5 Signs You’re an Old Soul

What does it mean to be an old soul?

The term old soul is often shared within spiritual communities, but what does it actually mean?

Old souls tend to experience life differently. You may feel emotionally deep, highly sensitive, intuitive, or disconnected from the superficial pace of modern life. Many old souls describe feeling “different” from an early age, as though they see the world through a completely different lens.

In this post, we’ll explore 5 signs you may be an old soul and why deeply sensitive people often relate to this experience so strongly.

If you’ve found your way here, there’s likely already an intuitive knowing within you. Perhaps you’ve always felt lost in life, struggled with shallow conversations, needed more solitude than others, or felt overwhelmed easily by people and environments around you.

From a spiritual perspective, old souls are souls who have experienced many lifetimes on Earth.

We incarnate in different realities and bodies so the soul can evolve, grow, and remember its true nature. And whether you call it God, the Divine, Source, or the Universe, consciousness fragmented itself into individual sparks in order to experience life through countless perspectives. I often think of Earth as a kind of “game of separation” - a place where we temporarily forget our wholeness so we can eventually return to it consciously.

So, our soul exists beyond this single human experience, and while the mind often struggles to comprehend it, our true nature is multidimensional. We are far more expansive than the limited identity we’re taught to believe we are.

Part of the challenge of being an old soul is that modern life can feel emotionally overwhelming and deeply disconnected from what truly matters. Many highly sensitive people and empaths feel exhausted by the noise, pressure, and superficiality of the world around them because, at a soul level, they crave depth, meaning, authenticity, and connection.

Earth is filled with many different souls having many different experiences. Some souls are newer to human life, while others have journeyed through many incarnations. Being an old soul does not make someone spiritually superior, it simply means the soul carries a deeper sense of wisdom, emotional awareness, and inner knowing gathered across lifetimes.

And usually, you can feel it.

Being an old soul often comes with a subtle but undeniable recognition deep within yourself, even if it’s difficult to explain to other people. That’s why I’m sharing these five signs below: to help you better understand your sensitivity, your emotional depth, and the unique experience of being an old soul in this lifetime.

1. You feel homesick for something you can’t remember

This is a really big feeling for old souls. It’s almost as if there’s a sadness and longing inside us that can’t fully be understood in this reality.

I remember feeling this deeply back in 2022, after a difficult year involving an unhealthy relationship I had just about managed to escape from, a toxic living situation that completely frazzled my nervous system, and moving back in with my parents. It was probably the lowest I’ve ever felt.

At the time, I was trying to figure out where to live, and I just had this deep longing in the pit of my stomach for a place I couldn’t see or find. It brought me so much grief because I didn’t yet understand what I was feeling. I had no idea I was longing for a home that didn’t exist in this lifetime - it felt like a place from another reality that didn’t exist here on Earth.

This is actually a really common feeling for old souls.

We can feel deeply connected to other incarnations because our soul carries memories and experiences from other lifetimes that can almost feel close enough to touch, as though they exist just beyond the veil. It may show up as remembering a planet filled with water or light, or an incarnation that felt deeply loving and connected compared to the reality we’re currently living in.

This is why I feel so many people connect to the Avatar films. The planet Pandora feels like such a beautiful place, filled with deep respect between nature, humans, and animals, something that can often feel lost, damaged, or forgotten here on Earth.

If you resonate with this feeling of longing for home, or a kind of homesickness that fills you with sadness, do not despair. You are in exactly the right place. It is your time now to have an earthly experience, but also to break free from the illusion that this lifetime is all that exists.

Believe it or not, this homesickness can actually be a gift. It helps us awaken and remember our true nature as multidimensional beings having a brief human experience on Earth.

The way we begin to move through this homesickness and longing is by slowly moving into acceptance and gratitude for this beautiful planet we’ve found ourselves on, full of kindred souls, nature, and animals. It can take time, but once we reach that place of acceptance, the homesickness really does begin to soften.

2. You’re a deeply sensitive empath

One of the key ways to know whether you’re an old soul is through how sensitive you are.

Sensitivity has often been seen as a weakness in this world, and I’m sure you’ve been told “don’t be so sensitive” more than a few times, as though it’s something we need to hide or be ashamed of. I remember watching The Lion King as a child and my granny telling me off for crying when Simba’s dad died. It’s a memory that’s always stayed with me because it brought up this feeling that I was somehow wrong for expressing sadness, empathy, and emotion so openly.

If you’re someone who feels deeply, is empathetic to those around you, and finds the modern world - and the people in it - overwhelming at times, you’re likely an old soul.

The key numbers in the Soul Contract system connected to this deeply sensitive and empathetic nature are the 8-8 and 11-2, which I’ve shared a few different videos about.

If you have these frequencies in your Soul Contract, you most likely are a deep feeler, able to tune into the emotions and energy of those around you, which is exactly why life can feel so overwhelming at times.

It may also be that you were born into a family that didn’t recognise or nurture this sensitivity within you, so you learned to shut it off, believing it was something to be ashamed of. Yet this sensitivity is actually a superpower. Whatever work you do, this sensitivity allows you to read situations, people, and energy in a way that many others simply can’t.

It gives you emotional awareness, intuition, and depth, and is a real gift if you learn how to work with it well, but it’s also something that needs to be protected and cared for.

As deeply sensitive empaths, we need to have extremely strong boundaries, both physically and emotionally, as well as strong protective and clearing protocols, in order not to absorb other people’s negative energies as our own.

3. You feel more at home in nature and with animals

This goes hand in hand with the sensitive nature of old souls.

We tend to have a deep appreciation and love for animals and nature, as well as a deep respect for the world we live in. It may also be that animals feel safer than humans - less complicated, less threatening, and less overwhelming. Old souls often retreat to the sanctuary of animals and nature when life feels “too much,” and there’s a good reason for this.

Animals are pure souls. Of course, they hunt, attack, and kill other animals (and sometimes humans) but this comes from instinct, not from maliciousness or evil. This is why so many of us feel comforted by having dogs in our homes: they bring a kind of unconditional love that comes from the purity of their souls.

Nature is the same - it can be harsh at times, but ultimately it’s a place old souls feel a deep resonance and connection with. Whether it’s spending time near the sea to soothe our emotions, walking through greenery and forests to reconnect with ourselves, or standing barefoot on the grass to ground our energy, nature feels like home.

Old souls instinctively recognise its sanctity and healing power.

I know it’s easy to feel troubled by the modern world - it can feel hurtful, shocking, and deeply disempowering at times - and old souls often sense that life wasn’t meant to feel this disconnected. But we also have to accept that, at this point in Earth’s awakening, this is where we are, and we have chosen to be here to assist it.

Yet we can reconnect to peace through spending time in nature and with animals. And if we live in a city, like I do, even something as simple as listening to birdsong on Spotify, gazing up at the trees, or basking in a small corner of sunshine can be a powerful way to return to harmony within ourselves.

4. You like to be alone and crave solitude

The world tells us that we need to be surrounded by people and have lots of friends in order to be socially successful, yet for old souls, large friendship groups don’t always come naturally. Even if we wear an extroverted mask at times, we are often introverts at heart.

Old souls love spending time alone in peace, solitude, and self-reflection. While we enjoy the company of others, we also need time by ourselves in order to settle back into our own energy. Other people can sometimes feel too loud, and the world itself can feel overwhelming, which is why we often need to step back and retreat into our own space.

That doesn’t mean we don’t feel lonely, because we do.

The loneliness often comes from feeling like we haven’t yet found our soul tribe - people we can truly open up to and fully be ourselves around. Many old souls live in the spiritual closet, scared that if we share our deeper understanding of the world, we’ll be judged, misunderstood, ostracised, or abandoned.

This can feel especially strong for those of us born into families that don’t quite understand us, where we grow up feeling like the black sheep who doesn’t fully fit in or belong.

Many old souls already carry this feeling that they don’t entirely belong on this planet, and so we do everything we can to keep up with society and fit in. This is why so many old souls feel drained and exhausted by the constant pressure of playing the game of modern life.

Often, one of the most important things old souls need is time alone: time to reconnect with themselves and their soul, and to let go of the noise and distractions of the outside world. It’s how we recharge, recenter, and come home to ourselves.

It’s also often the one place, in our own company, where we feel truly safe enough to fully let go and just be who we are.

Yet we’re not here on Earth to live in complete solitude. We’re here to experience connection, love, and meaningful relationships with others too. While it can take time to find like-minded souls, when we do, it becomes one of the most healing and rewarding experiences of all.

5. You’ve experienced trauma, hardship and heartbreak

The cycles of incarnation often follow a similar pattern - first we live lifetimes as the perpetrator, then lifetimes as the victim, before eventually incarnating as the healer, where we begin healing the shadow carried from those lives as a perpetrator, and the trauma carried from those lives as a victim.

Along with all the other signs above, old souls usually have a pretty difficult time on Earth, yet they are not here to remain trapped in victimhood, they are here to transcend through it and step onto the path of the healer - not just for others, but for themselves too.

If you are actively engaging in your spiritual awakening and emotional healing journey, you are likely an old soul who has already lived through the cycles of being both the perpetrator and the victim, and are now ready to step into a different kind of incarnation.

That being said, it doesn’t mean this lifetime has been easy. Old souls are deeply sensitive and often feel different from the world around them, and unfortunately this can make them a target for people who are still deeply unconscious and living heavily within their shadow.

This is why old souls can sometimes find themselves in unhealthy or abusive situations, or born into families that don’t provide the stable and loving environment needed for them to truly thrive. Our family becomes the training ground we chose before incarnating - one that delivers the experiences the soul wished to have and evolve through, as reflected within the Soul Contract.

If you’ve experienced a traumatic childhood or difficult adulthood, know that you are here to move through that pain and onto the path of the healer, for yourself, for your ancestors, and for the world, because first and foremost, we are here to heal within ourselves.

Old souls often struggle with confidence and self-belief because the world around them teaches them that being different is something negative. Yet within this matrix of conformity, you are here to break free - to break free from the conditioning that holds you back, from the past that no longer has power over you, and from the limitations society places upon your worth and value.

This is one of the gifts of being an old soul: you’ve done this before! This is not your first time here - you have walked through darkness before, and you will find your way through it again.

How to support yourself as an old soul

The first thing I’d recommend, now that you know you’re an old soul, is to acknowledge any emotions that sit beneath the surface within you.

It might be sadness connected to that feeling of homesickness. It might be fear from living in a world that can feel harsh, overwhelming, and alienating. Or it might be anger at the injustice and pain you’ve endured throughout your time on Earth so far. Whatever it is, those feelings need to be accepted and felt in order for you to truly move forwards.

One of the most powerful ways to express ourselves is often through writing. During the year I mentioned earlier, I wrote and wrote and wrote, and it helped me make sense of all the different emotions I was carrying inside of me (and here’s 3 ways to get started).

I also deeply recommend finding supportive, like-minded people to connect with, whether online or in person. Otherwise, life can feel incredibly lonely as an old soul. I was very lucky to find my home at the Center for Conscious Ascension, where I run the training and teach Divine Healing, but it can be anything that genuinely lights you up and draws you in on a soul level.

This is one of the reasons I created a small, intimate healing group for sensitive and spiritual souls called White Opal. We meet every two weeks to move through deep healing processes together, while also connecting and sharing with other old souls who are navigating similar experiences.

Ultimately, if you’re an old soul, you are here to heal deeply, come into greater acceptance and peace within this incarnation, and step fully into your wisdom in a way that helps make the world a better place.

Perhaps you chose to become a conscious parent, rather than raising your children in the way you were raised. Or perhaps you feel drawn towards work that supports others and serves the world in some way. Whatever your path is, it will reveal itself to you when you’re ready.

This is not your first rodeo on Earth - I promise, you’ve got this.

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Further Support & Resources

If you’re navigating emotional challenges or feeling weighed down by old patterns, here are a few gentle ways to support yourself:

• Join the next Soul Healing Workshop
  Come and explore the deeper emotional patterns, hidden in the Soul Contract, driving your behaviours.

• Discover your Soul Contract
  Gain insight into the hidden patterns shaping your reality, and understand why certain emotional themes keep repeating in your life.

• Join the next Healing Residency
  Experience a shared, guided space for emotional release and support, and connect with others on a similar path.

• Explore Divine Healing
  Work one-to-one to release emotional patterns, trauma, and limiting beliefs, so you can feel more at home in who you are.

• Stay connected
  Join my newsletter for monthly updates alongside the latest insights from the blog.

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Carry on exploring