The whole system in plain English — what it is, the types, authority, profiles, centres, channels and gates. No chart required to read; just curiosity.
✦ Or calculate your own chart →Human Design is a modern self-knowledge system created in 1987 by Ra Uru Hu. It blends four ancient traditions — astrology, the Chinese I Ching, the Kabbalah's Tree of Life and the Hindu-Brahmin chakra system — with a sprinkle of modern physics, into one visual chart called a bodygraph.
It isn't fortune-telling. Think of it as a user manual for your energy: it describes how you're wired to make decisions, where your consistent strengths are, and where you tend to absorb other people's energy. Like everything with Wooly, it's a mirror for self-reflection — not a box that tells you who to be.
Your bodygraph is calculated from your exact birth date, time and place. It's actually built from two calculations:
The chart itself is made of 9 centres (energy hubs), 64 gates (specific energies, drawn from the I Ching) and 36 channels (connections between centres). Which ones are coloured-in — “defined” — versus left white — “open” — is what makes your chart unique.
What a bodygraph looks like
In a real chart, coloured-in centres are “defined” (consistent energy) and white ones are “open” (where you take in the world). The lines between them are the channels.
Your type is the most important part of your chart. It describes your aura and the simplest strategy to live with less resistance. There are five:
The initiators — here to start things and make an impact. Strategy: inform people before you act, so they flow with you instead of resisting. Signature: Peace · Not-self: Anger. Read more →
The life-force builders, with sustainable energy when they love what they do. Strategy: wait to respond — let life bring something to react to, then follow what lights you up. Signature: Satisfaction · Not-self: Frustration. Read more →
A fast, multi-passionate blend of Manifestor and Generator. Strategy: respond, then inform. They skip steps, do many things at once, and thrive on variety. Signature: Satisfaction & Peace · Not-self: Frustration & Anger. Read more →
The guides — here to see others deeply and direct energy wisely, not to grind. Strategy: wait for the invitation (for the big things: love, work, contribution). Signature: Success · Not-self: Bitterness. Read more →
The rare mirrors of the community, with all centres open. Strategy: wait a full lunar cycle (~28 days) before major decisions. Signature: Surprise · Not-self: Disappointment. Read more →
Your strategy (above) is how you engage with the world. Your authority is how you make a correct decision — the part of your body to trust over your busy mind. The main authorities:
Following your strategy and authority is the single most life-changing practice in Human Design.
Your profile is two numbers (like 1/3 or 5/1) — the “costume” your personality wears. Each comes from the six lines, and the pair shows how you learn and how others meet you:
The first number is conscious (how you see yourself); the second is unconscious (how others experience you). The twelve common pairs include 1/3, 1/4, 2/4, 2/5, 3/5, 3/6, 4/6, 4/1, 5/1, 5/2, 6/2 and 6/3.
The nine centres are energy hubs (like chakras). A defined centre (coloured-in) is consistent, reliable energy — who you always are. An open centre (white) is where you take in and amplify the world — a place of wisdom and of potential conditioning.
Picture the bodygraph as a circuit board. The 64 gates are individual energies (one for each I Ching hexagram), sitting around the centres. When two gates connect, they form a channel — a “wire” that links two centres and switches on a consistent gift you carry for life.
The number of defined channels shapes your chart's definition: Single (all defined centres connected — self-contained), Split (two separate groups — you may seek others to bridge them), Triple/Quadruple Split, or None (Reflectors). More channels = more fixed, reliable energy; fewer = more open and adaptable.
Human Design is meant to be lived, not just read. The practice has a name — deconditioning — and it's simple, if not always easy:
Ready to see your own design?
Calculate your free bodygraph — type, authority, profile, centres, channels and cross.
✦ Calculate my Human Design chartYes — Human Design uses precise planetary positions, so an accurate birth time (and place) gives a correct chart. A rough time still gives a useful approximation of your type.
No — it's a self-reflection and personal-growth system that blends astrology, the I Ching, the Kabbalah and the chakras. Use it as a mirror, for insight and entertainment.
They share birth-chart astronomy, but astrology interprets signs and planets, while Human Design maps that data onto a bodygraph of centres, channels and gates to reveal your type and decision-making.
For self-reflection & entertainment. Magical Chart is independent and not affiliated with Jovian Archive.