Home » human design blog » How to Read Your Human Design Chart: Numbers and Symbols

How to Read Your Human Design Chart: Numbers and Symbols

Most Human Design Readers will tell you not to worry about the numbers and symbols and focus on the basics first – those being energy type, strategy and authority.

But… if you’re like me you just need to know what all those Numbers and Symbols are to be able to understand and begin to read your Human Design Chart. So let’s dive into them!

Amy Doyle

Holistic Counsellor

See All Posts

November 28, 2022

When you read your Human Design Chart there are so many things going on that it can sometimes feel overwhelming. In this article, we will break down all those numbers and symbols, so you can begin to understand what they all mean and represent.

We will look at three parts of your Human Design Chart:

numbers in the Human Design Chart image
numbers and symbols down the sides of your Human Design Chart
four arrows and additional numbers in the top middle of your Human Design Chart.

What are the Numbers in the Human Design Chart Image?

When you read your Human Design Chart, you can look at the numbers in two ways – down the side of your chart and by looking at the image. Let’s look at the numbers in the Human Design Chart image first.

The numbers represent the 64 gates (hexagrams of the I-Ching) – think of these as different energies that run through your human design system. Each number sits in an energy centre (represented by a geometric shape).

The placement of these doesn’t change – it’s the same for everyone. What does change though is whether it’s coloured in or not.

If the circle around the number is coloured black (defined) and has an orange stream from it, you have consistent and reliable access to this particular energy and are likely to be conscious of it.
If the circle around the number is coloured is black (defined) and has a purple stream from it, you have consistent and reliable access to this particular energy and you may not be conscious of it until it’s pointed out to you.
If the circle is white (open/undefined), you still have access to this energy but it’s not likely to show up in a consistent, reliable manner. You may not even be aware of its existence – or you are and see it in others but not yourself or it’s something you’ve actively learnt.

Looking at your chart in this way shows you how the gate energies work together to create open centres, defined centres, definition and channels.

Note: If you are reading your human design chart from another provider, the coloured streams may be a different colour – orange is conscious (mind) energy and purple is unconscious (body) energy.

What are the Numbers and Symbols on the Right Side of my Human Design Chart?

The second way to read your Human Design Chart numbers is by looking at the strips down the sides of your chart.

In traditional Human Design, the numbers on the right-hand side of your Human Design Chart are usually represented in black and will have the word ‘Mind’ or ‘Personality’ above them. In the chart from this website, they are represented in orange (for aesthetic purposes only).

The 13 symbols above the number represent the Sun, Moon, nine Planets and two Nodes. Each of these moves through the 64 gates.

The whole numbers next to each symbol represent the gate energy at your time of birth.
These are what we call defined conscious gates.

What are the Numbers and Symbols on the Left Side of my Human Design Chart?

Again, we are looking at the strip of numbers down the side of your Human Design Chart. This time we are looking at the numbers on the left-hand side of your chart, in traditional Human Design they are represented in red and have the word ‘Body’ or ‘Design’ above them. In the chart from this website, they are represented in purple (for aesthetic purposes only).

We have the same 13 symbols that represent the Sun, Moon, nine Planets and two Nodes. Each of these moves through the 64 gates.

The whole numbers next to each symbol represent the gate energy 3 months prior to your birth.
These are what we call defined unconscious gates.

Human Design Numbers and Symbols - What does the decimal number mean?

When you are looking at the strips of numbers and symbols down the sides of your Human Design Chart, you will notice a whole number, then a decimal and another number from 1-6.

The decimal number represents the line number. Line numbers are again a part of the I-Ching hexagram – each having a slightly different play on the gate number energy.

Human Design Numbers and Symbols - What do the tiny triangles mean?

Something else you may notice when looking at the strips of numbers and symbols down the sides of your Human Design Chart, is you may have little triangles pointing up (exaltation) or down (detriment) or a star next to the decimal number on some of your gates.

This is an even deeper layer of gate energy information. It is something you would consider at a more advanced point in your Human Design experiment. Not everyone will have these extra symbols.

Human Design Numbers and Symbols - What are the four arrows in the middle?

The last symbols and numbers you see on your Human Design Chart are the arrows and sometimes larger numbers in the top middle of your chart.

The arrows are known as variables, a more complex part of our charts that provides further details about our awareness, environment, perspective and digestion.

It’s another layer of understanding ideal ways of how you take in information from your external world and how you interact with the environment around you.
The numbers next to them represent the colour (big number) and tones (small number).
This part of your chart is extremely sensitive to birth time differences and can change from minute to minute.

There is so much to consider when you are learning how to read your Human Design Chart, that is generally why most Human Design Readers will tell you to start with the basics like your energy type, strategy and authority.

Personally, I love all the numbers and symbols because you can see the planetary impact on each of your defined gates, how your energy works together and what you look for in others. And when you put it all together, you really see just how unique we all are!

Meet The Author

Amy Doyle

Amy is a Holistic Counsellor who helps her clients move from this idea that they are broken or missing pieces of their own puzzle, to owning their story, claiming back all parts of themselves and merging together as one team to allow them to rest and be in their deepest expression.

See All Posts