THE ORIGINS of PRANIC VAMPYRISM
by Father Sebastian, with revisions by Michelle Belanger

The term "pranic vampyrism" was first used in 1998 by Michelle Belanger and myself to describe an alternative and possibly more politically correct term for psychic vampyrism. Of course, everyone is welcome to interpret things according to what they have learned and first impressions are very important. But I would like to shed some light on the origins of this term and what it actually means.

A pranic vampyre is someone who feeds upon "prana", which is the Sanskrit term for life energy. Several systems have a negative interpretation of the term "psychic vampire" and it was hoped that by introducing the term "pranic vampyre" into the community, we could avoid confusing real vampyres with the emotional leeches suggested by the term "psychic vampire". Pranic vampyres were also distinguished from blood vampyres or Tantric vampyres, who typically feed through sex and sex magick.

In the Strigoi Vii system, pranic vampyre is still used to describe someone who feeds upon life energy from other humans. We are not sure when the definition of the term was changed for many outside of our group, but members of my Order, House Kheperu and the Synod are investigating why this may have happened.

For example, within the Vampire Church's path of vampyrism the term "pranic vampire" is used to refer to a sexual and blood vampire. Which we are not saying is incorrect, it is a drastically different definition than what was originally intended. Further, it departs radically from the actual definition of "prana" which means "life, breath, energy" but certainly not "blood" or "sexual fluids". In truth pranic vampyres have nothing to do with blood. From the basic definition of "prana", pranic vampyres feed only on energy and this can be included in Tantric Communion (feeding), but does not necessarily have too. In Strigoi Vii, where the term originated, a pranic vamp mainly intended as the same thing as a psi vamp.

Of course there are many feeding preferences and in the Strigoi Vii system we call them "communion," since we believe the term "feeding" is disrespectful to the vessel. We believe all vamps have the same basic needs, but each may draw energy depending on the method that best suits them. As in humans some cannot digest meat, while others have a problem with dairy products, the same goes with vampyric communion. Our "spiritual metabolism" is similar but what works for one Strigoi Vii, may not work well for the next.

The following are some simple examples of various feeding terms:

Communion - feeding
Pranic - general psi feeding
Tantric - sexual feeding
Sanguine - physical blood feeding
Tactile - touch feeding
Sympathetic - distance using a conduit
Surface - a light feed, more like a nibble
Deep - when you penetrate deeply into the astral body of your vessel.
Mal'occhios - when you feed by eye contact or sight.
Astral - distance feeding through astral projection
Ambient - feeding from a crowd of people.

Remember, this is simply from the Strigoi Vii path and point of view, but we would like everyone to know the origins and original meaning of the term.