The Signs Will Lead The Way (If You Follow Your Intuition and Not Your Ego)

I've always been (not-so) secretly witchy, clocked into whatever spiritual radio wave The Universe chatters on. One would think that would mean I'd have all the inside secrets, never experience hardship, dodge every ghosting douche bag, avoid every Regina George copy cat mean girl, and make every right decision to bring me the most love, joy, abundance. and freedom.

Not so. And this truth plagued has plagued the depths of my soul for years.

I remember when I was first introduced to the concept of a sign by a psychic in Monterey when I was 19. My first instinct was, "Epic. Teach me the ways so I can never experience betrayal or suffering again." My second instinct was, “Duh. I know what these are. They’ve been popping off all around me since I came earth side.”

Almost eight years later, I've learned that signs aren't here to prevent pain (ugh, I know) — they're here to help us silly goofy little humans trust our intuition and live a life where suffering feels purposeful instead of pointless. Our intuition is the hotline to our soul and how we know what decisions and choices are right and wrong in the big grand scheme of our life. Signs are a sneaky way to find your soul’s path and live the one that sets your spirit on fire instead of dousing it in cat piss.

The issue most people have when it comes to interpreting signs is their pesky ego and their mind’s natural inclination to confirmation bias.

Before we get into how to know it’s a sign and not confirmation bias feeding your ego, let’s define some terms.

Sign — an object, living creature, phrase, imagery, or numerical occurrence that holds a message from the divine and has personal significance to you to help you reconnect to your intuition and find your personal freedom.

Ego — the human mind's limited concept of self, based on identity and learned beliefs from family, culture, and society.

Confirmation bias — the brain's natural inclination to seek evidence that affirms existing beliefs.

Intuition — language of your soul that interpreted by your self so that you can know, trust, and act upon your personal truth, values, and live your favorite life.

Okay, great! Now, let’s get into it.

#1: Signs make you slightly confused at first

When you receive a sign, you’re not going to know immediately know what it means or what it’s trying to tell you. Signs evoke the sense that there's more to understand than meets the eye, literally. To understand the depth and message the sign is communicating, you need to be comfortable with not knowing, and pausing to listen more deeply to your intuition.

Your ego, however, is going have you nodding that you know EXACTLY what this means, or dismissing your instincts because you’re “wrong” and “dumb” and “bad” at understanding. If it’s your ego, you’ll feel like you have something to prove; stalwart and smug at how right you are. This assumption will bite you later.

Signs ask you to think and self-reflect—”am I really in alignment, or are fear and shame keeping me stuck?”

What to do: Get curious! Sit in the unknown for a minute. Pause and create space for pondering and self-reflection. Notice what makes you feel settled in your heart and what has you about facing, deflecting, or aggressively shooting yourself down.

Ask yourself: Does this make me want to dig deeper into myself and question my current path, or does it just confirm what I already believed? Real signs create curiosity, not certainty.

#2: Signs draw you in with hypnotic, mysterious quality

When a sign pops up in your life, you’ll feel like your attention becomes a metal detector and the sign is treasure—you can't look away. There's a mesmerizing, glowy feeling that activates your intuitive senses and pulls you toward a new world of greater alignment.

This mysterious quality asks you to leave behind old beliefs and break out of who you "should" be so you can live more freely as you truly are.

You know it's just confirmation bias when the ‘sign” feels obvious, easy, or on par with your current reality. It’s confirmation bias when you’re frantically and obsessively trying to find the sign or when you dismiss them quickly, always looking for the next one to prove you're right.

What to do: Just pause and notice how this signs makes your body feel without attaching meaning to any sensation you experience. Seek out the “huh” moments. Put it on the back burner of your mind and let it summer until you know what it means.

Ask yourself: Am I drawn to this object, animal, bug, number, color, or message because it feels expansive, slightly scary, and yet right in my core, or because it's comfortable and validates my current choices? If it feels too easy, your ego might be running the show.

#3: Signs call you back to your Favorite Self

Real signs have an uncanny personal significance that lights your soul on fire and has you gasping with synchronistic awe. They make you feel like your past, present, and future are collapsing at once, and that a piece of you is truly alive for the first time in ages. Their meaning goes beyond what you can Google, it’s relevancy only decipherable by you.

Signs ask you to embrace change and embark on an epic hero's journey to becoming more of your Favorite Self. There's a settling sense to them, deep in the core of your being—that shimmer in your heart and settling in your gut is your intuition talking.

Your ego, on the other hand, will have you doubting yourself and asking everyone if you're interpreting it right. The confirmation bias will feel reductive, too simple, too easy, just not quite it. Like believing the message is keeping you stagnant, in your familiar but stuck zone.

What to do: Reflect on what this sign means to you and why it would be relevant to you, specifically, instead of someone else. Approach the sign as a metaphor, step into your Eighth Grade English Teacher’s shoes and ponder, “Why red? Why apple? What’s my personal relationship with this?”

Ask yourself: Does this sign connect to who I'm becoming and aspire to be, or just who I am and am familiar with being? Signs point toward growth, confirmation bias points towards stagnancy. Signs should make you feel more like your Favorite Self, not stuck in self pity.

The Bottom Line about Signs

The whole point of deciphering signs is to build a relationship of trust, security, and endless possibility with yourself, others, and Spirit as a whole. They exist to lead you on your one great, wild adventure, to dream bigger, and to live as truthfully and wondrously as you can.

When you learn to listen beyond logic and dip into the mystically fantastical, you open doors to realms you never knew existed. Signs tell you how to get to those impossible places you desperately want to go, and show you roads to dreamscapes you never even knew existed.

Still not sure?

Here's the ultimate test: Signs make you feel simultaneously "yes, this!" and "oh shit, this means I have to change." If you're feeling both excitement and resistance—like you want to move toward it and run away at the same time—you're probably on the right track.

And if you never seem to get signs? That doesn't mean you're not spiritual enough. It usually means you're not asking the right questions, or you're so busy looking for signs that you're missing the subtle nudges already around you. Instead of asking for confirmation that you’re right because you don’t trust yourself, ask how you can trust, what you’re missing, and what to do instead. Ask different question, or just stop asking and looking, instead noticing what signs already exist all around you in your life.

You know more than you think, and less than you believe. Trust the process.

Unsure how much you actually trust your intuition? Click here to take the quiz and discover your intuitive archetype.