Black and Red in your Human Design Chart: The Conscious and Unconscious
Once you dive into the gates and channels of your Human Design chart, you may notice that some are red, some are black, and some are even striped/half and half. Not all chart calculators use black and red (mine uses pink and green, for instance) but the colors on the two sides of the Bodygraph do have significance!
So, what does it all mean?
THE PERSONALITY AND THE DESIGN
If you look at your BodyGraph, you will notice that on the right are a series of numbers in black (or another color), and on the left are a series of numbers in red (or another color).
On the right, in black, are the planetary activations from the moment you were born. This is considered your conscious, or mind/Personality.
On the left, in red, are the planetary activations from 88 days before you were born. This is considered your unconscious, or the day that your Design (i.e. body) was formed.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERSONALITY AND DESIGN?
Your personality is who you think you are (your mind), whereas your Design is how you’re moving through the world (your body a.k.a. your vehicle).
If you were to separate them, they do actually constitute two separate charts. The Personality chart shows only the conscious gates, and the Design chart shows only the unconscious gates.
If you combine those two charts, you have the “Quantum” chart, or the chart that we typically know as the Human Design chart.
CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS GATES
The gates themselves are mapped according to those planetary activations listed to the right and left. If a number appears as one of your activations, that gate will be defined. The conscious black gates represent themes that we are conscious of and are recognizable to us as part of our personality. We may feel have influence over these aspects of ourselves. We also tend to be more aware of them and able to observe them in ourselves.
The unconscious red gates are themes that are part of our design…they manifest whether we understand it or not, and are aspects of what drives our “vehicle.” They are, in essence, the parts of ourselves to which our mind has to surrender. They represent what is going on in our unconscious and also what we received as part of our genetic inheritance.
For example, I have channel 53–42 defined between my Root Center and Sacral Center. However, for me that channel is completely unconscious. Having channel 53–42 means I operate in cycles, and I always feel driven to finish what I start—if I don’t finish a project or try to jump ship halfway through learning a lesson, I end up right back where I started. When I found out I had this channel, it didn’t immediately ring true for me—after all, it is not part of my conscious personality. However, after reflecting on various events in my life, I realized that every time I have tried to quit something I’ve committed to instead of seeing it through, I ended up thrust into the same situation in a different way. Then, this pattern repeats until I finish what I had started.
The gates that are striped or half and half show places where we have that gate placement appear in both the conscious and unconscious side. For instance, in the example chart here, both the 18 and 58 appear in unconscious and conscious, so the channel is half and half. These gates will manifest both consciously and unconsciously.
PERSONALITY AND DESIGN, TOGETHER IN HARMONY
We are complex beings. How do we integrate both our Personality and our Design so we can live in harmony? Ra and Lynda Bunnell say it best:
“The Personality is not aware of the Design’s existence, which is why consciously knowing how to access your form’s intelligence through your Strategy and Authority is so important…when the Personality passenger is surrendered to its Strategy and Authority, the Personality and Design can live in harmony, in union, as they individually perform their intended roles. This is when you find your path, and when the foundation for all love emerges - the love of self.”
Surrender to your Inner Authority and observe with your mind. Don’t fear the unconscious parts of you - they keep you on your toes! The important thing to remember is that Human Design is a lived experiment and a fairly new one at that!
Love,
Rachel
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