Simple guide to the Hexagram Structure in Human Design
If you’re looking for a simple guide to the hexagram structure in Human Design, keep reading…
The Hexagram structure within Human Design is quite illusive. There’s very little information on it, perhaps because people think it’s simple already. Or perhaps it’s just been overlooked. But when I was first starting to delve deeper into my chart, after spending the first 2 years of my experiment just figuring out what a 1/4 ego manifestor looked like, while simultaneously living a Generator lifestyle, that I realised the information on the Hexagram and the relation to the gates was really quite sparse.
There’s ample information on the profile lines, the combination or profile lines, and the numbers individually, but very little content on the lines in relation to the gates in the chart. Actually, this information is ‘quite’ straight forward once you peice together the bits, but, like with anything in human design. The learning is simple, the experiments not so much!
So, let’s take a look at the lines in the Hexagram.
Each chart has the hexagram structure underpinning the gates (gifts) you bring. You will notice that each planetary placement in the columns on the right and left hand side have little decimal points after them. This is the hexagram feeding into the gates. These hexagram numbers create a really important nuance within your chart and change the energy of the gate. For example, a line 1 gate 1 (1.1) is going to be completely different to a line 6 gate 1 (1.6).
You may or may not be familiar with the structure of the hexagram that make up the profile lines (1-6). I’m not going to delve into the profile lines today. What I am concerned with is the basic structure of the hexagram and the application to the gates. So, in simple terms…
Line 1: Discover/learn/absorb/foundations
Line 2: Feel into/turn over/unpick/nurture
Line 3: Trial and error/test out the theories from phase 1&2
Line 4: Share findings with your community/family/friends/connections & network
Line 5: Share findings wider, infiltrate larger systems, apply wider
Line 6: Embody, challenge and change… getting ready for the next lesson
The planets move through the 6 lines of the hexagram as they move through one gate. So for example, the Sun takes 5.5 days to move through a gate, which means it will roughly move through 1 line of the hexagram per day. If you’re wanting to learn more about this structure, I’d highly recommend downloading the charts from Jenni Crowther to help you follow the structure of what is happening with each planet as it moves.
So let’s see how this works in day to day before looking at the hexagram within your chart…
Using the sun as our example. As I write this, the Sun is in the sacral gate 59. Gate 59 holds the energy of intimacy, vulnerability and honesty. Actually, as I consider this more deeply, I had a conversation yesterday that was EXACTLY within the sphere of gate 59. It came seemingly out of the blue, related to vulnerability, and was while the sun was in the 4th line of the hexagram (share findings with the community/those closest).
When you apply the lines of the hexagram to this gate, you should see a pattern occurring…
Gate 59.1 = discovering something about yourself or your sitation that relates to vulnerabilities or intimacies
Gate 59.2 = pondering that discovery, feeling into it, unpicking it, understanding it more deeply
Gate 59.3 = testing out that theory or feeling or thought or situation and gathering evidence
Gate 59.4 = beginning to share your findings within your close network (partner, friends, family, work, anyone you’re already connected to).
Gate 59.5 = sharing your findings wider to create impact or reflection (as I write this, we’re in line 5 with gate 59!)
Gate 59.6 = the lesson has been learned and embodied, you embrace the change and move forwards.
Theoretically, this should mean we are in a constant loop of self or collective discovery and open to change and development. Is that starting to make sense now? All the gates, whether you’re following the live gates to notice what’s happening within your own life, or delving into your chart, there’s a more nuisanced theme.
So let’s apply that to your chart too…
My personality sun is gate 33. It’s the energy of contemplation and wisdom and looking to the past to learn lessons and adapt them for the future. And within the Gene Keys it talks about remembering who you were to forget who you are now (basically, all we talk about in human design and the science of differentiation). This gate 33 for me is a line 1. It’s all about digging, and digging, and uncovering, and unpeeling the layers. The gate sits in the throat, and I will often contemplate and share these contemplations in my teachings whether that’s in email mailers, or in the studio to form ceremonies and classes. They form a huge part of my personality and my teachings. And with the line 1 present, they’re all about using these contemplations to create FOUNDATIONS. So they form FOUNDATIONS to my personality, they’re a cornerstone to my personal and professional practice. The gate of contemplation or retreat is a foundational element of my thoughts and actions.
My design sun is gate 24.4, so a line 4 within gate 24. Gate 24 is about creating transformation through silence. The line 4 is for the community. Now the design side of yourself is unconcious and what people will often see in you, or come to you for… and, I spend most of my working life holding people in silence whether that’s in ceremony, in reflection like with human design, or with sound healing. For the community, most of my work comes through either recommendation, word of mouth, or organic search. The people who need that silence, that transformation, come through the line 4, the community and close networks.
See how this starts to add a nuance to your chart? Fascinating right!
Always remember, Human Design is an experiment. It’s all well and good knowing the theory, but until you play with it and really start to understand it, it won’t mean all that much… so get stuck in! I always recommend to just BEGIN with understanding and experimenting with your energy type, strategy and authority. From there let you knowledge follow the hexagram structure bit by bit… learn and discover, embody and feel, trial and error, share small, share wide, learn the lessons and move on. Simple!
Hello, I’m Becky The Humble Warrior, a 1/4 Ego Manifestor on a mission to make life a bit simpler than we currently make it. As I write this in 2023, I’m 3 years into my own personal experiment and now sharing my findings, readings and guiding with Human Design to my community audience (hello 4 line!). You can find me most days on Instagram @becky_thw or at my studio in the heart of Nottinghamshire. And if you want a reading or to book a 1:1 transformation course, check here. Becky x
