HUMAN DESIGN 101: What are the FOUR ARROWS + what do they mean?
Ever wonder what the heck the four little arrows at the top of your human design chart mean?
They’re called Variables or The Four Transformations – and they’re an awesome way to immediately learn more about how you best process, work, manifest, and thrive in the world.
They explain a ton, including why…
You can or can’t stick to a routine
You love or hate making plans
You learn the way you do – logic/patterns or general themes/concepts
You find “getting specific” with your manifestation doesn’t work (or works great)
And more!
What do YOUR arrows mean? Check out this guide to find the little nuggets of gold they’re holding for you!
IMPORTANT NOTE
These will naturally align for you when you follow your strategy + authority!
If you’re not following those two things, nothing else in your chart really matters much, including your arrows. Some experts even say you need to be living your design for about 1.5 years before you even THINK about the arrows.
(Obviously I don’t think you have to wait that long to learn about them!)
So if you ever get confused or stuck in the weeds, go back to your S+A… and everything else will follow.
If you don’t know your strategy + authority, find yours here for free!
LEFT-FACING ARROWS VS. RIGHT-FACING ARROWS
You’ll notice your arrows are facing either left or right. These denote whether you are ACTIVE or PASSIVE in that specific area.
This doesn’t mean you’re aggressive or a pushover. It just means you naturally thrive best when you use either structure or flow in that area of life. It’s kind of like saying you’re more “right-brained” or “left-brained” there.
LEFT-FACING ARROWS ⟶ Active, or “masculine.”
They’re associated with things like structure, control, linear progress, directness, clear cause-and-effect, etc.
RIGHT-FACING ARROWS ⟶ Passive, or “feminine.”
They’re associated with things like flow, letting go of control, indirect progress, expansiveness, and generally more loosey-goosiness.
NOTE: Masculine and feminine here do not indicate male and female (nor any kind of gender), but rather how you’re using your energy.
TOP LEFT ARROW – DIGESTION
This is all about how we digest (“take in”) the world/food, absorb, and assimilate information.
LEFT-FACING
You thrive on a consistent routine. Routines, structure, and consistent action day after day grounds you and gives you a sense of freedom (because you know the daily stuff is taken care of).
You can take in a lot of information and absorb it well.
Fasting is NOT for you, because your nervous system is going going going all the time – whether you realize it or not. You need fuel!
RIGHT-FACING
You don’t need routine to thrive – consistency isn’t really your thing. You can chill out when it comes to structure, and go more with the flow. Become friends with showing up in different ways each day, with different energy.
You’ll do well to curate + limit the information you’re taking in. While someone with an active digestion will quickly absorb something, your brain will take that same thing and do a 360 view of it – so you’re getting a lot more out of one thing but you’ll need to slow down a little to do it.
Fasting might be easier for you. I am in no way saying to deprive yourself. You simply might find that you need less food to be satisfied, because your body is naturally inclined to use less energy in digestion.
BOTTOM LEFT ARROW – ENVIRONMENT
It has to do with what kind of environment (consistent or inconsistent) is energetically correct for you to operate at your highest level.
LEFT-FACING
You thrive in a consistent environment. It’s important for you to have consistency in your physical – and emotional/relational/mental – environments. People with this arrow facing left usually don’t like to move house too often, and tend to like to work, sleep, and eat in the same places. That’s okay, because we’re meant to integrate into communities… what those communities are, and whether that’s long or short term, is up to you!
If you travel, you will probably get a lot more out of your experience (and feel better + more grounded) when you take more time in each place and really get acquainted with it. For example, I love traveling but feel really stressed when I don’t have time to really absorb every place. I need to get “into” the space before moving onto a new city, new airbnb, etc.
RIGHT-FACING
You thrive when you have variety in your environment. The same-old, same-old is not for you, especially when it comes to where you are, where you work, even which IG pages you hang out on. For you, “home” can be pretty much anywhere.
You will get a lot out of traveling to lots of new places, letting yourself flow from location to location… and not forcing yourself to “settle down” into one spot. Even if you don’t want to travel that much, you might find yourself moving often or frequently working at different coffee shops to work in. It’s how you stay inspired and feel alive!
BOTTOM RIGHT ARROW - PERSPECTIVE
This has to do with how you see the world, whether or not plans “work” for you and whether you are a specific or nonspecific manifestor (as in manifestation, not being the energy type of Manifestor).
LEFT-FACING
You’re a specific manifestor. This means you get to put in a specific order for what you want, and the universe delivers it to you. Like UberEats, but much cheaper.
Plans work great for you. The reason why you’re a specific manifestor is because you align with specific plans. If you have this arrow facing left, it’s energetically correct for you to have (and to want) a plan before moving forward. You like that structure, and that’s okay!
Vision boards, clear + strategic plans, 5-year goals… all of these things will be very helpful for you.
RIGHT-FACING
You’re a nonspecific manifestor. When you’re a nonspecific manifestor, all you have to do is show up with a general idea of what you want – the underlying feeling is what to focus on, here – and then say, “Universe, wow me.” And it does! In the most surprising and lovely ways.
Plans + strategy aren’t gonna be your thing. The reason you’re a nonspecific manifestor is because you don’t align with specific plans.Your mind truly doesn’t work with that kind of structure or strategy – and that’s really okay. I know a lot of us have been told we need a plan, we need strategy, we need to know what’s next. But for you, that’s untrue.
Even if you have a plan… it’s really only a story for you. You have no clue where you’ll end up if you have this arrow facing right, and in fact, it will probably be EVEN BETTER than what you could have imagined!
TOP RIGHT ARROW – MOTIVATION
It has to do with whether or not you’re meant to focus on details or “the big picture.”
LEFT-FACING
You’re tend to be better with details, logic, and traditional forms of learning. You’re wired to remember the specifics of what you’ve learned and be able to recall them cold. This can show up in many different ways – but you probably have what most people would consider a very accurate memory for facts, figures, and clear details.
It’s helpful for you to “zoom in” when trying to understand something. You don’t have to be worrying about ALL the other stuff happening – it’s okay to have a blinders on while you work towards whatever you’re trying to accomplish.
RIGHT-FACING
You have a creative and flowing approach to learning. If you have this arrow pointing right, you’ll probably prefer unorthodox learning styles – you don’t really jive with traditional forms of learning, because the way you learn is less straightforward and less structured.
It’s helpful for you to “zoom out” and concentrate on the big picture. You’re the kind of person who could gain a lot (including great perspective) by letting go and considering the situation at large.
It may be tougher for you to recall facts, figures, and details, but you are an excellent conceptual thinker and learner. You can pull together larger, general themes – and trust me, not everyone can do that.*
*I think a lot of people with this arrow facing right struggle a bit with their relationship to education, because we’re taught that “smart” people are the people who recall details. LIES! You are still brilliant, seriously! People might not “get” it, but that’s honestly because you are a unique + creative thinker and not everyone can process life the way you do.
QUAD LEFT VS. QUAD RIGHT – 2 SUCCESS STORIES
Right now, we are living in a world where leftness/activeness is considered the real way to succeed, achieve, thrive – even survive.
However, we are moving into a new era (officially starting in 2027, but things are already shifting) where rightness/passiveness will rule! The energy will be more of attracting and receiving than pushing and “making it happen.”
Whatever arrows you have are correct for YOU and will always help you succeed if you work with them.
It’s not that people with right arrows can’t create what they want now, or that people with left arrows will be “wrong” or obsolete in the future. We came here with our designs for a reason!
Your natural approach is exactly how you’re supposed to create what you want in life.
For example…
I have a friend who has all his arrows pointing left (quad left).
And that man is a whore for efficiency. Strategy is his pimp, and structure is sugar daddy.
It works for him – he’s really successful in his corporate job.
Oh baby gimme strategy
On the other hand, Steve Miller, legendary guitarist/my husband in an alternate reality, has all his arrows pointing right (quad right).
He’s built to be less structured in his approach, but I don’t think any of us will deny that space cowboy is successful as hell.
Keep on rockn me
All you have to remember is this:
Getting the most out of your arrows is as simple as LEANING INTO the way you naturally grow, learn, and live.
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Do you have any questions about the arrows? What arrows are on your chart? Do you feel like they “match” how you naturally like to live your life?