What Is A Soul Tie?
Tying people together, one soul at a time.
Getty Images A soul tie is a powerful connection formed between two people that is hard to break due to its spiritual and emotional intensity.
Soul ties can be between friends, family, partners, or mentors.
Often confused with soul mates, soul ties can be unhealthy and manipulative when formed in a toxic bond.
What is a soul tie?
A soul tie is a spiritual connection between two people that can form by four different avenues — physical, emotional, spiritual, and social.
When you form a soul tie with another person, it is built upon your relationship's uniqueness, and it *can* be a positive experience.
Soul ties provide the belief that the bonds we hold with people are strong enough to last a lifetime.
Perhaps your soul tie feels like no one will understand you as much as this person.
Or maybe you’re unable to imagine being with anyone else.
Toxic soul ties can be detrimental to your mental, emotional, or physical health.
Healthy or toxic, soul ties help us to better understand the relationships we have in our lives.
What is a toxic soul tie?
Most commonly seen in romantic relationships, we can also have soul ties with toxic friends, family, or mentors.
When they act as a negative aspect in our lives, soul ties may be referred to as ungodly soul ties.
Deep-rooted in the belief of God, these ties are presented in our lives for a bigger purpose — good or bad.
It’s actually quite beautiful to think that such a strong bond could impact our life today and potentially the rest of our lives.
The relationship doesn’t have to be in progress for the soul tie to remain.
Soul ties can also explain why it takes us so long to get over breakups.
While the relationship might have ended, the soul tie could still be alive.
There are many different relationships we hold with people, but that of a soul tie is stronger than most.
It is said that certain experiences with people will connect or tie you together throughout your life.
Although these ties can be broken, it is not an easy feat.
What is a soul tie? Here are four types of soul ties and the meaning of each:
What is a physical soul tie?
A physical soul tie is formed when there is an intimate relationship with another person.
A physical soul tie can become toxic if the bond is built on lies.
If you’ve ever heard that having relations with someone will lead to a strong bond, this is related to a physical soul tie.
The belief is that once you are physically intimate with a person, it can be harder to leave them or recognize the toxicity that might be present.
A physical soul tie can create emotional ones with a person who is unhealthy for us.
Often we may find the power of intimacy to be stronger than we can imagine, and it's hard to break but possible.
Symptoms of a physical soul tie include feeling depressed or incomplete when a person leaves or that you let can't go when the relationship ends.
What is an emotional soul tie?
An emotional soul tie can involve a physical soul tie, but it can also happen without one.
An emotional soul tie can be positive, but if abused, these can become toxic.
A toxic emotional soul tie takes place when a person becomes dependent on the validation of a person in order to have self-worth.
It makes sense that if you bare your soul to someone, there will be a connection that is formed.
This could be with a romantic partner, friend, or family member.
Going through the highs and lows with someone over time will likely bond you together.
Being vulnerable allows both people to see a side of each other that might have been hidden.
Symptoms of an emotional soul tie include feeling drained of your energy.
What is a spiritual soul tie?
A spiritual soul tie takes place when you bond with a person beyond the physical or emotional levels.
Many believe that we are meant to be spiritual beings, so when two individuals become one, such as in marriage, a soul tie is created.
It is an innate desire to understand the spiritual world and continually further our knowledge.
Spiritual relationships can be present with teachers, mentors, family, friends, or partners.
If there’s ever someone to enter your life that helps you answer the big questions, it’s safe to assume you have a spiritual soul tie with them.
The first book of the Bible talks about soul ties, Genesis 2:24 says, "That is why a man leaves his father and his mother and is united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." (NIV)
What is a social soul tie among friends?
This soul tie is most evidently seen within the friendships we hold.
However, shared social groups also make way for this kind of a spiritual tie.
These people generally have the same values, thoughts, and motivations.
Sometimes when a friendship ends, it can be more heartbreaking than the end of a romantic relationship.
The social soul tie is just as strong as others and shows the importance of friendship within our lives.
Understanding what a soul tie is and being able to identify each can help us to make sense of feelings of love and reversely, heartache.
Although there’s no concrete proof that soul ties exist, we know that deep connections are all around us, and words like 'soul tie' help to define our human experiences.
Isabella Pacinelli is a writer who covers relationship, self-love, spirituality, and entertainment topics.