7 ways to tell if it’s a twin flame, soulmate or karmic partner

Twin flames, soulmates, karmic partners – with all of these relationship partners it’s easy to get confused from time to time. 

If you’re wondering which category your boo might fall into, or you simply can’t tell the difference between what is what – this article is for you! 

We will be looking at 7 different ways to tell if it’s a twin flame, soulmate, or karmic partner! 

1) The definition 

Let’s start off with something to ease into the topic which will help us get an overview of the three different relationships: the definitions. 

Twin flames 

First off, Twin flames. 

A twin flame is essentially a very intense soul connection with someone. This person is said to be your other half. 

The idea originates from Greek mythology, more precisely Plato’s “The Symposium”, according to which humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and two faces. 

Zeus was scared of their immense power and split them in half, condemning the two to a life spent searching their other half. 

Twin flames are also said to be mirror souls. 

As such, they reflect your traits back to you – the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

As you can probably imagine, this leads to triggering experiences, but also immense growth. 

Twin flames show each other their deepest fears, insecurities, and shadows, but they also overcome them together. 

Soulmates 

In contrast to twin flames, soul mates are not mirroring you in all aspects, they complement you. 

Soulmates share a deep connection, but they usually are not dependent on each other in unhealthy ways (codependency, neediness, etc.) 

When you are in a relationship with a soulmate, all of your needs are met and vice versa. 

Soulmate relationships inspire you to enter a very nurturing, giving mindset and leave selfishness behind. 

Soulmates present the perfect partners, they help each other grow and make up for where their partner might have their weaknesses. 

There are different types of soulmates, however: 

• Romantic soulmates: they fire up your passion, which often leads to never-before-experienced emotional and physical pleasure
• Karmic soulmates: they share skills that help them reach a bigger goal. No love is required in this partnership, only a desire to fulfill their mission. 
• Soul partners: They haven’t seen each other in a while, but upon meeting, it’s as if time has had no effect on the connection they share 
• Companion soulmates: they share a platonic relationship, usually as best friends. 

Karmic partners 

Karmic relationships are a means to facilitate the various lessons you have to learn in this lifetime. 

Although this type of relationship results from a soul connection (like twin flames or soulmates), it is not smooth sailing. 

What does that mean for you? 

Well, usually karmic relationships serve as guides or teachers, and, just like those, they tend to be temporary. 

In contrast to the other two soul connections, once you’ve learned your lesson, the relationship has run its course. 

More often than not, the encounter is also used as a means to balancing out past lives. 

Simply put, you might have had a bad experience with this soul in a past life, and this relationship is meant to balance the scales. 

Needless to say, this type of relationship usually pushes all your buttons, and then some. 

You can have multiple different karmic partners throughout your life, depending on the various lessons you need to learn. 

2) The Purpose 

Now: as you can probably imagine, all of these soul connections serve different purposes. 

That’s another way you can easily tell them apart. 

Twin flame purpose 

Essentially, twin flame relationships have the purpose of helping you grow, release old wounds, and find true self-love and acceptance. 

As I mentioned, they are a mirror to your soul, and as such, they reflect all of your traits back to you. 

An interesting concept that blew my mind when I first discovered it, is the fact that all the things we dislike in other people are aspects of ourselves we haven’t integrated or accepted yet. 

Think about it: if your twin reflects all your traits back to you, that must be pretty turbulent, right? 

It is. Twin flame relationships are not easy, but they serve one purpose above all: 

Helping you get closer to your highest self. 

Turns out while you learn and grow, you are helping your twin achieve the same. 

Soulmate purpose 

Soulmates are a bit different than the other two soul connections. 

You see, while twin flames and karmic partners help you grow on the spot, soulmates do the same, but it’s more long-term growth. 

The purpose of a soulmate is first and foremost to be your partner through this lifetime. 

They are a perfect match and being with them will make you happy. 

After having undergone immense growth with one or both of the other partners, soulmates will bring a sense of calm to your life. 

They will teach you what it means to have your needs met and to be loved unconditionally. 

Karmic partner purpose 

As I briefly touched on in the definition of karmic partners, these relationships usually serve the purpose of being guides or teachers. 

Turns out there is something you need to learn when you are in a karmic relationship. 

Oftentimes, that can be a hard lesson, but other times it can also just be releasing past trauma. 

In my own experience, while these relationships are not always sunshine and rainbows, they are incredibly important for self-growth and development. 

Sure, there is a lot you can learn on your own, but to tell you the truth, certain levels of growth can only be reached in a relationship. 

3) The meeting 

Next up we will be talking about the differences in meeting your twin flame, your soulmate, and your karmic partner. 

Turns out the initial interactions are quite different between those three! 

Meeting your twin flame 

When you meet your twin flame, also known as twin flame reunion, there are a few things that will immediately set this encounter apart from others. 

First off, you feel a cosmic spark. It will not be deniable, it is really that strong. 

A few other characteristics of meeting them are: 

• Weird synchronicities – same or similar experiences, past traumas, etc. 
• A magnetic pull towards each other 
• A sense of recognition, feeling like you’ve known them your whole life 
• It feels extremely intense 
• The connection is almost psychic 

The thing is, a twin flame relationship is anything but calm and consistent. 

If you’re looking for that, you’re better off finding your soulmate: 

Meeting your soulmate 

Truth be told, it might take a while to find your soulmate. 

Only the fewest of us are lucky enough to find this kind of love in one of their earliest relationships. 

But how do you know you’ve found your soulmate? 

Well, similar to twin flames, you will feel an instant connection, a spark of passion and a deep understanding of one another that you can’t put into words. 

However, contrary to twin flames, soulmates usually make you feel extremely calm, it’s kind of like coming home. 

You see, when you’re with your soulmate, you know you can be truly yourself and you’re still safe and loved. 

Turns out there are a few signs of the universe that you will meet your soulmate soon: 

• Recognizing them (even if you haven’t met in person just yet) 
• Dreaming about them 
• Seeing a lot of angel numbers 
• Having fully recovered from past heartbreaks 
• Feeling happy and loved on your own 

Meeting your karmic partner 

What all three of these relationships have in common is that the connection feels instant and intense. 

You see, karmic partners are extremely magnetic, even more so than twin flames. 

It feels like they are the focus of your world once you meet them. 

Of course, that makes it hard to focus on other things. 

The good news? 

It might also accelerate the process of learning your lesson and moving on. 

4) The relationship you have 

Not all of these relationships are necessarily of romantic nature. 

Let’s look at what kinds of relationships can result from the different categories. 

Twin flames 

Twin flames are your mirror soul. 

Although many twin flames share a romantic relationship, they could also be simply friends, each other’s mentors, or even students. 

Naturally, a lot of twin flames think about getting married. 

While you belong together spiritually and could definitely get married, there is a word of caution here. 

Both partners should be in a state of feeling healed before they enter matrimony.  

Why you may ask? 

Well, twin flame relationships are turbulent enough as is (which is a reason not to get married, by the way), so if one of you isn’t healed yet, chances are there will be a fallout in the future. 

Soulmates 

I mentioned the different kinds of soulmates earlier already, and you might remember that they can be: 

• Romantic 
• Platonic 
• Karmic 

However, soulmates do make great couples, due to the nature of their connection. 

When you are lucky enough to be married to your soulmate, any obstacle in your way can be overcome together. 

Karmic partners 

You might have guessed it already, but karmic partners are usually romantic partners. 

Sometimes, they might even get married! 

The not-so-good news is that if they do, chances of getting divorced further down the line are pretty big. 

It is a temporary connection, after all, and once the lesson has been learned, they usually split ways. 

That being said, in rare cases, family or friends could be karmic partners, as well. 

5) How they communicate 

Believe it or not, communication can be a telltale sign of whether a connection is a twin flame, soulmate, or karmic partner. 

Twin flame communication

Once you’ve found your twin flame, communication will get very interesting. 

First of all, you won’t just communicate verbally anymore. 

What does that mean? 

Well, you will be able to communicate with your twin flame on a spiritual level. 

This telepathic communication often takes the shape of: 

• Silence 
• Dreams 
• Goosebumps 
• “Talking” eyes 
• Warning signs 
• Hiccups 
• A deep feeling 

And the best part? 

You and your twin flame might even be able to feel each other’s feelings! 

While, of course, that’s not always a positive thing, it will help you immensely in understanding one another! 

Soulmate communication 

One thing that works really well with soulmates is the way they communicate with each other. 

I say it time and time again, communication is key for a healthy relationship. 

Turns out soulmates can communicate verbally and non-verbally. 

The best part? 

This type of healthy communication will help you with all aspects of the relationship. 

• Sex 
• Insecurities 
• Getting your needs met 
• Loving them the way they need to be loved 
• Receiving the love you need 
• Life goals 
• Future plans 

Basically, anything you need to figure out in a relationship. 

Soulmates differ from other partners because they just get you. 

Do you know that feeling when you keep trying to explain yourself but you just don’t feel seen or heard? 

Well, with soulmates that’s what you don’t feel like. 

Karmic partners 

You might have guessed it already, but karmic partners are not so great at communicating with each other. 

In fact, miscommunication is a huge factor in the relationship and often plays into the many problems that arise. 

Turns out this is also the reason why karmic partners tend to fight almost constantly over all sorts of mundane things. 

It’s really no wonder that these relationships are not bound to flourish and last forever, is it? 

6) The challenges they face 

All of these relationships have different challenges to face over time. 

While none of them are easy, the nature of the challenges is what sets these three apart from one another. 

Twin flame challenges 

Maybe you remember what we talked about before, but twin flame relationships tend to be very tumultuous, borderline toxic. 

You see, they are so similar that seeing their own traits reflected back to them is extremely triggering. 

That has to be one of the biggest challenges for twin flames. However, it also leads to immense self-growth. 

Turns out twin flames also go through what is called “twin flame separation”. 

Basically, it’s when one or both of the twins freak out and run from the relationship, not being able to take its intensity anymore. 

Oftentimes, this will lead to the runner-chaser dynamic, where one twin is chasing the other for weeks, months, or sometimes even years in an attempt to get them back. 

This phase is not easy for either of the twins, but it’s a time of getting to know yourself and working on yourself. 

Soulmate challenges 

By now, you have probably realized that soulmates are the least turbulent among the three relationships, but that doesn’t mean it comes without any obstacles. 

We are all human, which means we have our imperfections. 

Usually, when soulmates struggle, it comes down to two types of problems: 

• Solvable conflicts which they master in no time 
• Unsolvable conflicts which make up a big part of their arguments 

The difference between the other relationships and soulmates? 

Soulmates know how to fight efficiently and healthily.

They don’t resort to things such as blaming, name-calling, or yelling. Instead, they: 

• Listen carefully 
• Try to understand where their partner is coming from 
• Use “I-statements” when talking about feelings 
• Act as a team against a problem as opposed to them vs their partner 

Karmic partners 

Where should I even start? 

Karmic partners are extremely drawn to one another, that’s no secret. 

The not-so-good part? 

They also find it incredibly hard to give each other space. 

The feelings are overwhelming and intoxicating, which can blind them to each other’s flaws. 

Red flag after red flag is common in these types of relationships. 

Simply put, they can be quite toxic. 

Some toxic tendencies include: 

• Codependency 
• Extreme jealousy 
• Controlling behaviors 
• Uncontrolled anger 

7) Splitting ways 

No matter what kind of connection you may have with someone, ways can split, and that’s okay. 

Depending on if/how/why you separate, you can identify differences between twin flames, soulmates, and karmic partners. 

Twin flames 

You might think: they’re my other half, now that I’ve finally found them, we’ll be together forever, right? 

Wrong. 

Many twin flame relationships fail, mostly because of their extremely triggering and challenging nature. 

However, even if you do split ways, you know that they were a catalyst for your growth like no relationship before. 

Twin flame relationships often fall apart because: 

• A twin flame gets scared of the depth of connection 
• A twin flame doesn’t feel worthy of this kind of love 
• A twin flame feels triggered by their partner 

Soulmates 

When soulmates find each other, they often stay together. 

For good reason, after all, they are a perfect match and know how to resolve conflicts in a healthy, productive way. 

Turns out sometimes, even these relationships can fall apart. 

Usually, it is only due to one thing: 

A lack of communication. 

Maybe you remember that I said soulmates tend to have a few unresolvable conflicts. 

That’s usually some innate difference in their views/values where they will never find common ground. 

If they can’t communicate healthily and navigate those differences, they might go their separate ways. 

More often than not, these two will stay together, though. 

Karmic partners 

It comes as no surprise that karmic partners almost always end up separating. 

Their relationship is extremely emotional, but not in a good way. 

The sheer toxicity of the relationship makes it hard to mend. 

Unless both partners do some serious self-work and learn how to be less toxic, this relationship is bound to fail. 

The good news? 

Walking away from this relationship will spare your mental health. 

You’re not meant to spend a long time with these kinds of partners, after you’ve learned your lesson, it is time to leave. 

How do you know if you’ve learned your lesson? 

Well, if you feel like you should break up, that’s your sign. Sometimes, your lesson is learning to let go of someone who isn’t good for you anymore. 

What relationship are you in? 

By now, you might have a better idea as to what relationship you are in. 

Even if you’re not too happy with the result (or you are single and wish you weren’t), you are exactly where you need to be! 

In the end, all of these relationships have one thing in common: if they are currently in your life, they are teaching you some kind of lesson. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t end them, though. 

Simply put, you don’t need to know every detail of certain relationship characteristics to figure out what to do next or why you feel the way you do. 

Listen to what your intuition is telling you, and if you’re enjoying your time, who cares if it’s a twin flame, soulmate, or anything else? 

Trust your gut and don’t stay in a relationship that doesn’t feel right anymore, either. 

In the end, you know way more than you think, you just need to trust your heart and believe me, it will lead you exactly where you need to go.