the primary health system
diet | determination
top left (red) arrow
The four variables or arrows in Human Design cover PHS (Primary Health System), Motivation, Environment and View Perspective. The Primary Health System which is tied to your top left arrow tells you about your unique nutritional needs when it comes to consumption. Like Environment, it is tied to our Body Design (red).
Both of the top arrows (red) Brain + (black) Awareness have to do with how we take in and process information, how we consume the world around us. The Top Left arrow is really about how we nourish our brains and it has less to do with what we eat and more to do with how we do it. The first three colors have to do with conditions around the food whereas the last three have to do with the conditions of our environment when we are eating or even taking in information. The number we are looking at is the one in the yellow circle under the arrow. So, for the chart above we are looking at a 5th color or Sound Determination (like me) and because the arrow is facing left, it will be High Sound (also like me). It will also tell you in the keynotes of Genetic Matrix next to Determination under the Body heading.
A Left facing arrow delineates a Left or Active Brain and a Right facing arrow a Right or Passive Brain. This has nothing to do with left brain/right brain when it comes to a lot of the traditional labels we associate them with in Western society like people who are Right Brain are more creative. We all have the ability to be creative, this is about how we approach learning, the way we approach our creativity, the ways we take in + process the world around us. It will also point to which variation you are within each color.
The Colors are as follows:
DETERMINATION
No. 1 APPETITE - Consecutive (L) or Alternating (R)
No. 2 TASTE — Open (L) and Closed (R)
No. 3 THIRST — Hot (L) or Cold (R)
No. 4 TOUCH — Calm (L) or Nervous (R)
No. 5 SOUND — High (L) or Low (R)
No. 6 LIGHT — Direct (L) or Indirect (R)
Second to sleep, food is another way we can be deeply conditioned. We speak a lot about our Open Centers out in the world but often miss that sleeping and eating are two of the main things to focus on when on our deconditioning journey or just trying to create more ease, vitality, clarity and well-being in our lives.
Feeding our brains the way they are designed to be fed gives us access to our correct perspective, putting us on the right path in life. This is the way our brain wants to receive nourishment and this can include all the things we “consume” in life, and all the ways we nurture ourselves, not just what we put in our mouths.
*** There is a reason it is recommended to have an embodied understanding of your Strategy + Authority before getting into the Variables. It is because these are more abstract concepts, our birth time may be off a minute or two, we may be out of balance in other ways, or we may not be quite ready to take in this information. These things are not typically recommended to implement until after our Saturn Return anyway through I think there are ways we can gently nurture kids and ourselves (even before we hit our 30’s) to create more ease + balance with some of this wisdom.
If your Determination does not resonate with you, let it go, or you may want to try calculating a few minutes on either side of your birth time to see if it changes. With this information we do not have to make massive shifts. Notice the times you may already incorporate elements + know that many of these things go against societal norms, diet culture, etc.. There may be some rewiring to do to wrap your head around this new information. Like everything else in our Design, it is an experiment, play, and look for the ways you can lean in.
the direction of the arrow
the colors
no. 1 appetite | simple, primal, whole foods (not processed)
Support: simple minimal ingredient cooking, mono meals - the book Cleanse to Heal speaks about mono-cleanses, simple whole food snacks, eating every 2-4 hours, no fasting, feelings of safety, see also Caves for resonance, Root Toolbox, getting into a Flow State
Contemplate: How might you simplify in the ways you assimilate life? What are the ways in which you are drawn to simplification, to the simple things, to presence with one thing at a time?
no. 2 taste | the gatherers, on repeat, seasonal
Support: find your local farmers market, seasonal cooking, check out a seasonal cookbook, different cooking methods, whole foods, no fasting, getting clear on the details + specifications you are drawn to and the foods you crave and then repeat, see also Markets for resonance
Contemplate: How do you align with nature’s seasons? How do you align with your own seasons… paying attention to the cosmic weather you’re in, to where you are by Profection, your progressed Moon, the phases of the Moon, etc…
no. 3 thirst | hydration, the temperature of your food
Support: hydration, quality mineral water, trace minerals/a pinch of high quality salt for your water, coconut water, marshmallow root cold infusion/tea, The Sacral Toolbox as the Sacral Charka is tied to the fluids in your body, this course on quality water, see also Kitchens for resonance.
Contemplate: What feels juicy to you? How do you align/or not currently with flow in your life? What is your relationship to hydration? Explore the work of Isabel Friend - Water is Life.
no. 4 touch | the activity + energy in your environment
Support: touch your food, eat with your hands, see also Mountains for resonance. It can be helpful for both to pick and prepare your own food most of the time.
CALM: your favorite resources for calm + cleansing your space
NERVOUS: your favorite meals on the go, planning social events, go to place for eating alone that aligns with your energy
Contemplate: What vibe serves you when you assimilate food and life? What are you “in the mood” to consume?
no. 5 sound | the acoustics + volume of information
Support: headphones, noise canceling headphones, curated playlists/soundtracks, getting to know the sounds you love + that support you, mantra, tuning forks, frequencies + sound bowls/baths for healing, nature sounds + music from your supportive lines, see also Valleys for resonance.
Low - creating a quiet sacred environment for meals
Contemplate: What sounds feel nourishing to you in any moment? What decibel level? What level of information at once, whether in life or on your plate, feels right? Are you honoring your bodies needs for sustenance? Are you over consuming - if so, what is the feeling underneath that need?
no. 6 light | the time of day you nourish
Support: sun lamp (for Direct), sunrise alarm, red light therapy, blu-blocking glasses + lamps, incandescent bulbs instead of LED/blue light, watching sunrise or sunset, tools to honor + align with natures rhythms, see Shores for resonance.
Contemplate: How do you feel in certain levels of light? In sunlight, in moon light, in blue light, in red light, in incandescent light? At what time of day to certain lights serve you or not? What light’s you up when it comes to assimilation? How can you more deeply honor your cycles with light?