Human Design: what are Channels & Circuits?
how the Channels & Circuits bring consistent themes to your life
Human Design is a blend of modern science and ancient wisdom, bringing together astrology and quantum physics, chakras, the Kabbalah & and the Chinese I-Ching. It’s the ultimate profiling tool, giving us full permission to be ourselves. It offers a user manual for each of us, showing us how to be who we’re designed to be, how to work with our energy and how to make great decisions that are just right for each of us.
We can find our purpose, our ideal environment & our superpowers on this map. And we can journey through it to heal ourselves, our relationships & our work. If you’d like to find out more, download your free chart here or book a chart reading with me here
Human Design appears to a complex system, but it can be beautifully simply to integrate into your life, so I’m going to demystify it for you here in a series of posts; this one is all about Channels.
What are Channels in Human Design?
You’ll see a 'defined Channel’ where you have 2 lit up Gates that come together to colour in the path from one centre all the way to another - you’ll express these themes consistently. Where the paths in your chart half-coloured-in or white, these are themes you may experience around other people or as the planets move round the sky, however they’ll be inconsistent for you. You can find out more in Family Charts just here.
To find out your defined Channels before you read on, click below to get your free chart from my website.
The Channels & their Themes
There are 36 Channels in the Human Design Bodygraph and they are how energy flows from one Centre to another. Each gate brings it’s own energy and where a pair of gates meet in a defined Channel they create an additional energy or theme.
For example the defined Channel in my chart above is called the Channel of Preservation (27-50) and combines gate 27 (meeting the needs of the group) with gate 50 (upholding values and bringing harmony) to create a tribal energy that’s all about nurturing, and at its most primal specifically nurturing from birth to adulthood, providing all that’s needed for a human to thrive and instilling values along the way. This means I consistently have the energy & drive to nurture others and create harmony, and it’s very much a theme of my life as I reflect.
It’s useful to know that the Channels have a shadow (or not-self) theme just as the Gates and Centres do. In the shadow of the 27-50 I might be smothering, rescuing and trying to either control or abdicate all responsibility for the tribe.
Channels & Circuits
The Channels are grouped in Circuits & sub-Circuits, which also bring their own themes to the party. Where you have Channels in more than one Circuit you might feel some push / pull! To find out more about your specific Channel energies we can go deeper into your chart during coaching or exploring sessions.
The Individual Circuit - if you have Channels in this circuit you’ll be doing things your own way and thinking about your self (this isn’t selfish) and your experience. This energy is designed to be different (and so can feel uncomfortable) because you’re designed create change in the world based on your own experience. Empowerment is the theme of this Circuit, including inspiring others through your ‘weirdness’!
The Tribal Circuit, where the learnings from Individual Circuitry are brought to help the Tribe evolve - if you have Channels in this circuit you’ll be focused on supporting the tribe, through resource management, agreements and structures for growth and wellbeing. You may feel called to be part of a larger whole, guiding, providing and nurturing. Support is the theme of this Circuit.
The Collective Circuit - where the Tribal learnings are taken out to the wider world - if you have Channels in this circuit you’ll be learning from the past and projecting into the future, learning through repetition and creating institutions to move humankind forward. Sharing is the theme of this Circuit.
Here are some other ways to learn about human design 🌟 listen to the podcast 🌟 read the archives 🌟 treat yourself to a 1-1 Chart Unpack.
Or you are always so welcome to press reply on an email, or post a comment with questions or tell me if this resonates, I’d love to chat further about my favourite topic with you!
Sending love & courage ✨
Sarah xx
Hey I’m Sarah, certified Human Design coach, qualified life coach & Master NLP Practitioner. I guide women during times of change, helping them to build their foundation self-belief and giving them full permission to be exactly who they’re designed to be, living and working with ease and flow.
I created The Human Design Resource Library to offer a starting point on your journey, and a reference point to return to as you travel. It’s my interpretation of the knowledge, based on in-depth training, research and time with clients, but I want you to know that not everything you read (here or anywhere) will resonate, because you are 100% unique!
To go beyond the generic knowledge, a 1-1 session is the perfect way to discover exactly how the Human Design knowledge applies to you, and how you can live as you’re designed to. Or to discover your design, take your first step by downloading your free chart here.
More in the Human Design Resource Library:
The 64 Gates (coming soon)
Family charts (coming soon)
The 4 Arrows (coming soon)
Definition (coming soon)
