The Human Design system’s been making waves in the coaching and new-age communities. If you recently learned about Human Design (or returning to Human Design), this post will get you started.
Human Design is about the individual. When the system was first “downloaded” by Ra Uru Hu, he said that this was for parents to understand their children. Children are manifestations of the lineages they came from. They are also conditioned/influenced by their first guardians. The first guardians are not limited to family. It’s the people that spend the most time with that child.
That being said, Human Design does work differently for adults than it does for children. Adults have picked up habits, societal pressures, and expectations that they need to learn if it aligns with them or not. Children have only faced these situations with their immediate home or authority figures through school. There is less to decondition. You can read more about how Human Design works for children in these two posts:
Today, Human Design is said to change lives while bringing people back to their natural states. I practice Human Design by giving people a pair of glasses to explore themselves with the system as another tool. Human Design is not inherently life-changing though life changes can still be on the table.
Everything below is a starter guide to Human Design. The system gets intense as you discover more pieces. Today, we’ll keep it manageable 😸
I use software called myBodygraph to generate charts for myself and for clients.
Here’s how to use it.
1. Put your info in myBodygraph
Double-check your birth date (especially if you don’t live somewhere that uses MM/DD/YYYY) and birth time.
If you’re not sure of your birth time, here are two options:
- Ask someone if you were born in the evening/afternoon/morning. Use that information to guesstimate a birth time to work with.
- Use a birth time rectification service or free rectification calculator. While there’s no way to know whether it’s 100% accurate, it gives you a starting point.
2. Using the Talking BodyGraph
- Look at the top navigation. Click talking bodygraph.
- Read your strategy and authority.
- Look at your open centers. Open centers are the white centers in your chart.
When you click on your open centers, you’ll see what the not-self of each center is.
The vocabulary:
- Type: There are 5 types. Each type has the same strategy, not-self, signature, and aura.
- Strategy: Whether you’re designed to act or to wait before you act.
- Not-self theme: The internal signal warning that you’re not aligned with something you are doing/experiencing.
- Signature: The internal signal that reveals you are aligned with something you are doing/experiencing.
- Aura: How you affect and react to the people around you (and vice versa). Extends 6 feet from all directions.
Here’s a quick and dirty of each type:
Manifestor Type
- Does not wait. Tells others what they’re doing (informing and initiating) and does it.
- Moves quickly. Manifestors go from 0-100. Those who slow the Manifestor down will be pushed out of the way (repelling aura).
- Experiences anger (not-self) when tamed. Experiences peace (signature) when able to move freely.
Classic Generator Type
- Sees opportunities everywhere (enveloping aura) but waits to respond to whether they’re correct (waiting to respond).
- The sacral center (which makes Generators a Generator) regenerates energy for consistent action. A burning candle, unlike Manifesting Generator’s bonfire.
- Experiences frustration (not-self) when the sacral energy can’t flow. Experiences satisfying (signature) tiredness from energy well spent.
Manifesting Generator Type
- A subtype of the Generator. See Classic Generator because it applies to you.
- Designed for bursts of energy followed by periods of rest to restore that burst. A bonfire, unlike Classic Generator’s burning candle.
- If too much energy, the Generator needs to find ways to discharge that energy throughout the day.
Projector Type
- Needs to wait for others to be ready for the Projector guidance (waiting for invitation) or will be dismissed and ignored (bitterness not-self).
- Understands and manages the energy of other types when given consent (absorbing and penetrating aura).
- Knows when they’ve been recognized for who they are (success signature).
- Takes time (waiting for the lunar cycle) to take in the environment/community (sampling, protective aura) to determine its health.
- A human carbon monoxide detector. Understands what doesn’t align (disappointment) and what is ready for the Reflector’s guidance (joy).
- Needs space to discharge other people’s energy. Being a mirror or a sieve, not a sponge.
If you’d like an easy-to-read translation of each type (including aura, strategy, not-self, and signature), authority, and profile with real-life analogies, check out Human Design Decoded.
What’s in the upgraded version of myBodygraph
There are several upgrades in the myBodygraph shop. Before you invest in these upgrades, here’s what’s inside.
Foundation & Advanced Combo
The foundational section expands on the type and authority, though both are in audio format. The definition talks about whether you have a single or a split in your chart (how the energy is or isn’t able to move).
You also get:
- Profile: how you navigate the world and how it responds to you
- Open centers: the “white” shapes show where you don’t have consistent access to certain energies
- Defined centers: the “colorful” shapes showing where you do have consistent access to certain energy
The advanced section shows why the defined centers (colorful shapes) are colorful in your chart. However, this is legitimately advanced and won’t make sense if you’re brand new to Human Design.
Inside, you get:
- Gates: based on the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching and the 64 DNA codons
- Channels: when the gates connect, making two centers defined
- Nodal polarities: in astrology, the north node shows your life destination, and the south node shows your past lives (or karmic cycles and contracts you’re dissolving)
- Incarnation cross: your overarching life theme
If you’re brand new to Human Design, the advanced section could be intimidating. All you need is section 1 and section 2 to get started.
If you decide to read charts for others (or fun for family and friends), you have to upgrade to the unlimited version ($299).
MyBodygraph also has connection charts, transits, and expanded gates (diving into planets). Note that there are no guided “talking bodygraph” versions of these upgrades. I recommend these upgrades for professionals as much of this content requires further investment to make it make sense.
It’s also worth noting that the majority of Human Design textbooks and advanced resources are not written in layman’s terms. They are written and recorded for professionals to read for clients.
I’ve been using this software for 3 years. It’s not for everyone, but if you prefer the self-taught route, myBodygraph is a great place to start.
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