If you’re hearing this term for the first time, it may sound confusing. You may be thinking it has something to do with the principle of “what goes around, comes around”. Well, you’re not too wrong (but you are wrong if you have the Justin Timberlake song in your mind right now). Karmic relationships act more as teaching tools rather than meant to be lasting romances. There’s a lot of interesting stuff when it comes to karmic relationships, and we’re here to break it all down for you.
What Is The Meaning Of “Karmic Relationship”?
According to karmic relationship astrology, these relationships are widely believed to occur when two souls who have unresolved issues from a past life meet one another again in their current life. These two souls, in a previous life, made a sort of pact to help each other on their way in their new lives. They do help each other, but the process is not very pleasing. Leaving the celestial talk aside, in real life, a karmic relationship is one where you feel signs of undeniable chemistry with your partner. You feel like you’ve known this person all your life and you can open up and tell them everything. But these relationships also are extremely fragile, sometimes even toxic. On-again, off-again, your relationship is about as enduring as a paper straw. There’s always jealousy, trust issues and possessiveness. It’s like experiencing something enthralling but also devastating at the same time. Much like watching someone younger than you make more money than you. Coincidentally, this and a karmic relationship both leave you asking, “What am I doing with my life?”
Types Of Karmic Relationships
Other than the classic karmic relationship, there are two other kinds of relationships that are sometimes included under this category. The different types of karmic relationships include the soulmate connection and the twin flame connection, although the three of them differ massively from each other by definition. All the different types of karmic relationships have been discussed in detail below:
1. Soulmate connection
It’s the Jack meets Rose, Romeo meets Juliet, and Mr. Darcy meets Elizabeth Bennet kind of love. It’s the kind of love Shakespeare wrote sonnets about. The kind that every romantic comedy out there would have you believe in. It’s the fairytale soulmate connection – the one that stops you in your tracks one day as you first set your eyes on a beautiful stranger and are filled with the sudden realization that they are who you are meant to be with. It’s as if your very being recognizes them and is drawn to them. That’s your soulmate connection – a love that transcends lifetimes, outlasting the creation and destruction of civilizations. Unlike the classic karmic kind of love, the soulmate connection is not meant to teach you anything other than sheer, unadulterated romance. This kind of love is not characterized by toxicity or aggression or frustration. It is the kind we all go looking for at some point or the other in our lives. And when you do find your soulmate – someone with whom you share a soul connection, a connection not understood by outsiders but felt by you to your very bones – know that it marks the beginning of a relationship that is meant to last.
2. The karmic relationship
The best way to understand what a karmic relationship is is to just go listen to the immensely popular Eminem and Rihanna song Love the way you lie. It shows all the signs of the classic karmic relationship. Everything about that couple in the music video is about extremes and, while you know it’s toxic, the chemistry is so fiery that you keep coming together, if only just to clash and then make out. But how do karmic relationships start? The karmic relationship is also characterized by a soul recognition but that is where the similarities between it and the soulmate connection end. Although the chemistry between two people who share a karmic connection is undeniable, the sheer toxicity of it cannot quite be ignored either. You know those two friends of yours who are always fighting but also cannot seem to keep their hands off of each other? The on-again-off-again couple who won’t stop breaking up and getting back together for the 656th time? Yep, that’s a couple that probably shares a karmic connection. A karmic connection is designed in a way that it cannot be ignored. It forces you to face your demons and that of your partner. It invites you to clash again and again. A karmic connection carries to this life the unresolved issues between you and your partner in your past lives. So, it is characterized by immense frustration and emotional turmoil. The entire relationship tends to be a roller coaster ride that ends up consuming all your mental space and time. But, despite the turmoil and the extreme emotions at play, you are always afraid of it ending and them leaving you behind even though, in your heart of hearts, you know something like this cannot go on and the toxic relationship will have to end someday. But why do karmic relationships happen? However toxic, the purpose of karmic relationships is healing. Ever wondered why are karmic relationships so painful? The purpose of karmic relationships and the pain that characterizes them is to help the people involved break out of the cycle of toxicity and abuse and start healing as people and souls so they can begin to welcome new experiences into their lives.
3. The twin flame connection
Often confused with the soulmate connection, the twin flame relationship goes above and beyond everything that characterizes a soulmate connection. This means that there are plenty of similarities between the two kinds of connections. But they are definitely not the same. A twin flame connection is intense, to say the least. It is when you meet a person and feel like you are looking into a mirror. Or like you have been incomplete your whole life and only now, after meeting your partner, are starting to feel truly whole. This is because, according to Greek mythology, the God Zeus, fearing the power of initially four-legged and four-armed humans, literally cleaved them in two. Thus, humans were condemned to living a life of despair – forever doomed to search for their other half, their twin flame. Theories also claim that, when a new soul is created, it is split in two and shared between two bodies. So, we go about our lives completely unaware that our bodies carry only one half of one soul that yearns to be whole again. So, when you do meet the person whose body carries the other half of your incomplete soul, it tends to get intense. But what is the purpose of a twin flame? A twin flame, believe it or not, serves an exceedingly important purpose. A twin flame connection is supposed to inspire growth – be it spiritual, mental, or emotional. It teaches one how to fall for oneself. By making us face a mirror, it lets us recognize our own faults and failings. This means that such a relationship too is characterized by tumultuous emotions. But, while it is characterized by emotional upheaval, it is not toxic like a karmic relationship often is. It teaches us how to be better people and become the best version of ourselves instead. This does not mean that the purpose of karmic relationships is the same as that of the twin flame. While karmic relationships help us resolve the bad blood of our past lives while inducing a process of healing, the twin flame connection is about growth and self-love.
What Are The Signs Of A Karmic Relationship?
It’s possible that even if your friends send you this article, you’ll turn a blind eye to it (especially if you’re a Leo, you do what you want). You’ll choose solely to believe that you’re going to end up with this person. While you may believe that wholeheartedly, you should still think about the possibility that you might be in a damaging relationship. We list out signs of a karmic relationship so you can determine if you’re in one:
1. Instant connection
From the minute you started talking, it felt like you’ve known this person all your life. The pace at which you both become comfortable with each other was astonishing. There were no awkward conversations, you never had to think about what to say next, the conversations just kept flowing. It’s because of these intense feelings that you may be experiencing for the first time that you think you’ve found the one. The instant connection feels like a godsent. The beginning of the relationship is one of the best karmic relationship stages.
2. A karmic relationship instills codependency
One of the worst karmic relationship symptoms includes being codependent on your partner. You feel addicted. Like you can’t go a single day without talking to your partner and like your happiness solely depends on how they treat you. Codependency encourages harmful trust issues, jealousy and possessiveness. You need to realize that you have a life outside your relationship. It might be cute to call your partner “the maple syrup to my pancakes” but pancakes need their own space too.
3. You’re deathly scared of it ending
Better the devil you know than the one you don’t. But the devil you know is still a devil. You may be scared of the future because you just cannot imagine losing this person you hold so close, which is what makes breaking free of a karmic relationship so hard. A karmic relationship introduces you to any abandonment issues you might have dwelling inside of you. You’re scared of how you’ll end up once this relationship ends and might even be thinking you won’t find anyone better (trust us, you’ll be laughing about that last one very soon).
4. Your partner is the most frustrating person you’ve ever met
..but you still love them. Karmic relationship symptoms are just that complex. Karmic relationship synchronicities allow for such a deep, spiritual connection that you forget all about how annoying your partner is. When you meet up to resolve a fight, you end up kissing and you forget about whatever it is you fought about. Until it happens again, possibly the very next day. A passive-aggressive text, a rude comment, an inconsiderate action, the list goes on and on. The next time you want to give your partner a piece of your mind, take a friend with you so you both don’t end up kissing. If you do end up kissing in front of your friend, let’s just say your friend isn’t going to be around much longer.
5. The issues never go away
This is another classic one in the aggravating list of karmic relationship symptoms. The reason for your first breakup (we say first because we know you two will have at least a billion of them) is something that still causes problems in your relationships. You both know the issues need to be resolved, but your idea of conflict resolution involves blocking and unblocking each other on Instagram. This incapability to resolve an issue that arises in your relationship makes you feel like you’re never going to work through them. You might not work through them in this relationship, you just have to learn from them.
6. It’s a whirlwind of emotions
One day it’s rainbows and butterflies, the very next it’s dog-eat-dog. Your relationship suddenly goes from feeling like there’s nothing better in the world to you wanting to not have anything to do with this person at all. You stay caught in the cycle of asking, “Why are karmic relationships so painful?”, as you yell at them and then jump their bones at the next moment. A karmic relationship is exhausting, to say the least. It’s a punch to the gut, and then it’s all hugs and cuddles. Mental exhaustion like this will make you realize why the world unanimously agrees we become more and more like Squidward as we grow older.
7. They show you the demons inside of you
That groggy morning when you were out of milk, the eggs were all expired and you couldn’t find your socks, you thought you were the angriest you’ve ever been. Until your karmic relationship shows you what kind of anger you’re capable of, by testing your patience every single day. The fights you two have turn ugly, very quickly. You’re shown a side of yourself you didn’t know was there. Since karmic relationship symptoms include anger issues, this is supposed to happen to you. You know how you have wondered “why do karmic relationships happen?” since the moment you met that person you hate that you are in love with? This is the purpose of karmic relationships. It will teach you things about yourself you can’t get to know any other way.
8. The relationship is all-consuming
Why would you ever want to break up? It’s going wonderfully. You know in your head you’re going to end up with this person. The relationship is intense, it has shown you what love can make you feel and you long for your partner’s touch 24×7. There’s nothing more you want than to be lost in your partner’s arms. A karmic relationship is the embodiment of “good while it lasted”. One of the best karmic relationship stages is when you’re in the thick of it, letting your powerful feelings take you to new highs.
9. You know it won’t work
Somewhere, deep beneath all the infatuation and the red flags you ignore, you know this relationship is never going to last. No matter how much you run from it (just like you run from the weighing scale), you know the truth but just don’t want to accept it. Breaking free from a karmic relationship only happens when you’ve experienced all you were meant to experience, the high and the lows. It teaches you to not lie to yourself, to stop ignoring the karmic relationship symptoms, and listen to what your head is telling you over your heart.
5 Ways To Handle And Cope With A Karmic Relationship
We’re not just going to tell you you’re in a karmic relationship and then leave you hanging. If you’ve gone through the signs and think you’re definitely in one, you might be confused and even a bit hurt about facing reality. Change will truly come from within yourself and you’re the only one who will get yourself out of this mess. Here are 5 things you can do to speed up that process:
1. If the relationship is toxic, leave
No one should ever stay in a toxic relationship. The karmic relationship symptoms like jealousy, self-doubt, anger issues and trust issues might end up damaging you severely if you stay in a toxic environment for too long. It’ll definitely be hard to break free of a karmic relationship, but with the help of people around you, or even professional help, you should end the relationship quickly.
2. Communicate
Most relationship problems can be solved through effective communication. Even though this may be a relationship that doesn’t seem like it’s going to go the distance, good communication might just end up solving half your problems. So next time please don’t block each other on all social media, hoping that will get the job done. Have a constructive dialogue with your partner instead.
3.“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”
Take some inspiration from the bible, forgive yourself and your partner. Holding grudges and planning revenge will only leave you messing about in a toxic swamp. It will take a lot of maturity and a few self-help books, but once forgiveness has been achieved, you can successfully move on.
4. Have some self-respect
When the going gets tough, command some respect. It’s important to know your worth and not let your controlling partner walk all over you. You need to tell yourself that you deserve better and no one has the right to make your life miserable. Once you put up clear boundaries and practice discipline, you’ll start getting back to the person you once were.
5. You’ll gain nothing if you don’t learn from it
Karmic relationship astrology says that the relationship itself acts as a teaching mechanism. Once this relationship is over, or even while it’s going on, you need to retrospect and figure out what harmed you and why. Like everyone should, you too need to learn from a failed relationship. You’ll get to know yourself better, you’ll know what you want from a future partner. If you learn from a karmic relationship, your next one will be so much better. So don’t go about posting sad quotes on your social media story just yet.
