The 12 Human Design Profiles
In Human Design, a profile is a pair of numbers such as 3/5 or 6/2. Each number is a line, from 1 to 6, and each line is a role. Together they describe two roles that the system says you play, one you recognize and one that shows up in how other people respond to you.
Twelve pairs of roles
The key
The six lines
Line 1: Investigator
Foundation
You want to understand the basics before you trust anything, and you feel safest once you have done your homework.
Line 2: Hermit
Natural gift
You have natural gifts that come easily and a need for time alone, so others often notice your talent before you do.
Line 3: Experimenter
Trial and error
You learn by trying things and getting some wrong, so each mistake shows you what works; older books call this line the Martyr.
Line 4: Opportunist
Network
Your chances come through a small circle of people you know well, so keeping those ties in good repair pays off.
Line 5: Heretic
Projection
Other people expect practical answers from you, so requests and hopes land on you whether or not you invited them.
Line 6: Role Model
Perspective
You watch from a little distance and grow through three life phases, until others come to see you as an example.
All twelve
The 12 profiles at a glance
1/3
Researcher who learns by tryingInvestigator and ExperimenterCommon, about 14% · Right angle1/4
Researcher with a close circleInvestigator and OpportunistRare, about 2% · Right angle2/4
Gifted private person called out by friendsHermit and OpportunistCommon, about 14% · Right angle2/5
Reluctant problem-solverHermit and HereticRare, about 2% · Right angle3/5
Experimenter people are watchingExperimenter and HereticCommon, about 14% · Right angle3/6
Experimenter who becomes an exampleExperimenter and Role ModelRare, about 2% · Right angle4/6
Close friend who becomes an exampleOpportunist and Role ModelCommon, about 14% · Right angle4/1
Steady friend with firm convictionsOpportunist and InvestigatorRare, about 2% · Juxtaposition5/1
Problem-solver who checks the factsHeretic and InvestigatorCommon, about 14% · Left angle5/2
Public helper who needs retreatHeretic and HermitRare, about 2% · Left angle6/2
Calm observer with a quiet giftRole Model and HermitCommon, about 14% · Left angle6/3
Observer shaped by trial and errorRole Model and ExperimenterRare, about 2% · Left angle
How to read the pair
The first number is the conscious side, taken from the Sun's position at your birth. The second is the unconscious side, taken from the Sun at the design moment, roughly three months earlier. That is why a 2/5 and a 5/2 are different profiles even though they contain the same two lines. In the system, the first number is the role you identify with, and the second is the one that surprises you.
Your profile appears in the summary when you calculate your chart with TwoInks. You do not need to know your gates to read it.
Why there are only twelve
The design moment sits 88 degrees behind the birth Sun. Measured in lines, that gap leaves the second number two or three steps ahead of the first, counting around from 6 back to 1. Two steps is by far the more likely case. It gives the six common profiles, and the three-step case gives the six rare ones. The method page walks through the arithmetic. It is our own calculation and assumes births are spread evenly through the year.
What the angle means
The angle is a label for the incarnation cross, the theme attached to the Sun and Earth gates. Right angle is described as a personal path, left angle as a transpersonal one aimed at other people, and juxtaposition as a fixed path. The seven profiles from 1/3 to 4/6 sit on the right angle, the 4/1 stands alone on juxtaposition, and the 5/1, 5/2, 6/2 and 6/3 are left angle.
Profile and type
Profile is a separate layer from type, authority and centers. Any of the five types can carry any of the twelve profiles, which is why people search for pairs such as a 2/4 Projector. The type tells you the strategy, and the profile colors how that strategy plays out in your relationships and work.
As with all of Human Design, profiles are descriptions from a belief system. The method page covers how the chart is calculated and how to hold the system lightly.
Questions
Updated
How many profiles are there in Human Design?
Twelve: 1/3, 1/4, 2/4, 2/5, 3/5, 3/6, 4/6, 4/1, 5/1, 5/2, 6/2 and 6/3. Combinations such as 1/2 or 3/1 cannot occur because of how the design moment is defined.
Which Human Design profile is the most common?
Six profiles share the top spot at about 14 percent each: 1/3, 2/4, 3/5, 4/6, 5/1 and 6/2. This comes from the arithmetic of the chart, so it is firmer than the quoted type shares.
Which Human Design profile is the rarest?
Six profiles tie at about 2 percent each: 1/4, 2/5, 3/6, 4/1, 5/2 and 6/3. Among them the 4/1 gets the most attention because it is the only one on the juxtaposition angle.
What do the two numbers in a profile mean?
The first is the line of the Sun's gate at birth, the conscious side. The second is the line of the Sun's gate at the design moment, the unconscious side. Each runs from 1 to 6.
Does the profile change over a lifetime?
No. It is fixed by the birth data. What the system says changes is how the lines show up, most clearly for line 6, which it describes in three life phases.
