What is the Incarnation Cross in Human Design?
Your life theme or life purpose
One of my favorite aspects of Human Design is what’s called your incarnation cross. It speaks to what each person is “incarnated” to be or do. You can think of it as your life theme.
What the incarnation cross does not tell you is a specific occupation that you’re here to do. It’s also not highly actionable, nor is it limited to work. Rather, it’s a theme meant to shine through all you do.
The most concrete way to align with your purpose, in Human Design, is to follow your type’s strategy and your specific authority. In other words, your incarnation cross unfolds as—and only if—you live your design.
You can use your incarnation cross as your north star as you make choices along the road of life.
Incarnation cross basics
Technically speaking, your incarnation cross is made up of the top four gates in your chart. Here’s my chart with the gates that make up my incarnation cross circled: 28, 27, 31, and 41.
When you look up your chart, you’ll see those numbers listed next to the name of your incarnation cross. Here’s mine, for example:
The most important gate of your incarnation cross is the first one, located at the top right column of your chart. This is called your personality sun. (In my chart, this is gate 28.)
According to Ra Uru Hu, the founder of Human Design, “Our personality sun is how we express our light in the world.” It’s literally where the most light shines through in our chart. You can discover a lot about your life purpose just by diving into your personality sun alone.
The rest of your incarnation cross comprises your design sun (which sheds more light on your purpose), your personality earth, and your design earth. The personality and design earth have to do with what brings you balance while you’re on your purpose. The yin energy to your suns’ yang energy.
How many incarnation crosses are there?
There are 192 incarnation crosses in Human Design. Note that some incarnation crosses have a few variations.
For example, my incarnation cross is called the Right Angle Cross of the Unexpected (3). There are a total of four different variations of the Right Angle Cross of the Unexpected. The theme is similar for all four because they’re all made up of the same gates (27, 28, 31, and 41) but in different orders. The gate in the conscious sun is different for each variation.
I’m pointing out this nuance because if you’re looking up the description of your incarnation cross in a book or other material, you want to be sure you’re reading the correct description.
What do the angles mean in the incarnation cross?
The name of your incarnation cross starts with a specific angle:
- Right angle
- Left angle
- Juxtaposition
These three angles give you even more information on your life theme.
The right angle makes your theme personal. Your life path is about your own self-discovery and aligning with your own authenticity.
The left angle makes your theme interpersonal. Your life path is about being of service to others or the world.
The juxtaposition angle means you have a fixed theme. Your life path is very specific. You want to stay true to that trajectory, and not be open to the influence or advice of others.
A final note on purpose
As much as we want our purpose to fit into a tidy, monetizable box, it’s not always that straightforward. It may be helpful to think of it as an embodiment rather than a clear career path. One of the gifts of my personality sun is the awareness that trying to find our purpose is a phase. It is by living our life, being alive to the fullest, that we fulfill our purpose.
Hi, I’m Ana! I do Human Design readings. Book a 1:1 reading with me for an in-depth discussion of your incarnation cross.
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