PART ONE

Shadow Dancing with Your Human Design Type

Introduction

The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.

Human Design is an incredible tool, a comprehensive system providing a detailed map of your psyche and an individual genetic blueprint that is used for personal growth and development. However, as with any system, we must ask ourselves: How do we continue working with this knowledge on a deeper level to foster continued growth? You may have studied your Human Design for a while, or this is completely new to you, but you ache for deeper personal development. You may have already begun self-discovery, therapy, deconditioning, or living your Design, and yet you still find yourself stuck in your business, unhappy in a relationship, diagnosed with an illness, or facing consistent money challenges. But why? Aren’t these avenues paths to purpose, freedom, self-expression, and potentiality? Perhaps sneaky unconscious elements are hiding in the shadows, controlling your behavior, but you just cannot see them. In this book, we unveil probing insights and proactive questions to guide you deeper into this investigation. Whether in business, relationships, or life in general, I have not yet met one person who doesn’t have the capacity to grow. I have met people, however, who don’t wish to look inside, who cower at in-depth truth, or authentic self-awareness, but that is not who I am speaking to now. That is not who this book is for. It is for the courageous warrior who is willing to stare down the barrel of a gun to find what they have feared and what has controlled them is merely a tunnel to deeper truths.

The deep dive of this book is about illuminating your genius by exploring yourself through exposing the shadow. These shadow elements are mentioned in Human Design by the Not-Self theme but in no way are they unraveled anywhere in Human Design to the depth we will go into in this book.

Let me start by saying, to really get the most out of this book you should know the basics of your chart. You will want to understand the foundation of Human Design. If you understand your Type and your Strategy, that is really the only thing we are not covering from the beginning. If you need a deeper understanding of your Inner Authority, we will explore that here, and we will also introduce Profile from the foundational pieces.

Shadow exploration is a courageous journey into the hidden recesses of your psyche, deep down into the abyss of your unconscious. It is an exploration of those aspects of yourself you've kept hidden not just from others, but also from yourself, including repressed emotions, fears, and desires you’ve deemed unacceptable. It's essential because only by embracing these parts can we achieve true self-awareness and transformation. In the context of Human Design, shadow work is a powerful tool to identify and release conditioned behaviors hiding in the crevices of behaviors you wish others weren’t seeing (but they are, and you are not). By doing so, you align more authentically with your unique Design and purpose, liberating yourself from limiting patterns and repetitive behaviors, and you can step into your highest Inner Guru potentiality with clarity and confidence.

If you are completely new to the subject, to quickly summarize what Human Design is, the importance of this information, and the basics of how to use it, you must understand this system merges ancient mystical wisdom and modern-day quantum physics, and it can be challenging to understand (at first). Yet, it is also elegantly simple. To be specific, it combines the I Ching, astrology, the chakra system, and Kabbalah with quantum and neutrino physics.

The Human Design system proposes that this work will prove itself to you if you have the courage to let it. It is not just to explain you as much as to help you embody a direction that is meant just for you.

It is an experiment which means you will want to try out different parts of the process, depending on what areas you are struggling with. For example, if you explore your own Strategy, will your life improve? The Strategy is not designed to make your life better in relationship to how it looks to other people, but directly within the context of your existence with you alone. Does it bring you more joy and more satisfaction? Does it lead you to the purpose you know you were born for? Do the right people start coming into your world? Does your life change for the better if you try on your Strategy? Only you will be able to answer these questions.

There is no Type, Inner Authority, or Profile that is better than any other. When people are first exposed to their charts, I can’t tell you how many think, at first glance, that they would prefer a different chart, but ultimately each Type and Inner Authority is only here to help you get the most out of your own life. No chart is better or worse than another. Everyone experiences a different reaction when they are first exposed to their chart. Some people become curious, overwhelmed, or even confused and question what it all means or why the charts look so different; some people immediately have a profound reaction of knowing; and others wish they had a different chart, but this quickly fades as people explore their personal swan song. This chart is your DNA code, and when revealed, it sings to you a part of yourself that was hidden or compromised by society’s conditioning (don’t worry we have all been trained out of our truth to some degree). For those drawn to this knowledge, understanding yourself is like a knowing deep within that gets turned on, an opus of your life and truth are revealed. There are similarities with other people if just looking at Type, but it is not about that. Each one of us has a totally unique chart; no two will be exactly alike with all the variations associated within the chart. So, what we really want to do with this knowledge is use it for growth—for spiritual development—because it is a tool. It is a tool that changes lives for the better period.

I will delve into the depth and purpose of shadow work in chapter two, and why exploring how to use the awareness of shadow to unleash greater depths of potential, creativity, and overall life potential is knowledge worth excavating!

To provide some context for Human Design in the aligned expression or the shadow expression, I have included below a couple of examples using famous people’s Human Design charts—one potentially operating primarily in their shadow and one who has capitalized on their Human Design genius (maybe without even knowing their Human Design chart but through their connection to their own inner knowing) to step into their full potential. Both examples are interpretations from a distance as I know the outward appearance of their work, what they are famous for, and their Human Design charts. I am not here to be right or wrong but to provide a contemplation. This is only to illustrate how insight of our shadows might help us align to more satisfying results, healthier overall expressions of self, and more authentic declarations of our life purpose or callings.

These two examples are going to be from a high-level Human Design perspective, so if you are new to Human Design, the language might not resonate with you. I am just showing how we can observe by understanding Human Design on a deep level how some people may be operating from their shadows; hopefully by the end of the book, you will have much more insight into how this plays out in others and in yourself as well. If you find these examples too complicated to understand with your knowledge of Human Design, feel free to jump right into chapter one.

Contemplate Gary V. He has a lot of support and adoration, and I have mentioned this on social media only to receive a lot of criticism from his raving fans. So please note, this is only my insight, observation, and personal opinion. Gary V, if you don’t know him, is a serial entrepreneur who is a self-proclaimed hustler and often referred to as the founder of #hustleculture.

He naturally embodies aspects of his chart. He is a Splenic Projector with a profound channel aligned for sales, and a channel that is here to express his unique individual way of leading to success for himself and others, which he displays in almost every social media post. He is born to sell and express unique genius, but only when invited. He definitely aligns to this part of his chart and has even publicly claimed that when he selflessly gives unsolicited advice, he becomes resentful, which is truly a Projector trait. This shows he actually does feel the recognition in invitation and is grateful for this before sharing his unique insights. But, in my humble opinion he is operating from his shadow Projector energy, i.e., a Projector who has been conditioned by the Generator world and runs around like the perpetual motion machine, never stopping. You see, Projectors are the Type that need to be working less, guiding more, taking breaks, and promoting a balance in work-life; if they don’t, they tend to burn out, age early, feel frazzled, and this often leads to illness.

In opposition to his Projector Type, he promotes overworking and the overachiever mindset everyone should adopt, explaining how important it is to not slack off, giving your all until you drop. As most Human Design Projectors know, they have operated in the Generator world uncomfortably, without any ability to understand why they feel so drained, yet doing whatever it took to keep up. I see so many Projectors come to me after they were influenced by this type of hustle culture, bro marketing, and ego force to push, keep up, and drive for more, who are depleted, discouraged, burned out, and often ill from the overdrive mentality. The contemplation here is that maybe the hustle culture is pushed, developed, and driven forward by a Not-Self Projector leading the way, forcing those unknowing souls into work, drive, and frazzle that ultimately leads them to pain and physical ailment. They have financial success, but at what cost? Soul depletion? I have seen it many times: Projectors who are afraid to rest have been called lazy for taking breaks, and for those who can’t even take time off to recharge in amped-up corporate environments, this mentality is not only outdated, it’s also deadly.

On the other hand, a Projector I see as operating in alignment with her Design, even without understanding Human Design, is Esther Hicks. She is a Mental Projector with a clear alignment and connection to the unseen forces. If you don’t know her, she is a channel and one of the leading founders of the concepts presented in the movie The Secret and someone who single-handedly popularized the modern-day teachings of the law of attraction. I have personally been to one of her live events, and I was so shocked that she stood up for just a couple of hours to teach and the moment she got tired, she ended the workshop. She did her live events as a half day. Most live seminars have you up at 7:00 a.m. and wrap up at 10:00 p.m. with loads of breakout sessions and side coaching opportunities during which the Projectors in the room are run ragged and stumbling back to their hotel rooms unable to absorb any insights from the conference.

Esther Hicks channels her knowledge and lets groups leave early, breaking at midday and pleased that she is complete. She is also in her desire motivation, which is the foundation for her work. She intuitively nailed these key elements to her chart, and operates in alignment, still incredibly wealthy in her success without the hustle. To add another dimension to this contemplation, for those of you who do not have desire motivation in your Human Design chart, adopting her complete philosophy might not actually be correct for you. Knowing your chart and how to integrate teachings is really one of the only ways to self-actualize and align to your truth.

You can see that as you understand Human Design, you can observe the aligned aspects of many famous people operating correctly as themselves, and the more you read through this book, you will also be able to observe easily those falling into the underbelly shadow of their Design, meaning you can also see what not to do.

You will also notice this in yourself. You will have keen awareness of how to align to health and vitality as your Type and where the shadowy aspects might pull you negatively off balance. You also might be able to apply this to your clients, family, children, coworkers, or community. In other words, these insights will assist you in being your most balanced and aligned, productive self, and potentially assist others as well.

I will be bringing in new concepts, so if you are advanced or deeply into your Human Design experiment, this book will also turn over some hidden rocks at the bottom of the psyche. If you are new to Human Design and just being introduced to your Type, you may want to take the time to get additional information as there are some foundational pieces that I don’t cover in this book. Go to my website to download your free chart and a PDF you can use to assist you with understanding the basics. Visit raquelanddavidian.com or scan the QR code included below.

If you are brand-new to my world or the study of Human Design, there is one more piece for context that I would also like to familiarize you with and that is what I am calling the new big three. In astrology they call the big three your Sun sign, your Moon sign, and your Rising sign. In Human Design we call this Type, Inner Authority, and Profile. As Human Design is growing in popularity—one of the fastest growing search terms on Google—we hope that one day the new big three will become as commonplace as your Sun sign. This is important because Projectors have not yet collectively been recognized as a Type. This hinders the development of everyone who understands how all these Aura Types work together. So, emphasizing the new big three is important for the collective to comprehend and for each of you to deeply contemplate as you explore your Human Design chart.

If you've read my last book, Are You a Mutant?, you're already familiar with the detailed journey and depth of my experiences with Human Design. I've ventured down the Human Design path, where its trails, rabbit holes, and mystical worlds continue to unfold. It's an experience that is infinitely complex and simultaneously simple.

In Are You a Mutant?, you will find a detailed experience of going through the power of the centers. The centers in Human Design correlate to the chakra system in traditional spiritual texts. I explore the healthy and unhealthy expressions of each one. People in Human Design call this deconditioning. However, I take you through a spiritual encounter deepening your awareness in each of these centers; one might understand this as a process similar to awakening the Kundalini. So, if you haven’t yet done a full deep dive through your Human Design centers, Are You a Mutant? might be the best place to explore that.

In this book, you will find key elements in my last book that were not addressed, including the deep dive into living your Design, the Profile. The Strategy, Inner Authority, and the Profile, the new big three, will be deeply understood if you complete both these books. I find it super important as you explore your Design, to deeply contemplate what happens in practice. The only way to really integrate this knowledge is to try it on, to live it. The greatest tool for experimenting is to truly understand these top three aspects. For example, if you are a Projector who runs a business and wants to ask for a promotion, it’s important to understand your Design in real-life terms and how it applies to the situation you are looking to change. In this book, you will understand how to practically integrate both your Strategy and Inner Authority in a way no other Human Design book teaches. If you are well-versed and coaching others in HD, you can take this book with you into sessions, with your clients, and you can use this as your go-to book for the harder Inner Authorities. You can come back to this book to guide clients, friends, families, or children into using their Inner Authority as the unique guidance system that will direct their lives before they are conditioned to live in the Not-Self or shadow dimensions.

I give real-life examples for each Type. With simple tweaks to your business, you can go from burned out to brilliantly aligned and wealthy with a few insights on what makes you unique. I have now seen this with my clients over and over. Once they implement the Human Design piece, the world changes for them, radically. I then explore each Inner Authority in depth. I will outline Sacral sessions you can use for yourself or your clients, family, friends, etc. Then I go very deep into Profile. This can be your Profile bible. I explore the entire spectrum of this conversation from traditional Human Design knowledge and teachings to a profound look at my interpretations of the shadows existing in the expression of each Profile.

The shadow terms in this book are my own creative naming to provide new insights on what happens when you don’t understand how to self-actualize within your Design. You will get the entire Human Design Profile foundation as taught by Ra Uru Hu, interpreted by myself of course, but