Ever wonder why some relationships just click while others feel like constant friction? In Human Design, your Channels hold one of the main keys. Defined or undefined, they shape how you connect with others on a deep, energetic level.

In this blog post, I’m breaking down how the energy of your Channels influences your relationships—and how you can use this knowledge to transform your relationships in a positive direction for good.

In your Human Design BodyGraph/chart, you have Channels, Gates, and Centers. When you have a Channel defined in your Human Design chart, it behaves a certain way in relationships with other people. And when you have a Channel that is undefined in your BodyGraph chart, it behaves in a completely different way in your relationships. Need a Human Design chart? Get yours FREE here + your free Human Design mini-report.

The reason behind this is that when you interact with other people who have certain Channels defined or undefined, your Channels and theirs interact in unique ways. Or as Ra Uru Hu, the founder of Human Design said, “It's all about mechanics,” but I think it's actually all about energetics.

So let's talk a little more about what channels are in Human Design and then we'll dive into how you can actually use them to understand the psychology of your relationships. In Human Design, Channels are the lines between the nine Centers in your Human Design BodyGraph/chart. They represent the flow of energy and information between these different parts.

Each Channel is made up of two Gates. And when both Gates are defined, a Channel is defined, which creates a consistent flow of energy between the two Centers that it connects. Channels are like the wiring in an electrical system. So just as wiring connects different components, to make sure the system functions, Channels connect various aspects of your Human Design chart, which allows energy to move in a certain way and express itself in specific ways. And while the way that this energy flows in your unique Human Design chart can definitely help you understand yourself individually, where it can really help you isn't understanding your relationships.

On your unique Human Design chart, most people, unless they are Reflectors, will have at least one Channel completely defined, where both Gates in their chart are defined to form a Channel. You will also most likely have Channels that are half defined, where you only have one out of the two Gates defined in your chart. And then you will also have Channels that are completely undefined, meaning that you don't have any Gates in that Channel defined in your chart.

The Channels in your Human Design chart can significantly impact how you experience and express energy in your relationships. Defined Channels bring consistent themes and qualities into your relationships. Undefined Channels can create more variability in your relationships, where they are more influenced by external factors from other people that you interact with.

Next, let’s look at how the energetics of your defined and undefined Channels influence your relationships and how you can use this information to actually improve your relationships.

When you are in the presence of someone or in a relationship with someone who has a defined Channel, but in your Human Design chart, that same Channel is completely undefined, this person's energy will usually dominate with the particular traits of the Channel in that particular area. This represents energy that is more of a fixed part of them and harder to change. And while their choices and temperament can influence how they express the traits and behaviors related to a certain Channel, what I have found in doing connection chart readings is that it still is very much a part of who they are and how they operate in the world. Even if they aren't aware of it, and even if they don't even know anything about human design. These are areas where you may need to let the other person be who they in the relationship. And if these Channels are related to traits or behaviors that irritate you or bother you about the person, these will be places that will be harder for you to get them to change.

Now, what about when you have an entire Channel defined and a person that you are in a relationship with has that same Channel defined in their chart? These are called friendship or companionship Channels in Human Design. And they are areas where the other person will feel very familiar, very similar to you, and where you have a basis for a very good friendship. These Channels are areas that you can build a friendship on. They're also areas that you can leverage or lean into with someone when you aren't getting along. It's where if you find a person difficult or hard to get along with, at least you know that you think the same and operate in the same way in that one particular area.

Now, what about when you are in a relationship with someone who has one Gate defined in a Channel and you have the other Gate defined? When you are together with this person, this forms a Channel and it can also create a defined Center. But what does that even mean? It means that in this case, you have what is called an electromagnetic connection. Because you complete the Channel for the other person and the other person completes the Channel for you. In other words, you complete each other in whatever area that Channel is in, which can feel incredibly attractive to one or both of you or can feel incredibly repelling to one or both of you. This type of connection in two peoples’ Human Design charts usually creates strong emotions, where you will feel strongly about the other person in some way and they will feel strongly about you in some way, whether it is a romantic relationship, a friendship, a family relationship, or a work or business relationship.

Now, what I find so fascinating about the Channels in Human Design is that when it comes to relationships, they can really help you understand the particular flavor of certain relationships that you have with other people.

Very often, when people have a lot of hanging Gates in their Human Design chart (or who have a lot of Channels with only one Gate defined), may feel like they really need other people, because it usually feels really good to have the other part of those Channels completed and they are completed when they are around other people.

But then this raises what I think is an important question: At what point does a person become overly dependent on other people to complete their Channels for them? And shouldn't they just be completely okay with just themselves? Shouldn't people find wholeness within themselves first before trying to find it by being around other people?

And yes, I believe all of those things to be true—that a person shouldn't be walking around with gigantic holes in themselves, or gigantic empty Channels, where they only feel whole and complete because another person or other people happen to be in their lives who complete a channel for them or many channels for them.

So, in this way, your Channels can become amazing teachers where they can show you where you may have a tendency to feel that you are lacking in some way, where you feel like you might not be enough in some way, or where you may feel that you need somebody else to complete you, for you to be whole.

And then once you have awareness around this, you can do something about it. You can fill yourself up, you can lean into your own enoughness without ever needing someone else to do it for you. And then when you do enter into a relationship, you will be more likely to enter into it correctly because you'll be coming from a place of enoughness instead of from a place of not feeling like you're enough, or from a place of looking for what's missing in you in the experience of being with someone else.

This is where I think learning about your own Channels can be the most powerful, where you get your relationship right and whole with yourself first by looking at what is missing in your own chart. So that when you do find yourself attracted to someone at any level, whether it's a romantic relationship, a friendship, or whatever, that you begin these relationships coming from a place of wholeness. Because finding the right love in your life and finding healthy relationships in your life always starts with you and how much you love yourself first.