Maybe they're a reflection of what we believe they should be. I grew up believing in all that spirituality. So maybe that's why my "alters" are like that, playing the role of a spirit guide or angel. Often they'll say that they're protecting me. It's not all so pretty. I used to have at least one who was very evil and hateful, saying the most hateful things. There was a period in my life, maybe a few months where that thing would literally cause slashes on my body. Nothing too serious. Usually a long red mark. Sometimes they would bleed. A few left permanent scars. For some reason they would usually occur while taking a shower, or just prior/afterward. The weird thing was that a lot of time I knew for certain I did absolutely nothing to myself. A few times I saw the red mark forming right before my eyes. It got to the point where that thing said he was going to kill me. He even said when it was going to happen/ Thankfully the good "alters" showed up in large numbers in my life and started protecting me from that beast.