Human Design Variables
Human Design Variables are the four arrows beside the head of a chart. Two sit on the Design side, the body, and two on the Personality side, the mind. Each arrow points left or right.
The four are Digestion, Environment, Motivation and Perspective. Together they describe how you take things in, where you settle, what moves your mind and how you see. This page explains all four and links to a guide for each one. Start with your free chart below.
Simple way to think about it: If your Type is the kind of vehicle you are, the Variables are the fuel, the road, the reason for the trip and the view from the window.
Find your Variables: start with your free chart
Enter your birth date, time and place. Your free chart shows all four Variables as numbers beside four small arrows.
Reading the arrows in your free chart. Four small arrows sit beside the head of the chart, each with a big number. Each arrow points left or right. Here is what the big numbers mean. The four arrows are one of the Human Design chart symbols; that guide explains the rest of the chart.
| Digestion | The big number beside the top left arrow: 1 Appetite, 2 Taste, 3 Thirst, 4 Touch, 5 Sound and 6 Light. |
|---|---|
| Environment | The big number beside the bottom left arrow: 1 Caves, 2 Markets, 3 Kitchens, 4 Mountains, 5 Valleys and 6 Shores. |
| Motivation | The big number beside the top right arrow: 1 Fear, 2 Hope, 3 Desire, 4 Need, 5 Guilt and 6 Innocence. |
| Perspective | The big number beside the bottom right arrow: 1 Survival, 2 Possibility, 3 Power, 4 Wanting, 5 Probability and 6 Personal. |
A Human Design reading has a section called Your Motivation (what moves you, how it has shown up in your life, and one thing to try this week) and one called Your Perspective (the lens you see through, and what you notice that others miss). Each one says which way that arrow points.
What are the Variables in Human Design?
The Variables are a part of your chart that sits beside the head and the Ajna. There are four of them, drawn as arrows. Each arrow belongs to one of the four Variables, and each one points either left or right.
The Variables describe the finer settings of a design: the conditions in which your body takes things in, the places where you tend to settle, what moves your mind, and the lens your awareness looks through. They add detail to your chart. They do not change your Type, Strategy or Authority.
The four arrows
| Digestion | Digestion, also called Determination. The arrow at the top left, on the Design side. The six: Appetite, Taste, Thirst, Touch, Sound and Light. |
|---|---|
| Environment | Environment, where you tend to settle. The arrow at the bottom left, on the Design side. The six: Caves, Markets, Kitchens, Mountains, Valleys and Shores. |
| Motivation | Motivation, also called Awareness. The arrow at the top right, on the Personality side. The six: Fear, Hope, Desire, Need, Guilt and Innocence. |
| Perspective | Perspective, also called View. The arrow at the bottom right, on the Personality side. The six: Survival, Possibility, Power, Wanting, Probability and Personal. |
Design side and Personality side
Your chart has two sides. The Design side, drawn on the left, is the body. The Personality side, drawn on the right, is the mind, what you are aware of. Two Variables belong to each side.
Digestion and Environment are on the Design side, so they are about the body: how you take in food and information, and the kind of place where you settle. Motivation and Perspective are on the Personality side, so they are about the mind: what moves it, and what it notices.
Left and right
Each arrow points left or right, and the direction is part of the meaning. Left is active, strategic and focused. Right is receptive, passive and peripheral. Neither direction ranks above the other. They are two ways of working, and a chart can carry a mix of left and right arrows.
Reading your four Variables together
You can read your four Variables one at a time, and each guide on this site does that. Read together, they give a fuller picture: how your body likes to take things in, where it settles, what your mind is moved by, and what it tends to notice first.
The Variables sit on top of the basics. Your Type, Strategy and Authority come first, because they are how you make decisions. The Variables describe the setting those decisions happen in. A good way to start is to live your Strategy and Authority, then notice which of your four Variables feels most familiar.
A guide to each Variable
Each Variable has its own guide, and each of those links to a page for every one of its six names.
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 Variables
What are the Variables in Human Design?
The Variables are four arrows beside the head of a Human Design chart: Digestion, Environment, Motivation and Perspective. Each one points left or right. Two describe the body and two describe the mind.
What do the four arrows mean in Human Design?
The top left arrow is Digestion, also called Determination. The bottom left arrow is Environment. The top right arrow is Motivation, also called Awareness. The bottom right arrow is Perspective, also called View. Left means active, strategic and focused. Right means receptive, passive and peripheral.
Which Variables are on the Design side and which are on the Personality side?
Digestion and Environment are on the Design side, which is the body. Motivation and Perspective are on the Personality side, which is the mind and what you are aware of.
How do I find my Variables?
Start with your free chart, which gives you your Type, Strategy and Authority. A Human Design reading names your Variables and says which way each arrow points.
Is a left arrow better than a right arrow?
No. Left is active, strategic and focused, and right is receptive, passive and peripheral. They are two ways of working. Neither one ranks above the other.
Do the Variables matter more than Strategy and Authority?
No. Strategy and Authority come first, because they are how you make decisions. The Variables describe the setting those decisions happen in, so they make the most sense once the basics are clear.