Being addicted to being in love is one of the toughest addictions to come to terms with. In order to liberate yourself from addiction, you first need to admit that you have one. But who wants to admit they have an addiction to love? The fear associated with making such an admission is off the charts because in making the admission, it feels like you are telling yourself (and the world) that you do not deserve to have your deepest need met – the need for unconditional love.
Of course, this is a lie. And it becomes so much easier when we understand the nature of this lie. As a former love-obsessed person, the penny started to drop for me during a podcast with Dr John Gray, author of ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are From Venus.’ In this podcast, Dr Gray talked about how children who grow up with abuse become addicted to the hormone oxytocin. During childhood, it can help you cope but as an adult trying to navigate dating, love and romance, it sets you up for toxic relationship patterns.
Addicted to Pain
You see, as an adult with an abusive past, you often crave the rush that you can only get from the kind of person you know deep down is bad for you… Only with them can you relive the rollercoaster ride of your childhood and get more or less regular release of that hormone you crave so badly.
Do you understand now that it is not love itself you are addicted to but chemistry? And do you understand that your deepest need is not actually to re-experience the release of oxytocin? Sure, your brain chemistry still thinks so, but you can start talking to it, like you would that frightened child you used to be. You can begin the rewiring process today. Think of your romantic self as suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome.
Sadly, out of those who suffer from this type of addiction, the last to admit they have a problem are those who spiritualise it. They too see how ridiculous it would be to let everything else in their life slide over just ordinary romance… However, if it is their Twin Flame or their Soul Mate it can somehow be justified. The self-deceit component can be very strong here. I know because this used to be me. And because it used to be me, the kind of Tarot readings I did for clients often revolved around similar issues – the Law of Attraction in action.
There are a couple of acid tests you can run to test yourself if you currently feel you have to be with someone because you think they are your TF or SM: Have you ever been wrong about someone being your ‘soul mate’ or ‘twin flame’? Then you can at least begin to admit the self-deceit component.
Twin Flame Acid Test
The acid test for TF’s is very simple. You see, Twin Flames aren’t even about romantic love – they are about serving God together… You can have zero romantic feelings for your Twin Flame, yet, if you are drawn together for the same higher purpose, you obviously are two halves of the same soul. Sure, some Twin Flames are romantically involved, but if that is all your relationship about (chemistry), please understand that you are deluding yourself about this person being your Twin Flame.
People misuse the soul mate excuse for both infidelity and love addiction. Soul mates are people we have interacted with in past lives. These are souls that belong to the same soul group and that keep reincarnating together to resolve karmic issues as well as keep learning together. If you have watched the film The Cloud Atlas, you will have an idea about how this can play itself out. (You can find a Tarot Spread based on this concept HERE).
You Might As Well Admit It
In general, if you tend to become obsessive in love, it is a sign that your relating is coming from a less than healthy place.
The Tarot Spread below is my gift to anyone out there struggling to break free from ‘love addiction.’ It is a spread that you can do on a weekly basis to keep yourself strong. I recommend journaling your readings so that you can go back over them in order to keep on track of your quest for emotional freedom.
Sometimes a cataclysmic event can be a precursor to emotional freedom. In my case it was a particularly bad encounter with a soul mate, who turned out to be married. This was followed by an ex trying to wriggle his way back into my life so that we could continue a toxic, co-dependent relationship. Sure, I was a bit older and wiser but more importantly, I got sufficiently pissed off with both patterns recurring that I smashed them in one fell swoop. I called it for what it was which is utter BS and vowed to not ever repeat it again.
So yeah, getting really fucking angry helps sometimes – it certainly helped speed up the rewiring of my own brain chemistry!
It wasn’t long after that I met the wonderful man I’m in a perfectly healthy, loving and non-toxic relationship.
I love that I had to learn the hard way because now I can pass this learning along so that you can heal a bit faster… 🙂
Aphrodite’s Mirror Tarot Spread
1. Eros – This card speaks about the nature of your erotic desires and/or how you meet that need
There is no need to judge your desire. It is what it is, even if it is still looping on an old craving for oxytocin. Getting your thoughts down on paper gives you back the power over your desire. You rule your desire, your desire does not rule your life, capisce?
2. Agape – This card speaks about how loved and accepted you feel by the All
Feeling loved comes from feeling connected both vertically (to Spirit) and horizontally (to people around you). The more you cultivate your loving connection to all living things, the more unconditional love life will reflect back at you. Simples.
3. Aphrodite – This card speaks about how you can magnetise more romance into your life
You are your own High Priestess of Love. If you truly desire more romance and sexual intimacy, there is nothing to prevent you from having it. How? Aphrodite teaches you how to be what you seek to attract. Magnetising love and romance because of the same qualities already being present within is what will prevent you from seeking to compensate for what you lack.
I hope you find this article useful and that you will share it with friends who might need it. I would love to hear from you in the comments below… Have you been… or are you still… ‘addicted to love’? Let’s support each other on the journey to wellbeing in love!
Check out the Angelorum Love and Relationship Tarot Spreads!
Comments
So great to learn how tarot can be used as a tool for development and empowerment. Thank you Lisa I’m going to work on this one – I need it!!
Thanks Laura, so glad you found inspiration here. Blessed Be!
Very good. Yes, the TF and SM are bandied about a lot in recent years. I read for a woman who used the TF explanation to excuse her inappropriate relationship with a 15 year old boy. She was in her forties. I nearly fell off my chair, and cards or no cards, told her she was deluding herself and that it was wrong, very wrong, even criminal. She came back rapidly with the following line, ‘age doesn’t exist in the spirit world’. I agreed that it probably didn’t, but there was the trifle issue she had to confront, of it being a potential ‘big’ problem in the physical world, the world that at present she had to live in. She was not deterred however and insisted they were destined to be together.
Thank you, miss tarot teacher! It is pretty scary what some people justify with their spirituality.
Hi Lisa, thanks for this post…very relevant to me right now. Ive eagerly done the three card spread and have the four of swords in position 3!? How to interpret that in this context? Any guidance much appreciated . Blessings x
Hi Shelley, glad you found this relevant. When you use the Tarot for self-healing through journalling your readings, it is more important to reflect on how you feel about the card in this position than its exact traditional meaning. That said, a couple of suggestions. The 4 of Swords is THE meditation card and could suggest going within to connect with your own inner Goddess of Beauty, so that you can begin magnetising love from within… it is also Jupiter in Libra which shows an expansion into the realm of beauty and harmony… surround yourself as much as possible with these qualities in your home environment and pay attention to how that makes you feel… I also feel it puts the emphasis on healthy, harmonious friendships for now, while you heal. Give yourself a break from dating perhaps… Love, Lisa x