Have you ever heard of the term spiritual bypass? It’s the use of spiritual concepts and ideas in order to avoid one’s issues and problems. It happens a lot more than we think, and it is an issue. Because spirituality has become all the rave with everyone being interested in astrology, tarot, and other forms of divination and alternative spiritual practice, it is important to explore spiritual bypass and understand how it shows up in our lives. Continue to read on to find out more about the concept known as spiritual bypass.
What is Spiritual Bypass?
The term spiritual bypass was created by the psychotherapist and Buddhist teacher John Wellwood in 1984. He came up with this term after noticing that there were people who were turning to spirituality to avoid dealing with difficult elements of their personality and/or life circumstances. Wellwood noticed that individuals used spirituality as a convenient and effective way to bypass their own obvious issues and problems. In many ways, spirituality is used to circumvent major issues and because there’s such a focus on spiritual practices and becoming “better” through spirituality, individuals are not really dealing with the true sources of their discontent.
Read More »Astrological Signatures of Spiritual Bypass
Yes, there are some astrological signatures associated with spiritual bypass. It is important to note that any person of any zodiac sign is capable of using spirituality to evade their issues and problems. However, there are certain energies that are more likely to go the path of spiritual bypass. Thus when these particular planetary energies are heightened, it is important to consider whether or not spiritual bypass is being used. The following are the main energies that are associated with spiritual bypass, and how spiritual bypass is presented under these specific planetary energies.
Neptune/Pisces
Topping off the list for spiritual bypass is none other than Neptune energy. Neptune, Pisces, and the 12th house are all associated with spirituality. In fact, Pisces is considered one of the most spiritual signs in the zodiac because of its focus on returning to Source and its connection to the oneness of all things. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging a connection with everything energetically and honoring one’s understanding of this principle. However, given that Pisces is a mutable sign that often does not like to have confrontations, spirituality can be used to avoid many of the pains associated with reality.
When there is heavy Neptune energy that is not being channeled in the most positive manner, people can end up using spirituality as a crutch to run away from their own realities. This can show up as people choosing to go on various spirituality retreats far away from home while their home lives are a mess. This can show up as people choosing to sit on a yoga mat and meditate while choosing not to take any concrete actions to fix their problems. The use of mind-altering substances is also a form of spiritual bypass because people will use drugs to alter their perception and have “spiritual experiences” while not acknowledging that these same alternative experiences are possible without the use of drugs. The choice to use the perception-altering substances is sometimes an excuse to run away from reality under the guise of seeking spiritual experiences. Often times it’s because of something within their environments that they do not want to face head-on. With Neptune energy, spirituality is used as a big fluffy cloud that allows individuals to float away from their issues and problems under the guise of being “spiritually elevated and conscious.” However, when you look deeply at people’s lives who are under spiritual bypass connected to the influence of Neptune energy there’s usually a lot of instability and purposeful evasion.
Mercury/Virgo
Next up is Neptune’s and Pisces’ opposite, Mercury and Virgo. Yes, as weird as it may sound Mercury and Virgo are quite capable of spiritual bypass. However, Virgo will do so from the view of self-improvement. This is the type of energy where people purchase tons of self-improvement books in order to change an aspect of self. The only problem is that there’s always a problem, so there’s always something to fix. Nothing is ever quite good enough and people delude themselves into thinking that if they are constantly fixing something then they must be doing something right. However, this is not always the case.
Mercury energy in association with Virgo can be quite critical which results in individuals being hypercritical with themselves as well as others when certain spiritual standards are not upheld. This is especially the case with spiritual standards associated with purity and cleanliness. With Virgo, spirituality can become a spiritual regimen that must be followed to detail. If any of these particular spiritual aspects are not followed, there is a sense of imperfection…even though the spiritual path is unique to the individual. A great example of this is the whole vegan culture, and given Virgo’s penchant for “clean eating,” this example is quite applicable. There is nothing wrong with veganism in and of itself. However, some individuals tend to take the veganism concepts, whether for ethical purposes or spiritual purposes, a bit too far. Some people hold themselves and others up to this standard that they must be vegan in order to have the best health or to achieve specific spiritual heights. The vegan community has been known to be quite critical of those who back away from veganism. This critical aspect of spirituality that often involves some form of shaming and picking apart of oneself and others in an attempt to be “spiritually perfect” is definitely associated with spiritual bypass as it relates to Virgo energy.
Jupiter/Sagittarius
The Jupiter and Sagittarius association with spiritual bypass usually has more of a religious undertone that is often associated with mentors, gurus, and religious leaders. When it comes to religion, this is the type of spiritual bypass where people use specific religious texts to circumvent problems. For example, individuals keep doing the same negative behaviors over and over again, but it doesn’t matter because Jesus died on the cross for their sins. Thus, they are forgiven for their improprieties. It is through the alignment with specific religious entities, figures, or religious texts that people release their own accountability and responsibility for certain conditions in their lives. Because they choose to align themselves with a spectacular religious concept, there is this belief that if they continue to just do what this concept says or give themselves over to a particular religious entity or deity, that in the end, all will be well.
Jupiter, Sagittarius, and the 9th house are also associated with mentors and gurus. Even if there isn’t a specific religious intention, under the energy of spiritual bypass people could get caught up in following behind a guru or mentor instead of being accountable for their own spiritual awareness and growth. Again, this is another interesting trick associated with spirituality because many people leave the established religions to align themselves with spirituality thinking that they have released themselves from much of the dogma that is associated with religion. Instead, people find themselves under the spiritual bypass energy of Jupiter, Sagittarius, and 9th house associated spiritual leaders and gurus who are in many cases, being worshipped…just like the deities of the religions they have left behind. Only now the center of worship is not Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, or any other diety, ascended master, or great religious figure. Under the energy of Jupiter, Sagittarius, and 9th house spiritual bypass, the center of worship is the spiritual guru that everyone loves to follow blindly and few will forwardly contest.
Venus/Taurus/Libra
The energy of always being nice, happy, pleasant, harmonious, and balanced is associated with Venus and its associated zodiac signs Taurus and Libra. In the practice of spirituality, it has become very prevalent to focus on “positive vibes only.” While it is important to keep a high vibration, practice gratitude, and seek positivity, the whole focus on only what is “nice” is one of the most faulty aspects of spirituality. Ironically, spirituality teaches us energy is never just one thing. Thus, aligning oneself with spirituality does not get rid of the necessary shadow work that so many people like to avoid. Good vibes aren’t really good vibes if the underlying feelings are negative. Sorry, but no amount of being positive is going to erase the fact that people genuinely don’t feel very good about themselves.
Another form of “nice spiritual bypass” is constantly elevating oneself as this individual of positivity and goodness while accusing other people of being negative. Some people get so caught up in upholding an image of positivity that they may really be avoiding the truth that they themselves are the holders of the very negativity that they claim to avoid. For example, the individual that is constantly talking about people “hating” on them or not wanting to be around negative people, but they themselves always seem to be dealing with a stream of negativity in their lives. Through the art of “nice” spiritual bypass, people are able to gloss over what is not feeling so great in their lives in the spirit of positivity. The energy of Venus, Taurus, and Libra also contribute to the suppression of anger that is found greatly within the spiritual community. The suppression of this anger eventually manifests itself in other ways such as through passive-aggressive behavior, unexpected explosions of anger towards others, and/or the manifestation of health issues related to unresolved and unexpressed anger. Why? Because supposedly it’s not “spiritually nice” to express an honest emotion such as anger…even though the energy of anger ends up showing its ugly face anyhow.
Being Spiritually Honest & Aware
Ultimately, exploring the whole concept of spiritual bypass gives us the opportunity to really ask ourselves why we are choosing spirituality. For many, spirituality is something that is no different than religion in that it encourages balance, order, and self-growth, and awareness…when implemented in a responsible, accountable manner. However, when spirituality is used to avoid the self and evade personal responsibility and accountability this is where it is important to be spiritually honest and aware. It has become quite common for people to use spirituality in the form of manifestation, tarot readings, and the power of the planets through astrology to avoid taking action in their lives. Relying on spiritual tools and concepts to fix problems that only the individual can truly solve. In the end, spirituality is never effective if it is being used as a crutch to avoid dealing with the reality of ourselves
