Tribal vs Individual Circuitry: How understanding can reduce resentment

The tribe is all about support.

It’s about community. We make a bargain that ensures we are all doing our fair part. As long as you are part of the tribe and you obey our principles,  we promise that we will find a place for you and provide for your needs.

It’s this sticky frequency where I show up for you and you show up for me, we help each other out because that’s what family does, that’s what tribal people do.

Individuality is all about empowerment.

Individuals are not motivated to create relationships on the primary basis of mutual support, that’s not what bonding is about for us. It’s about empowering each other's uniqueness and creative direction. It’s about having inspiring conversations about the mysteries of consciousness and trying to write a song that’s never been written before. I listen attentively as you explain yourself and what you know, and together we explore the unknown.

The tribe is sensitive to one another’s needs and they love to be helpful.  

A tribal person will agree to watch your children for you at the last minute, because they know you'd do the same for them. They will drive you to the airport and then water your plants while you're away. A tribal person noticed you had dirty dishes in the sink, so she went ahead and took care of that for you.

Individuals like to do things their own way, and only when they are in the mood.

If they are inspired to help you they will, but dependency makes them uncomfortable. They don’t like relying on others for support, and they also do not like when others expect them to be supportive.

They passionately express their love through music, romance and poetry, rather than acts of service.

The Tribe finds meaning and shared purpose through community. Individuals need to find their own meaning and know things for themselves.

Tribal people love to gather together over food. Individuals don’t want to wait until it’s time for family dinner, they want to eat when they are in the mood to eat.

The tribe is inherently conservative. They respect tradition, and they are not quick to abandon the values and behaviors that have supported their material success and continuity up until this point.

Individuality is inherently innovative. Individuals are agents of change and mutation. What excites them most is the possibility of something totally new coming into existence.

Whereas support comes naturally to tribal beings, individuals often experience this as an obligation. Tribal beings do not like it when they feel their support is unreciprocated! Meanwhile, individuals may feel misunderstood, and unmet in their longing for newness and creative collaboration.

Without awareness, this dynamic can create all sorts of resentment and conflict in relationships. Human Design helps us understand, honor and accept our differences so that we can navigate our relationships more lovingly and authentically.

As we let go of our belief that others need to change, we begin to see their true brilliance more clearly. Instead of focusing on what’s missing, we open to receive the love and magic that is available.

Are you mostly tribal or individual? I'd love to hear your experiences in response to this email

Note: Most people have a mix, but lean more strongly towards one or the other to various degrees. It’s rare that someone will have absolutely zero tribal or individual activations. And we haven’t even spoken about collective circuitry, that’s a topic for another day

Here's what inspired this explanation: I was guest teaching HD for a business mastermind, and near the end a Sacral Generator raised her hand and spoke about what was coming up for her as I was keynoting the other participants' designs. After watching me speak to several of the women about the Channel of Community and explain to them how tribal they are, she had a hunch that she was not very tribal at all. She was correct- all three of her defined channels were individual, and she only had three tribal gates in her entire chart.

It brought her so much permission and relief to finally have an explanation for this phenomenon. She felt like she was constantly surrounded by tribal people and she experienced pressure to try and be like them even though that wasn't what her energy was authentically available for. As someone who is deeply individual without much tribal definition, I related big time!

This is an example of how learning HD in a group environment can be so powerful. If I had simply explained this phenomenon to her during an individual session, it may not have landed as deeply as it did after she watched me work with chart after chart of very tribal people, witnessing the conversations between us as I described their tribal characteristics.

This is why I love leading groups. And, I am so excited to lead my third cohort of Living Your Design. I love the group that’s forming for this round. Learning HD requires a genuine enthusiasm, discipline and readiness, and they all have that. I’m so grateful that I get to be the catalyst for really fantastic people to meet one another and experiment with Human Design together.

We begin on April 24. Calls will be Wednesdays at 4 PT, with one week off for integration. You can learn more and enroll here!