^ Host - Astraea

<p>Sep 29, 2014 02:11 PM</p>

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http://astraeasweb.net/plural/glossary.html#median<--- Links within this note section found by clicking link to Astraea's original source)</p>

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Host - 1. Term formerly given to the person who is at the front the most -- also called a presenting self, the one that the world-at-large thinks "you" are. Some multiples still consider it derogatory, because it originated as a psychiatric term involving the belief that all multiplicity involved a single, "real person" with a number of parasitic "alters" -- the classic or MPD setup, in which the "alters" were expected eventually to integrate with the host, becoming a single person. Sometimes the core person, if any, is also the host, but not always. More about this in the FAQ. However, the term itself is less derogatory than the misapprehension that all multiples must include or stem from a host personality. (Psychiatric)</p>

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2. (also hosting) Among some multiples, otherkin, and some who have fictives or soulbonds, or historical persons in their group, 'host' or 'hosting' have an entirely different meaning -- either a person who has others as guests, or in the old Biblical sense of an entire collective, not any particular person (the heavenly host). If you're not sure of its usage in a plural group you encounter, ask for clarification. (Spiritualism, neopagan)</p>