make – up.
The ‘conscious’ is the intentional things we act out, of which we are mostly aware. These are the awake and watchful elements of our personality and way of behaving.
The ‘unconscious’ is our hidden side – the undercurrents that influence the automatic or involuntary behaviour that shapes our character. These aspects may not be instantly recognizable to us, but will no doubt resonate with the people who observe us. Have you ever had someone say something like ‘You do that just the way your granddad did’, or ‘Your great grandmother used to say things like that’? Such statements imply that you have inherited recognizable but unconscious characteristics from various parts of your family tree.
I always say that the conscious is the tip of the iceberg, whereas the unconscious is what lies beneath the surface of our beings. Jungian analyst Gerhard Adler describes the unconscious as ‘possessing a superior knowledge of our real needs’. Psychologists and psychotherapists can spend weeks, months or years mining and analyzing the thoughts of clients to determine unconscious traits. But now, for the first time in recorded history, there is a system which, at the click of a mouse, reveals what is conscious and unconscious within each individual.
In Human Design, the term ‘unconscious’ represents our ancestral input on a soul level – the combined and collective patterns from our ancestral line, which read like a DNA of our soul. This imprinting starts inside our mother’s womb when there is no access to outside influences. All we can receive is our soul’s genetic inheritance, and that inevitably comes from our father, mother and further back in the family tree. On a biological front, we receive the genes that determine the colour of our eyes and hair, the height we’ll stand and the weight we’ll gain, plus a host of other physical characteristics. But, in a spiritual sense, the Human Design imprinting also passes down our emotional, psychological and behavioural characteristics. In some ways, we might say that the gifts, talents or issues of our ancestors are echoed in our make – up.
In some respects, this truth within Human Design echoes the theory that, somehow, the experiences of a mother and father are transmitted to their offspring, above and beyond the normal DNA syntax. According to this theory, expounded by a Frenchman called Jean – Baptiste Lamarck, children inherit the traits of parents. Once discredited, it was in fact built on by scientists in the late nineties when laboratory tests suggested that an experience felt by a pregnant mouse left a physical mark on the DNA in her eggs. It’s as if a parent’s or grandparent’s experience leaves a molecular memory in the child. This is not a mutation, but a transference that science continues to explore, fascinated by the possibility that an experience can somehow alter actual DNA.
Human Design makes it possible for you to become aware of this fascinating genetic inheritance and live a more fulfilling life by becoming aware of the unconscious influences which stir within. It is why, once acquainted with your Human Design, you may suddenly recognize unconscious traits that relatives have already observed about you.
Remember, the conscious influences stem from the exact moment of your birth; the unconscious from that moment calculated as being three months before birth. It’s at this point that your developing foetus is energetically receiving the make – up of your ancestral line.
The conscious/unconscious themes will become more apparent as we go on. For now, simply take an initial look at which parts of your life chart are conscious (black) and which are unconscious (pink). When you see striped sections of black and pink, this indicates an overlap of conscious and unconscious traits. This implies that you are actually capable of recognizing these unconscious traits in yourself.
The Planets
In the Human Design system there are 13 different influences that come to us through the placement of the sun, moon, planets and nodes at the time of our birth. It is the precise placement of the planets in the neutrino stream at that moment that determines which gates are ‘on’ and therefore which centres are defined.
On the life chart, these ‘heavenly bodies’ are indicated by the black glyphs alongside the pink and black gate numbers. Their influences, and what they bring to the table, belong in an advanced form of teaching beyond the scope of this initial grasp of Human Design. But, for your understanding of what you are seeing in that top left – hand corner matrix, I provide this symbolic outline:
Now, to guide you through the basics of a life chart’s structure, let’s look at an example…
Allow Me to Introduce… Prince Harry.
Please meet Prince Harry of England, the second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. He was born on 15 September 1984 at 16.20 GMT in London. You’ll observe that the software has calculated 15 June 1984 as a period approximately three months before his birth.
These two dates have created the two columns titled ‘unconscious’ (in pink) and ‘conscious’ (black). In these columns, you’ll note the gate numbers, to be examined later.
All the information in the right – hand column is colour – coded black, relating to the moment of birth. These are the aspects that are conscious – sometimes called ‘personality’ information.
All the information in the left – hand column is colour – coded pink, relating to that time approximately three months before birth. These represent the unconscious side and his genetic inheritance.
Note that one square centre is red. From that centre’s right side, you’ll see a narrow channel coloured black leading
