Human Design Mapping Might Be More Telling than the Zodiac

I’ve been skeptically obsessed with the zodiac ever since I was a little kid, when I’d read the comics in the paper while I ate my breakfast before school. Those one-line horoscopes that shared the same page as “Garfield” and “Luann” were the first thing I’d skim, devouring the words and wondering how the vague prediction would affect my day. Spoiler: they never really did. Even so, I’ve remained a dedicated horoscope reader for the past twenty years. Really, the thing that fascinates me about astrology is not its predictive nature. I’m more intrigued by the way some astrologers use a person’s natal chart to pinpoint specific attributes of their character and personality, and detail how that person interacts with the rest of the world. But I’m a Pisces sun, Cancer ascendant, and Scorpio moon with an Aries midheaven… so maybe I would say that. In any case, I’ve always been interested (if not slightly cynical) of these types of methodologies — which is why when I first read about the Human Design Chart, I had to learn more. I spoke to Jenna Zoe, a Human Design Chart reader based in Los Angeles and London. “It sounds a little bit like astrology, but it’s not!” she promised as she input my birthdate, time of birth, and the city I was born in into her computer program. “The time and date of your birth tells you which portal of energy your soul chose to be born into. If you chose to pop up in this window, that’s when you chose the energy that was available to you at that time, that allowed you to be who you chose to be.” Basically, the idea behind the Human Design chart is that you have a specific purpose or action to achieve in this lifetime, and knowing the energy portal you chose to be born into can help determine that. Okay, it sounds a little weird, but stay with me. There are four different “types” that you can be born into, as well as nine different energy centers within the body that are affected by your birth details. Depending on your type, the Human Design chart will recommend the best ways for you to work, interact with others, and fulfill your life’s purpose, as well as the areas in your life where you might have issues to work through. Admittedly, I had no idea what to expect when Zoe began to read my chart. But honestly, it was uncanny how detailed and accurate her reading was — she nailed aspects of my personality, and even pinpointed some old habits that I tend to fall into in relationships. After my reading, I felt like I had been given greater insight to who I am, as well as how I should interact with the world in order to be the most successful, happy, and authentically aligned version of me.

Honestly, a few minutes spent with Zoe gave me more useful information than years of faithfully checking my horoscope.

Of course, the Human Design Chart doesn’t claim to be a personality test, a predictor of the future, or some sort of psychological tool — it’s just a way to help people determine their “inherent nature and capabilities.” Although the reading of my chart resonated with me, I’m considering the Human Design Chart the same way I do my zodiac sign — as a fun way to learn more about myself... but not something I would use to make life and death decisions.