In traditional mythology and folklore, and in modern fantasy fiction, shapeshifting is the ability of a being to physically transform into another form or being, either as an inherent faculty of a mythological creature, or by means of magic. The concept is of great antiquity, and may indeed be a human cultural universal, present in the oldest forms of totemism or shamanism, it is present in the oldest extant literature and epic poems, where the shape-shifting is usually induced by the act of a deity; it persisted into the literature of the Middle Ages and the modern period, and it remains a common trope in modern fantasy, children's literature and works of pop culture. By far the most common form of shape-shifting is therianthropy, the transformation of a human being into an animal. More rarely, the transformation may be into a plant or object, or into another human form. Wikipedia [ - ]

In traditional mythology and folklore, and in modern fantasy fiction, shapeshifting is the... [ + ]