If you’ve become reclusive, feel overwhelmed, have been accused of being too emotional, or you’re dealing with fatigue or strange pains and illnesses, you may be an empath. 

Even if you know this, do you know how to protect your highly sensitive gift? As an empath who struggled for a long time to understand why I was different, why I knew what people were thinking and feeling, it’s taken some time to set boundaries, to accept and support my gifts and to learn how to protect myself. 

There are real tools that can help you manage this gift so you don’t have to unnecessarily carry the burden of other people’s stuff! Giving myself the opportunity to recover my energy and study how other empaths have been in my shoes and been able to find a more empowered way of living has been such a powerful path in my life.

My friends often ask me about the connection between astrology and being empathic, how different signs may have different talents, etc. We hear a lot about how water signs like Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are the most empathic, but I started to wonder, what about everyone else? 

Six Signs You’re An Empath

You easily become dependent on substances. Empaths often have to seek help with substance abuse. This is often when they don’t know they feel things more intensely that the people around them and they haven’t yet learned how to protect their energy field and clear their heavier emotions. 

You know when something is wrong even if you don’t say anything. An empath doesn’t have to look for your feelings or play detective by reading your body language, they pick up on much more subtle energy which are emotional imprints in your energy field. They will often ask, “so do you want to talk about it?” They also often will call you or text you out of the blue when you’re having a tough time because they will sense you need their support. 

You’re drained by being around a lot of people. The reason they get tired quickly when they are around a crowd is because their energy field is picking up on so much energy. It can be concerts, walking through a city or even being in a restaurant but any public situation is challenging for an empath which is why they tend to be introverts. 

You often complain of mystery ailments. Because their nervous system is so sensitive, empaths are subject to picking up the pain of people around them and even geomagnetic stress or anger in group consciousness. They often get stomach aches, muscle pain, chronic pain or headaches that are seemingly out of nowhere. 

You get glimpses of what is going to happen. Whether it’s a dream, a knowing, a vision or a thought, empaths will often receive real information about the future before it happens. They may just brush it off as coincidence and not realize this doesn’t happen to everyone. 

How Each Zodiac Element Senses Energy 

All of the zodiac signs have innate abilities – we just have to figure out which resonates most and be willing to practice and improve them. 

Some believe there are actually 8 ‘Clair Senses’ or psychic sense – Wisdom Within has a great visual on this! 

An easy explanation for me is to think of one of our senses and attach intuition to it. 

• Clairvoyance – sight intuition
• Clairsentience – feeling intuition (Gut feeling) 
• Claircognizance – knowing intuition
• Clairaudience – sound intuition
• Clairempathy – emotional intuition
• Clair tangency – touching intuition
• Clairgustance – tasting intuition
• Clairsalience – smell intuition

‘Psychic’ often refers to knowing the future while ‘empathic’ means knowing how someone feels in the present. Psychic abilities are common among air signs and fire signs. 

The water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) are the most empathic because they feel everything – clairempathy and clairsentience abounds here. They’ll know how someone is feeling without them saying anything because they actually feel the other person’s symptoms in their own body. Imagine picking up everyone’s headaches wherever you go and wondering why your melon hurts too!

The air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) can often read thoughts (claircognizance) because their energy is so mental and they live in the mind space more than other signs. Air signs may also be more clairaudient because they are word people.

Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) like to live in the future because they have to channel their energy so much and they can often predict what’s coming because of it. Empaths are good at knowing the present state someone is in and can develop their clairvoyance and clairaudience if they work on it. 

Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) sense things intuitively and can also often know the future or get a read on people. Intuition is about vibes, often coming from being tuned into your surroundings. Intuition can come from body language, voice tone (clairaudience) or via thought (claircognizance) if someone has an active pineal gland.

The chakra system interacts with the energy field and downloads information constantly from other people and the environment, but each sign has a distinct way of processing that information. It’s what they do with the information that sets them apart.

A water sign will often try to help someone. 

A fire sign will use it to direct the future. 

An earth sign will use it to make practical decisions.

An air sign will curiously debate or inquire about things as they seek information.

Virgo, Taurus, and Capricorn are the second most empathic signs (after water signs) and empathic sensitivities often depend on how many water signs are in someone’s birth chart, as well as where the placement of those signs are.

Don’t be fooled into thinking someone whose sun sign is not a water sign won’t be empathic. They may have a lot of water in other places in their chart and be overwhelmed with their own empathic abilities.

Clear and Protect Your Aura

It’s so important that empaths know they are empaths so they don’t become hypochondriacs. Learning how to protect my energy field without being drained all the time is a continuous journey, but so worthy of traveling.

An empath can wear protective crystals such as onyx, black tourmaline or black obsidian. Empaths need to take this seriously in order to not fall into depression or psychosomatic illnesses. For work and at home you need a loving environment where feelings are honored. This is absolutely essential for your well being.

You should also avoid narcissists who will be easily drawn to you. Those who love are obsessed with themselves will be draining and manipulative to an empath.

Creating healthy boundaries with people who share their problems with you is imperative for your mental health, and make sure to practice enough self-love (salt baths and healing tonics are good choices) to properly top up your energy. You can use breath work, mantras and yoga to help clear your energy field too. The quickest way to clear your energy field is with the flowing water of a shower.

If you can’t do that, at least wash your hands and intentionally send the energy you’ve gathered down the drain. Affirmations and visualizations can also help you protect yourself. You can say, “only positive energy is allowed around me,” and, “I give back anything that is not mine in past, present and future with love.”

You can visualize a bubble of light around you and if that doesn’t feel strong enough, visualize something stronger like lead, bricks or steel. Before you go to bed for instance, you can visualize yourself surrounded by gold bricks. Don’t be around people who complain or don’t take care of themselves because you may have trouble separating from their problems.

Boundaries are very difficult for empaths because they have trouble determining what thoughts and feelings are theirs and which ones are someone else’s. It’s easy to be influenced by others, so avoid places with heavy drugs and drinking.

When your guard is down from intoxication or sleep, spirits are also more prone to come to you because your energy field is clear then – so don’t risk it. Sleep with mantras playing and crystals around your bed.

Having Empathic Abilities Can be a Gift, Not a Burden 

Imagine being able to help someone out of unhealthy relationships, break self sabotaging thoughts or to finally uncover their purpose and what’s stopping them from following their dreams! Empaths are gifted with a special ability to connect to people and help them, so never be ashamed of it.

If you know someone who may be an empath, this information could greatly help them so don’t be shy to share it with them. We live in a new era where most people now understand that intuition is real and can be developed. Even talk show hosts and public figures are open about their use of gifted healers in their own life or the existence of these healers in their own families!