Chart Readings

This article focuses on the upcoming presidential elections in the USA. I remember my first presentation at school was about the American electoral system, I must have been 11 years old at the time. If you have an interest in what happens in this country, which I feel still provides a blueprint for the world, and you like Human Design, then you’re in for a treat. Feel free to jump to the conclusion as well.

Since Joe Biden has chosen Kamala Harris as his running mate, it has become clear who are the players in the race for the White House in 2020.

I will use the perspective of Human Design to look at the following questions:

• Who are the two Democratic candidates?
• What kind of relationship do they have?
• How do they differ from the incumbent, Donald Trump?

Kamala Harris in Human Design

Kamala Harris is born in the incarnation theme of the Laws, which makes her want to give new structures to values that she perceives as essential for society. With the changes that life brings, also the laws, which ideally aim to establish fairness in the way we deal with each other, need to be updated. With her Sun in gate 50, line 2, she brings determination to this endeavor. She can stand up for her values in the face of opposition, if that is needed.

Within herself, Kamala Harris may appreciate the transformative quality that belongs to this incarnation theme, although it comes with a touch of melancholy – everything keeps on changing! Her Saturn in gate 30 helps her to understand that embracing setbacks can enrich her life. Once she settles in her inner resolve, the resulting clarity can shine light on confusion that she meets in the world around her. Some people will understand that positions can and need to change over time – and Kamala Harris has an inborn ability to talk her way out of trouble – while others will see her as inconsistent. The latter view can be reinforced by a tendency in her personality to distract herself with viewpoints and people that may be stimulating, but do not nourish her immediate core values.

With her split definition and undefined Self, Ego, Emotions and Spleen centers she can lose track of her purpose and express ideas that are out of tune with it. This will weaken her impact. It is rooted in a childhood doubt whether intimate relationships can really work, which leads to a dent in her sense of self-worth. It is as if the bright shine of the full moon (Kamala Harris was born on a full moon, giving her something mysterious and magnetic) is then temporarily eclipsed. Pluto will create situations that strongly invite her to transform these outdated doubts and start again with a clean emotional slate. When she is in a state of trust, feeling emotionally supported by life (which can manifest through people around her) her words have the power to transform people.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden, meanwhile, has the incarnation theme of Transference. He wants to make a contribution that enables and inspires others to obtain the good things in life, predominantly on the material plane. To do that, he needs to feel financially secure himself first. When he stays clear about his own material interests people will see him as dignified. He could, however, create confusion when he loses sight of the boundaries in material matters because he wants to be nice to someone.

Mars in gate 44 makes him an excellent networker, the 6^th line there indicates there are periods he wishes to retreat from the world. With the unconscious moon in gate 61, line 1, he is intuitively attuned to the psychic dimension, something he may be experiencing in his religious life (Joe Biden is a practicing Catholic).

With six defined gates in an undefined Throat center he can express himself in many different ways, giving the other side the feeling that he speaks their language. It may also facilitate his famous predisposition for gaffes. There could be a deeper reason for those too: when he senses the current situation is unsatisfactory for him but does not want to acknowledge it, he can escape the realization by stirring up some external commotion.

The connection between his Sacral and his Self center lets him be in the right place at the right time. This happens as a result of an internal preparedness and a willingness for new, good things to happen. Fortune smiles on Joe Biden when he is aligned with his purpose. This alignment comes as a consequence of embracing his feelings, whatever they are, and then letting go of any expectations that underpin them. That is not always easy. You could say that Joe Biden’s  good luck is well-earned.

Working together

For the cooperation between the two candidates we make a Human Design composite Chart. We can do this for any kind of relationship. Here we regard Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as business partners who commit to a common project. What becomes instantly clear when you look at the composite Chart is that the split definitions of each of them are now connected. On their own, they are both Generators with a mental projector part, meaning that their life energy and their thinking processes are not necessarily in unison. Now, all six central centers of the Human Design Chart, from the bottom to the top, are hooked up. This enables them to broadcast a coherent message, rooted in reality and inspired by a shared vision. With 10 of the 11 gates in the Throat center activated, they have many different ways to communicate, so that they can reach diverse audiences.

The way their Charts go together suggests friendship and mutual understanding, good for colleagues in a work environment. In a romantic setting, this composite would indicate each partner has chosen to do a lot of inner work to make the relationship viable.

In short, we can say that their strength lies in issuing a heart-felt appeal to the personal responsibility of each person in their audience. They will want to awaken a sense of higher values, that can direct people towards making the choices that are right for them.

Donald Trump

Trump is a formidable opponent, a highly intuitive man. He knows from experience that trusting his hunches can bring him success. He uses an emotionally tinged type of logic, and has an unconventional way to gather resources on the material plane. One of his main challenges is to bring consciousness to his needs and wants in the realm of intimacy. He can end up in a place of deep loneliness otherwise.

His Chart is a mixture of strong emotions, willpower and an ability to convince people in a way that goes under the radar of logic, with a kind of stealth argumentation style. Without sufficient self-awareness, this is an explosive concoction that in other times may have been associated with practicing black magic.

Conclusion

Trump’s Ego center and his Emotional center are defined, they are always active in his life. Even in the combined Chart of Biden and Harris both these centers remain undefined. It means that Trump can directly appeal to people’s guts in a way that they cannot. What they do have together is a defined Self center, which gives them what I would call a ‘moral compass’, an innate sense of values and direction. By walking their talk, while avoiding intellectual excursions, they can remind people that true values anchor us on our path and that each of us has a responsibility to find these values for ourselves and then implement them in our life.

This seems to me to be more in tune with the general quality of these times, as they show in the transiting planets. However, they will need to fend off Trump’s emotional and intuitive attacks without getting too much embroiled in them. From a look at their Charts, Kamala Harris has the wherewithal to counter Trump’s sub-rational aggressions, especially when she is supported by Joe Biden’s convivial sense of direction.

In case you wonder why I do not mention Mike Pence, it is because I do not know his birth time. He most probably has a 6/2 personality profile. That gives him overview and a natural leverage over others. 6/2s can choose to remain in the background and exert leadership from there. I think he has more influence on Trump’s policies than we realize.

With these elections, two different worlds are meeting in what could be a pivotal moment for the United States, and possibly for the world. I, for one, look on with great interest.

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.

“It became clear that street smarts were not enough, so I began doing sports. But even that was not enough for maintaining my status, so to speak, for very long. I realized that I also needed to study well.”

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.