Date First Written: November 2013; Date Last Updated: November 2015
Why Chimera And What It Means
House of Chimeras is our system name. Meaning it is a collective name for our group and this body we share. Its something we chose out of the initial symbolism we found there, and over the years the symbolism and meaning in our system’s name has only grown and deepened as we‘ve discovered more about our group and about the chimera. The word house certainly has a load of symbolism and meaning. With the idea of our body and brain being a house and home for us as well as it implies a sense of family. Yet the chimera in our name specifically has a lot of symbolism to us even more so then the symbolism of a house. Due to the wealth of symbolism and personal meaning, the chimera has become more than just a word within our name. It has become a real symbol for us and a deeply meaningful symbol to us.
The image and name of the chimera comes from Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, the Chimera was described in story and depicted in artwork as a beast that melded three completely different animals together - a lion, a goat and a snake (or “serpent”). In the Iliad the Chimera was described as “a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire." In Hesiod's Theogony, the Chimera was referred to as a creature “who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire.” In various pieces art dated back to BCE - such as the bronze statue now called the Chimera of Arezzo, a famous red figure plate, a black figure drinking cup, and other artifacts - the Chimera is depicted with body of a lion, a second head of a goat, and a tail being a snake’s head and body. This image of the chimera has continued in some variation or another over into modern times. Plus the word “chimera” has become synonymous with any entity that is composed of more than kind of genetic material.
The symbolism of what the chimera is to us and how we have come to use the Chimera in our lives is hard to describe in short measure. The Chimera is like a totem for us in symbolizing us as a group and we see traits in the Chimera we wish to emulate in our life. The Chimera has become like a mascot to us in symbolizing us as a group. The Chimera has been fashioned into a fursona for us to use as an avatar within the furry fandom and to represent us in art. And the Chimera has been used to organize the members of our system. In summation, we have grown to use the Chimera in our lives in a number of way beyond just taking it up within our system name.
In anthropology, the word totem is used to describe the belief that an animal, planet, or object embodies or symbolizes a group of people related by blood and/or family relations. The belief and/or use of a totem to symbolize a group of related people is/was most often found in a variety of animalistic cultures around the world. In neopaganism, totems are sometimes seen as having certain traits and symbolism, sometimes with the person wishing to emulate those traits in their life or that they already have in their life. That the totem holds all legends, symbolism, metaphors, actual behavioral traits, and so on of that species. What we see in Chimera as a totem in both the anthropological sense and the neopagan sense as both are revenant to us. The Chimera is a totem for us as a group and we are a part of it in a sense. The Chimera is a creature of tolerance of diversity in many forms. The Chimera lives and breathes diversity for all of its life. With the Chimera there is a real sense of cohesion despite such differences within as well as showing that diversity can work. The Chimera is about coming together toward a common goal. Diversity among those the Chimera lives is especially prominent. For the Chimera shares a body with more then one mind. The heads of the Chimera are very different in nature and views yet the Chimera can live together as one. The Chimera can share their strengths and work around their faults as a team. The Chimera has accepted the differences the three animals have and in doing so have come to find something meaningful in the way the Chimera is. Taking what life has thrown at them and making it work. The Chimera has accepted living other and has grown to enjoy the positives and deal with the negatives. Even if the life for the Chimera is unconventional to others, the Chimera finds it life as usual. The Chimera is a merging of gender for while having mane of a male lion and horns of a male goat yet they are actually female. And so much more.
In a good part of society, a mascot is defined as a person, animal, or thing which is supposed to bring good luck to and/or symbolize a group or event. Often a mascot is used to reflect a desired trait or give a face to a group. What we see in Chimera as a mascot is as a face for us. We use the Chimera as a face for us in public and in personal use. The Chimera is an image to represent our group. We do sort of see the Chimera as a short of “good luck” charm in that we feel if we can keep our focus on trying to emulate the traits we seen in the Chimera such as cooperation and understanding, the can do well in life.
In the furry fandom, a fursona is generally defined as an animal character that is used to represent someone in the fandom. A fursona is sometimes seen as an online avatar, an original character, and/or a persona of the creator in an animal-like form depending on who you ask. For some the fursona is like an anthropomorphized and, to some extent personally idealized, face for the creator in an animalistic form. What we see in Chimera as a fursona is a character/image to represent us within the fandom. To represent us as a group in images in a number of ways, plus give us a face in the furry fandom as a member of it. As a fursona, we call our chimera character, either ChimeraPunk or GestaltChimera. With the former name being a play on “steampuck” and other genres and the latter being a nod to us being many people but due to being a group sharing a body we are “more.” As a character, ChimeraPunk’s sex is portrayed as ambiguously as possible and with hints at characteristics of both male and female. This was chosen due to our system is a fairly even mix of mostly male and female with a few non-binary people. This is also done to express our being transgender as well.
To help organize our system, we created these groups which note the current state of how our system goes about out lives. For this categorization we ended up using the imagery of the Chimera again. Using the fact the Chimera has three heads and how they combine to be part of the overall body as a template. Those of the Lion’s Head are the people are the ones who are most likely to lead the way as far as decisions outworld. They are the one’s who have a strong impulse to protect our system. They are the final decision makers over things like coming out to people, things concerning our job and classes, and so on. Its also their job to teach anyone who might front or want to front what the rules are of fronting and what is what. Those of the Goat’s Head are the people are the ones who are most likely to lead the way as far as decisions inworld. They are the ones who make sure the system rules are fair to all and also make sure all in the system are getting along. They are the one's in charge of having the final word on if our system is open to new members via walk-ins. Also when it comes to new or returning members its their job to get them to understand everything in the system. Those of the Snake’s Head are the people are the ones who are most likely to lead the way as far as decisions on spiritual matters. They also most often the priests/priestess of their religious beliefs. They are the counselors and guides for those in the system who need some advise or someone to talk to. They are also those who do experiments and observations concerning how our innerworld works.
So its in these ways Chimera effects and represented in our daily lives. A name for us as a group. A symbol to draw inspiration from. A totem to revere. A mascot to reflect us. A fursona to be creative with. And a way to organize us all to help keep us going. That is what Chimera means to us.
The image and name of the chimera comes from Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, the Chimera was described in story and depicted in artwork as a beast that melded three completely different animals together - a lion, a goat and a snake (or “serpent”). In the Iliad the Chimera was described as “a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire." In Hesiod's Theogony, the Chimera was referred to as a creature “who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire.” In various pieces art dated back to BCE - such as the bronze statue now called the Chimera of Arezzo, a famous red figure plate, a black figure drinking cup, and other artifacts - the Chimera is depicted with body of a lion, a second head of a goat, and a tail being a snake’s head and body. This image of the chimera has continued in some variation or another over into modern times. Plus the word “chimera” has become synonymous with any entity that is composed of more than kind of genetic material.
The symbolism of what the chimera is to us and how we have come to use the Chimera in our lives is hard to describe in short measure. The Chimera is like a totem for us in symbolizing us as a group and we see traits in the Chimera we wish to emulate in our life. The Chimera has become like a mascot to us in symbolizing us as a group. The Chimera has been fashioned into a fursona for us to use as an avatar within the furry fandom and to represent us in art. And the Chimera has been used to organize the members of our system. In summation, we have grown to use the Chimera in our lives in a number of way beyond just taking it up within our system name.
In anthropology, the word totem is used to describe the belief that an animal, planet, or object embodies or symbolizes a group of people related by blood and/or family relations. The belief and/or use of a totem to symbolize a group of related people is/was most often found in a variety of animalistic cultures around the world. In neopaganism, totems are sometimes seen as having certain traits and symbolism, sometimes with the person wishing to emulate those traits in their life or that they already have in their life. That the totem holds all legends, symbolism, metaphors, actual behavioral traits, and so on of that species. What we see in Chimera as a totem in both the anthropological sense and the neopagan sense as both are revenant to us. The Chimera is a totem for us as a group and we are a part of it in a sense. The Chimera is a creature of tolerance of diversity in many forms. The Chimera lives and breathes diversity for all of its life. With the Chimera there is a real sense of cohesion despite such differences within as well as showing that diversity can work. The Chimera is about coming together toward a common goal. Diversity among those the Chimera lives is especially prominent. For the Chimera shares a body with more then one mind. The heads of the Chimera are very different in nature and views yet the Chimera can live together as one. The Chimera can share their strengths and work around their faults as a team. The Chimera has accepted the differences the three animals have and in doing so have come to find something meaningful in the way the Chimera is. Taking what life has thrown at them and making it work. The Chimera has accepted living other and has grown to enjoy the positives and deal with the negatives. Even if the life for the Chimera is unconventional to others, the Chimera finds it life as usual. The Chimera is a merging of gender for while having mane of a male lion and horns of a male goat yet they are actually female. And so much more.
In a good part of society, a mascot is defined as a person, animal, or thing which is supposed to bring good luck to and/or symbolize a group or event. Often a mascot is used to reflect a desired trait or give a face to a group. What we see in Chimera as a mascot is as a face for us. We use the Chimera as a face for us in public and in personal use. The Chimera is an image to represent our group. We do sort of see the Chimera as a short of “good luck” charm in that we feel if we can keep our focus on trying to emulate the traits we seen in the Chimera such as cooperation and understanding, the can do well in life.
In the furry fandom, a fursona is generally defined as an animal character that is used to represent someone in the fandom. A fursona is sometimes seen as an online avatar, an original character, and/or a persona of the creator in an animal-like form depending on who you ask. For some the fursona is like an anthropomorphized and, to some extent personally idealized, face for the creator in an animalistic form. What we see in Chimera as a fursona is a character/image to represent us within the fandom. To represent us as a group in images in a number of ways, plus give us a face in the furry fandom as a member of it. As a fursona, we call our chimera character, either ChimeraPunk or GestaltChimera. With the former name being a play on “steampuck” and other genres and the latter being a nod to us being many people but due to being a group sharing a body we are “more.” As a character, ChimeraPunk’s sex is portrayed as ambiguously as possible and with hints at characteristics of both male and female. This was chosen due to our system is a fairly even mix of mostly male and female with a few non-binary people. This is also done to express our being transgender as well.
To help organize our system, we created these groups which note the current state of how our system goes about out lives. For this categorization we ended up using the imagery of the Chimera again. Using the fact the Chimera has three heads and how they combine to be part of the overall body as a template. Those of the Lion’s Head are the people are the ones who are most likely to lead the way as far as decisions outworld. They are the one’s who have a strong impulse to protect our system. They are the final decision makers over things like coming out to people, things concerning our job and classes, and so on. Its also their job to teach anyone who might front or want to front what the rules are of fronting and what is what. Those of the Goat’s Head are the people are the ones who are most likely to lead the way as far as decisions inworld. They are the ones who make sure the system rules are fair to all and also make sure all in the system are getting along. They are the one's in charge of having the final word on if our system is open to new members via walk-ins. Also when it comes to new or returning members its their job to get them to understand everything in the system. Those of the Snake’s Head are the people are the ones who are most likely to lead the way as far as decisions on spiritual matters. They also most often the priests/priestess of their religious beliefs. They are the counselors and guides for those in the system who need some advise or someone to talk to. They are also those who do experiments and observations concerning how our innerworld works.
So its in these ways Chimera effects and represented in our daily lives. A name for us as a group. A symbol to draw inspiration from. A totem to revere. A mascot to reflect us. A fursona to be creative with. And a way to organize us all to help keep us going. That is what Chimera means to us.