In Human Design, there are 3 main circuits: Individual, Tribal and Collective, as well as a non-circuit group called the Integration Channels. When you look at someone’s chart, they will probably have a mix of all these but often one stands out in particular.

Integration Channels are about individual survival and represent what separates us from mammals. They are about loving yourself correctly, living in the now, and following your own path without worrying about what others think.

Individual Circuitry is about influencing the direction of humanity by living out your own unique truth and empowering others to do the same. If you have a lot of this circuit, you’re likely a creative person who doesn’t feel like they completely fit in.

Tribal Circuitry is concerned with the survival and prospering of the people you live with, such as your family, friends, and close community. Creating strong ties and protecting the welfare of the group. People with a lot of tribal circuitry can be very nurturing.

Collective Circuitry is about understanding and making sense of the world and sharing this knowledge with the larger population. It includes learning through logic and patterns as well as reflecting on past experiences.

(None of this has anything to do with fruit, by the way. I’m just using emojis as bullet points. Any further use of emojis in this post are likewise purely coincidental and unrelated to anything written here).

All of this reminds me of a teaching of Rav Kook about how people have different types of souls:

“There is the one who sings the song of the individual soul. This person finds everything inside the soul and experiences in it total spiritual fulfillment.

Then there is the one who sings the song of the nation… Pained by the nation’s sufferings, finding happiness in its dreams, the one who sings the song of the nation is immersed in deep thoughts concerning its past and future, and tries to understand its inner spiritual nature with love and a wise heart.

Then there is one… who sings the song of humanity. This person’s spirit ascends and becomes concerned with the greatness of mankind and its divine image, seeking humanity’s ultimate purpose and looking forward to its ultimate perfection.

…Then there is one who rises even higher to unite with the entire world, with all creatures, and with all of existence.”

– Rav Kook, “Orot Hakodesh” (from “The Spiritual Revolution of Rav Kook” by Rabbi Ari Ze’ev Schwartz).

While not an exact parallel, it’s fascinating to see how these ideas mirror each other. Human Design offers extraordinary insights into yourself and others but for me it’s more than that. It’s a way of uncovering the deeper depths of how Hashem in His wisdom has exquisitely created us.

I will leave you with this quote that I came across in Rabbi Sina Kahen’s book, “Ideas” which sums up my philosophy quite well:

“To grasp as much of the truth as is humanly possible, man must lay the whole realm of knowledge under honour.

In gathering this knowledge, he must be willing to learn from all, whether they be of high or low status, whether they be members of his own faith or belong to other faiths, whether they be believers or infidels.

In the providence of learning, as in the field of practical everyday living, we should break the nut open, enjoy the meat, and discard the shell.

– Hakham Ya’akov Anatoli, “Malmad HaTalmidim” (from “Ideas” by Hakham Sina Kahen).