Are You an Empath?
Have you ever walked into a room, greeted someone you’ve never met, and instantly known they were angry, grieving, anxious, or quietly celebrating something wonderful?
If so, here’s a piece of advice.
Don’t say anything.
Seriously. Don’t.
Most people don’t enjoy discovering that someone can see behind the mask they’re presenting to the world.
The High Priestess
In an earlier post, I described the High Priestess as the Tarot’s archetype of intuition.
She sits between two pillars—one black and one white—representing the meeting of opposites. I like to think of her as standing where logic and intuition meet, where analytical thought gives way to sudden flashes of knowing.
That’s how intuition often feels.
It doesn’t arrive through careful reasoning.
It simply appears.
The answer is just…there.
The Empath’s Antenna
Being an empath can feel like walking through life with an extra antenna attached to your nervous system.
You notice things that other people miss.
Not because you’re reading minds, but because you’re reading people.
A slight hesitation.
A forced smile.
A shift in someone’s tone.
The energy in the room changes, and somehow you already know why.
For many empaths, this isn’t something they consciously do. It feels as natural as seeing colors or hearing music. They aren’t sitting there analyzing people.
They simply know.
Why It Makes People Uncomfortable
Here’s the problem.
Most people carefully manage what they reveal to the world.
Carl Jung called this the persona—the social mask we wear. It’s the version of ourselves we’re comfortable showing other people.
We’re happy for people to know our hobbies, our opinions, or what we do for a living.
We’re far less comfortable with them seeing our fears, our grief, our insecurities, or the parts of ourselves we’re trying to hide.
When an empath quietly senses those hidden emotions, people often feel exposed—even if the empath never intended to pry.
That can make them uncomfortable.
Sometimes it even makes them defensive.
Can We Turn It Off?
Many books about empathy focus on building stronger boundaries.
That’s good advice.
If empaths absorbed every emotional signal around them all day long, they’d quickly become overwhelmed.
But completely shutting down our intuition isn’t really the answer either.
Empathy is a gift, much like sight or hearing.
We don’t solve the problem by pretending we can’t see.
The Real Secret
The real skill isn’t becoming less intuitive.
It’s becoming more discreet.
Just because you know something doesn’t mean it needs to be spoken.
Sometimes people aren’t ready.
Sometimes they aren’t asking.
Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is quietly understand without announcing that you understand.
That’s the High Priestess at her best.
She knows.
But she doesn’t feel compelled to prove that she knows.
She observes.
She waits.
And when the moment is right, she speaks.
Until then, she simply smiles—and keeps the mystery alive.
Just the Tarot 