What to do after your Foundation Reading?

So you’ve had your Human Design Foundation Reading and it resonated with you, perhaps deeply. You feel like there is something to this knowledge and you’re interested in learning more, but what to do? The more I work with people in the early stages of the process, the more I see this question come up.

The Foundation Reading is the entry point into experimenting with Human Design as a path of awakening to one’s true self and purpose in this life. The amount of information conveyed in the average session can be overwhelming for many people, yet at the same time, it often feels deeply familiar and like a confirmation of what we already know to be true.

Depending on the person and their particular design and way of processing things, it will probably take some time for the initial transmission to really sink in. Someone with an Emotional authority will need time to follow their wave and see how they feel about the knowledge over time. A Splenic authority may know the truth of it in the moment and yet still need to follow their moment by moment awareness.

At some point, if you decide to move forward with the system you will be presented by several options. Which of these is right for you will, of course, depend on your particular design, process, and interest.

Self-study and experimentation

A significant amount of self-study and experimentation is necessary for everyone. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Human Design is a lived path of awakening. If the knowledge stays in the mind without putting it into daily practice, there is a good chance that it will just get thrown in with all of the other teachings, systems, and knowledge available in our highly connected and information-rich society and end up being not more than a curiosity.

Experimentation with Strategy and Authority is the entry point for breaking free of the patterns of mental decision making and moving into greater alignment with form consciousness. Its the way out, the Alpha and Omega in this world of form, and something that we can always come back to no matter where we are in the process of our lives.

If you’re inclined to self-study, a good place to start would be Jovian Archive. This is Ra Uru Hu’s family-run organization which offers a significant amount of free resources along with a wide variety of learning material.  Here are two of my favorite introductory books on the system: The Definitive Book on Human Design by Ra Uru Hu and Lynda Bunnell and the Human Design System by Peter Schoeber.

Personal Coaching

For many, the Foundation Reading isn’t enough. While it’s the entry point, it may bring up even more questions as the knowledge begins to digest and permeate through our being. Booking a series of personal coaching sessions with an analyst or guide can be a great way of moving forward in the process of deconditioning. These could be weekly or monthly one-on-one sessions where you meet to discuss your lived experience; navigating the issues, observations, and realizations that come up with someone who may be a little further down the road of experimentation.

Cycles, Partnership, and Incarnation Cross

Another way to go deeper into the experiment with the knowledge is to begin looking at how the planets influence our experience through the major cycles in our lives. The Human Design Rave/Solar Return is a good place to start, showing the energetic themes of the year based on when the Sun returns to the position it was we were born. This occurs each year on our birthday and the Solar Return chart provides a map of the conditioning influences of the year. Having awareness of these themes can be helpful in navigating the program from a more centered and aligned place so that we can engage with the things that are correct for us.

The other major cycles include the Saturn Return around age 28 when we begin to move into adulthood and our unique purpose in life, and the Uranus Opposition around 42 when we move into the second half of our life. The Chiron Return at 50 often represents the full flowering of life where we complete the movement into adulthood started around 28 and have the potential to fully express our purpose.  The Chiron Return is especially important for those with strong 6th line themes and is the time where the 6th line Role Model comes off the roof and fully re-emerges into the world.

Partnership or Connection Readings are a fascinating area of the system. In a Partnership session, we look at who each person is and what the bring to the relationship. We create a third BodyGraph representing the relationship itself, how both people come together, influence and fix each other. It shows the themes of attraction as well as the challenges inherent in the relationship and can be a very helpful means of awareness in any relationship.

The Incarnation Cross Reading is usually reserved for those who have been experimenting with their Strategy and Authority for at least a couple of years. The Incarnation Cross describes the unique purpose we are here to express in the totality. If we are truly living as ourselves, we begin to step into this purpose around the time of our Saturn Return and the Incarnation Cross Reading can be helpful in bringing awareness to this unfolding.

Four Transformations

Human Design provides a step by step path of supporting the differentiated body and form consciousness, aligning with one’s correct environment and seeing, and ultimately the full expression of self and the life you are here to live. This approach is referred to as “The Four Transformations” which are based on a deeper reading of one’s design including PHS or Dietary Regimen, correct Environment, View/Perspective, and Motivation. In these sessions, the analyst will go through each transformational step, exploring one’s unique design within the context of their life and direct experience. Note: an exact or rectified time of birth is needed for this work.

Formal Classes and Training

The Living Your Design course offered by the Human Design Collective is created for this very purpose. It’s the first of the “Foundation Courses” and the starting point for all formal training in the Human Design System. It is often taught as a series of weekly classes that meet online in a group format, although you can sometimes find someone offering it over the course of a weekend in a more immersive format. Some may feel like the information presented in the Living Your Design course (Centers, Authorities, and Types) is too basic for them, but I’ve found and heard from others that the value of this experience is easily underestimated. There is something about going through this process with a trained guide and group of other explorers which can be deeply transformative as you go deeper into your process with this knowledge.

Many of the schools and groups offering Human Design education foster interaction, practice, study, and forum exchange for students. This can be a natural way to find colleagues and friends who become allies in your own exploration. The Human Design Collective does this by providing a private online community for shared study, live meetups, and forum posts so that students can connect during and after they have completed courses. IHDS, Human Design America, and the BG5 Institute also offer student forums for connecting, sharing assignments, and commenting on the experience. Additional experienced teachers can be found at Your Own Authority and the Human Design Institute.

There are many other schools and teachers around the world offering Human Design training for personal and professional study. We are often asked who we recommend for classes. In short, we suggest following what resonates most with you as you listen to or read through the material from different teachers. There are many offerings out there making it possible to find the teachers and schedules that work for you.

What to do?

Like everything else in Human Design, following your Strategy and Inner Authority will ultimately be the guide in what path is right for you. Experimenting with and trusting in your own internal response and awareness can take you to the people you are designed to connect with in a way that mental assessment can not. Take your time and embrace the potential of this radical and highly unique path of awakening as your life begins to open up and unfold in magical ways.

If you haven’t had a Human Design Foundation reading, please visit Holo Human Design or Metamorphic Human Design to learn more.