We all know the saying, “karma’s a bitch.” It’s a popular way to describe the universal phenomena of getting back what you put out. Did you cut someone off in traffic yesterday? Ah, well, that explains why your car got blasted with a literal shitstorm of bird crap. Oh, you thought the hotel restaurant wouldn’t notice if you stuck a teacup in your purse? The universe watched and ensured your flight home was delayed by four hours. Karma, in a sense, is a form of moral justice. You get what you give. A karmic relationship has a similar theme. In a karmic relationship, you are paying for something you’ve done in the past. But how do you recognize a karmic relationship when you’re in one? Keep reading to find out.
What Is a Karmic Relationship, and Are You in One?
Karma is an ancient belief that originated in Hinduism. Karma is the belief that actions have cause and effect. If you take a negative action, for example, you will be rewarded with a negative consequence or negative karma. Take positive actions, and you will be rewarded with a positive outcome or good karma. In ancient Hinduism, it’s believed that our karma in the present can carry over to our next life. So, if we do something bad today, we might not feel the negative consequences of our bad decision until our next life. This idea explains why bad things sometimes happen to good people. It’s not that these people did anything wrong in the present. It may be negative karma from what they’ve done in their past life. A karmic relationship works similarly.
You can describe a Karmic relationship as two people brought together to receive their karmic consequences. It’s believed that a karmic relationship is predestined before birth. The karmic relationship is agreed upon by both parties beforehand in the astral plane of existence. They agree upon the relationship for each to learn something, right a wrong, or experience a karmic consequence for their previous actions. Sometimes a karmic relationship can result from unfinished business between two souls in a previous life. Thus, they agree to meet again in the next life to finish what they started and complete the karmic cycle. A karmic relationship has passion, intense codependency, drama, and a hard-earned lesson for each party.
Karmic Relationship VS Soulmate and Twin Flame Relationship
A karmic relationship is not the same as a soulmate relationship or twin flame relationship. In both a soulmate and twin flame relationship, both parties have known each other in past lives. They have likely also agreed to reconnect in the next life. But both soulmate and twin flame relationships are about healing and harmonious union. Karmic relationships are not. A karmic relationship is about two people working through a struggle together in the hopes they both come out with better insight. Soulmate and twin flame relationships are easy. Karmic relationships are often difficult and generally not the person you should end up with.
9 Signs You are In a Karmic Relationship
How do you know if you are in a karmic relationship? Most karmic relationships have similar characteristics. Below are 9 signs you could be in a karmic relationship:
1. You Feel An Instant Connection
When you are in a karmic relationship with someone, you will feel as if you have known them your whole life. Your first meeting will be instant chemistry. It’s not uncommon to feel an intense connection as if you two understand each other on a different level. When you meet your karmic partner, you’ll feel like this meeting has happened. That’s because it has. Two people in a karmic relationship have met before in their past lives. It explains why they have such a strong connection upon meeting in their next life. You can easily mistake this connection for a soul mate connection. But while they are your karmic soulmate, they are not the same as a true soulmate. A karmic relationship is different than a soulmate relationship, but the initial first meeting will feel nearly identical.
2. You Fight A Lot
A karmic relationship often has arguments and drama. A karmic relationship is intense and can feel very passionate at times. But this passion is what leads to intense emotions like jealousy and anger. Karmic relationships carry raw emotions from unresolved issues not settled in a past life. The drama creates many problems in the relationship that lead to a seemingly never-ending break-up and make-up cycle. While no relationship is without its problems, karmic relationships have many issues. A healthy relationship will have minimal problems or at least two people willing to work through them healthily. But two people in a karmic relationship will find it near impossible to work through their problems.
3. You Experience a Rollercoaster of Emotions
Being in a karmic relationship will feel like heaven until it feels like hell. Karmic relationships have plenty of highs and lows. But they are extreme highs and lows. When things are good, they’re great. But when things are bad, they’re terrible. These intense emotions will follow you throughout the relationship. Your emotions and situations could change daily. One minute you’re on cloud nine, and the next, you’re in a heated argument over something insignificant. Sometimes these intense highs and lows become addicting. Some people thrive off of drama, if only for the sake of the makeup sex afterward. Two people in a karmic relationship will crave the passionate arguments that ensue daily. It’s not uncommon for one or both partners to routinely start fights for the sake of arguing. The rollercoaster of emotions might keep the relationship interesting, but it wears on individuals eventually.
4. You’re Codependent
A karmic relationship is often a codependent relationship. Codependency is when two people feel they cannot survive without the other. They rely on the other person for their happiness. Two people in a codependent relationship lose themselves in one another. They cannot stand to be apart and can’t make decisions on their own. They rely on the other person for everything, even their personality. Many codependent relationships have an unequal balance of power. One partner will be more dominant and make the decisions, while the other person follows along. However, they are both dependent on this power dynamic and don’t know what to do without the other. Codependent relationships are unhealthy and never end well. If you are in a codependent relationship, you may also be in a karmic relationship.
5. Your Relationship Is Abusive
Karmic relationships are intense and can bring out the worst in people. Intense feelings of jealousy or rage can lead to possessiveness and abuse. Both verbal and physical abuse are signs of an abusive relationship. Laying hands on one another or verbally tearing each other down are unhealthy abusive behaviors common in a karmic relationship. A toxic relationship is trouble for both parties involved. You may find yourself doing and saying things that you would never have thought you were capable of. Karmic relationships bring out the demons in people. They teach each person a life lesson. A karmic relationship will teach you how to handle your demons, but only if you are willing to change. While karmic relationships are a teaching lesson, not everyone learns something. Abusive karmic relationships can turn dangerous if you don’t get out in time. If you find yourself in an abusive relationship, the lesson you learn is how to get out. Never stay in a relationship that is harmful to you or the other person.
6. You Never Feel Safe
In a healthy relationship, the more time you spend with one another, the more comfortable you become. You get to know one another better as time passes and feel safe knowing the other person understands you. You can let your guard down, knowing the other person won’t do you wrong. In a karmic relationship, that’s never the case. Karmic relationships have so many ups and downs that it’s impossible to know what will happen next. You are constantly worried about when the next fight will be, what the other person is thinking, and whether the relationship will last. In a karmic relationship, you can’t let your guard down. There is never that sense of well-being knowing you are with the right person. It is a constant state of anxiety for both partners. Karmic relationships are unpredictable.
7. You Don’t Want to Let Go
Codependency and an intense connection in a karmic relationship make you feel like you can’t let go. You will constantly make excuses for the other person’s behavior to stay in the relationship longer. Karmic relationships are hard to give up because you will feel like you’ll never have the same connection again. You are mistaking your karmic bond for a soulmate bond when, in fact, they are not the same thing. Soulmate bonds are about healing, not self-destruction. You will have difficulty letting go of a karmic relationship until you understand it. Any relationship that is bad for you, karmic or not, is not meant for you.
8. You Feel Exhausted
The constant back and forth in a karmic relationship is exhausting. The emotional turmoil is enough to cause anyone physical and mental distress. If you’re in a karmic relationship, you’ll feel worn out from the relationship itself. You’ll be in a constant state of anxiety, wondering when the next argument will happen. You’ll always be worrying about when the next time is the last and how your relationship will end. You may notice that the emotional distress is causing you to lose sleep or concentration at work. You may impact your social life as you have no energy for anyone else but your partner. You may even become physically ill. Karmic relationships are energy drainers that are unsustainable in the long run.
9. The Relationship Comes to a Messy End
Finally, the last sign you’re in a karmic relationship is how it ends. Karmic relationships will always end and usually end badly. Again, a karmic relationship is not a soulmate relationship. They teach you a lesson, and they are not a long-term relationship. Two people in a karmic relationship are not compatible with one another. Eventually, one or both will tire of the constant back and forth. They will no longer have the energy to keep the battle going, and thus, it must end. The end can be messy to epic proportions. The same passion and emotion felt during the bulk of the relationship will come to a volatile end. There may be intense fighting, tears, and raw emotion. It will likely be a breakup that will stick in your memory for years to come. But while it seems difficult at the time, you will later feel a sense of relief. When you find your soul mate, you will immediately notice the difference in how it feels. A normal, healthy relationship is supposed to be easy. You will see just how toxic your karmic relationship was and why it’s a good thing it ended.
Are Karmic Relationships Healthy?
Most of the characteristics of karmic relationships are traits of an unhealthy relationship. Intense feelings of rage and jealousy, or extreme passion are not sustainable. People in karmic relationships hurt one another frequently. It’s part of the karmic cycle. Karmic relationships are not healthy, but the lessons learned from them are. Karmic relationships take people on a journey of personal growth. You learn things about yourself and your personality by being in volatile relationships. You also learn things about the other person and can relate them to human nature.
For example, being in a codependent relationship may teach you much about your feelings of self-worth. We are often attracted to certain people and situations because of our faults. Maybe you feel you are not good enough as you are. You believe that you need another person to make you feel good about yourself, so you attract a domineering codependent personality. This person calls the shots and makes you believe you are nothing without them. It’s only later, when you’ve finally had enough, that you find your voice. You end the relationship because you know it no longer serves you. Ultimately, you become aware that you were a complete and worthy person, all on your own. You learned that you do not need another person to make you feel worthy.
Or let’s say you have been in relationships in the past where you acted unkindly. Maybe you’ve had partners before that treated you wonderfully. They thought the world of you and stuck by your side no matter what you did to them. You took their kindness and adoration for granted and were careless with their feelings. In a karmic relationship, maybe those tables are turned. You now find yourself in the position of your previous partners. Maybe you are now the person completely in love with the other. But you can’t understand why they are treating you so poorly. You are a lovesick puppy dog, and they are careless with your heart and feelings. Soon, you realize a pattern. Your karmic partner is treating you the exact way you treated past lovers. You are essentially getting a taste of your own medicine. You realize how awful a partner you’ve been when you go through the poor treatment yourself. Once you learn the lesson, you can move on to your next relationship and behave better.
Final Thoughts
There is no scientific proof that karma is real. Karma is a philosophical approach to how the world corrects wrongs and rewards right. In a sense, it’s similar to the law of attraction, which is a belief that like attracts like. Behave and think negatively, and you will attract negative experiences and people into your life. Behave positively, and you will attract positivity into your life. Whether or not you believe in the idea of a karmic relationship, there is no denying that all relationships teach us something. Karmic relationships are nearly synonymous with toxic relationships. So, if you find yourself in a relationship as described above, get out. Young love and passion can make you stay in relationships longer than is healthy. And the longer you stay, the more hurt you will be. Karmic relationships teach you a lesson. Learn that lesson and move on.