An empath is someone with the remarkable ability to mirror another person’s feelings without necessarily experiencing their circumstances. In essence, it’s about stepping into someone else’s emotional shoes, possessing a heightened sense of empathy.
Being an empath is both a gift and a challenge. It’s not always easy — it can take a toll on your energy and well-being. However, when you understand your unique empath type, you can channel your abilities in a healthy, empowering way. This allows you to create a positive impact on those around you and opens the door to building a deeply fulfilling life and even a meaningful career.
Empathy is a powerful gift when used intentionally. You have the potential to heal, guide, protect, and profoundly understand people, animals, and the world around you. Some empaths can even predict events or intervene in ways that save lives.
The key lies in recognizing your empath type and learning how to unlock your full potential—balancing your ability to help others while protecting yourself from absorbing negative energies.
Types of Empaths
Empaths come in many forms, each expressing empathy uniquely. In this article, we focus on the six most common types of empaths, representing the most familiar and powerful ways empathy manifests.
You might wonder, “Why label ourselves instead of just being called ‘an empath’?” Here’s why: While being an empath brings incredible benefits, it can also lead to confusion, anxiety, and overwhelm. Identifying and naming your specific empathic traits helps you better understand yourself, connect with others who share similar gifts, and embrace your life’s purpose.
By understanding your unique abilities and where you stand, you’ll gain clarity about your life’s path and how to use your gifts to make a difference.
Ready to discover your empath type?
Take the quiz below to uncover what kind of empath you are and the special gifts you’ve brought into this world!
Quiz: What Type Of Empath Are You?
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Do you tend to absorb the emotions and sorrow of other people as if it was your own?
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Do you tend to feel and absorb pain and symptoms of other people physically?
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Do you tend to 'sense' the specific 'vibe' of a building, landscape, or place?
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Are you able to feel and understand the emotions and feelings of animals?
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Do you have a tendancy to feel and sense the thoughts and emotions of others and then act them out in front of another person, showing him/her his/her unwanted aspects (shadow self)?
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Do you tend to know the outcome of a situation before it happens?
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Can you tell if someone is being dishonest, be it emotions or expressions?
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Did you have trouble learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols in pre-school?
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Are you left-handed?
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Can you communicate with animals and receive messages from them?
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Do you have a deep connection with the earth to the point that you can even predict natural disasters?
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Do you usually intuitively sense or know what ails a person and what they need to feel better?
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Do you tend to experience the emotions of other people within your body?
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What are you naturally drawn towards?
Types Of Empaths Quiz
Emotional empath
You have a unique ability to pick up another person’s emotions or energy without even having to talk to them and you do so without asking questions. When you say, “l feel you,” you mean it to the core. If your friend or family member is upset or sad, you may soon find yourself upset or sad. As an emotional empath, you can get truly exhausted by friends who are constant complainers who dwell in the negative, or narcissists who suck up all the attention and never reciprocate when they’re feeling down. Because of this, you tend to get drained by emotional vampires. Therefore, it is essential for you to practice self-care and learn how to differentiate other people’s emotions from your own.
Physical empath
You are able to pick up physical symptoms from other people and absorb them into your own body. You intuitively “sense” or know what ails a person and what they need to feel better. You can feel the subtle energy of a person and even change that person’s subtle energy field so they can be healed. However, you have to be very careful you aren't taking on other people's pain. Being a physical empath, may help you to become a highly skilled energy worker, Reiki healer, acupuncturist, massage therapist or yoga instructor. What an amazing gift!
Geomantic empath
You can read the energetic signals transmitted by mother earth. In fact, you may have already felt and/or predicted a natural disaster before it occurred. Or, you may be able to relate to the pain, joy, or fears that form the history of a particular location. You have your energies intuitively adapted to your environment. As a geomantic empath, you can be strongly affected energetically by natural disasters, weather, and the environment being harmed. Remember that connecting with nature works restorative wonders. This could be as simple as meditating under a tree, "earthing," or prioritizing enough outdoor time. You, as a geomantic empath, have a strong need to feel close to nature, so honoring that is important for your health and energy.
Animal empath
You are highly skilled at feeling and embodying the energy of other animals. As an animal empath, you have a deep understanding of what animals need and are trying to communicate. You have an uncanny ability to connect with wildlife of every kind. It may feel like a somewhat telepathic connection, where you sense what an animal wants. You are naturally inclined to go into work with animals, particularly where you directly caring for the animal. Being around/helping animals brings you joy. Think about using more of your time to foster this part of your life, by volunteering with a local shelter. You could even take it one step further by practicing energy healing, such as Reiki, on the animals in your life.
Heyoka empath
A Heyoka is a Native American term that means mirror. You feel and sense the thoughts and emotions of others and then act them out in front of another person. You show the person all the unwanted aspects or their inner shadow. In a sense, you are very much like a guru because you come here to help others evolve and do so by playing a stage character for the others to see a reflection of themselves. You may find yourself doing things such as reading and eating differently or in an unconventional manner. You process things in a completely different pattern and think outside the box. Crowds and public places tend to drain your energy. That is why you often prefer being in your own company. Alone time gives you enough time to decompress from all the negative energy you take in and re-energize.
Claircognizant empath
Claircognizance is the inner knowing of an event without having prior knowledge. Information, insight, and special knowledge comes to you in the form of thought, or a subtle sense of knowing. Sometimes you know what somebody will say before they even finish speaking. You are a human lie detector who has an uncanny knack of determining when someone is being authentic or not. You always know the outcome of a situation before it happens or even provides hints on how it will turn out. You love figuring things out, and people always seek your opinion, be it work-related or personal stuff. In addition, you do a lot of analytical thinking and help people find solutions when they are stuck. You don’t have to feel like a weirdo every time you make an inference that turns out to be true. Pick yourself up and dust off the self-doubt. Look yourself in the mirror and make peace with that person looking back at you. Embrace the claircognizant empath you are.
