They say life is a “journey”, a “school” and is here to teach us “important lessons”. But why?
Have you ever considered the possibility that the lessons we learn and wisdom we accumulate in this life, extends into other lives? Is it perhaps possible that our life is not the only journey of experience, advancement and maturing – but the whole of conscious existence is?
Is it possible that reincarnation, also known as metempsychosis, is responsible for the tremendous range of world views, instinctual drives and essential life decisions we make?
What makes us so different from one another? What makes one person wise beyond their years, another driven by power, and another childlike, despite their age?
Regardless of whether you believe in, or entertain the possibility of reincarnation or not, you will find that the following Soul Ages theory applies to the vast variety of people in your life.
Table of contents
What Exactly is a “Soul Age”?
According to the Soul Age theory, man doesn’t have simply one shot at living and learning. He has multiple lifetimes in which to grow, learn and mature.
Soul Ages are based on the different levels of advancement a soul obtains throughout its reincarnational journey (inspired by the Michael’s teachings framework). As a person progresses through the hierarchy, paying off karma as he or she advances, it is said that he or she is free to return to universal and infinite consciousness at the end, achieving final liberation.
Some call this the state of “nirvana”, others “heaven” and others “paradise”.
The 5 Soul Ages
Understanding the different levels people exist on is a useful way of developing empathy, understanding and insight. Also, these are all essential keys to enhancing the connection we have with our souls through inner work.
Below are the 5 Soul Ages in order from ‘beginner’, to ‘intermediate’, and then to ‘advanced’. You’ll also discover the sixth Soul Age which transcends all others: the Elder Soul.
1. Infant Souls
Primary Focus: Being alive.
Lessons To Learn: Basic life skills, survival, mortality, physicality.
Age Comparison: 0 – 4
Key Characteristics: Raw, untamed, playful, excitable, unsophisticated, tribal, cautious, childlike, group-reliant, hunter-gatherers.
Also known as Newborn Souls, these people are often perceived by others as being ignorant, childish and innocent to the complexities of life. Possessing a very simplistic understanding of life, and a genuinely guileless approach to the world, Newborn Souls find it hard to adapt to ‘civilized society’. Instead, they prefer familiar clans, tribes and groups of people in wild, untamed environments. If this sounds like you, take the Infant Soul Test.
2. Baby Souls
Primary Focus: Belonging.
Lessons To Learn: Social structure, rules, roles, human relations.
Age Comparison: 4 – 13
Key Characteristics: Compliant, regimented, dutiful, role-defined, absolutist, disciplined, traditional, strong values.
Also known as Child Souls, these people seek to make meaning, order and stability out of the chaotic and uncertain nature of life. Perceived by other people as being clean, modest and rigid, Child Souls tend to be very conservative, religious and rule-bound. The Child Soul’s beliefs and senses of self are defined by their culture and traditional moral or religious system. If this sounds like you, take the Baby Soul Test.
3. Young Souls
Primary Focus: Independence.
Lessons To Learn: Personal-advancement, free will, personal-achievement.
Age Comparison: 13 – 29
Key Characteristics: Ambitious, competitive, innovative, material gain, enterprise, freedom, individualism, self-centered, self-expression.
Also called Teenage Souls, these people often live by the maxim “my way or the highway”. The Teenage Soul, similar to an adolescent, seeks independence, social status and material gain. Essentially, these people are agents of change and are responsible for many of the greatest advancements in the world. Driven and externally focused, Teenage Souls tend to be “workaholics”. If this sounds like you, take the Young Soul Test.
4. Mature Souls
Primary Focus: Interpersonal harmony.
Lessons To Learn: Empathy, psychological stability, interdependence, self-awareness, relationships.
Age Comparison: 29 – 55
Key Characteristics: Sensitive, inquisitive, neurotic, diplomatic, introspective, egalitarian, cooperative.
Also known as Adult Souls, these people enter life seeking interpersonal and psychological harmony. Adult Souls are often perceived as being neurotic but caring. Focusing on the inner world, these people often struggle with the complexities and subtleties of life. The mature soul is liberal, relationship-orientated and visionary. Life is no longer about survival, role-filling or material gain for the Adult Soul, but about understanding, empathy and camaraderie. If this sounds like you, take the Mature Soul Test.
5. Old Souls
Primary Focus: Spiritual fulfillment.
Lessons To Learn: Non-attachment, autonomy, wise counsel, spiritual awareness.
Age Comparison: 56+
Key Characteristics: Solitary, spiritual, detached, philosophical, humanitarian, tired, unmotivated, empathetic.
Old Souls: Mystics and Sages eBook:
Are you solitary, thoughtful, and intuitive? Have you always felt like an outsider on this planet? If so, you may be an Old Soul – and you're not alone. Discover more about your rare gifts!
Right at the end of the reincarnational cycle comes the Old Soul. Having already experienced the previous 4 stages of existence, the Old Soul has a well-rounded knowledge of society, relationships and the world at large. At this point, the Old Soul finds day to day life very uninteresting, and little can surprise or compromise their self-assurance. Relaxed and philosophical about life, Old Souls radiate depth, calmness and wisdom. The Old Souls focus is on self-actualization and self-fulfillment. To the Old Soul, life is an interconnected tapestry – one of which they strive to become One with. If this sounds like you, take the Old Soul Test.
6. Elder Souls
Elder Souls are the completion of the Soul Age cycle. An Elder Soul is an Awakened Being who has gone through a spiritual awakening and reunited with and embodied his or her True Divine Nature. In our society, we often refer to Elder Souls as “enlightened” or “spiritual Masters.” Read more about Elder Souls.
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Although most people don’t fit strictly within each category, often overlapping others, many people tend to inhabit one Soul Age more than the other.
Which Soul Age are you? I’d love to know below!
I suppose I’m an old one, my parents are likely baby souls and the majority of our country too. I wonder if there’s a reason I was born into this setting. Their conservative rules and punishment mindset was a dark part of growing up. The adults in our society instantly like me for some reason, maybe they assume I can do no wrong lol, but they’re shocked and disbelieving when I do something unconventional. As a toddler I was told I barely ever cried (except at baths- I’d scream in fear at water) and as a kid I mostly felt sympathy for others and a melancholic aloneness.
I’m always told by older adults around me that I’m an old soul. Ever since my hardships as a child, I always felt like everybody around me aren’t the same and that I need to find enlightenment somehow. I’ve been slowly getting a cousin to do Reiki on me and she says that I have more baggage then most people have in a lifetime, this website has been a tremendous help in me connecting with my shadow self and inner ego.
i’m an old soul. my family always called me one anyway. i also looked at your “17 signs your an old soul” i checked everything all the signs was me it was incredible.
I feel like even more ancient than an old souls but not like an elder soul either.
Like full of so much experience and wisdom that I came full circle and am now youthful. Like the old lady that lives by her own rules but with so much joy and kindness that it’s obviously not childishness or a lack of maturity.
I am always told that I am an Old Soul, but I have NEVER heard of an elder soul, and feel that might be what I am too, since I have contacted my spirit guides, and figured out more about myself spiritually, I am also told I have High Empathy, while I am also a person who only seems to get along well with elderly people, more common interests, this also makes me wonder if my ideal type is someone older, and wiser, because I have NEVER been able to fit in with the current generation, I still use old flip phones, I don’t like the new technology, and I refuse to use social media anymore, I gave it a try once, I genuinely wasn’t interested, I felt no joy in using anything like Twitter, I felt people were too negative on there
I am definitly an old soul….. I have always been an outsider around young people, and I got 90 out of 100 on the old soul test.
If I am an old soul, and in this life time I have experienced an awakening which has turned my life upside down in a good way, what could be next for my soul?
A “mature” soul is “liberal”? What does this mean? And a “child soul” is conservative. Hmm… And what does this mean?
A mature soul has the the ability to see many points of view and knows that the points of view that harm other people and go against nature are not helpful to the world or the individual. I hardly call this “wisdom” liberal or conservative.
Many politically liberal ideas, for instance, are incredibly childish and harmful to a person’s development. Claiming to be a different gender or gay is one of such ideas. This type of extreme “knowing” of going against nature deserves several years of in-depth psychological and spiritual exploration, hopefully with a skilled guide who hasn’t adopted the zeitgeist of a mixed up world, before making such a claim to one’s self.
Being young and living in a moral-less society without psychologically healthy adults and leaders can certainly confuse a person unconsciously and thus shape a jagged journey into adulthood not inline with the once revealed authentic self.
this is not about political views etc, a conservative soul would be one who’s traditional, maybe old-timey, likes to follow set rules. this fits younger souls since they’re less experienced and need a stable foundation. a liberal soul is more explorative, unruly and imaginative, these souls are probably adult souls and do not feel the need to have inner rules anymore because they know how to function without it
you realize what the definition of liberal is right? “willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas” its not political and conservative is “averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values”.
one is willing to accept change and one is not.
You can have you opinions on the LGBTQ+ community, I’m apart of it, but I’m sure Old Souls can recognize that if somebody’s beliefs and the way they identify aren’t hurting anybody, then you can let them be.