Root & Sacral Center Masterclass

Human Design Basic Concepts: 

The Format Energies of the Three Circuit Groups

Imagine having the secret codes to seeing what kind of energy others have—in what ways they’re uniquely brilliant and highly specialized. That’s what you get when you study this knowledge at deeper and deeper levels.

There’s even an analysis “shortcut”—three powerful channels that can tell you at a glance whether someone is strongly logical, more sensing/abstract, or very individual and mutative. For more on that, we are pleased to offer you this article on “The Format Energies of the Three Circuit Groups” by Ra Uru Hu.

Connecting the Root center to the Sacral are three very powerful channels with a special quality and name—the Energy Formats. Through these channels, the foundation energy of the three main circuits, Sensing, Knowing, and Understanding is determined. 

The Magical BodyGraph. 

When two Gates connect, a Channel is formed, thereby connecting and defining two Centers. There are 36 potential Channels in the Human Design BodyGraph, and while they each carry their own significance in Human Design, they do not stand alone. 

Each Channel has a relationship to a series of other Channels. These groupings are called Circuits. All the Channels within a circuit create and share a larger theme together, and in that sense, can never be separated. 

Circuits are extremely important and are a major factor in how we connect to others. You will notice a natural affinity with others who have Definition within the same Circuits as your own Human Design Chart.

There are seven different types of Circuitry in the Human Design BodyGraph: Six Circuits and the Integration Channels. The six Circuits make up three Circuit Groups:

Individual Circuit Group:

Knowing Circuit

Centering Circuit

Collective Circuit Group

Sensing Circuit (Abstract)

Understanding Circuit (Logic)

Tribal Circuit Group

Ego Circuit

Defense Circuit

These three Circuit Groups are very different from each other in the way they function, and together cover the entire spectrum of human interaction.

The Individual is a source of Mutation. This is the 'outsider' mentality. These people are here to empower others by being unique. The keynote of this group is EMPOWERMENT. When individuals connect to each other through this circuitry, they empower each other individually while resolutely remaining themselves in the process.

The Collective being is a source of 'reflection' and 'projection'. The Understanding Circuit projects its patterns and formulas into the future in order to lead, and the Sensing Circuit reflects on the past in order to remember. The keynote of this group is SHARING. When people connect to each other through this circuitry, they share their projections and reflections. This is an inherently social group.

The Tribal being is the foundation of our communities. Here we find our drive to procreate and build our civilization. Tribal connections are rooted in the keynote of SUPPORT. Coming together through tribal circuitry demands individual sacrifice.

The Six Circuits of the Human Design Bodygraph

The six circuits are also grouped together in a specific way.

There are three major circuits, Knowing, Sensing and Understanding. These are the only circuits that are rooted directly in an Energy Format (The Formats are the three channels that connect the Root to the Sacral center).

There are two minor circuits, Centering and Defense. These minor circuits each have a natural circuit partner; Centering is part of the Individual circuit group and Defense is part of the Tribal circuit group. The two minor circuits can be added to any of the other four circuits and will condition how they function. Thus the presence of the Centering circuit will bring an individual quality to any other circuit, and the Defense circuit will bring a distinct tribal quality. 

Finally, we have the Ego circuit which being neither major nor minor, stands alone at the core of the human process.

The Three Energy Formats of the Human Design Bodygraph

Connecting the Root center to the Sacral are three channels. Through these channels, the foundation energy of the three main circuits, Sensing, Knowing, and Understanding is determined. 

The format of the Knowing circuit is a pulse [the 3-60; Channel of Mutation]. This is an energy frequency that is intermittent, unpredictable, and sudden. It can switch off as suddenly as it switches on whether it expresses joy, inspiration, or mood. It is the source of both knowing and melancholy and leads to Mutation.

The format of the Sensing circuit is cyclical [the 42-53; Channel of Maturation]. This is an energy frequency that moves from beginnings to ends and over again in a spiral throughout life.

The format of the Understanding Circuit is to be focused and concentrated [the 9-52; Channel of Concentration]. 

People can also have mixtures of these format energies; for example, you can have a focus governed by the pulse. People with this focus can concentrate extremely well, but only in short bursts. 

Format energies have a vast influence whenever you see them in a chart, as they condition every single gate or channel.

The Channel of Mutation:  3-60 

Energy Format—The Knowing Circuit

A design of Energy which initiates and fluctuates

The 3-60 is an Energy Format channel. These are very unusual things to begin with. Any time you have a Format definition, you know this format will dominate in that life through its Generator nature. Formats are adrenalized Generators. 

It’s extremely important in Human Design that apart from our Tribal process (the Ego Circuit), there are no circuits that are not totally dependent on Sacral response. This is what generates the energy field for the Individual, the Logic, and the Abstract process.

If you have a defined Format in your design, you have a very fixed pattern in your nature. If you are somebody who has the Abstract format, the 53-42, you are going to go through continual cycles whether you like it or not. It does not matter what kind of person you are, what kind of design or profile you have, the machine works through cycles.

Format Energies are very powerful. It is worth remembering that the nature of the human vehicle does not allow for many pure opportunities for manifestation. Manifestors and manifestation are dangerous because they are usually uncontrollable and unpredictable. The one thing that is clear about the Generator as an energy type is that through response it can always act correctly.

Generator channels all make noises. Some of them sigh, some of them hum, and some of them moan. All Generator channels have their own sound system, just as all the Throat channels have their own way of articulating and their own unique voices. 

When we see in someone's chart that they have the entire 3-60 Format defined then when this person hears their Sacral response, it is always connecting to the energy of mutation. When such a person hears a "yes", or an "uh-huh" from their Sacral center, then that commitment will certainly lead to mutation. In other words, their unique self-expression will have a successful impact. If the sacral says "no", then no mutation is possible. Remember, mutation is about creating a change and bringing a new form to the world. As long as the 3-60 is responding, then the individual can always trust the impact they have on the Tribe, or on the Collective.

Being at the root of all the Individual circuitry, it is this channel, the 3-60 that generates the pulse that moves through the human system as melancholy. Wherever there is individuality in a chart, there is melancholy in the chart. 

As with all these Individual channels, these people have to learn the trick of neither trying to reason their way through the sadness, nor trying to repeat the happiness by seeing it as connected to a certain person or place or experience. The moment the Individual gets into this kind of reasoning, then rather than being creative, the melancholy can become something very distorting. It can become depression. It can become a way in which they become self-destructive. 

There is a great deal of sadness in Individual circuitry and through that sadness, there are all kinds of opportunities to hurt oneself both physically and spiritually. One of the keys to this process is not to try to reason but to know and explain. If you don't know, wait. If you can't explain—be quiet. Eventually, it will all come together out of the magic of response.

The Channel of Concentration: 9-52

Energy Format—The Understanding Circuit

A design of Determination

We began this training with a gentle caution. The depth of what human circuitry is and how it works takes a long time to settle in us. The simplest key of all is Type. When we look at all these channels through their Type, it really gives us a deeper insight into the way they operate at their best. When we are looking at a Format Energy like the 9-52, this is something that is very unique. All the Formats are pure Generators. The frequency of every channel in a circuit is governed only by its Format. That is quite a thing to consider.

Individuality is conditioned by the pulse of on/off and the abstract process is conditioned by the cyclical format. Logic is conditioned by focus and concentration. This is a Generated field. Logical people have to be able to dig their heels in and stay with the process. That is why it is rooted in the 52nd gate, 'Keeping Still Mountain'. That is stillness, but not a dead stillness; all mountains are alive, growing or shrinking. Keeping Still is the Buddha gate. You still your physical body and your outer senses so you can use your energy in a very focused way.

The art of focusing is actually about eliminating extraneous waste of energy. There is nothing more infuriating for a 9-52 than to have to put their energy into many different things instead of being focused on one thing. Again, we should remember that when you enter into things according to your Type, you will always get what you need. The 9-52 is a Generator channel. If you have this format in your design, you can never know what is right for you unless you are asked. A logical being who is following their strategy will always find their vocation, and it will be something they can stay with all their life. Then they can get to the point of mastery. 

However, it is not as if such a person has to stay with one thing all their life. The possibility of change is genetically built into all of the circuits. I know many musicians who have spent ten or fifteen years playing a certain kind of instrument and then all of a sudden they change and go and master something else. This is possible. But the main thing to understand is that for the logical being this narrowness of way, this need to focus and concentrate, is the most important thing of all.

Think about all the 58-18s you know and how many things they want to correct. It never works. If you make it personal and you point all that energy at your partner, you have a lifetime of finding things to correct about your partner. The reality is that only when it is impersonal, can you find the right thing to focus upon and master. That is why the 52 and the 58 are part of a cross that is called the Cross of Healing (Left Angle Cross 25/46 and 52/58). The real healer only becomes efficient after time. Don't have a doctor carve into your body unless they have had 20 years of experience. Your chances are better. Brilliance is great, but experience is what matters. Since they do not control the timing, this format generator channel demands that logical people wait for that opportunity to go so deeply into the thing that interests them.

The Channel of Maturation: 53-42

Energy Format - The Sensing Circuit

A design of Balanced Development

The 53-42 is called Maturation. Maturation is the third of our Energy Formats. It is the cyclical Format of beginnings, middles and ends, which very neatly sums up the nature of the Abstract way. On the Abstract path, you cannot accomplish anything unless you enter into it according to your design and then follow it through to the end. Cycles need to be completed so that another one can begin. Some cycles can be very short; they can only last a few days, hours, even moments. Other cycles may be very long, lasting years and years. The question is: how does one begin a cycle? How does one enter into an experience correctly? 

When we look at the Sensing Circuit as it moves through the Sacral center, we see that the 29th gate is the gate of saying yes to something. This is where the commitment comes from. Therefore, in order to enter properly into an experience, you have to be asked. The cyclical Abstract process demands that the Generator be asked. The Abstract channels also run through the Solar Plexus center. Thus abstract people are always safer when they wait for clarity before committing. If these people are not waiting to respond, they will meet nothing but resistance. They meet nothing but their own anger.

All three formats are about limitation. They limit the energy frequency of their particular circuit. The limitation of the Abstract process is that it is always cyclical. In other words, you are not supposed to repeat the same experience. You are here to go through the experience and accomplish something in the process. 

However, the thing you are to accomplish is not any kind of personal goal. If there is a goal in the Abstract way, it is experience itself, because everything in this circuit is about discovery. It is about discovering something that you did not know was already there. It is not about discovering something new. That is Individuality. Remember that the human way is about living out all the possibilities of experience. We had a whole generation of humans that went exploring. Now we have to find new experiences because we have found all the places on this planet.

Anyone with any definition in the Sensing Circuit needs to understand a deep truth; that if they are not careful going into a new experience, then they get stuck in things they cannot complete, and this is deeply frustrating for them. Added to this, life keeps pulling them back to the same experiences because they never finished with them. They get stuck in a loop; they cannot finish something because they did not begin it correctly. Such people can become very angry about their lives. The key for these people is so simple; they have to wait to be asked.

We live in a duality. One of life's great ironies is that most of the discoveries we humans have made about life have come from those who did not wait to be clear before they responded. This is the story of ancient man: One day, walking along, a man sees a mushroom. He says to himself, "mm, I wonder if I can eat that..." There is nobody there to ask, but the mushroom looks edible, so our guy, equipped with a mouth, teeth and a stomach takes it and eats it. Then he drops dead. Weeks later, this event becomes a story, carried by another man who happened on the body lying beside the mushrooms. The moral of the story told by this second man is: 'Don't eat those mushrooms'. Along the Abstract way, an awful lot of people die for the benefit of others. It is, after all, the human way.

The point of this story is that if you enter into any kind of experience with clarity, you have the perfect experience. If on seeing the mushroom you wait out your emotional wave, then you can be clear about whether it is correct for you to eat it or not. If you are clear that you can eat the mushroom and you still drop dead, then it is perfect. That was the perfect death for you. Remember, the Abstract path is not interested in the outcome. It is about the actual eating of the mushroom and the experience that you have during the process.

By Ra Uru Hu