Understanding Human Design: A Journey

The past month has been transformational in terms of understanding the unique and many ways in which I communicate with others. Though I had been conscious of a lot of these ways, the transformation came forth from unconscious discoveries. Through reviewing Human Design, what I thought I knew has taken shape into deeper, even alternative, epiphanies of a sort. I will explain.

When it comes to the five types of Human Design, it is clear that, depending on whether one is a Generator/ Manifesting Generator, Projector, Manifestor, or Reflector, our auras are heavily impacted by our designs. I see, for instance, that when I am walking around, people keep their heads down or avert their eyes more towards me than my Projector partner. I first thought this had to do with underlying racial discriminations that are still present in South Africa. While I have only been in the country for a few weeks, this was the only possibility that had initially occurred to me. Upon reading more into Human Design, however, he suggested that my dense, Manifestor aura is perhaps responsible for these strange encounters. As I am strongly geared towards doubt (from my Right Angle Cross of Consciousness and my 1/3 Profile), I am not entirely convinced by the theory, as I don't experience such unusual lack of friendliness from all the other places I have travelled. The people on the trails are far friendlier to him than they are me.

At the same time, I enjoy thinking of all the possibilities. I am quite an indecisive person due to my need to form a hypothesis, or "foundation", doubt said hypothesis, and either form a conclusion or go back to square one and create a new hypothesis. This is the foundation of my Human Design as a 1/3 profile. The 1 in my chart, known as the investigator, indicates my need to approach matters from an elementary point of view. I am good at setting up initial questions and collecting data. These questions and information help me gain a better understanding of how the world functions, as miniscule as they may be in the grand makeup of the world. The 3, known as the martyr, indicates my need to experiment in order to find out what does and does not work for me. My 1/3 profile explains much of how I approach and handle situations. I'm always trying out ideas and applying what works while amending what doesn't.

Reviewing my 1/3 profile is no revelation to me, but I thought I'd share my understanding of it as so many others have 1/3 profiles. The greater picture here is what I'm really after. I constantly seek putting the puzzle pieces together, and Human Design, if anything, is one giant, confusing puzzle. I ask myself, how do the bits and pieces of information I have collected and understood fit together? What is most relevant? So I know I'm a Manifestor. I know that my Not-Self is anger, so if I am speaking from anger I am not properly using my manifesting potential. I know that I am an Emotional or Solar Plexus authority centre. I know that, because of this, I must wait out the highs and lows of my emotions before acting. I know that I am a 1/3 profile and therefore must have all the facts before making a decision. I am excellent at trial and error and am very optimistic about experimentation because I see all experiences as learning curves meant to evolve our awareness and understanding of the universe.

I also know that I have only my throat, solar plexus, and root centres defined, meaning all six other centres are susceptible to the energies of those around me. I know that my energy is most stable in the centres that have the most gates in it, and that, even though I have a 'pure' manifesting channel (36/35), that is the only gate in my throat that is defined, often making me feel like I'm limited in what I can consistently say or do. Am I more likely to be limited due to having a powerful channel defined in my chart from the solar plexus to the throat? Are the open gates in my chart still going to affect me heavily despite this channel? Is someone with 6 fixed gates in their throat centre going to have an easier time communicating with others than someone like me who only has a single yet channelled gate defined? Human Design gives me no answers. I can't find any information on the intricate yet ever so important details!

From my research, it would seem that those with more gates fixed in a particular centre, such as the throat, have more opportunities of connecting with those around them for the sheer fact that someone else is more likely to have the gates on the opposite ends of those gates, which would form a channel. For example: I have gate 43 in my ajna centre defined. This gate reaches towards the throat centre's gate 23, but since I lack the defined gate 23, I only have both conscious and unconscious lines reaching halfway towards 23 from the 43. Therefore, if I am around someone who has gate 23 defined, BAM!, I suddenly have a complete channel due to their energy and design connecting with mine. I also have gate 13 from my G-centre defined, which reaches up to 33 in the throat. It can only be assumed then that, depending on the number of gates one has in their given centre, they are put in a position of being able to socialise with others as a form of enhancing their own Human Design.

I find that those with many gates in their throat centres, be it a defined or undefined centre, are more extroverted than those lacking the consistency. I find that if someone has many gates reaching towards the throat centre, even though they're lacking a defined throat, they are also more prone to be extroverted, but have introverted qualities of exhaustion from the unfamiliarity of the experience afterwards. Perhaps I should give an example of what I mean. My partner has a single gate in his throat centre defined: gate 62, which is unconscious, meaning he might not be aware of it. It reaches towards the ajna, so if he were to come into contact with someone who has 17 in the ajna centre defined, he would find that it's easier to communicate from that new channel.

He also has three gates in his G-centre fixed, with an undefined G-centre and throat. However, all three of these gates: 7, 1, and 13, reach towards the throat. This connection would enable him to be able to communicate momentarily an idea of himself, through the presence of someone whose throat possesses such gates. This energy is not his alone, however, so, although he enjoys socialising and being around others, the energy is temporary and is a combination of the other person's fixed gates as well as his. On top of that(!), not only is the gate a means for him to communicate all the ways in which he sees himself (as, like I said, it's HIS g-centre that is connecting with someone else's throat, giving him a moment's opportunity to express- or at least put into words- all the ways in which he sees himself), but the LINE in the gates also determine whether or not that person whose throat gate(s) is connecting with his is a harmonious connection or not. For example, his g-centre gate 1 is a conscious and unconscious 1 line 5. If he is around someone with a throat centre gate 33 line 3, he might encounter a negative experience because line 3/5 is often a tricky combination.

As you can see, Human Design is very intricate and also ambiguous, which drives a 1/3 Right Angle Cross of Consciousness like me crazy. I enjoy learning all that I can, but the questions I have can't seem to be answered. My biggest question is this:

If I have an open head centre (which I do), yet my Incarnation Cross is: Right Angle Cross of Consciousness (63/64 | 5/35), it would appear that I harbour a sort of consistent head centre relationship. 5 is unconscious in my Sacral, and 35 is unconscious yet forms one of the two channels in my chart, so I already understand the importance of 35 as an integral part of my design, but I do not understand the importance of the Incarnation Cross. I know it is my life purpose. It would seem that the body graph is a blueprint for how we are to live so that we can accomplish that which our Incarnation Cross declares, yet I do not understand what the cross means in terms of the gates involved in it.

From what I've read about the Cross of Consciousness, it really does sound accurate. I have a consistent way of approaching life, through those gates, with an innate need and pressure to understand the mechanics of the world. However, according to everything I've read about Human Design, undefined centres equate to inconsistent energy. My biggest question then is, if these gates are integral to my design, does that not make them consistent? Do I possess my own pressure from the head centre that influences others and operates like someone whose head centre forms a channel and is defined? Does someone whose throat centre possess many gates yet lacks channels operate more consistently than someone whose throat centre possesses none or a single gate, even if that gate forms a channel? Surely, the more gates defined in a certain area the more influential and consistent the person is in that area, REGARDLESS of channels?

As I previously mentioned, one can operate like their centre is defined due to being within 10 feet of someone whose gates enable that person to have a temporary channel in their chart. The definition is unstable because it is dependent upon the line of the other person's gate as well as the person's own gate, yet the channel itself does not change. Only the subtle ways in which the channel operates would change depending on the lines involved. What I'm really looking to understand is all these tricky little intricacies which aren't so little in terms of how they influence us. I've looked into the top three gates and their lines in my personality and design because the Sun, Earth, and Moon signs seem to be most influential or else they wouldn't be prioritised as first in the charts, yet if they're so important, why is my Cross Angle different? I suppose I could look that up, but the more I understand about Human Design, the less I understand.

Moving forward, what I HAVE learned is that, due to my open centres, such as my Head, Ajna, G-centre, Sacral, Ego, and Spleen, I have definitely felt the pressure and effects of those who have those centres defined. I feel the pressure to answer my partner's questions, which he throws at me from his gate 61 in the head. I do not have that gate defined, and his connects to his ajna, so I'm also often feeling like I need to provide understandings of my experiences that I might not have yet. I sometimes put on a false sense of knowing to compensate for the feelings of urgency. I also understand better now why I haven't felt like I have ever had a defined sense of self. I can now look at those who do and see that they more than likely have their Identity/G centres defined. I haven't got around to the other centres that are open in my chart yet, but you can bet I'll be back on here to talk about it soon.

All-in-all, I've learnt quite a lot about myself, even though I feel limited in how much I can advance through what little resources are available online. The courses that are offered are unbelievably expensive, and I feel almost offended that they would ask $5,000-$7,000 to take a few courses to be a coach in Human Design. So, in the meantime I've to go off the scraps and bits I can gather online. I certainly feel a bit like a hunter gatherer as a result. I am often disappointed with the grammatical errors most of the information online tends to have, as well. It's hard for me to take information seriously if the person doesn't grasp basic grammar (and English is their first language). I get very excited when I find information that is well-written and thought-provoking.

Anyway, I'm totally rambling and hope to continue with my research and posts on Human Design in the near future.