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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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!
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Enjoyed the quiz. I know I am an old soul. I dont enjoy Boat clubs or pokies Ifind the energies dirty and draining. Finding friends few and far between but I try to focus on who Iam with regardless. Yvonne
Yvonne, thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. It’s common for those who have matured minds to have difficulty in making honest friends. Luckily you are not alone in this dilemma (I have experienced this all through my life). Thank you for taking the quiz as well! -Luna
I have taken all of these ‘soul-age’ tests, and from my results,I’m somewhere between a mature and old soul. I find this intriguing because I am only 16. All of my friends are older than I am and I find it fascinating that I succumb to their likes. I go to bar’s with my mother and enjoy listening to the older generations and their wisdom. Also, many people tell me that I am intelligent, and smarter, eventhough I am years younger than them. I look at things from a future standpoint rather han what will happen right after an event.
Hi Molly. Many thanks for reading and commenting! Although it can be strange to have more matured outlooks than those your age, it’s good to know that you can find solace within older generations of people. It’s also good to be aware of the future and the outcome of your present moment actions, however, I often find that the more focus and importance I place on the future, the less I focus on present reality, and thus, the less I am immersed in actual life. Just a few thoughts there. All the very best, ☽
Wow what a great site. For years I thought there was something wrong with me. I’m not intrested in the same things as people my own age. I’d rather watch a sunset by myself than a football game with others. After reading the information here I finally learned I’m just an “old soul” and its not a bad thing.
Andy, thanks very much for your comment. I’m happy to hear that this article has shown you that you’re not as weird as you once thought! You may like to check out the “Are You An Old Soul?” page on this site that I have also authored, if you haven’t already. This article goes into more detail about the Old Soul temperament, which you may be interested in reading as well. Warmly, -L
Scored 87. My bookshelf consists spiritual, mystical, self-help, psychology, holistic, and some fictional. A psychic (Lindy Baker) once told me that I have lived before, and have an old soul.
D.A.Isley, I would drool over your bookshelf (and mine consists of very similar categories of books as well). Thanks for your comment. It´s always nice to hear from another Old Soul.
According to the description you gave above, I’m an Old Soul. I can remember telling someone once that there is very little in this life that I want at this point. As a younger man (I’m 37 now), every conceivable goal I attained brought with it a growing sense of emptiness because as I was working through my goals, deep in my mind I realized that I was running out of new goals. And once I reached all of them, I became very depressed because I concluded that there was nothing left for me to do.
After a period of reflection, I came to see that there were greater, more loftier goals to reach for which weren’t as tangible as the other goals I had. I wanted to understand myself more: my weaknesses and my strengths. I wanted to go deeper into what it meant to be a human being. Then I started to see life very differently. Wisdom and understanding became my main pursuit because wisdom satisfies the longing of the soul to understand life. I’d say that each day I continue to search for meaning and wisdom in things like helping others and being a friend to my fellow man. I strive for that anyway.
Jake, I appreciate your comment. Its a very shocking and frightening feeling to realize that many of your ambitions or goals don´t motivate you anymore, and that the only thing that can fill that void is to fill it with knowledge, understanding and wisdom about life, existence and the world. This, I believe, is the only ambitious journey worthy of pursuit. If you haven´t already, try reading Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (it´s in our store). -L
78% Mature, 77% Old Soul! I think most people on here would be Mature or Old souls? As younger souls are not yet exposed or conscious of the spiritual; they are more interested in the outside world? Awesome site and thanks for the prompt response :)
Sorry about the delayed response Monique. Yes, I would definitely say that the majority of LonerWolf readers are Mature/Old Souls, most likely because the topics we write about pertain to early stages of inner growth, insight and understanding. Thanks for your comment! -Luna
Even though I commented on another related article, I shall tell a more concise post.. (I got a 90 on the old soul test) I felt like I was older than I was, and all I remember from several, several years ago (when I was roughly eight and below), is that I remember a deep philosophical sense of thinking back then. It’s very fuzzy, and I always thought it was maybe a past life influence when I first got into spirituality more deeply years ago, paired up with the fact that I apparently loved planets when I was six, according to a classmate (I thought I grew the interest years later (I never had an experience that would make me like the planets, so that struck me as weird)). Also, what is weird is that I seem to overlap most soul ages, but I am pretty sure I am an old soul now.. (habits/etc.) Also, referring to the myths article, an interesting “coincidence” (not really) is that my natal report said that I seem to be insensitive, but that is actually quite the contrary. My numerology/astrology/etc. seems to agree with the signs of an old soul. I am a young old soul, and I believe I’ve been introduced to spirituality as far as I can remember. The only difference from my story is that I never felt left out, etc. (I probably disregarded it.. My thoughts were as clear as a wall (I did feel depression and different from others, however)), until recently. I guess apathy has its charms. (had) Oh right, I remember what I was going to say. I do sometimes wish to live a simple, uncomplicated life, but I aspire for knowledge/truths (I have very lazy qualities/procrastinate, which kind of prevents the development of aspiration), so I see material things necessary to do a thing or such. If I had no goal in life, and someone took away, say, an electronic, I couldn’t care less for it. Well, it would be much easier to communicate articulately using telepathy, as my mind is my familiar turf, and it is much more organized than my area, so excuse the vagueness or non-conciseness.
Sigh, if I only didn’t procrastinate in the first place.
Hi Amber. You provided some interesting thoughts. I’m not sure how old you are, but if you’re young (as in, below the age of 18) it can be very difficult to determine what soul age you are, as the personality is still undergoing continuous formation. So, although you got a 90 on the test, this score could change drastically in the future. Most people are able to tell what soul age they fit into by the age of 30+, and there is little variation after that, unless one undergoes a major crisis in their life. You do sound as though you’re in a transitory stage between perhaps young soul to mature soul, or maybe mature soul to old soul. Many people who identify as Old Souls are actually more suited to the Mature Soul age. I hope some of what I’ve said has been useful. ~L
I scored a 69 on the mature soul test. Again, maybe I am in a transitory stage, but perhaps it is only slightly natural, as I am about 4-6 (to protect my information better) years from eighteen. Again, I can be a workaholic (horoscope agrees, again), but most of the time I’m procrastinating.. Hm, I don’t know, but I seem to mostly be acting like a young soul to mature soul. I don’t know. I was introduced to spirituality for as long as I can remember (I was baptized, practiced a bit of Buddhism, meditation.., and I now follow and plan to construct my own New Age sort of beliefs), and I always felt that I was simply strongly philosophical. I still am, but perhaps I do not think so as my life has gone clearer. Again, I don’t know, perhaps I am in a transitory stage, but it seemed to me as I matured quickly over every year. Again, recounting from feeling and what I know about my past and present, my mind seemed to be the one that didn’t change much. Well, perhaps I’m blabbing on about this as the draw of curiosity wants to see if I’m an old soul or not. I guess I’ll tell more information, as it doesn’t hurt. I wear multiple masks for different people, but all of them having a serious sense in a way (even the social/friendly one). Well, it’s hard recounting as my childhood was kind of hazy. Well, again, sorry to drag this on, but it seems as if I have some prominent characteristics of a young soul, and most characteristics from a mature to old soul, again. Anywho, is there any other way of telling your soul age? Perhaps I’ll just use other methods (divination, scanning, meditative state), but I would like to know.
Upon reading more of these posts, I seem to experience an “old soul” situation similar to them, but perhaps that goes true for young and mature soul situations too. Perhaps I have the mindset of perhaps a younger soul age because I initiated a stress inducing project, or such. I honestly do not know.
Definitely an old soul…. I’m becoming more and more dissatisfied with the life around me aside from the beauty of nature…. people always seek me out for advice and I’m definitely about self-actualization! I also scored 95 on the old soul test…
Hi cr1tter3. I’m happy and excited to hear that you’ve learnt something new about yourself, although many Old Souls sense they are born with ancient spirits, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you knew from the beginning anyway. Thank you for sharing!
98% on old soul test meant to put…lol
scary I scored 98% on test