Vampire Sanguinarian

~*~*~Life of a Sanguinarian~*~*~

What is a Sanguinarian, you ask? Well, Sanguinarian is a term that was developed by Amy Krieytaz, owner of the Vampiric People's Resource Page, to describe those of us that have an affection and need for blood. A Sanguinarian is a Human Living Vampire, or HLV. We are people who have a biological need to ingest blood. We are human. We don't look any different from anyone else (except for those of us that are very fair complected due to sun-allergy.) We have jobs, families, children, regular friends, parents, and everything else that a non-sanguinarian has.

There are many concepts about why we have this need, compulsion or tendency.

Our own concepts range from a biological need to a spiritual need. Biologically we may need the blood to enhance our own deficiency in certain minerals, vitamins, cells or blood supply. Psychically it's possible that we need energy from other sources outside ourselves, because we have a deficiency in that area, possibly not able to provide our own, and we gain this energy from blood. Psychologically it could satisfy us with the closeness it provides, a merging, so to speak. Spiritually it's possible that we use it to gain prana, or spiritual energy or power from it.

We have no special supernatural powers (other than a heightened awareness of those around us, and heightened senses which makes life more acute) unless we choose to develop them within ourselves, just like an average person. We are not immortal (although some will try to disagree with me on this, that is just a fantasy.) We get ill, we weep, we bleed, we are born, and finally we die just like any other person. Our lives are not glamorous. There are only small portions of our kind who have chosen to live their lives completely as one would consider a "true vampire" (as in the movies.) Most of us look like your next-door neighbor we might BE your next-door neighbor and you'd never know. We go to Parent-Teacher meetings, raise our children, take care of our families, and the majority of us are not wealthy. We are normal, everyday persons. We eat we use the bathroom you get the jist!

Sarasvati describes it best:

"'Blood vampires' those self-defined HLV's whose main tendency is a compulsion, or need, to consume blood ... Blood vampires feel a physical craving to consume blood, and most do so on a regular basis ... Some blood vampires describe a life-long fascination with blood and blood-drinking, while others experienced an abrupt awakening of blood-craving which they may or may not be able to trace to a certain event"

"Blood-craving HLV's tend to regard their need for blood as a liability, sometimes an extremely severe one."

There is a big difference between categories of blood-drinking HLVs.

I'd like to start with the teenagers in this category. Teenagers have it rough during this time in their lives. They are going through hormonal changes, and they are becoming aware of who they are as people, defining themselves, and where they fit in with society. Some teenagers, who are extremely intelligent, creative, or have something that causes them to be different from other teenagers, have it a lot harder. They can be withdrawn from their peers, ostracized, tortured, or just not fit in somehow and be singled out because of it. Some of these kids are romanticists and dreamers; it's easier to deal with the pain and confusion by escaping from it. This escapism can take the form of playing any of the popular "Role Playing" games one of which is "Vampire the Masquerade" (by White Wolf) or by reading modern Gothic novels (for example, anything by Anne Rice or Chelsey Quinn Yarboro.) In some of these kids, it's possible that the concept of being all powerful and in control of their lives is a much better reality than feeling helpless and out of control. THESE are the teenagers who can be easily seduced by the fantasy of actually being a "Vampire."

These kids are NOT vampires. And one has to watch out for and take care of these misguided teens, lest they get themselves into a dangerous situation by believing themselves to be something they are not ultra-powerful, invincible, immortal. Many adults will take advantage of them, in their deluded, innocent, vulnerable state. Nowthere ARE teenagers who DO come out as Sangunarians. This need or desire for blood usually hits them at their puberty. They have no idea what to do with this desire, like they have no idea what to do with their hormones, at that stage. Many of them will also fall into the "fantasy vampire" themes, for a while. But their interest is MORE than just a passing phase, and is based on more than simply a need to gain control over their lives, feel a sense of self-worth or empowerment, or to fit in. These few kids eventually find their way through the fantasy and into the adult world of Human Living Vampires.

Another category that needs to be addressed early on in this essay is what Sarasvati rightly names the "Psychotic Vampire".

The psychotic "vampire" is a person with a severe psychotic illness, who believes themselves to either be a vampire, or who uses vampiric traits in their lust for cruelty.

Most Psychotic Vampires are the people who end up in the many diverse books and essays on "vampirism", as an example of what or who vampires are. While these mentally ill people may display a lust for blood, they are in no way True vampires. They are mentally ill persons, usually with abusive histories, who are not unlike Ted Bundy or Charles Manson, they just have an obsession with blood, and/or a delusion of being a vampire.

Sarasvati describes them thus:

"A psychotic vampire is a person who has a sociopathic mental illness that leads him (they are almost invariably male) to behave like a vampire, and sometimes to actually self-identify as one. In most cases, this identification is with folkloric/fictional vampires such as Dracula, Anne Rice's characters or the vampires in role-playing games. But more usually, psychotic vampires are simply obsessed with blood and will commit brutal crimes without remorse in order to see, taste, and feel it. They may also take on some of the trappings of Vamp[I]re Lifestylers by wearing capes, sleeping in coffins, filling their homes with skulls, bones, and souvenirs stolen from cemeteries, and so on, but they should not be confused with true Lifestylers."

These are people that impressionable persons should explicitly be aware of. They will be wherever groupings of persons who are into the vampiric or Gothic lifestyles tend to gather on the internet, in clubs, in religious groups, in vampiric groups. If you are new to the lifestyle, or are new to an area, it is simply common sense NOT to go any place by yourself, without a trusted friend, and with anyone you do not know. Do not allow yourself to be alone with ANYONE you do not know. Trust your gut-feelings about people you are usually right. Take any normal, maybe even further cautions that you would normally take when dealing with new people or a new environment. Don't walk around the streets around a club alone. Predators tend to lurk there, waiting for vulnerable victims. Just because YOU may be a vampire, does not mean that you are invulnerable to other predators! And remember what your mother taught you don't take "candy" from strangers!

Speaking of this topic, I would like to add that everything I've written here is from my own experiences, observations and beliefs. Not every vampire has the same views that I have. I tend to be a careful person, by nature. It's what's kept me alive in many sticky situations. Some vampires will even disagree with my views and that's fine. Everyone is different. Don't take what ANYONE (even myself) says as Law. Do your own research. Study from many people. Listen to your own heart. You are the only one who truly has your own answers.

The next category of vampires is average HLVs.

Most of the HLVs that I have met and/or talked to have one thing in common. They are good, normal folks, and come from all walks of life. Some are professors, some work in the social fields or in medicine, some are artists or musicians, still others are simply working class people. How do they appear?

Well, some look like professors, some look like social workers, some look like doctors or nurses, some are gothic, some live their lives like the traditional American concept of the Vampire are getting what I'm getting at?

There is NO WAY to tell if someone is a vampire, blood, psychic or otherwise. Most vampires keep their lifestyle to themselves, or maybe sharing it with a few close friends. Otherwise, there are a few clubs specifically for vampires, in many major cities. However fun these may be, my previous warning standsand a lot of these clubs are also patronized by vampire wanna-bees, and people who like to think they're "vampire hunters" (I love Buffy, too, but PLEASE!) These so-called "vampire hunters" COULD form some danger, if only from their delusional nature, so stay precautious. Then there are the "blood-donors". DO NOT EVER EVER EVER drink from a stranger, under ANY circumstances. I will cover this in my next article on Feeding. Let's just say, for now, AIDS and Hepatitis would be no fun. And the last thing will be running into people who want you to "change them" (they have read too much Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and such.) Laugh at them, be kind to them, let them down easily and walk quickly away.

~*~*~Safe Blood Feeding~*~*~

The most important thing about being a Sanguinarian is the fact that you must have blood. You probably don't need it to survive, per se, as you're a Human Living Vampire, but it gives you the energy or high that you need to fulfill yourself. Some Sangunarians actually have severe blood cravings, and the physical illnesses (cramping, lethargy, withdrawal) that can be associated with it. So if you are going to feed, and if you are a Sang you will, make sure that you practice safe, sane, and consensual blood feeding practices.

Lets start with Consensual.

In light of the recent article I posted about the boy who killed an old woman in Wales in order to "become immortal" (another insane mortal trying to pretend about vampirism) I think that consensual feeding is a very important topic.

Lets define Consensual: The American Century Dictionary defines Consent as "1. Express willingness; agree 2. Voluntary agreement; permission.

To feed off of ANYONE who is non-consenting is the equivalent of rape. You will face the penalties of anyone who attacks another human beingspecifically you WILL go to jail or prison.

Some people in the SM Community have contracts that they insist that their partners sign. It's an agreement that they have discussed and agreed upon for the specific amount of "play" and the specific types of activities they will and will not be involved in. I have yet to see this in the Vampire community, however that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. However, for this article, I suggest that when you have a person who is willing to be your donor that you sit down with them and discuss the various means that you will use to feed off of them, what will and will not be involved (some people also add sexual intimacy with their feeding, and this should also be delineated.) Then both of you sign the contract and each keep a copy of it. This could save you some serious legal problems should your donor not be in the emotional or mental state of mind to deal with your feeding.

Which brings us to SANE.

GET TO KNOW YOUR DONOR. If you decide to pick someone up in a bar/club and bring him or her home and feed from them, you will get what you deserve. There are many out there who have the wrong impression about what vampirism isthanks to books and fantasy and role-playing games. You will be confronted with those who will want to become a vampire, but to add to that, you will also be confronted with those who want you to feed off of them or in other words, be a donor. If you don't take your time to weed out the weirdoes, masochists, role players, and fantasy addicts, you could end up with a big issue on your hands. You could end up in jail (teenagers are especially prone to the vampire scene, and if your donor isn't psychologically or emotionally able to handle you feeding they could get you in trouble for sexual abuse or an attack.) You could end up with AIDS, hepatitis, or any number of blood-born diseases. You could be attacked yourself.

The other half of being SANE is to NOT FEED WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE! And MAKE SURE YOUR DONOR IS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE! Many numbers of things occur while people are on drugs or alcohol, and people are more prone to do things that they are normally under control of. If you're wasted, what is to keep you from attacking your donor in your passion? If he or she is wasted, how do you know they are really consensual? Also, the donor may over react if under the influence. Finally we get to the most important, to me that is.

SAFE BLOOD FEEDING PRACTICES

Once you have gotten to know your donor well, spent time with them, explained things to them, talked things over with them, answered their questions and addressed their fears, and made a contract, you will want to go get tested for diseases. Since AIDS has a "window period" (may not show up for) of about six months, if you do this at the beginning of your new relationship (yes, this is a relationship, even if you're not partners) by the time you've gotten to know each other your results should be in. Don't just get tested for AIDS. Get tested for Hepatitis as well. Hepatitis is becoming more and more rampant these days. Don't feed off of anyone who uses intravenous drugs (needles) or is having unprotected or anonymous sex.


Punctures

Probably one of the safer means of blood drawing, but it does not yield great quantities, so it is not often used. Commonly used are the sewing needle, safety pins, and metal skewers found in every household. These tools are used to quickly prick the skin; usually finger and applying pressure pushes out toe tips, and then the blood. On the safer and more sanitary side of things, some choose to use Auto lances and small, disposable lancets, for these purposes. The prick is quicker, less painful, and often yields slightly more blood than the average safety pin. These are spring loaded devices that are used by diabetics for testing blood sugar levels, and are available quite inexpensively at most drug stores.

Drawing

This has been considered the safest way to acquire larger quantities of blood, but should only be used by professionally trained persons. These measures require access to medical equipment such as hypodermic needles and sharps, vacutainers, tubing, etc. I will refrain from expounding on this topic, because the only people who have access to such equipment legally are those who are trained to use them. In order for the average person to acquire such things, they would need to be stolen, and the hosts of this site do not condone such illegal acts. The only other means to obtain such things would be to utilize a farm supply or feed shop, where they often sell medicines and syringes for use by farm animal owners for their livestock. Again, I would not encourage anyone to proceed in this line of blood drawing unless one is fully trained and competent.

http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/sd-feedingfaq1.html

Author: [Mailto: Sarah Dorrance] 1999

BITING

Not the safest or most painless way to obtain blood. It can be very sensual to receive a hickey (less sensual to give it, if you are trying to get blood through the skin - you end up sucking so hard that you give yourself tongue burn). Breaking the skin, however, hurts. If you are going to use this method, be sure you have used mouthwash beforehand to minimize germs (I used to recommend brushing the teeth, but this can often cause bleeding gums, which makes swallowing blood very unsafe). Keep a first aid kit handy. The best way to bite someone is in the middle of sex, or sexual foreplay; you'll get a higher endorphin count, and your donor will not notice the pain as much. The neck is the most easily accessed place, and it is very sensitive, but the thighs are more practical in that they can be covered and are at least as sensitive as the neck. If your donor has breasts, they can be a good target area as well; although I don't recommend biting the nipple hard enough to draw blood. Go slow and gradually build up sensation. Then, after you are done with feeding (and sex, if this is in the middle of sexual activity) clean up with a local antiseptic.

You won't get much more than a few drops this way.

If you place your hickey on the carotid artery, you will get a large amount of energy, and you may also cause your partner to slowly asphyxiate. Be careful.

Asphyxiation is an advanced technique and most SM practitioners consider it edge play (most vanilla people consider it weird). You can get somebody off with asphyxiation, adding orgasmic energy and frantic struggle for air to your pool of energy taken, but if you don't know what you are doing you can cause brain damage. Do not strangle your partner for more than 30 seconds at a time. I know it doesn't sound like very long, but trust me, counting to thirty slowly is a very long time indeed, esp. for the person who is fighting for breath. After thirty seconds to a minute (one minute is REALLY not recommended) your partner will begin to pass out for lack of air.

CUTTING

Use a very sharp knife, a lancet, a scalpel, or possibly a very sharp razor. Do not use a dull implement or an exacto knife. This hurts! The sharper the blade, the better. Be careful not to cut any actual veins or arteries - you don't need a whole pint of blood, and you don't want to have to clean up the mess that spurting blood invariably causes. Many vampires think they need a lot more blood than they do, esp. when hungry. Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. Visualize the spurting jets as you drain your victim of energy, but keep it on the astral level. Your physical body is just going to excrete the stuff anyway, mostly undigested; you're feeding off the release of the energy, and a little cut will work just as well. Again, the best way to get a lot of energy is if this is part of erotic play. If you practice SM fear may be very well part of desire - esp. if your donor is afraid of blades.

You can trace very fine lines on the back with a blade, and get a certain amount of blood to rise to the surface in the form of bleeding welts. I did this once with a pair of sewing scissors. Don't dig any deeper if this is what you are doing.

Avoid vital organ areas.

If you are trying to minimize pain, the best way is to get your donor to cut him/herself on the wrist (this is do-able without serious blood loss - I've done it myself, and avoided veins and arteries quite nicely). Or maybe the ankle. This will also minimize the fear. The best time for this is after coitus, when the body is still flooded with endorphins and your donor is relaxed. Hopefully not falling asleep. It makes for a very intimate, cuddly sort of feeding.

It is much better to use a sharp, fresh lancet, scalpel, or razor blade on an area of skin that isn't near any veins or arteries or internal organs. I cut on the back, the upper thigh, the chest, or (very occasionally and very carefully!) the hand or certain parts of the neck. Cutting deeply is unnecessary. What you are trying to do is cause the equivalent of a shaving nick. It doesn't hurt to accidentally cut yourself while shaving, does it? And you can get a lot of blood if you don't immediately stanch the flow. Making two small, shallow cuts in an X shape prevents the wound from closing immediately and allows you to get more blood from the wound, but it also increases scarring risk. Never make a circular cut, the skin in the middle of the circle might die once it has been cut off from normal blood flow, and fall off. Ick. (Ouch.) Most cuts of this nature close up in six minutes or so, although an X shaped cut sometimes stays open as long as fifteen or twenty minutes. Remember that you are only trying to get the equivalent of one mouthful of blood, at most. If you start to feel dizzy or queasy, stop drinking, because you have reached your limit.


JABBING

As in pins and needles. If you get into piercing at all, this is a great way to get little tiny amounts of blood. (Sometimes more, if you have hit a capillary) If you are a trained phlebotomist, then it is safe for you to use a syringe and needle to remove a small amount of blood from your donor's veins, but I discourage this unless you have actually been trained to do it. It's a painless technique, but it can backfire, and untrained practitioners can cause serious damage (a nasty hematoma being the least you can expect if something goes wrong!) (Great reason to take night school courses in medical assisting...)

The safest way for the amateur to get blood is with the use of a Soft Touch device (thanks for pointing this out to me, Tamazin! :)) It's how diabetics monitor their blood sugar. It's pretty idiot proof. I don't find them very erotic but they have their uses. Have first aid supplies handy (bandages/plasters, disinfectant). Use them after feeding. I don't use disinfectant before feeding because it tastes disgusting, and I am guilty of not always using it afterwards, and I haven't seen a wound get infected yet, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Be ready to use direct pressure, pressure points, or even a tourniquet if an accident happens (unlikely if you are avoiding veins and arteries). If you don't know the procedures for stopping a heavy blood flow, take a first aid course.

( note: Vodka works as an emergency disinfectant if you've run out of legitimate disinfectant. But don't forget to get a real disinfectant as well.)

Vitamin E oil or lotion helps reduce the risk of scarring.

( note: I can vouch for Vitamin E oil: 28,000IU strength is strong enough to get rid of my smallpox vaccine scar, and I got that scar over 30 years ago!)

WHIPPING

If you have a masochistic donor, great! Whipping is one of the best ways to get LOT AND LOTS of endorphins and energy release. You'll tire yourself out a little, but the energy will be more than replaced if the scene goes well. Discussion of whipping techniques, and ways to make an SM scene great, have taken up entire books, so I'll just restrict myself to how to draw blood. Use a rubber whip, or a braided cat with steel tips at the end, or possibly a cane or a really vicious crop. These are by far the nastiest of the common toys. Signal whips are also pretty efficient, and the sound of a signal whip usually inspires terror in the heart of even the stoutest of bottoms, so you'll get some adrenaline out of it too. (Signal whips were originally designed to motivate sled dogs. By making a really scary noise.)

You can either build the scene slowly, gradually increasing sensation, or you can start fast and nasty and get nastier. It is really up to you and the bottom. Both methods have their merits. The usual rule of courtesy is that the bottom has the right of veto, and can stop you at any time, so keep this in mind. You don't want to be a date rapist, after all. And whipping to the point of drawing blood HURTS. Most bottoms are not strong enough to find this erotic. It takes either a lot of natural endurance, or a lot of training, to get a bottom to endure a seriously severe whipping.

You will want to immobilize your bottom very well indeed, because s/her WILL fight to get away even if s/he really wants to be there; and you will almost certainly need a gag, preferably a ball gag although if you have nothing else you can make do with a wadded up handkerchief of scarf in the moth (do not cause your bottom to asphyxiate, and watch out for hyperventilation).

PICKING SCABS

This is gross. I am sure there are some people out there who do this. My only response to this is: yuck.

ANIMAL BLOOD

if you are a city dweller and you don't like the idea of bleeding your pets (I know I don't) your best bet is to eat really juicy rare steaks. Which are not always the best thing for your health, as there is a slight risk of food poisoning. Drinking the blood from the package is not only dangerous, it's also really gross. I don't recommend it. If you live in the country and can slaughter or drain your own livestock, more power to you. You can get a lot more blood this way, if you need volume, and you can be sure of where it came from, which has its health merits.

Hunting is an even better way to get lots of animal blood, and I personally think it is more ethical to hunt your dinner than it is to buy it from a factory farm.

I prefer human blood myself.

MENSTRUAL BLOOD

Some people get a thrill from it; I personally think it's yucky. It sometimes has a pleasant musky odor, but the texture is too gloppy and reminiscent of ectoplasm for my tastes; the actual taste is very pungent, and I find it unpleasant. Also, the energy is totally different. Usually it is all the negative stress that has been stored up for the past month - the nutrients in the uterine wall do not make up for the huge amount of PMS that is being shed. Yuck. Why bother. Do you know that menstruating women have been known to make souffles go flat and curdle milk, with their pheromones? My anthropology teacher bragged about her tendency to do this, in a classroom discussion. This should tell you something about the nature of the energy.

If you want something raw and sexual and intimate, why not just go for the fluids that are usually produced during oral sex? They have lots of energy in them too, although it isn't blood.

FEEDING ON YOUR OWN BLOOD

This a contradiction in terms. If you crave blood, not energy, you don't have much to lose, but you'll expend energy by cutting yourself. OTOH, if it's only blood you want, go for it. At least this way you are assured of a regular donor.

SAFE SEX

As for safer sex - for God's sake use a condom, and put gloves on if you are fisting your partner and have cuts on your hand. And use a barrier with oral sex if you have cuts in your mouth but still want to perform oral sex anyway. (Saran Wrap is much nicer than a dental dam - thinner, and it doesn't taste as yucky. It does NOT make a good condom, alas) Make sure your condom is latex, not sheepskin, and is lubricated with nonoxynol-9. During sex, don't just save the condom for when you are just starting to come (if you are male), as men are wont to do. Pre-cum has sperm in it too, and besides, if you have a sore on your "love rocket" it won't make any difference how close you are to coming if it comes in contact with infected vaginal fluid (of course, if you have a sore, what are you doing having sex? Go to the doctor! Sheesh!) All this you probably know.

OTHER SAFETY TIPS

As for other forms of sickness flu bugs, etc -

Don't feed from a partner who is sick. Not only will the energy be polluted (and weak) but your partner needs all the energy s/he has to get well. Let your partner heal up first. Feed your partner things that boost the immune system and general energy level: ginseng, garlic, ginger, goldenseal, Echinacea, damiana, cayenne pepper.

(Hopefully your partner's chicken soup is not spiked with all of these things at once. Yech!)

Don't feed while YOU are sick. You might spread your germs, and besides, you'll spend more energy feeding than you will recover while eating.