How To Tell If you've Received A Sign

Although it feels exciting to think you’ve been gifted a sign from the universe, or Deities that you worship, not everything is a sign. In fact, most experiences aren’t signs. This is why the process of Verification and Validation is an integral one, in order to help us distinguish between what is a sign, and what isn’t.

If you’re having trouble discerning what experiences are actually signs and what are just coincidences, below are a series of incredibly brief guidelines to use when trying to interpret the signs and experiences you receive, in order to verify whether or not they’re genuine.

It was probably not a sign if:

• You haven’t requested a sign; if you haven’t reached out and explicitly asked for a sign lately, or you are not at a point in your path where you’re likely to receive communicated signs, it increases the possibility that your experience is just a simple coincidence.
  
  
• You receive the sign in a way you’re not accustomed to; some people directly communicate specific ways in which they would like to receive communication in order to ensure the communication is genuine. But even if you haven’t explicitly communicated a preference, some people are used to experiencing signs in specific ways due to the nature of latent abilities, and other things- such as through dreams, or through “knowings”. For that reason, if an experience is atypical to the norm, it’s much more likely to simply be a coincidence or an odd experience- not a legitimate sign.
  
  
  
• You find yourself desperately trying to force meaning; it happens to all of us: At some point, we’ve all desperately felt the desire, at some point, to find meaning in our experiences- sometimes to the point where we try to force meaning and significance when there’s really no sign to be found. But while true signs can sometimes be difficult to decipher, they should never feel like you’re forcing interpretation or meaning onto them. If you feel like you have to, the experience is most likely disingenuous. And it’s important that we be truthful with ourselves about this.
  
  
  
• The experience is too general; sometimes we have a tendency to ascribe meaning to things that have no meaning at all. For that reason we must always ask ourselves if an experience is actually significant, or if it’s something that could have happened to anyone at any time.
  For example, if you’re contemplating leaving a relationship and you happen to see a bird take flight, flying away from you ... Is that a sign that you should leave? No, probably not; it’s not specific to the moment or significant to see a bird flying away at all. That could very well have happened at any moment- it just so happened that you noticed it then.
  
  
• The experience is too well-suited to its surrounding environment; If something is highly likely to happen within a specific environment both due to the nature of the “sign”, as well as the environment itself, then it’s most likely not a sign- merely a natural result of your surroundings.
  For example, if you’ve been researching Fliodhais, who is often associated strongly with Deer, and then you see a deer while walking, it’s likely not a sign from her. Instead it’s likely because you’re strolling through the natural habitat of a deer. You’re simply more likely to be aware of their presence now because you recently read about something associated with them- a psychological phenomenon called Frequency Illusion, Frequency Bias, or the Baader–Meinhof Phenomenon.

It’s more likely to have been a sign if:

• You have requested a sign recently; this is one of the first things you should consider when you’re trying to determine if your experience was a genuine sign! If you’ve clearly asked for a specific sign and you receive an experience shortly after, then it’s significantly more likely to be an actual sign. However, it’s still important to check the sign against the above list and ensure it passes the rest of the discernment criteria.
  
  
  
• The experience matched specifications or prior experiences; if you’ve ever made it clear that you prefer to receive signs in a specific manner- such as asking to notice it within a certain time frame, or a specific number of times… Or if it matches your typical experiences of received signs- such as coming through dreams, or “knowings”... Then your experience is significantly more likely to be a genuine sign.
  
  
  
• There were repeated symbols within your experience; while not always the case, consistent and clear repetition of specific actions, symbols, figures, etc, are undeniably more questionable than simply having one odd, one-off experience. In this case, your experience is much more likely to be a sign. Always remember the Baader–Meinhof Phenomenon. Once we notice something one time, we are likely to notice it again, and again, and again- creating false patterns that aren’t truly present. And the more we notice it, the more we are likely to ascribe false meanings to it.
  
  
  
• The symbols line up; most Deities and spirits have specific symbols, figures, etc, that are known to be connected to their role as a religious or spiritual figure- whether these are found in their historical lore, or developed as personal associations over the course of building your relationship with them. If your experience features key elements that tie to a deity you worship, the probability of it being a sign increases, because there are specific references to your deity within your experience; it’s important to make sure that repetitive elements especially are relevant to the figure in question, and aren’t random.
  
  
  
• The experience was highly unusual for its surrounding environment; the key element of this indicator is contrast. If the experience seems unsuited or ‘out of place’ for its environment, then it is more likely to be a sign because the specific experience is being highlighted in notable contrast to what is around you, as a way of catching your attention.
  For example, I once had a friend who lived in the Desert, in an area where Crane species were incredibly uncommon, who was a devotee of Djehuty. While they were driving one day, they saw a Crane sitting in a field of young Corn, clearly highlighted against the rays of the Sun. This vivid contrast and framing of the figure, alongside the fact that Cranes are rare to their location (especially during the time of the year it was encountered), was a very strong indicator of the experience being a sign from their Deity.
  
  
• You felt an intense, distinct reaction to your experience; often described as a “Gnostic Revelation” where the experience or knowledge gained from the communication becomes known as “Personal Gnosis”, this is a very distinct feeling of intense awareness or knowing, or an immediate sense of connection to the event or experience; a deep and soulful ‘bone feeling’ (more than a ‘gut feeling’).
  
  
  
• If you experience this sort of revelation, it is generally taken within Paganism as a definitive sign of genuine communication, regardless of anything else. It is still important to verify these experiences, however- which is where most fail to carry on.