Where the system came from
Human Design appeared in 1987. Its author was the Canadian Alan Robert Krakower, known as Ra Uru Hu. By his account, on the island of Ibiza he spent eight days writing down knowledge that he later shaped into a system and taught for the rest of his life (he died in 2011).
The system blends several older traditions:
- The I Ching — its 64 hexagrams became the 64 gates of the bodygraph;
- astrology — the chart is calculated from the positions of the Sun, the Moon and the planets;
- the Kabbalah — the layout of the channels echoes the Tree of Life;
- the Hindu chakra system — instead of seven chakras the bodygraph has nine centers;
- modern physics — Ra explained the imprint of the planets through the neutrino stream.
What a bodygraph is made of
The bodygraph is a diagram of the human body with nine centers, 36 channels and 64 gates. It is calculated for two moments: birth (the Personality, black activations) and a moment about three months earlier, when the Sun stood 88° back (the Design, red activations). Each moment uses 13 celestial bodies, so a chart has 26 activations.
Everything else is built from them:
- Centers are either defined (coloured in) or undefined (white). A defined center is consistent, reliable energy; an undefined one is where you take in and amplify other people's energy.
- A channel forms when the gates at both of its ends are activated. Both centers it connects then become defined.
- Gates are specific themes and traits, each with its own six lines.
More in the guide “How to read a bodygraph”.
Type, strategy and authority
Which centers are defined and how they connect gives your type — your basic way of exchanging energy with the world. There are five: the Generator, the Manifesting Generator, the Projector, the Manifestor and the Reflector.
Each type has a strategy — a practical rule for entering new things with less resistance. Your authority shows what to rely on when deciding: emotional clarity, the sacral response, splenic instinct and so on. Strategy plus authority is the most practical part of the system; the rest is worth studying after it.
The core idea of Human Design: decisions are made by the body, not the mind. The mind is good at analysing and advising others, but poor at deciding for you.
What else is in the chart
- Profile — the role you play through life (for example 1/3 or 4/6).
- Definition — how the defined centers connect: as one block or several.
- Incarnation Cross — the life theme, made of the four gates of the Sun and the Earth.
- Variables — a finer level: diet, environment, perspective and motivation.
- Transits — the current planets, which temporarily switch on gates and channels for everyone.
How to approach the system
Human Design is not a science. No research has shown that the planets at the moment of birth determine character or the way someone makes decisions. The system rests on the authority of its founder and the experience of the people who practise it.
Ra Uru Hu himself suggested not believing but experimenting: read your strategy and authority and test them honestly for a few months to see whether life gets easier. That is what we recommend too: use the chart as a language for observing yourself, not as a verdict. Where the description doesn't match your experience, trust your experience.
Human Design can be a useful tool for self-observation, but it does not replace medical, psychological or financial help.
Where to start
- Calculate your chart — it's free and takes a few seconds.
- Find your type and read about its strategy.
- Look up your authority — it matters most for everyday decisions.
- For a month, notice when you decided with your head and when with your body, and what came of it.