The Circuit maps how energy, or life force, flows within the Human Design Body through uniquely different pathways. There are six basic Circuits that make up the three main groups of the Circuit: Individual, Collective, and Tribal, plus the Integration Channels. The Circuit Groups are very different in how they operate. Together, they cover the entire spectrum of human interaction.
Integration
| Group: | Integration Channel |
| Keyword: | Self-Empowerment |
This circuit stands alone alongside the three main circuit groups in the Human Design Body’s infrastructure. It defines the most important and complex organization of channels within the circuits. It fills humanity’s evolutionary process, person by person, and contains the full active expression of the life force of form. With the keyword Self-Empowerment, it focuses entirely on self-preservation, enhancing individual nature, expression, knowledge, direction/identity, and self-behavior. The survival of the individual, unique and differentiated, is essential to ensure the survival of the collective and tribal through mutation. Those with definitions in the Integration channel deal with self-empowerment and express themselves with considerable self-sufficiency and confidence. They do not easily look to or accept direction from others. They should be left and encouraged to be self-reliant. Those with definitions in this channel are usually rough, primal people who survive anywhere, and you can recognize them by their stature. They are big and imposing, not fat, or they are thin but strong and nervous. They are programmed to live in the here and now. No planning or projects. | |
The Individual Circuit Group
Individuality possesses the ability and responsibility to be a Force for change in the world, to bring Mutation to the Tribe and the Collective. The Challenge is to do this without being rejected by both groups.
The Individual Circuit Group is the most complex of the three Groups and includes the Frequencies of all nine Centers. It is oriented to the present moment with a focused attention on listening to the beat of its own drum and its determination to follow its own Direction.
Individual guidance for uniqueness becomes a living example that Inspires or Empowers or Awakens Latent Potential in others. Mutation and Empowerment, the Keywords associated with the Individual Circuits, are at the core of the Human Design System and Evolution itself.
For Individualists, these Keywords imply a Passion to be true to oneself, to think and be uniquely tuned into the Present Moment, and to live independently of rules. When Individualists become clear about their Knowing, they are ready to Embody the Inspiration or Differentiation, which is their way of leading through Example.
They have the Gift of recognizing Mutative Potential in everything and everyone, and also an Intuitive Sense of how to Empower it in others. This is what sets the Individual Circuit Group apart from the Integration’s specific Self-Empowerment.
Individual Knowing is not based on proven facts or experiential learning but instead on Intuition and/or Inspiration in the moment and is why Individualists do not easily fit into Society.
It is imperative, as well as advantageous, for Individualists to learn to explain themselves from childhood. They need to be able to communicate what they feel as Inspiration in the Moment and what they recognize within themselves to be the truth.
This ability to explain facilitates their effectiveness as agents of Change, mitigating their personal sense of being different. Individualists attract attention, but the Individualist usually needs and likes to be left alone to explore their Creative and Melancholic world.
They can become so absorbed in the moment that they often appear deaf to the voices of experience and reason. This is because they are here to be true to what is new in the Moment and shape it, communicate it, or act upon it.
In order to feel comfortable in their place in the scheme of things and ready to connect with others in that precious fleeting Empowering Moment, it is necessary for the Individualist to stay closely attuned to their Authority and follow their Strategy.
The Individual Circuit Group consists of one Major, the Knowing Circuit, and one Minor, the Centering Circuit.
The Knowing Circuit
| Group: | Individual Group |
| Keyword: | Empowerment |
The role of those with definitions in the Knowing circuit is to be Empowered to live as themselves. They Empower others by being an individual example of uniqueness. Their way of reordering life, reflected in their lifestyle, requires an audience, and this is how they bring mutation into the world. They need to be observed and recognized for their uniqueness. They are unpredictable, creative, and unique, having nothing to do with perfecting, mastering, or organizing anything. They are capable of bringing forth something new, with the potential to transform both the individual and the world around them. They are characterized by a square wave with moments of up and moments of down, with variable durations. Awareness of this characteristic helps them make correct decisions in attitude and authority. | |
The Centering Circuit
| Group: | Individual Group |
| Keyword: | Empowerment |
The Centering Circuit is one of the two minor but significant Circuits in the Body Graph. The 34-10 Channel transforms the way one lives in the world, while, on the other hand, the 51-25 Channel transforms how one benefits from the world in which they live. The Centering Circuit is centered around the G Center and the Identity and Direction of the Self. It is focused on empowering people to love themselves and follow their unique life paths, living according to their Sacral response. By simply doing what is right for them, they inspire and empower others to be themselves. Individuals who are healthy and authentic within are capable of inspiring the world around them to be healthy. Only the integrated and centered Self, through its living example, possesses the power to bring Mutation to the Collective and the Tribal. Without continuous Mutation, there can be no Evolution at any level. Those with Definition in the Centering Circuit who cannot be a force for healthy changes in others’ behavior often become melancholic and lonely. However, if they allow their Strategy to firmly align them, grounding them in their Design, they can be a profound and empowering example of self-love and a fully individuated and authentic life. You’ll notice that there are no Awareness Centers present in this Circuit, nor the Head, Throat, and Roots. This Circuit is all about being Centered in responding to Life. | |
Collective Circuit Group
The Collective Circuit Group consists of two major circuits: the Understanding/Logic Circuit and the Feeling Circuit. Sharing is a part of all Channels and Gates in the Circuit. For the Collectives, Sharing is like a guide or a social obligation to say what they think, what they have experienced, what they have judged valuable or not.
The Collective is quick to share opinions, problems, solutions, criticism, expectations, fantasies, inventions, medical breakthroughs, and more, but sharing is not personal. The inherently social orientation of the Collective is objective, impersonal, and not necessarily reciprocal, and it’s best to avoid taking Collective Sharings personally, no matter how personal they may feel to you.
When indiscriminate Sharing is expressed without invitation, guided by the “not-self” and unaware Mind, it can be truly annoying. For example, those in crisis will involuntarily share their situation with the salesperson, the postman, or people around them at the bus stop.
Learning to wait to be asked to tell your story or give your opinion is part of becoming sensitive to others’ receptivity, and the key to sharing that is satisfying, effective, and transformative. Mutuality and the Social nature of humanity, along with the need for Harmony or Uniformity, are built into the Collective.
This Circuit Group guides Awareness forward by sharing what has been learned through Experimentation and Experience. With its focus on Society, the Collective establishes what is good for the majority, as opposed to what is good for any one individual, specifically the Individualist.
The idea that “what’s good for one is good for all, so stay in the working pattern” comes from this Circuit Group. It may be terrible for you personally, but being for the common good, you endure it. Citizens of a nation, for example, share the same laws, the same currency, and the same public institutions.
Without the collegiality of the Collective, majority rules and obligations to share, today’s large societies could not exist. They would still be a collection of feuds competing for the same resources. With the Collective at the helm of recent history, educated and privileged classes entered the era of globalization.
We are approaching the ultimate potential and goal of the Collective Circuit Group. The Collective is suspicious of non-conformists, Impetuous Individualists, and has never relied on the primitive call for loyalty and tribal bonds.
Known as the Collective Circuit Group, it forms a sort of outer shell and an inner core that both appear to set and support the Body Graph. There is an unusual balance and beauty in the opposition that exists within this symmetry. It’s like a dance between yesterday (Feeling/Abstract) and tomorrow (Understanding/Logic), between cycles and patterns, between experimentation and evidence. Existence is built on Logic but lived through the Abstract Cycles of Life.
The Feeling (Abstract) Circuit seeks to codify experience or make sense of the past, and the Understanding (Logic) Circuit seeks to anticipate the future. The Collective is not focused on the moment, which is the contribution of the Individualist. Out of this internal opposition of the Circuit Group, its oscillations back and forth between past and future, comes its reputation for conservatism or maintaining the status quo.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Some level of stability emerges from this Circuit Group that says with some pride, “I understand. I have the facts. And in this way” or “I’ve experienced it. I’ve been there, done that. All you have to do is listen to me.”
Logic is Experimental, about how things should work. The Feeling (Abstract) Circuit is practical/empirical and deals with Desire and the unexpected.
Feeling (Abstract) Circuit
| Group: | Collective Group |
| Keyword: | Sharing |
Feeling in an abstract sense, if Logic is motivated by the need to master, abstract feeling is motivated by cycles of realization, meaning it’s important to complete something so one can move to the next step. Logic cannot manifest while abstract can. What abstract manifests, however, is subject to the emotional wave and its movement from the expectation of desire to the stillness of disappointment and boredom. Both ends of the wave manage to drive humanity forward to the next new thing. The feeling circuit lacks the spleen to provide stability and security to the abstract process. Experience is based on the uncertainties of emotional desire in doing something new and exciting with another person. When things don’t change, boredom and restlessness set in. Creating a crisis is the way to get things moving again. Reflecting on experiences is the most powerful force for the evolution of life on the planet. Those with definitions in the feeling circuit cannot make sense of life as it happens but are genetically programmed to become a “storehouse” of wisdom. | |
Understanding (Logic) Circuit
| Group: | Collective Group |
| Keyword: | Sharing |
The theme of the understanding circuit is logic, a rational but seductive intelligence rooted in pattern recognition through a focus on details. It analyzes processes and formulas and challenges what doesn’t work. This logic allows for the prediction, with some reliability, of what can be expected in the future from this or that course of action. Known as the cold part of the Body Graph, those with definitions in the logic circuit need time to learn and continuous repetitions to master subjects and contribute. Their perspectives and projected doubts concern the future, in a deeply influential way. When logic is working, it’s as pleasurable as placing the last piece of the puzzle in its place. | |
Tribal Circuit Group
The Tribe connects us to Life and to each other through the Senses, through Lineage (ancestors), and through loyalty to the blood pact. The Tribal Heart is a common heart, where everyone’s business is everyone’s business. From this comes the reputation of Tribals as being “clingy” and possessive.
For the Tribal, Support is about Having. The Tribal is sensitive to people’s primary needs regarding Food, Shelter, Clothing, and a structure that holds it all together.
When these are provided, there is peace in the realm. When they are lacking, the Tribe is equipped to revolt to establish balance between those who have more than they need and those who don’t have enough. Revolution is a form of Tribal Justice.
Two Circuits make up the Tribal Circuit Group: a Major one, Ego Circuit, and a Minor one, Defense Circuit. The Ego Circuit has two Focalizations. The first addresses the needs of the material world, like family or the creation and distribution of monetary resources.
Its second focalization balances humanity’s needs to survive on the material plane with our deep need for God (Spirit). The Ego Circuit creates the two Forces of continuous support that keep people in the Tribe.
The Defense Circuit deals with generating, caring for, nurturing, and preserving human life (the Tribe), Laws, and Values in Tribal relationships. In our exploration of the Body Graph as a Circuit, we’ve seen that:
- The Core of the Integration Channel is distinctly separate, the paradigm of Self-Sufficiency.
- The Individual Channel Group enhances the quality of Uniqueness in humanity, paving the way for Identification and Mutation.
- The Collective Circuit Group is faithfully Common, Socially Interactive, and Reciprocally Respectful in its orientation.
The strong Commonality Structure of the Tribe is based on Loyalty to a Hierarchical Chain of Command. The Tribal Circuit builds a wall around itself and labels all other circuits outside, while the Defense Circuit can even pull the most strident outsider into the bonds of common life with its penetrating Intimacy and promise of Nurturing and Providing Resources.
The Awareness of the Spleen’s Survival Instinct conveys messages through the Senses, particularly through Smell, Touch, and Taste. This Awareness pays tribute to the Tribal’s extraordinary capacity for personal loyalty and sexual intimacy and Focus.
It also guides the ways in which common expectations and support are expressed. For example, the famous family recipe passed down as a form of family identity, the handshake or kiss that seals an agreement, and the blood pact between best friends.
The distinguishing feature of the Tribe is primarily the Bond or making agreements that ensure Support. “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. I’ll clean the house and nurture the children if you go to work to make money for the family.”
The Bonds, which permeate all Channels of the Tribal Circuit Group, impose or presuppose Loyalty to a wide Hierarchical System of dominance and Values. “I’ll make sure to protect you from invaders if you pay me tribute and taxes.”
Tribal bonds ensure the survival of our species. Throughout history, the Tribe has been the Foundation that has kept us together as a united family or nation. It determined for us how to raise our children, choose a vocation, make laws and police our streets, and worship our Gods.
Without the Tribe, we would not have been able to take care of ourselves within a society. It ensured each of us a place in its support network, and as long as we stayed in our place and contributed, it kept us safe.
Defense Circuit
| Group: | Tribal Group |
| Keyword: | Support |
The defense circuit includes the intimacy channel (reproduction) and the preservation channel (caring for what we’ve produced). It plays a generative and nurturing role, ensuring the future of humanity through the creation and preservation of life on the planet. It promotes the continuation of our species, often at the expense of our own lives. | |
Ego Circuit
| Group: | Tribal Group |
| Keyword: | Support |
The ego circuit surrounds the defense circuit protectively. It doesn’t have a defined sacral and can’t generate life. The ego circuit has its center right in the center of the ego (also called the heart). The central fulcrum of this circuit is the willpower to provide for the tribe oneself and then enjoy well-deserved rest. In the ego circuit, two philosophically divergent viewpoints develop that start at the root center and meet at the tribal heart (center of ego). On one side, the spiritual dimension of common life is experienced, where the basic unit is the intergenerational family, traditionally seen as a hierarchical blood bond. On the other side, there is the ambition and materialism necessary to ensure entrepreneurial success. | |
If you want to check which circuits belong to you, calculate your design here.