclivities for certain types of magick or skills that we gravitate towards. We know we’re not blood draining monsters stalking the night and killing people. Although, our community does attract crazies, so when you come across people who pretend to be such, they’re not legitimate members of our community. (it happens, a lot… another post for another day about that)

What you will hear about vampyres when you venture out into the subculture is not the whole story.

A widely accepted definition of the Vampyre that you’ll find in the public sphere is that they are someone who is energy deficient. They’re either not making enough pranic energy to sustain themselves or they have a higher turnover rate of pranic energy due to either an injury to their energetic body or their higher vibrational/evolved metaphysical state. To recover from said energy deficit, they need to feed on people’s energy to survive. It is treated as an affliction, a disease even. They find donors to feed directly from or they take ambient energy from crowded places, which is why you’ll find many frequent many events. You’ll find people who cling to the idea that they are incapable of survival without having a donor to feed from. This definition has been widely adopted into the public community sphere that you’ll find online.

This definition tracks for people for many reasons, and I’m not going to get too deep into the debate for or against this philosophy (for now) but I feel the need to mention that this is not the end all be all, nor universal paradigm within the entire Vampyre Community, contrary to popular belief. What is readily available or easily findable online is not the whole picture. Just keep that in mind as you explore this path.

What a Vampyre is, aside from deficit

In my opinion, being a Vampyre is more about the spirit you have within you than the need to feed. I’m not rejecting the notion that many vampyres need to feed on energy or blood to get by in a way that is unique to them at all. I feed as well and I know what happens to vampyres who do have a true deficiency when they don’t feed.

I do however think energy recharging due to society depleting us all the time is way more prevalent for everyone than people realize and people who end up researching vampyrism attach to this story of energetic need due to confirmation bias.

In my opinion, what makes a real vampyre is their spirit, their soul, the way they move, the way they carry themselves. It is a deep carnal and primal nature about them that can’t really be taught, but can be trained once awake and skills sharpened over time. To me, it’s less about the fact that someone needs to recharge their depleted energy but instead more about why they ended up reaching out to the vampyre current to do it.

While this is what I believe real Vampyres to be, I think the teachings that can be found throughout the Vampyre Community can be beneficial to everyone.

The Philosophy and Magick found within the Vampyre Community can be an incredible source of energy and empowerment. It can help broaden your thoughts when it comes to energy work, glamour, ritual, etc. Utilizing the nature of the vampire, the Vampyre Current, and embodying the archetype has been a style of LHP practice longer than the Vampyre Community as most know it has existed. The VC is a diverse community with many styles of practice and belief. There’s no one size fits all answer for what vampyres are & what they believe. Anyone who puts their mind to it can find value in what they find here.

My personal journey through this community has always been about translating things to a more eclectic witch path. I am a Vampyre and a Folk Witch. I don’t follow the left hand path completely nor do I align with any styles of vampyric practice I’ve found elsewhere… So, I’m cutting my own crooked path through the Vampyre Witch forest and trying to write down my thoughts along the way.