Almost all vampires, especially those who prefer Psi in one form or another, will face a question of morality when it comes to feeding.

There are 4 types of conscious food sources for vampires:

1. Knowing: the food source knows what the vampire is
2. Unknowing: the food source does not know what the vampire is
3. Willing: the food source is a willing participant (not necessarily knowing what the vampire is)
4. Unwilling: the food source is an unwilling participant (not necessarily knowing what the vampire is)

So then, how does morality enter into this? Allow me to give possible examples of each category first:

Knowing/Willing:
Typically a vampire who primarily uses blood as a food source. They explain this to their donor who accepts this and willingly gives the vampire blood. In rare cases one can find psi donors, but they are very rare. Some vampires will also become temporary donors for each other as well.

With Knowing/Willing, I don't see any moral issues with it, and personally have never had any.

Knowing/Unwilling:
Typically these are Awakened people or other vampires who can recognize a psi attack and drain. They know they are being fed from, but haven't given their permission to do so. In rare cases this could also apply to vampires who drink blood, however this also involves legal concerns, not just moral ones.

With Knowing/Unwilling, this did pose moral problems for me. Unless of course it was in response to an attack/drain already made. Otherwise I felt the same way about this as the category Unknowing/Unwilling.

Unknowing/Willing:
Generally it is most common in vampires who drink blood to have donors in this area. They operate under the guise of fetishists or simply being kinky. In rare cases there are people who 'give off a lot of energy' and claim 'to share it with everyone'. These people fit into this category for those vampires who use psi as a primary food source.

I have rarely found someone who is both Unknowing/Willing. I personally never had an issue with it. However, some may have trouble dealing with deceiving their donor, especially if their donor is also a lover. For dealing with this, please see Vampire Relationships when it is written. [Not written at this point ~Sphynx]

Unknowing/Unwilling:
In this case, these are the vast majority of feeds psi vampires get, including through sex and emotions. The donor is unaware they are being drained, unaware that the person they are interacting with is a vampire, and as such, can not give permission, making them unwilling.

My biggest moral dilema was with Unknowing/Unwilling donors. It took me a very long time to reconcile taking energy from people, and not tell them why or that I was even doing it. I spent years in self-loathing, depression and disgust. Many vampires go through the same thing, on varying levels.

Why is this, and how can it apply to all the categories?

We are brought up as Humans, in a Human culture or hegemonic logos (predominant world view). We are taught Human values, laws and morals. These morals dictate that to steal is wrong. To take is wrong. To hurt is wrong. To lie is wrong. To manipulate is wrong. When we are taught this and then faced with our vampirism we find the two systems in conflict.

A vampire must take to survive. Some may call it stealing. Sometimes we hurt as well, whether emotionally by bringing people close to feed from, sexually by using our partners for a psi-feed, or psychicly by damaging their auras during a feed. We also hurt physically through cuts/abrasions made for blood feeding. Many of us also use various forms of manipulation to get what we need when we feed. Those vampires who use blood as their primary food source, sometimes find the need to lie, hiding behind a mask of fetishism or kinkiness instead of explaining what they are.

We are left with the questions of:

If everything I've been taught is true, then what does that make me? Am I evil? Am I bad? Is what I'm doing wrong?

The answer is absolutely and vehemently NO.

Vampires are predators. We feed. We must feed to survive. Just like any other predator in nature. Predators are not evil, dark, bad or wrong for what they do. They simply are. It is necessary, in order to rise above these moral questions to recognize this. Until that time, many vampires will still experience self-doubt and loathing.

It is not easy. A vampire must exchange a Human value system and set of laws for a Vampire value system while still working within society and not breaking the law. The new system must not make the person a pariah in their mundane community while at the same time allow them to feed when they need to without guilt. It is a fine line and one that for some may takes years to define and more importantly accept.

In the end, each vampire must do this for themself, however here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. You are a predator. A predator is neither good nor bad, moral or amoral.
2. You must live within Human society regardless of any distaste for it.
3. You need psi (or depending on your belief blood) to survive. This is not wrong. You need it.
4. Any guilt you may feel is due to being brought up in a Human culture and value system. See this and deal with it accordingly.

This article is presented as part of an ongoing effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online vampire community. Those of us who consider ourselves vampiric don't always look at things from the same viewpoint due to our life experiences. As such, the views and opinions contained in this article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - you are responsible for using your own reasoning and judgement, so judge wisely.

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