In 1987, a man named Ra Uru Hu received what he described as a transmission—an elaborate synthesis of the I Ching, Kabbalah, the Hindu chakra system, and modern quantum physics into a comprehensive system he called Human Design.
Whatever one makes of its origin story, Human Design offers a remarkably practical framework for understanding individual purpose and decision-making. Based on birth data (date, time, location), it generates a "body graph" showing which energy centers are defined (consistent) or open (receptive) in your design, and how energy flows between them.
Types and Strategy
The system identifies five basic Types—Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, and Reflectors—each with a distinct strategy for engaging with life and making decisions. It reveals your Authority—the reliable inner compass for your unique design, whether emotional, sacral, splenic, or otherwise.
Human Design's great gift is permission. It shows you how you were designed to operate, which may be quite different from how you were taught to operate.
Generators, for instance, are designed to respond to life rather than initiate—a relief for those who've exhausted themselves trying to make things happen. Projectors thrive when recognized and invited, not when pushing for attention. Understanding your design can end years of trying to be someone you're not.
The Incarnation Cross
At its deepest level, Human Design points toward your Incarnation Cross—the specific purpose you came to fulfill, derived from the positions of your Sun and Earth at birth and 88 days prior. This is your soul contract rendered in a different symbolic language, offering another angle on the central question: why am I here?