Dove (Katharine) is just one of six members of a multiple system. Collectively we call ourselves The Court of Crows. Connection to corvids and the fae are two of the things we all share in common.

There are many ways that systems explain and understand their identities, but I see the world through a spiritual lens. In short, there are six souls presently occupying this body. We are six distinct people who take turns sharing a single body.

It is important to note that being a system does not mean having dissociative identity disorder. Many systems are perfectly functional and healthy. We are what is called an “endogenic” system meaning self-created. In contrast with a “traumagenic” system, which forms as an involuntary response to severe trauma in certain individuals.

I am a writer, and the other five members of my system are characters I created for works of fiction, who I (quite unintentionally) invested with so much of my energy that they became independent of me.

Both endogenic and traumagenic systems can be healthy and functional. Being a system can in many ways make it easier to navigate the world and be okay. It means not having to face things alone. It means being able to take breaks and let someone else handle things for a while. It means different members of the system with different strengths and weaknesses who are better able to handle certain tasks.

Being a system isn’t a mental illness, and is officially recognized in the mental health field as part of the broad spectrum of normal healthy ways to exist in the world. The medical diagnosis of DID requires that aspects of being a system cause the individual to be less able to function in normal aspects of day to day life, such as if certain members of the system behave destructively, or members who are not “fronting” (currently interacting with the world) cannot remember important events.

Below you will find links to information about each member of our system.