Exactly How Old Is Your Soul?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
Exactly How Old Is Your Soul?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

Some people are old souls, and other people are brand new. You can usually tell which you are by a number of factors. Some of them relate to your tastes: whether you prefer a simpler life, whether you feel at home with modern technology, architecture, and decor, whether you get stressed out by all the noise out there.

Some of them relate to your politics, though those are harder to pin down. Sometimes, old souls lament the passing of older traditions and forms of thinking, while sometimes they're just so darn relieved to be living in an age when women are considered equal humans and slavery is are illegal that they believe changes to be a very good thing indeed.

Some of the factors in knowing whether you're an old soul, however, are more amorphous. Older souls feel more in the way of nostalgia, and they often get the sense that they've been someplace before. They're more likely to meet someone and feel like they've known them forever, usually because, in one sense, they have. Plus, they tend to feel the weight of karma and notice that their dreams often retain traces of past lives. If all that sounds like you, then perhaps you are an old soul indeed - and if not, then you might be fresh from the soul factory. Let's find out!

Do you often get deja vu?
Not often.
Frequently.
Wait, what? I just had it!
Once in a while.
Do you feel a strong sense of attachment to a particular place?
Not really.
Yes, and I go whenever I can to just be there.
Yes, and it's not even where I am from!
Just my childhood home really.
Have you ever met someone and felt like you knew them already?
Not really.
Sometimes.
All the time!
Every once in a while.

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Do you feel like a lucky person?
All the time.
Luck is what you make of it.
I don't believe in luck.
Sometimes.
Do you ever feel jaded?
I am so jaded, you wouldn't believe it.
Not often.
Rarely.
Sometimes.
Were you a precocious child?
I don't remember.
More or less.
I was a mixed bag.
I'm told I was.

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Do you love period dramas and historical fiction?
Not my thing.
I like the ones set in the 20th century.
It's all I'm really interested in.
Not really, I'm more of a sci-fi fan.
What style do you decorate your home?
I don't bother decorating.
Midcentury modern.
Victorian.
Contemporary.
Do you wish the modern world would just slow the heck down for a minute?
No, I like things fast!
I've found ways of coping with that need.
Yeah, but speed is what it does and there's nothing we can do about it.
Only when I'm off work.

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Are you prone to bouts of nostalgia?
Yes, all the time.
Sometimes, if something triggers a poignant memory.
No, I'm happy to leave the past in the past. There's so much past.
Frequently.
Do you love older music?
No, if the instrument doesn't need electricity to work, I don't want to hear it.
Some of it.
Yes, going back a long way.
I like jazz.
Did you always know what you wanted to do when you grew up?
No, I figured it out as an adult.
For the most part. I felt a strong connection.
Yes, it was my calling.
I had a feeling about the area I wanted to work in.

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Do you have any friends from different generations?
No, I don't like the Olds.
A smattering.
Yes, quite a few.
A handful.
What sort of building would you like to live in?
A brutalist skyscraper.
A nice country house.
A castle.
A suburban subdivision.
Which old "tradition" are you happiest to see go the way of the dodo?
Lack of internet.
Women not being legally considered people.
Slavery.
Child labor.

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What tradition from the days of yore do you actually miss?
None of them.
When you could get free land just by showing up in the right part of Oregon at the right time.
When everyone knew archery.
When everyone knew how to do the Charleston.
How optimistic are you about the direction of the planet?
I'm totally pessimistic. It's never been this dire!
I'm optimistic. Things happening now can be undone if we don't like them.
I'm optimistic. We've seen much worse than this.
I'm pessimistic. In the old days, people stood up to evil better.
Do you like to make things by hand?
No, I prefer 3D printing.
Some things, but not everything.
If at all possible.
Only things like food.

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How much do you prefer natural light over electric?
I don't mind electric light at all.
I don't really stay up late, preferring early mornings in natural light to late nights by the light bulbs.
All the bulbs in my home are the color temperature of natural light.
I wear those amber lenses at night to fix my body's clock.
Does the idea of a major realignment of power in the world give you the heebie-jeebies?
It keeps me up at night.
Not as much as you'd think.
Not at all.
I worry about it every day.
Do you long for the simple life?
No! I need to get out there and mean something!
Yes, I want to plan for the future.
Yeah, I need a break.
No, I crave excitement!

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How often do you feel thankful for being born when you were?
Things were better in the good old days.
Most of the time, especially when I get sick.
I'm glad every day!
Not often. My parents' generation had it better.
Do you sometimes hear the voices of people who are no longer with us?
No, never.
More frequently than you'd think.
A lot. I should consider getting looked at by a doctor.
Every once in a while.
Do you ever have dreams where you're back in ye olden days?
No, never.
A couple times a month.
Several times a week.
Maybe once a year.

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Do you have any phobias you just can't explain?
No, not at all.
A couple. It's weird.
More than phobias, some general aversions.
One. It's hard to wrap my head around it!
Have you ever gotten the sense that you're being punished for something you did in a past life?
All the time! What did I do wrong?!
Not most of the time, because I can point to plenty of bad things I've done in this life.
No, I get the feeling that whatever happened then has been accounted for.
Sometimes, because things just don't go my way sometimes and I don't know why!
How well do you get on with your family?
Not well.
We get along well.
We're very close.
Well enough.

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Do you believe in reincarnation?
It's a real thing.
I hold out the possibility of it.
I don't know enough to prove or disprove it.
It might be real!
Do you believe in The One?
Yeah, I've got a soulmate out there somewhere.
I believe that "The One" is possible.
I believe there are many possible "The Ones" and you're lucky if you meet one.
I don't believe in it.
Do you dwell on your regrets?
I do it all the time.
I try to let go.
No, I let that which does not matter truly slide.
More than I should.

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