Human design has helped me in profound ways, AND I was so lucky to have a mentor in the initial stages who made sure to remind me often that Ra himself said he didn't recall everything correctly, he was no infallible, that he was, in fact human. Thankfully I also really latched on to the idea that this is an EXPERIMENT and if it's not for me, it's not for me. Thanks for writing this piece. Really wonderful, thorough perspective.
Love this. Balanced, researched, thought-provoking. I sit happily in the middle, taking what makes sense, experimenting while respecting my self identity, maintaining an open mind. HD is brilliant, and not my deity. Guess I’d be in the rebel group! Thanks for writing such a great article.
I have had the lovely experience of existing outside the cult-ish community of HD. But I do like the HD system and how it resonates with me and my chart. I have found it to be a useful tool. But the language is purposefully hard to understand.
Ra was also a sinyasin, which was a cult. The original story of the voice is a hard one to explain to muggles without looking like a fool who's fallen for a cultish agenda. I'm not saying Ra's experience didn't happen that way - but to most people it's sounds full on cray cray.
The people you mentioned who have been exiled from the community have really taken the Ra material and made it digestible to the collective. And let's not forget - the whole point of HD is not for us adults. It's for the children. So they can grow up and be themselves without having to ignore what makes themselves themselves.
Anyways, thank you for bravely sharing your experience and speaking up on what feels wrong in the HD world. This is important stuff!
I look forward to more of your writing in the future.
This was excellent. Such a deep and profound contemplation. You’ve touched on so many of the things I’ve been feeling over the past several months. More recently I’ve decided to pull back from the system so I can fully innerstand if I’m utilizing it as a tool or as law.
Thank you for sharing. I think so many of us are on the same boat. I finished LYD and Rave ABC. Thankfully, before I registered for Rave Cartography, I found Chaitanyo. I was surprised how easy it was to drop the types, the strategy and authority, and other interpretations by Ra. Keynotes did it for me in Rave ABC. It just didn’t sit right. My now regular calls with Chaitanyo give me so much joy. He is an incredible person and I hope more people discover his and Zeno’s approach to Human Design.
I've been thinking about this a lot since you last wrote about "HD fundamentalism." Personally, this has not been my experience of HD or the HD communities I participate in, but I've certainly witnessed it. It concerns me whenever I see it, but I also sometimes think that perhaps it is a "phase" some people need to go through (and may even be right for some people, at least for a time).
Having spent time studying lots of other systems, I do think that this sort of cultish behavior is a potential danger for any kind of school of thought. It's more about how one approaches the system than necessarily the system itself (although of course some are more prone to be misused than others.) It also feels like there is just a lot dogmatic thinking out there these days - you can see a lot of cult-like characteristics in American politics, as well as in academia, just to list some more "mainstream" examples.
For me, the bigger question is how the more "official" institutions are handling it, since there will always be fringe elements in a spiritual system like this. (Also, I absolutely think Human Design is a religion, but that's a neutral rather than negative statement to me. Scientific materialism, the main belief system of the homogenized western world, is also a religion in my view.) It's been interesting to see that the official Jovian Archive IG account follows a number of "pop-HD" teachers, and their own marketing recently has taken on a bit of that flavor. (Maybe the "radical" people would even think they are selling out, lol.)
Outside of the institutions, it's also important for the practitioners to call it out, especially those who have a more prominent position. That is the norm in the communities I'm in, but I totally understand that's not the case everywhere (and the messages from those "at the top" are mixed, I will also concede.)
Anyway, these are some of my jumbled thoughts around this. I appreciate that you've been been writing and starting a conversation about this, as it's a very important one. And I do hope that as you develop a healthier (and more individuated) relationship to the system that you'll find a healthier community within it as well.
"Strategy and Authority" was made up by Ra, because people asked what to do. Andreas Ebhart revelead it in a recent interview. He produced the "Encounter with the voice" and was very close with Ra over years. This statement is really a wrecking ball into the dogmas i also went through. Strategy and Authority is the snake oil, the trick played by the trickster, the archteype of the shaman.
As a projector whenever i now meet another projector and they want their chart read, i directly move to variables. ("They are the type of the future.") Something which would meant for others to earn a little less money i guess? Because they can´t sell an indepth reading?
Anyway, i really love seeing the pressure from Pluto onto the Human Design System and its branches, it´s going to be an interesting future!
Great piece, Chiara. As a student of astrology, when a friend introduced me to HD in 2019 I was super intrigued but also immediately put off by the amount of paywalling there was to access the info beyond profile, type, strategy, and authority. It seemed like these were things that had depth behind them, but in order to access the depth I had to pay the big bucks. I already had another system in Astro to fill my mind up with and experiment with in my life (for free), so I stopped my studies of HD as soon as I began.
Over time, curiosity got the best of me, but it was through the welcoming voices of Rudd, Parker, and many of the other ‘shamed outsiders’. I’ve started tentatively calling myself a HD guide because it’s the easiest way for people to understand what I’m writing/podcasting about, but it’s always felt a little… off.
I consider myself a student of the world, of history, and am a big fan of cultural synthesis. So beyond the high paywalls, what has always bothered me about classic ‘source’ HD is that there is rarely a reference by Ra and his devotees to the true source material (ie the i’ching or kaballah or the zodiac). I have asked so many questions that were answered fairly coldly with ‘because the voice said so’, and then did my own research and found the real, complex answer in ancient texts. That’s the thing that feels the most cultish to me- the lack of allowing for curiosity and discourse.
I love that finding HD has brought me to a deeper inquiry about all of these ancient wisdom traditions and a community of curious, alive people… and I am also happy that all this self reflection is rising to the top! ♥️♥️♥️
That's where my nose is taking me to. If HD is built on Astro, the Kabbalah, the iching etc. I want to learn those systems outside of HD and come to my own opinions.
Interesting to read your point of view here. I have noticed the "radicalism" of many people in the HD community, and at the same time noticed the "opposing side," groups of people who completely reject S&A and all that stuff. Personally... and very true to my nature... I see things in my own way and side with no one. I have recently had crazy deep physical experiences when listening to Ra teach the mechanics of substructure... and I can feel how there are truths that I am experiencing in a way that surpass my mind. I am not "trying to" be or do or fit into any mental concepts... I am finding that what I am learning is giving a context to things I already experience. For me, this is the beauty that I am finding in Human Design. My physical experience first and foremost, above all else. And it has been bringing me a deep sense of satisfaction - and peace, too.
It's funny because as I was reading your thoughts about your experiences within the HD community and with HD, it seems wild to me... my experience of Human Design is totally different. Of course, I am actually on the outskirts of the community, always doing my own thing in my own way. Even when I want to be "included and accepted" it seems that it is not in my frequency to call that to myself. And here is not me trying to use HD speak, that's just how I have always thought of things. Although HD did bring me a sense of understanding why I have always been on the outside of any and all groups. That has been comforting and allowed me to just relax into the truth that I am how I am and not feel bad as if there is something wrong with me. Actually, it feels like that is all Human Design has brought me. Relief and permission to stop thinking I was broken. So it is interesting to see your experience within it.
Anyway. I told myself I wasn't going to comment... and yet somehow I did lol. To me, I see that as my sacral guiding me. I dunno, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. All I know is it has allowed me to embrace myself MORE thinking about it this way. And put my mind out of the way.
OMG I was going to wrap this comment up and not keep going! 😅 ANYWAY. I hope that my comment isn't taken in any wrong way. I just felt called to share.
Excellent piece of writing, very clear and well thought out. Fortunately for me, I happen to agree with what you said. It’s a conundrum. It’s the kind of problem that can’t be solved, only managed. Because people unfortunately are by and large not particularly good at thinking or being who they are. That’s difficult stuff. People want certainty and an easy time. This is why all the tyrants in the beginning are successful. They cater to that. I don’t know what it is about human nature that keeps so many of us in this quagmire of stupid illusions. My whole approach to sharing human design has been about empowering others.
What a great piece with some great reflection and insights…… I often tell others, It’s a tool and like all tools depends on who’s using them…. A gun can be a weapon of evil, or protection, or a tool to get food….. It’s the person using the tool that needs to be looked at….. otherwise by itself it’s a system of knowledge…. Some use it for empowering themselves and others…. So r use it to oppress others and keep them ‘in their place’ personally it’s my favorite tool to understand another persons energy logically…. And that still means the map is not the terrain!
As always I love your writing and your critical thinking skills! And my reflections are this - not all belief systems are cults but all cults are founded on a belief system and often have a charismatic leader/prophet who receives the revelation. Think Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard and countless others.
Human design has helped me in profound ways, AND I was so lucky to have a mentor in the initial stages who made sure to remind me often that Ra himself said he didn't recall everything correctly, he was no infallible, that he was, in fact human. Thankfully I also really latched on to the idea that this is an EXPERIMENT and if it's not for me, it's not for me. Thanks for writing this piece. Really wonderful, thorough perspective.
Love this. Balanced, researched, thought-provoking. I sit happily in the middle, taking what makes sense, experimenting while respecting my self identity, maintaining an open mind. HD is brilliant, and not my deity. Guess I’d be in the rebel group! Thanks for writing such a great article.
I have had the lovely experience of existing outside the cult-ish community of HD. But I do like the HD system and how it resonates with me and my chart. I have found it to be a useful tool. But the language is purposefully hard to understand.
Ra was also a sinyasin, which was a cult. The original story of the voice is a hard one to explain to muggles without looking like a fool who's fallen for a cultish agenda. I'm not saying Ra's experience didn't happen that way - but to most people it's sounds full on cray cray.
The people you mentioned who have been exiled from the community have really taken the Ra material and made it digestible to the collective. And let's not forget - the whole point of HD is not for us adults. It's for the children. So they can grow up and be themselves without having to ignore what makes themselves themselves.
Anyways, thank you for bravely sharing your experience and speaking up on what feels wrong in the HD world. This is important stuff!
I look forward to more of your writing in the future.
This was excellent. Such a deep and profound contemplation. You’ve touched on so many of the things I’ve been feeling over the past several months. More recently I’ve decided to pull back from the system so I can fully innerstand if I’m utilizing it as a tool or as law.
Thank you for sharing. I think so many of us are on the same boat. I finished LYD and Rave ABC. Thankfully, before I registered for Rave Cartography, I found Chaitanyo. I was surprised how easy it was to drop the types, the strategy and authority, and other interpretations by Ra. Keynotes did it for me in Rave ABC. It just didn’t sit right. My now regular calls with Chaitanyo give me so much joy. He is an incredible person and I hope more people discover his and Zeno’s approach to Human Design.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts 💛
I've been thinking about this a lot since you last wrote about "HD fundamentalism." Personally, this has not been my experience of HD or the HD communities I participate in, but I've certainly witnessed it. It concerns me whenever I see it, but I also sometimes think that perhaps it is a "phase" some people need to go through (and may even be right for some people, at least for a time).
Having spent time studying lots of other systems, I do think that this sort of cultish behavior is a potential danger for any kind of school of thought. It's more about how one approaches the system than necessarily the system itself (although of course some are more prone to be misused than others.) It also feels like there is just a lot dogmatic thinking out there these days - you can see a lot of cult-like characteristics in American politics, as well as in academia, just to list some more "mainstream" examples.
For me, the bigger question is how the more "official" institutions are handling it, since there will always be fringe elements in a spiritual system like this. (Also, I absolutely think Human Design is a religion, but that's a neutral rather than negative statement to me. Scientific materialism, the main belief system of the homogenized western world, is also a religion in my view.) It's been interesting to see that the official Jovian Archive IG account follows a number of "pop-HD" teachers, and their own marketing recently has taken on a bit of that flavor. (Maybe the "radical" people would even think they are selling out, lol.)
Outside of the institutions, it's also important for the practitioners to call it out, especially those who have a more prominent position. That is the norm in the communities I'm in, but I totally understand that's not the case everywhere (and the messages from those "at the top" are mixed, I will also concede.)
Anyway, these are some of my jumbled thoughts around this. I appreciate that you've been been writing and starting a conversation about this, as it's a very important one. And I do hope that as you develop a healthier (and more individuated) relationship to the system that you'll find a healthier community within it as well.
"Strategy and Authority" was made up by Ra, because people asked what to do. Andreas Ebhart revelead it in a recent interview. He produced the "Encounter with the voice" and was very close with Ra over years. This statement is really a wrecking ball into the dogmas i also went through. Strategy and Authority is the snake oil, the trick played by the trickster, the archteype of the shaman.
As a projector whenever i now meet another projector and they want their chart read, i directly move to variables. ("They are the type of the future.") Something which would meant for others to earn a little less money i guess? Because they can´t sell an indepth reading?
Anyway, i really love seeing the pressure from Pluto onto the Human Design System and its branches, it´s going to be an interesting future!
Great piece, Chiara. As a student of astrology, when a friend introduced me to HD in 2019 I was super intrigued but also immediately put off by the amount of paywalling there was to access the info beyond profile, type, strategy, and authority. It seemed like these were things that had depth behind them, but in order to access the depth I had to pay the big bucks. I already had another system in Astro to fill my mind up with and experiment with in my life (for free), so I stopped my studies of HD as soon as I began.
Over time, curiosity got the best of me, but it was through the welcoming voices of Rudd, Parker, and many of the other ‘shamed outsiders’. I’ve started tentatively calling myself a HD guide because it’s the easiest way for people to understand what I’m writing/podcasting about, but it’s always felt a little… off.
I consider myself a student of the world, of history, and am a big fan of cultural synthesis. So beyond the high paywalls, what has always bothered me about classic ‘source’ HD is that there is rarely a reference by Ra and his devotees to the true source material (ie the i’ching or kaballah or the zodiac). I have asked so many questions that were answered fairly coldly with ‘because the voice said so’, and then did my own research and found the real, complex answer in ancient texts. That’s the thing that feels the most cultish to me- the lack of allowing for curiosity and discourse.
I love that finding HD has brought me to a deeper inquiry about all of these ancient wisdom traditions and a community of curious, alive people… and I am also happy that all this self reflection is rising to the top! ♥️♥️♥️
That's where my nose is taking me to. If HD is built on Astro, the Kabbalah, the iching etc. I want to learn those systems outside of HD and come to my own opinions.
Interesting to read your point of view here. I have noticed the "radicalism" of many people in the HD community, and at the same time noticed the "opposing side," groups of people who completely reject S&A and all that stuff. Personally... and very true to my nature... I see things in my own way and side with no one. I have recently had crazy deep physical experiences when listening to Ra teach the mechanics of substructure... and I can feel how there are truths that I am experiencing in a way that surpass my mind. I am not "trying to" be or do or fit into any mental concepts... I am finding that what I am learning is giving a context to things I already experience. For me, this is the beauty that I am finding in Human Design. My physical experience first and foremost, above all else. And it has been bringing me a deep sense of satisfaction - and peace, too.
It's funny because as I was reading your thoughts about your experiences within the HD community and with HD, it seems wild to me... my experience of Human Design is totally different. Of course, I am actually on the outskirts of the community, always doing my own thing in my own way. Even when I want to be "included and accepted" it seems that it is not in my frequency to call that to myself. And here is not me trying to use HD speak, that's just how I have always thought of things. Although HD did bring me a sense of understanding why I have always been on the outside of any and all groups. That has been comforting and allowed me to just relax into the truth that I am how I am and not feel bad as if there is something wrong with me. Actually, it feels like that is all Human Design has brought me. Relief and permission to stop thinking I was broken. So it is interesting to see your experience within it.
Anyway. I told myself I wasn't going to comment... and yet somehow I did lol. To me, I see that as my sacral guiding me. I dunno, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. All I know is it has allowed me to embrace myself MORE thinking about it this way. And put my mind out of the way.
OMG I was going to wrap this comment up and not keep going! 😅 ANYWAY. I hope that my comment isn't taken in any wrong way. I just felt called to share.
Excellent piece of writing, very clear and well thought out. Fortunately for me, I happen to agree with what you said. It’s a conundrum. It’s the kind of problem that can’t be solved, only managed. Because people unfortunately are by and large not particularly good at thinking or being who they are. That’s difficult stuff. People want certainty and an easy time. This is why all the tyrants in the beginning are successful. They cater to that. I don’t know what it is about human nature that keeps so many of us in this quagmire of stupid illusions. My whole approach to sharing human design has been about empowering others.
Thanks for linking this article in your stories! It was a great read.
What a great piece with some great reflection and insights…… I often tell others, It’s a tool and like all tools depends on who’s using them…. A gun can be a weapon of evil, or protection, or a tool to get food….. It’s the person using the tool that needs to be looked at….. otherwise by itself it’s a system of knowledge…. Some use it for empowering themselves and others…. So r use it to oppress others and keep them ‘in their place’ personally it’s my favorite tool to understand another persons energy logically…. And that still means the map is not the terrain!
As always I love your writing and your critical thinking skills! And my reflections are this - not all belief systems are cults but all cults are founded on a belief system and often have a charismatic leader/prophet who receives the revelation. Think Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard and countless others.