Lazy eye and squint: spiritual meaning and emotional causes

What a lazy eye and a squint are

A squint, or strabismus, is when the eyes point in different directions. One eye may turn inwards, outwards, up or down while the other looks straight ahead. It can be there all the time or come and go, for example when a person is tired. Squints are common in young children, and often appear by the age of three. Long-sightedness, a family history of squint and some conditions present at birth make it more likely.

A lazy eye, or amblyopia, is when the vision in one eye does not develop properly in childhood. The brain learns to rely on the stronger eye and gradually ignores the signals from the weaker one. A squint is a common cause, as is a big difference in focus between the two eyes. A lazy eye often looks normal from the outside, which is why routine eye checks matter. People often use "lazy eye" for any eye that wanders, but the two are not the same thing.

Treatment depends on the cause. Glasses correct focusing problems. For a lazy eye, the stronger eye may be covered with a patch, or blurred with eye drops, for part of each day so that the weaker eye has to work. Some squints need eye exercises, injections or an operation on the eye muscles. Treatment works best in early childhood, while vision is still developing, but adults can be helped too. A squint that appears suddenly in an adult is different and needs urgent medical attention.

The emotional meaning of a lazy eye and squint

Spiritually, eyes that do not line up are linked to a divided way of seeing. When the two eyes look in different directions, the question is where in your life you are pulled two ways at once. The eyes and ears area page sets out the wider link between sight and what we accept to see.

Contradictions and doubts

A squint is associated with contradictions, dualities and uncertainty in your relationships with the people around you. You may live a constant tug-of-war between a need for solitude and a need to be admired, between a wish for independence and a fear of being alone. Quiet attracts you, yet so does the urge to question everything. Focusing on one subject at a time can feel difficult. In French, loucher is to squint, and louche also means shady or suspicious: people and situations can seem a little dubious, so you approach them with apprehension.

Looking away from what feels unsafe

An eye that turns inwards, towards the nose, is linked to not wanting to see things as they really are, often because they feel threatening. You may want to avoid people you experience as dangerous, as if they were predators. Blinkers feel safer. At the same time, the eyes keep watch over the surroundings in case of danger, and there is a dread of what might happen.

A squint also reduces depth perception, and spiritually this is read as seeing life in two dimensions only, and finding it hard to know which direction to take.

Searching for a reassuring presence

Anxiety and insecurity can lead you to look constantly for a reassuring presence, to have "eyes only for" one person. In childhood this is usually one or both parents, but it can also be a group or a teaching. The eyes seem to search in different directions for the one who represents safety and a certain authority. Eyes that wander may also point to a situation in which you feel confused and alone, torn between two people without knowing where to stand.

Keeping watch from every side

An eye that turns outwards is associated with a reluctance to look the present in the face. A wide, panoramic view lets you see as much as possible in order to protect yourself. This can show up in love, for instance, scanning every possible partner so as not to be hurt again. Spiritually, it can sit with a feeling of being powerless or a victim, and the question is where you feel most exposed.

Left side or right side?

In this approach, the right side of the body carries the active, "masculine" principle (logic, action, direction, the men in your life) and the left side the receptive, "feminine" principle (feelings, intuition, receiving, the women in your life), in men and women alike. See the guide to the left and right sides of the body. The direction of the turn adds a nuance, offered as questions rather than labels.

Lazy left eye: spiritual meaning

• Left eye turning inwards may ask whether you feel timid, fearful or smaller than others, and where a sense of inferiority holds you back.
• Left eye turning outwards is linked to great sensitivity. You may act on what you feel and see yourself as fragile, an easy target. The question is how to protect that sensitivity without hiding it.
• Left eye turning upwards is associated with a dreamy nature, a loose relationship with time and a mind that drifts away from practical matters.

Right eye

• Right eye turning inwards may ask whether you are easily hurt and slow to let go of a grudge, and where all your attention is fixed on watching one person or one thing.
• Right eye turning outwards is linked to a great intellectual effort to make sense of a situation. The thinking can go round in circles and leave you feeling low. See depression if that heaviness lasts.
• Right eye turning upwards is associated with a restless, unconventional intelligence that struggles with discipline and structure.

A gentler way to hold it

The invitation is to bring your way of seeing back together and to look for stability inside rather than around you.

• Look from every angle. Take one situation that unsettles you and describe it from two or three points of view before deciding what it means.
• Name your real needs. Write down what you need in your relationships, apart from what others expect of you.
• Find your safety within. When you notice yourself searching for a reassuring person, pause and ask what you could give yourself instead.
• Choose your own position. If you feel torn between two people, ask what you think, not what would keep each of them happy.
• Live the present moment. Look at what is in front of you today, face to face, and trust your sensitivity to guide clear decisions.
• Stay true to yourself. Your point of view may differ from other people's. That is allowed.