Peter Roth's Language

A Journey Through The Human Design System

I often wake up in the middle of the night wondering who I am. Usually a glance at my driver’s license solves that problem, but what about on a deeper level? Are there greater forces at work that typed out our character descriptions before we were born? And are we all living according to that design? Peter Roth says yes, and though we can’t change it, we can learn from it and live within it, to become our best selves.

Peter, a spiritual teacher and healer, is the founder of The Heart River Center, “an intimateenvironment for students to explore and raise spiritual consciousness and develop their intuitive gifts.”

He is also a founding director of the New York City Marathon, and has been delivering the teachings of the Human Design System for 12 years. The system is based on the work of Ra Uru Hu. It takes the position of the planets the moment you were born, then counts back to a moment 88 and a half days before to produce your personal chart.

The time and place of birth denotes your personality (conscious), and the earlier date is your design (unconscious). This is largely where the Human Design System differs from the Astrological chart, which only takes the birthdate into consideration.

“No human could have figured this out,” says Peter. “It’s beyond comprehension. And it always works. I’ve done a couple of thousand private readings, which often go into 3 hours of constant and unique detail. And at the end of the reading I ask them how true it is, and they always say it’s spot-on. It’s uncanny.

”According to HumanDesign.com, the system is “a synthesis of Genetic science and ancient wisdom including I Ching, Astrology, Kabbalah, Hindu-Brahmin chakra model and other profound mystical wisdoms.”

“It's a language about you,” says Peter. “It doesn’t change you. It explains you. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears and your gifts. And you get to use that language in your life to be more powerful. Because you are living consciously the language of who you are. It’s much better to live in the language you were born into. And then you have more compassion for yourself, more forgiveness. Because you see that you haven’t invented yourself. You’re living the invention that you were born to live.”

Around the chart are 64 symbols that stem from the Chinese I Ching. “They understood how life works,” says Peter. “The system understands you in fine detail, and it’s always accurate.”

There are nine Chakras, or Centers, on display in this System, governing the various aspects of our lives: The Head (Abstract); Mental (Ajna); The Throat; The Ji (Self); The Heart; The Spleen (Intuitive); Emotional (Solar Plexus); Sacral, and Root.

Peter gave an overview of the System at a recent Workshop at New York Yoga, and each of the attendees received a chart. There were “Ahas!” of recognition around the room as people recognized themselves immediately in the series of Chakra centers and gates, which are sometimes (but not always) connected by channels.

“If you have a gate on one chakra in the same circuit connected to a gate in another chakra, you have a channel,” says Peter. “The two active gates connect. Your particular combination of gates and channels are uniquely yours, no one else has the same combination. Because they weren’t born when you were. ”

There were also two columns of red and black numbers on our charts, identifying traits.

Peter handed out a sheet of readings of famous people’s number-based traits to show us how accurate the system is. For example, Steve Jobs (“the power to turn a focus into an obsession”); Madonna (“Charisma—attracting attention through innovation, unusualness and sometimes genius”); and Martin Luther King (“the enlightened father figure whose recognized wisdom and powerful assertion can mold a generation by his influence.”)“

Lindsay Lohan has a trait in her chart that says being screwed up makes her famous,” added Peter. “Fame followed her.”

For the record, my colored-in centers are the Mental, Throat, Spleen, Sacral and Root, meaning they are defined in my design; The others are white, meaning they are undefined (you can’t have everything!).“

You wouldn’t want to have all nine centers defined,” explains Peter. Basically because then you think you know everything! Then what would be the point of life?

My gates also suggest that I understand people and am quick to offer friendship; prefer to live in the now; and that taking care of my body is a top priority (hello yoga!)

The chart also puts people into categories of Generators, Manifestors, Projectors and Reflectors. Mine shows me to be a “Manifesting Generator,” with a life theme of Frustration (tell me about it). “Generators are all about stirring the pot,” says Peter. “We’re run by our motor, the sacral chakra. Generators think, if you want things to happen in life, get busy! The more you stir it, the better.”

But the opportunities actually come not from the pot, but from left field. “It shows up in ways you don’t expect. We Generators have to get out of our own way.”

And the rest? “The Projectors design the pot, they’re here to be recognized, to be seen for who they are,” says Peter.

Manifestors are here to initiate, to have impact, and are only 8 percent of the population (“They were the old kings and queens,” adds Peter.)Reflectors are a mere 1%, and have all their centers undefined: “They need to wait 29 days (the entire moon cycle) before making any major decision.”

After the workshop Peter also gave me my personal color, which is not visual but demonstrated by a number: in my case—and Peter’s—a 6.“

The nature of the 6 is to be innocent,” says Peter. “It’s the highest number, and it gives you the trait of innocence. People don’t understand 6s, because they expect them to have an agenda. But you’re not someone who’s here to play the games of life. 6s are more evolved.”

So, as a famous gopher hunter once said, I got that going for me, which is nice!

In truth, I was stunned by the accuracy of the chart and Peter's interpretation. My strengths and yes, weaknesses were all in line with my understanding of what makes me, me. And as Peter would attest, knowing is half the battle.

To learn more about the Human Design System and to book a chart reading, click here. Cost is on sliding scale depending on your individual financial situation.

-- Jim Catapano

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