Human Design Motivation
Human Design Motivation is the arrow at the top right of a chart, also called Awareness. It names what moves your mind. There are six: Fear, Hope, Desire, Need, Guilt and Innocence.
This page explains what Motivation is, the six Motivations and their two sides, the three pairs they come in, and transference, the pattern to notice when the mind runs on a Motivation that is not its own. Each Motivation has its own guide. Start with your free chart below.
Simple way to think about it: Think of Motivation as the question your mind keeps asking in the background, the one it returns to on a quiet afternoon.
Find your Motivation: start with your free chart
Enter your birth date, time and place. Your free chart shows your Motivation as a number beside the top right arrow.
Reading the arrows in your free chart. Four small arrows sit beside the head of the chart, each with a big number. The big number beside the top right arrow is your Motivation: 1 Fear, 2 Hope, 3 Desire, 4 Need, 5 Guilt and 6 Innocence, and the arrow shows left or right. Your Human Design reading names your Motivation and says which way its arrow points.
What is Motivation in Human Design?
Motivation is one of the four Variables. It is the arrow at the top right of the chart, on the Personality side, which is the mind and what you are aware of. Some teachers call it Awareness.
Your Motivation names what moves your mind: what it pays attention to, what it wants to understand, and the kind of question it returns to. It does not describe your mood, your values or how good a person you are. Two people with the same Motivation can live very different lives.
Each person has one Motivation. The arrow beside it points left or right, and that direction decides which of its two sides is yours.
The six Motivations and their two sides
Here are the six Motivations with their two sides. The left side goes with an arrow pointing left, which is active, strategic and focused. The right side goes with an arrow pointing right, which is receptive, passive and peripheral.
| Motivation | Left side · Right side · Pair |
|---|---|
| Fear | Communalist · Separatist · Survival |
| Hope | Theist · Antitheist · Survival |
| Desire | Leader · Follower · Learning |
| Need | Master · Novice · Learning |
| Guilt | Conditioner · Conditioned · Spirit |
| Innocence | Observer · Observed · Spirit |
Three pairs: Survival, Learning and Spirit
The six come in three pairs. Fear and Hope are the Survival pair, Desire and Need are the Learning pair, and Guilt and Innocence are the Spirit pair. The pairs are a way to see how the six relate. They do not rank them.
Transference: the Motivation that is not yours
Transference is the not-self pattern of Motivation. When the mind is conditioned away from its own Motivation, it tends to run on the one three steps away. Fear and Need are each other's transference, so are Hope and Guilt, and so are Desire and Innocence.
Transference is not a flaw, and there is nothing wrong with the other Motivation. It is simply not yours. Noticing it is usually enough: you catch yourself asking someone else's kind of question and come back to your own.
| Fear and Need | Fear Motivation and Need Motivation are each other’s transference. |
|---|---|
| Hope and Guilt | Hope Motivation and Guilt Motivation are each other’s transference. |
| Desire and Innocence | Desire Motivation and Innocence Motivation are each other’s transference. |
A name, not a feeling
Fear, Guilt, Need and the other names can sound heavy. In Human Design they name what moves the mind, not a feeling or a problem. A person with Fear Motivation can be bold and relaxed. A person with Guilt Motivation does not carry more guilt than anyone else.
Fear, Guilt and the other Motivation names describe what moves the mind; they are not feelings to fix. If fear, guilt or worry is weighing on you, talk with someone you trust or a licensed professional.
All six Human Design Motivation guides
Each guide covers both sides, transference, and how that Motivation shows up at work, at home and in relationships.
Next steps
Run your free chart for your Type, Strategy and Authority, then read the guide for each of your Variables. Keep your Strategy and Authority first, and let the Variables add detail to them.
FAQ: Human Design Motivation
What is Motivation in Human Design?
Motivation is one of the four Variables. It is the arrow at the top right of the chart, on the Personality side, also called Awareness. It names what moves your mind. There are six: Fear, Hope, Desire, Need, Guilt and Innocence.
What are the six Motivations in Human Design?
Fear, Hope, Desire, Need, Guilt and Innocence. Each has a left side and a right side, set by the direction of the arrow at the top right of the chart.
How do I find my Motivation in Human Design?
Start with your free chart, which gives you your Type, Strategy and Authority. A Human Design reading has a section that names your Motivation and says which way your Motivation arrow points.
What is transference in Human Design Motivation?
Transference is the not-self pattern. When the mind is conditioned away from its own Motivation, it tends to run on the one three steps away: Fear and Need, Hope and Guilt, Desire and Innocence. It is something to notice, not a fault.
Is Motivation the same as Awareness in Human Design?
Yes. Awareness is another name for the same Variable, the arrow at the top right of the chart. This site uses the name Motivation.
Is a Motivation a feeling?
No. Fear, Hope, Desire, Need, Guilt and Innocence name what moves the mind. They do not describe emotions or moods, and none of them ranks above another.