What Is Human Design And How Does It Work?

Astrology, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram – all the personality tests and systems that have helped so many people get to know themselves better seem to have a new counterpart in human design. From spiritual leaders to corporate committees, the personality mapping system proves effective and incredibly helpful for building teams and helping people fully understand their natural strengths and weaknesses.

You simply insert your birth time and place into a BodyGraph creator and receive your chart to get started. The basics involve getting two numbers called Strategy and Authority which help you make decisions that are aligned with your true self, as explained by Goop. The idea is that, by knowing your natural inclinations, you can design your life around your inherent blueprint. One of the main principles in human design says that the mind isn't designed to do the driving in your life, it's actually the body that's meant to carry you forward. Knowing your chart helps you do just that. 

Once you know your numbers, you can find out which of the four aura types you are – a generator, projector, manifestor, or reflector. Each of these represents a strategy to live fully as yourself and work with your natural energy rather than fighting it (via Goop).

A hybrid of disciplines like the Kabbalah, quantum physics, the I Ching, the chakra system, and astrology, human design encapsulates our energetic aura that we're born with, as explained by PopSugar. It was originally intended to help parents give their children space to be who they naturally came to be and express their energetic gifts. As opposed to other personality tests that ask questions and get answers that can fluctuate depending on your mood that day, your human design reading comes from a fixed source – your birth information.

Beyond learning your Strategy and Authority numbers as well as your aura type, you'll also see different shapes on a silhouette when you receive your reading. These are energy centers that impact the way you move through the world. When these shapes are filled in, it means that they're defined. Open energy centers on your chart denote where you're more susceptible to outside energy (via Goop). It's important to make decisions from your defined centers rather than your open ones for this reason.

While it may seem complex and esoteric, human design can provide a helpful map for you to fully accept and appreciate your unique energy. Allowing your body and its inherent wisdom to guide your way forward, you can use human design to create a life that not only looks good from the outside but feels good from the inside.