About Human Design

Orrery Lane is based on the Human Design system. Here is a plain account of what that is and what it is not.

Where it comes from

Human Design is a system that Robert Allan Krakower, who used the name Ra Uru Hu, said he received in 1987. It combines the Western zodiac, the I Ching, the Kabbalah's tree of life, the Hindu chakra system and, in the founder's telling, ideas from modern physics, and presents them as a single chart calculated from a birth date, time and place. The system has been taught and published since the 1990s, and a number of schools, teachers and software makers have built on it in different ways.

What it is

It is a symbolic framework. It sorts people into five "types", assigns a "strategy" and "authority" to each, and describes nine "centers" that are either defined or open. Many people use it as a vocabulary for talking about how they make decisions, where they feel pressure, and how they relate to others. Some find that useful; others do not.

What it is not

• It is not scientifically validated. We are not aware of independent, peer-reviewed research showing that Human Design charts predict or describe personality, behavior or life events. Studies of related birth-chart systems such as astrology have not found reliable predictive ability. The Wikipedia article on Human Design describes it as a pseudoscience.
• It is not a personality test, a diagnosis, or a substitute for medical, psychological, legal, financial or other professional advice.
• It does not tell you what will happen, and Orrery Lane does not predict anything.

Why people still find it interesting

Descriptions of this kind are often written in general language, and readers tend to find general descriptions fit them, which is a well-known effect in psychology. That does not make reflection pointless. A prompt such as "notice whether your first reaction differs from your reasons" can be worth trying regardless of where it comes from. This is why we call Orrery Lane a mirror for reflection: notice what fits, and set down what does not.

How Orrery Lane relates to the system

• The calculation follows the system's published layout of 64 gates on the zodiac wheel. See How we calculate.
• All explanations are written fresh for Orrery Lane. We do not copy or closely paraphrase books, courses, software or websites.
• Orrery Lane is an independent product of Worldunities LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Jovian Archive or any of the system's founders, schools or teachers. "Human Design" is used here only to describe the system our charts are based on.

If you would like the system's own teaching, look for official sources and make up your own mind.