#tulpamancy

[zetathedraconequus]

Ever just see somebody talking to themselves in public?

Wonder what's going on in there?

Mumbling? Tics? Reciting lines? Thinking of a memory?

Or on the other side.

Talking to headmates? Alters? Imaginary friends?

You'll never know.

I like to call this phenomenon

Schrödinger's Chat

[bah-pearl-cookie]

there's something so beautiful in knowing that if you want to be a system, you probably are. and if you're not a system, you can become one. it's really that simple no catch

[eeveecraft]

It is just hilarious to me how the whole willomancy thing has exploded so hard that there is a dedicated asshole anon for it. It is insane to watch in real time this community speedrunning all the Tulpamancy community drama. Like, congrats, you became the thing you split from, just with different terminology and less resources. Hope it was worth it.

7-13-2025

[felixcosm]

I love that there are non-traumagenic systems, like people who decided to introject their favorite characters or tulpamancers who created their own headmates.

There are systems out there who exist purely for the joy of being a system, how cool is that??

[isuggesttulpa]

This is what tulpamancy feels like

character who died and whose body immediately got possessed by a (benevolent, on-person-who-died's side) entity and now the ghost and possessed body go on a quest. benevolent possessor entity doing this so dead person's body doesn't start decomposing btw

[old-daemon-farts]

Try daemonism before tulpamancy

*pats the seat next to me* Come here and take a listen real quick.

If you are considering creating a headmate to help with

Loneliness

Depression

Stress

Life issues

Anything else related to support...

You'd be better off finding your daemon. Why? Because daemons are typically built for this; this is their specialty. They exist already as a part of you! They've lived your life, seen your struggles, and understand who you are and where you are coming from. They feel everything you feel, see everything you do, and know everything about you. They know what you need.

Another benefit? They can be their own unique individual while still remaining intrinsically tied to you, your life, and your well-being without the risk of being incompatible or your self-interest not aligning. Daemons are a part of you, so they go with the flow of our life without wanting major control or influence. Two sides to the same coin. A feather attached to the wing...

Another nice thing about daemons is when you aren't interacting they merge right back into you. They continue to exist just as they did prior to separation and will continue to be there until you call again. The less you interact the rustier the connection becomes, but you don't risk losing them. They may come back with new personalities or names if a long enough time has passed (because *everyone* changes with time, daemons are no exception) but they are still your daemon.

They still are there wanting the best for you. Wanting you to succeed, to thrive, to survive. They are our built-in support systems. Before creating and hoping to influence a headmate to be the answer, look into meeting your daemon first. See if they can provide what you need. Besides, it's often a far easier process than creating a fully separate headmate from scratch (in my opinion, at least).

Never heard of daemons? Check out Daemonism 101

[moonpool-system]

Created systems are important and an essential part of the community! Created systems are amazing and have helped forward plural understanding so much. We're lucky to have fronting guides written by created systems, communication guides written by created systems. Intentionally created systems are impressive! Accidentally created systems are unique! Created headmates are as much their own people as they want to be, they have their own autonomy and deserve to be respected. Solely created systems are cool! Mixed origin created systems are awesome! Mainly-traumagenic systems with created headmates are important! Psychologically-based created systems, spiritually-based ones, and every system in between are wonderful 💙👥

Created systems are still multiple. It's okay to want to be plural or to have become plural because of creation methods. Whether it be through psychological or spiritual methods, if one claims existence/personhood and wishes to be seen as multiple/separate, they have a right to that no matter what.

[neonspectrumdreams]

Systems with hundreds or thousands of alters are valid.

Nonhuman alters are valid.

Fictives are valid.

Even the research literature on DID has documented these things. But even if you're not traumagenic - YOU ARE STILL VALID.

[kankoshi-san]

Y’all think we should create some headmates just to spite anti willos cause that would be hilarious

(Haven’t done it before but kinda want to)

[theshorekeepers]

Rift.

An umbrella term for anyone "in-between" being a system / plural, and being a singlet, who's uncomfortable with labeling themselves as either of said two at the same time. Mainly meant for "work in progress" willogenics who don't feel like calling themselves plural just yet, but anyone who fits the definition can use it.

Since the original flag is pretty bright, I also made a more faded one, as seen above. Too low on energy to make anything else (including image description.) help would be appreciated.

[thepatchworksys]

actually you know what . appreciation post bc as a traumagenic system who splits involuntarily, frequently, and with a lot of less developed alters, i look up tulpamancy and willogenic practices and it helps US !!! it helps those nondeveloped headmates to feel more like people!!! so!!!!! thank you for that!!!

NO SYSCOURSE ON THIS POST ILL KILLLL YOUUUU

[prairiemountain]

Don't panic if you can't feel your headmates. A day of them being gone doesn't mean that it was all fake. Don't let the doubt get ya

[abadbutsadcollective]

Anyway ignoring that trainwreck of a post!

I love created plurality. The tulpa community specifically has made so many guides that are helpful to systems of all types! Soulbonds were one of our main introductions to plurality and we have so many in our system. Daemonism is cool as hell and helps one of our headmates immensely. Any other created system of any type too--you're all so cool and it's amazing you share the plural community with us.

[caflecthegoblin]

Host talking here, just wanted to say this because, somehow, people are still pushing the Tulpamancy=Tibetan practice myth, and it needs addressing.

Myth/oversimplification: Tulpamancy is, or is based on a Tibetan Buddhist closed practice, therefore tulpamancy is bad because something something cultural appropriation.

Fact: Tulpamancy, or at least the word tulpa, is very loosely inspired by a single chapter in a 1929 book on mysticism in Tibet written by a French Theosophist named Alexandra David Neel, who visited in the 1920s and wrote about a time she supposedly learned about tulpas and even took a crack at creating one (and spending 6 months destroying it after it supposedly became too powerful and turned malicious, hence the tulpa stereotype of the 'imaginary friend turned evil!').

However, there are no contemporary sources, nor sources written by any actual Tibetans or Buddhists (and it's not just a matter of their practices not being written down, you CAN find many texts on esoteric practices of Tibetan Buddhism if you bother to look) to suggest it was an actual practice in those days. David-Neel is generally well-regarded among Buddhists of today for her early look into Tibetan culture, but in the end she is still an outsider looking in.

Most agree that the term as David Neel used it, was most likely a misunderstanding of the term SprulPa, which refers to the earthly bodies that Buddhas manifest as to teach those who have not achieved Nirvana. There might also be a bit of the word Tulku, which refers to individuals who are recognised as the reincarnation of a past teacher, Bodhisattva or other enlightened being (like the Dalai Lama). And yes, there are some Indian Buddhist sources that talk about 'mind-made bodies', but this is less referred to as an ability one can attain with training and practice, and more a power that Buddhas have.

It also holds some vague similarity to the Yidam, a sort of meditational focal point in the form of a Buddha, Bodhisattva or other Tibetan deity or spirit, that the practitioner visualises in vivid detail and then identifies themselves with, in an attempt to internalise their qualities and attributes (wisdom from Manjushri, good health from the Medicine Buddha, compassion from Green Tara, etc). This is considered a higher esoteric practices amongst Buddhists, though not a closed one: if you've done the necessary preliminary practices and been empowered and taught by a Lama or Guru to do the practice, it doesn't matter if you're Tibetan or not. Many practitioners will choose particular Yidams they focus on for whatever reason, and may refer to them as 'my Yidam', but it's important to note that such deities are agreed upon to already 'exist' with the only creation on the practitioners part being the mental image of them, rather than being created wholecloth by the practitioner.

There are older Western practices similar to tulpamancy, such as the Theosophical concept of the Thoughtform, which is described as simple ethereal objects that emanate from one's aura, generated by thoughts and feelings. Or the Fylgja, a sort of spirit of Germanic folklore that is a projection of one's own soul, often taking an animal form or a form of the opposite gender of their respective human. However in neither case is the entity, be it a thoughtform or a Fylgja, considered to be a separate, sentient being in the way a modern tulpa is.

So as far as I am able to glean, the modern practice of tulpamancy is just that: a modern idea. And as loathe as I am to say it, it seems like it mostly just originated from the /x/ board on 4Chan. Some well-read channer probably heard about David Neel and her supposed tulpa experience and decided the word would work great for this concept as they devised it.

Hope this clears things up for people, and helps us get one step closer to finally doing away with this whole myth about Tulpamancy being some ancient Tibetan mystical practice, and that the term is a bad word because of that.

[felixcosm]

Some pro-endo reminders 💟 Free to use/steal!