A karmic relationship is one that is bound by fate.
It’s a relationship you are meant to be in, and often it’s a very spiritual connection.
Karmic relationships can be all-consuming and passionate, but they can also be turbulent and challenging.
In short, karmic ties are intense!
If you familiarize yourself with the karmic relationship signs below, you can identify if you’re in one of these unique connections.
And it’s worth knowing because karmic relationships break through limitations in life if you nurture them well.
What Is a Karmic Relationship?
Karmic relationships can teach us lessons to better understand ourselves and our relationships.
A karmic relationship is ultimately a mirror that allows us to peer into ourselves through the eyes of another.
We will see our joys, fears, sorrows, strengths, and personal challenges in this other person.
Here are some additional characteristics of this potent relationship:
Karmic partners are guides: There’s a specific set of skills and resources that our karmic partners will have to help us figure out the path we need to follow. These guiding principles may be explicit in certain relationships, but they may appear mysteriously or symbolically in other ones.
You met them in a previous relationship: It’s believed that you and your karmic partner made a conscious decision to come together and help each other on your unique paths. This possibly happened before you two were born or in another lifetime.
They help you to finalize unresolved issues: In a karmic relationship, your partner will be there for some of the darkest moments in your life. For example, a karmic partner may come into your life when you have a life-threatening condition or have gone through a major trauma. You may associate them with part of the problem, but they are actually entering your life to support you through these challenging times.
The karmic relationship won’t always last forever: A connection where two people support each other’s karmic path is usually temporary. The objective is for the two people to resolve their current issues and break free from cycles. If they are successful in this work, they liberate themselves to a new chapter, which usually means new people and circumstances.
Understanding the Karmic Bond
A karmic bond can spur personal growth and look like many different things.
Here are some of the most common ways that a karmic bond will help you to break free of cycles and grow into a new paradigm:
A karmic bond will show you the problem in many different ways: Sometimes, it can be hard for us to know what we need to learn to karmically advance. A karmic relationship manifests the message in many different ways. Sometimes it is obvious, such as a partner telling us what we need to grow. Sometimes it feels cryptic, like needing to interpret our partner’s mysterious actions and deciding what to do about them.
This bond may be painful: It’s hard to think that we would choose in another life to meet up with someone that we have conflict and pain with. But karmic ties aren’t about what is comfortable; they’re about what is helpful. Sometimes we need challenging relationships with others to get what we need out of life.
Karmic relationships are more about ourselves than the other person: It’s easy to get entangled in our stories with our karmic partner, but it’s essential to remember to go inward and figure out what we are doing to create the bonds and challenges in this relationship. We are ultimately responsible for our own growth. We should use our karmic bonds as support systems along the way, not as distractions for doing our own work.
13 Signs of a Karmic Relationship
It’s helpful to separate yourself from the emotions of your karmic relationships to see them for what they really are – opportunities for deep growth and change.
Here are 13 signs that you’re in a karmic relationship so you can make the best out of it.
1. There’s Deep Codependency in the Relationship
The intensity of this relationship can lead to a deep dependency on each other. Even if there is pain in the relationship, it’s still one that you’re not sure you can live without.
You may expect the other person to constantly text you, call you, or spend time with you. You’re only fully satisfied when you feel connected to them.
2. The Relationship Has Many Highs and Lows
A karmic relationship can feel like heaven on earth. In good moments, you may feel the relationship is perfect. But even at the same moment, things can turn and go south.
A one-off comment or action could send one or both of you spiraling into anger and pain. Because of this, you’re always walking on eggshells in this relationship, never sure if things will be emotionally stable.
3. You’re Reminded of Past Traumas When Together
Your karmic partner can get under your skin if they do things that are upsetting for you and remind you of the past.
For example, they may use a tone of voice that reminds you of an abusive parent or act avoidant, which could trigger your fear of abandonment.
These micro triggers keep your traumas on your mind and challenge you to consciously manage your emotions and physiological responses so that you don’t act or suffer in a way you previously had.
4. Patterns Repeat Over and Over Again
There is usually a central message that karmic partners present to each other over and over. So it’s essential to pay attention to the patterns to understand what you need to learn from this person.
You can look for abstract symbols. Does this person always wear a particular color, or do they use a word or phrase that has a specific meaning to you?
You may notice situational patterns, such as always finishing each other’s sentences or consistently disagreeing about the same things. Maybe you both keep running into the same issues at work or in romantic relationships with each other or others.
5. You’re Extremely Sensitive in the Relationship
Does every little thing a specific person does rub you the wrong way? Do you find yourself overreacting or tightening your gut or chest when this person says something?
If you’re wondering why you take everything so personally with an individual, it may be because you’re in a karmic relationship.
You two are likely to be highly sensitive to each other, so they may be hyper-aware and responsive to you as well.
6. You Act Like Your Worst Self When You’re Around Them
Have you ever fought with someone and said to yourself afterward, “I don’t even know who I was in that fight”? You may be very confused that you didn’t act in line with your values, but this is common when you’re working stuff out in a karmic relationship.
Ultimately, you need to release these toxic and destructive parts of yourself, and the other person will make these issues boil over so you can confront them, work on them, and move on from them.
It’s not pretty to act in a way that feels below you, but it’s a sobering wake-up call that can teach you how to grow and treat others better.
7. Your Connection Happens Instantaneously
When you first meet your karmic partner, you’ll feel like you’ve known them for years. And the truth is, on another plane, you probably have.
You’ll find their physicality, actions, and emotions to feel familiar. You may find this attractive or annoying, but it’s usually a combination of both. Because when we know others for a long period, we see all of their facets, for better or worse.
Having this feeling of familiarity enables karmic soulmates to understand each other and, therefore, better help each other.
It also means the two people notice and call out certain personality traits. There’s no hiding behind politeness, fakeness, or other techniques to block a person from getting under the skin.
A karmic relationship can be all-consuming, which means the other person will always pop into your head. You may have dreams about them, which can be quite revealing.
For example, if you dream about starting a project with your karmic soulmate, any arrangement details may be useful for collaboration in your waking life. Dreams may also tell you how you and this person will ultimately separate.
Do you need to step away from your fear of abandonment? Will you need to release your need to control and oppress others?
Processing relationships subconsciously will provide clues on how to move forward. You can also access this level of understanding through meditation, mindfulness practices, free journaling, or hypnosis.
9. You Notice Synchronicities in the Relationship
There may be many coincidences in the relationship that are hard to explain. Perhaps there’s a rainstorm every time you meet up with your karmic person. Or whenever you talk on the phone, you notice a throbbing pain in your lower back.
Even though these occurrences may seem unrelated, they may be happening to provide you with important information about how to move forward. Usually, if you ignore these synchronicities, they will become louder and louder until you have to address them.
So keep track of these moments to see if they are intensifying over time, and try responding in different ways to figure out what action you need to take to satisfy your karmic needs.
10. There Are Many Dramatic Fights
Do you have fights that feel like theatrical performances because they’re so dramatic? These dramas are another big sign of a karmic relationship.
It’s as if the fight is hitting you over the head to tell you to change. When you’re in intense fights with a karmic partner, you’ll want to ask yourself, why am I putting up with this? How much longer do I need to hold onto this suffering?
Try to listen and stay curious to learn from them during these emotionally charged moments.
11. You Project Onto Them
Do you find yourself blaming someone for everything? As mentioned above, a karmic partner is a mirror. When we see something we don’t like in someone else, we really see our own issues through someone else’s eyes.
It is a huge opportunity for us to look at the parts of ourselves we don’t like if we are willing to deal with the honesty of who we are.
Projection may also happen in the other direction. For example, the other person may always blame you for what is happening in their life, and if you have a history of carrying the burden of others, you may internalize and accept blame when they give it to you.
It’s then your responsibility to break this pattern and communicate to the other person that you don’t take responsibility for their suffering, even if you want to help them along their path.
12. It’s Hard to Maintain Boundaries
Sometimes there’s one person who can penetrate us more deeply than others. Even if we are good with holding firm boundaries, this person always seems to slip right past us.
It’s easy to call the other person manipulative, but there may be a deeper karmic reason why this person can get under our skin so easily.
What is this person showing you about your protective measures, and where are the gaps in them? Investigating these spaces allows you to better care for yourself and prioritize your needs when necessary.
13. You Sense That the Relationship Shouldn’t Be Permanent
Karmic relationships are intense, so they often burn bright and end quickly. The connection isn’t about homeostasis; it’s about growth.
So once you go through a rapid growth period with your karmic friend, it’s common for you to both go your separate ways. It may feel painful, especially if you’re attached and enmeshed with the person.
However, it can clearly indicate that you’ve passed each other’s karmic tests and are on your way to greener pastures.
Final thoughts
Karmic love connections can manifest in many ways, including high emotional intensity and seemingly insurmountable challenges.
But these relationships’ purpose is to help us become bigger than we think we are so we can transcend our limiting beliefs and patterns.
So trust that karmic partners are put in our lives to help us grow. Stay curious about the relationship and think about where you need to make changes in your life to avoid staying stuck in the same patterns.
