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Nelson Mandela was born July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, a village not in the Human Design software but close enough to Durban to give a reliable Chart. So I’ve used Durban as his birthplace.

Of the five Types in Human Design, Nelson Mandela is a Projector, a Type with the potential to direct the energies of the ones around him, provided he is invited to do so and feels that his qualities are recognized. Projectors have the ability – and the need – to stand back from the general goings-on, sense where the collective energy needs to move and then offer their guidance and, in the case of Nelson Mandela, also inspiration.

He has the Channel of Logical Leadership (7-31), with the Sun, which represents 70% of our energy, in Gate 62, giving him the capacity to look far ahead and envision and communicate in a logical way the steps needed to reach a future that will be bright for all. When he steps into leadership, the strong placement of Jupiter and unconscious Pluto in the Gate of Humanity (15) encourage him to do so with humility and in service of his highest ideals.

The question of integrity in leadership – and in a deeper sense: what being a leader really means – must have accompanied him throughout his life. With his 5/1 Profile, others will have expected him to lead, whereas in his interior life he may have harbored doubts if he was the right person to implement the new values he sensed coming from his being. His purpose in life, described by his incarnation theme of Obscuration, is to bring in new values in a way that is only later recognized by the general public. Inner reflection could give him confidence, clarity and realignment with his own inspiration. He needed these to take on the role of the leader and hold up the banner of inspiration. It is quite possible that he had a secret way to access his guiding Spirit.

In the first half of his life, until 1961, I would say that Nelson Mandela was learning to find his inner resources; that which he could rely on in the face of changing circumstances. Once he found them, they were like a rock-solid foundation, enabling him to be the role model of integrity and unification that he was.

When he was elected president in 1994, Saturn had a chance to test him: Will you use your power primarily for your own benefit? Or can you apply the Mana you now have to empower and teach others by giving them the highest example, and then retreat from your position when the time is right? I think history makes it clear that Nelson Mandela passed that test gloriously.

“If I do something, I try to see it through to its completion, or at least try to ensure that it brings the maximum result.” – Vladimir Putin

Russia’s takeover of the Crimea peninsula has been in the headlines these days. It sparked my interest in the man responsible for the move, President Vladimir Putin. In the western media he is portrayed as a man who clings to power, holds back progress and represses the Russian people. He seems to reign like a 19th century czar and to act on the world’s political stage in an old-fashioned, imperialist way. Domestically, he has taken control of the media, creating a personality cult around him and silencing his opponents.There may well be a collective mechanism at play here that follows an ancient and convenient mental-emotional pattern: ‘when he is bad, it automatically follows that we are good’. Our own values are confirmed without the need to question them.

Human Design looks more at a person ‘from the inside out’ – so what do we see?

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born Oct 7, 1952 at 9:30 AM. The birth time is not 100% confirmed; running different times of birth through the software, combined with observation of his life, give this Chart a good probability of describing the actual Putin.
So if have your (or a loved one’s) birth day but not the exact hour, it is usually still possible to make a relevant Human Design Chart and Reading. When this is your situation, please contact me.

Vladimir Putin has an interpersonal Profile, meaning that ,the other’ comes first, and after that his personal life. The people around him notice this and expect leadership from him. In their youth it is vital for an interpersonal Profile to receive guidance or tutorship, so that their ‘personal’ side can find a foundation in life. In Putin’s case, a teacher saw his potential and gave him extra attention.

These words show one of the fundamental character traits Putin has: the need for outside confirmation. How he is being seen is all-important to him. Finding access to their inner life, and even more sharing it, is probably the biggest challenge for his type of Profile. Without this access, however, there remains a nagging doubt: who am I really? And closely connected with that: Can I really be loved? Facing this doubt and expressing it opens the possibility to receive others’ love and love oneself too.

So we see a natural and capable leader with a strong tendency to focus on outside recognition. His sensitive inner side may not be known to many, if anyone at all.
In this respect it is interesting to look at Putin’s connection with animals.

He has Gate 49, one of the trans-species Gates in Human Design, doubly activated. This Gate has to do with breeding. Animals feel it and will naturally gravitate to him. Of course, Putin uses this to manipulate his public image. I see also another dimension: there is a genuine liking between Putin and the animals. It gives him a chance to show that he can love and is being loved.
Sacrificing animals (giving up what you value for a higher purpose) belongs to Gate 49 as well, and Putin has his Earth in Gate 21, the Hunter. Pictures of him walking around bare-chested with a gun and displaying his prizes abound on the internet.

Mr. Putin is guided by intuition, the kind that animals have: the natural instinct to know how best to survive. He is able to adapt to changing situations while holding in view a long-term vision. He appears to be driven by a half-conscious urge to solve his country’s problems. In secret he may ask himself questions like: ‘What does it mean to serve with integrity as a leader?’ and ‘Are my intentions welcomed by the outside world?’. I suspect a genuine desire to serve his country and make it safe and great once again. When his initiatives are not being welcomed he may revert to an angry kind of cynicism and for a while lose his intuitive ability of appropriately responding to the actual situation. The temptation is to be seen as a man of integrity rather than be one, which would almost certainly put his political survival at risk. So his wish to serve as a leader shows in coming up with great ideas for the welfare of his people (and the corresponding photo-ops), rather than actually risking change. Still, he was called to power in a time of transition and guides Russia through this period since many years. Quite an achievement, whatever you may think of his way of doing it. His recent annexation of the Crimea is a move based on intuition and supported by clever calculation, which outsmarted the Western leaders. In my view, the latter are not ready to admit how embarrassed they really are.

Vladimir Putin has an inner need to retreat and find peace in nature, away from life’s preoccupations. Staying true to his strategy, he brings this aspect of him also into the public domain. I wonder if he can give himself what he is really looking for. The thought of spending time in a quiet, natural environment, perhaps in a religious context, may sometimes occur to him. I wish for him that he once allows himself to honor this aspect of his being.