The Meaning of Left and Right Facing Arrows in Human Design
So you looked up your Human Design chart and understood your type, strategy, and authority. You’ve learned about centers and gates … now you want to get a little deeper. I’m an investigator, I totally understand! Once I grasped the basics of my chart, my attention quickly jumped to the arrows. Located near the head and Ajna, the arrows are known as variables and represent some of the more subtle layers of your design.
Like the body and personality planetary placements, the arrows on the left side are associated with the unconscious portion of your chart - the design of the body. The arrows on the right are linked to our conscious design and personality - these are characteristics we may more readily recognize about ourselves.
Each one of the arrows corresponds to a different aspect that I will break down in detail at another time. This is a more advanced part of Human Design and I find it helpful to start small and build from there. At a high level, the variables show the following:
The variables are based on the more subtle aspects of your design and speak to your mind and physical awareness. Technically speaking, they’re extrapolated from a combination of your conscious/unconscious sun and earth and your north and south nodes. While your authority and strategy help you understand the MOST important parts of yourself and how your energy likes to operate, I think if variables as more of a window into your consciousness. They complete the picture that illustrates just how unique we all are. It’s a bit like how many people can look at the same piece of art but see something different in it – that’s the magic of the variables.
What’s the difference between arrows pointing left or right?
Starting at the top here - you’ve probably noticed you have a combination of left and right arrows, or you have all left or all right. There are many potential combinations and permutations for the variables and each carries a different meaning. While the manifestation of energy changes depending on which variable points which way — the meaning of right and left stay the same.
Left Facing Variables
Left-facing variables represent active or strategic energies. You can imagine these variables to be action-oriented and focused on organizing and consolidating information in a way that makes it easy to clear out extraneous information and jump into whatever you’re doing. This energy feels like a flashlight to me. It sees what’s in its path and moves forward accordingly. You can think of these variables as working in terms of probability. This energy can show up as linear thinking, wanting to be actively engaged in your environment, or needing to be consistent in your routines. Though the left side is often associated with the feminine archetype, but in Human Design, left-facing variables can be seen as a more yang/masculine archetype energy. Think of this energy like a road map – it shows you where to go and the best route to get there, filtering out all the areas of traffic or side streets that might be confusing.
Right Facing Variables
In contrast, right-facing variables are receptive and intuitive in nature and can be associated with the feminine archetype. These variables are about taking in information one bit at a time until the whole picture can be seen. This energy favors operating according to faith and trust, and not getting too tied down to a plan. Right-facing variables task us to live in the moment and take one step at a time, knowing we can’t know more until it’s time to know more. These variables push us into the realm of possibility and challenge us to imagine a variety of outcomes. Using the roadmap analogy, right-facing variables are more like a globe. They give you a high-level view that allows you to see the differences in terrain … and if you spend enough time staring at the borders that make up countries and territories, you’ll start to realize how arbitrary perceived and physical limits really are. Trippy! As someone who has 3 out of 4 arrows facing right, I take in information in a rather sporadic manner. I don’t tend to prioritize information but jump around according to what feels most exciting and relevant – often returning to fill in the details later. The key for right-facing variables is developing trust that things will get clear when the time is right.
Working with both left and right-facing variables
Whether you’re working with right or left-facing arrows, the most important thing you can remember is to follow your strategy and authority for guidance. These details are more advanced aspects of Human Design and the more you lean into your unique strategy and authority, the more the experience of the left or right-facing energy will naturally appear in your life.
I always recommend having a professional Human Design reader (like moi) walk you through the variables if you are just getting started because while it is complex, it can be SUPER useful in helping you to understand how and why you operate the special way only you can. Ready to learn more about variables? Let’s chat!