Single definition
39% of charts
Every defined center connects in one continuous whole: self-contained, processing things alone.
Charisma (20-34) and Mating (59-6): one area, the Throat, Solar Plexus and Sacral.
Guide
Definition in Human Design
Definition is how the defined centers in your bodygraph connect: all in one piece, in two, three or four separate areas, or not at all. Here are the five kinds, how often each occurs, and what bridges a split.
Each kind of definition
What makes each kind, with a schematic bodygraph: example channels, never anyone's chart. Each separate area is drawn in its own color.
Split definition
48% of charts
Two separate groups of defined centers: people who bridge the gap (through a gate that joins the two) can feel especially complementary.
Charisma (20-34) and Initiation (25-51): two separate areas, Throat and Sacral; G and Heart (Ego). Gate 10 alone would bridge them.
Triple split definition
11% of charts
Three separate groups: others bridge different parts, and time among many people helps.
Charisma (20-34), Initiation (25-51) and Judgment (18-58): three separate areas, Throat and Sacral; G and Heart (Ego); Spleen and Root.
Quadruple split definition
0.8% of charts
Four separate groups, the rarest definition: decisions settle slowly, and variety of company helps.
Abstraction (64-47), The Alpha (7-31), Surrender (26-44) and Mutation (3-60): four separate areas, Head and Ajna; Throat and G; Heart (Ego) and Spleen; Sacral and Root.
No definition
0.9% of charts
No center is defined: a Reflector, open to everything around.
No channel is complete, so all nine centers are open.
Which is yours?
The chart calculator draws your own definition map, each area in its own color, and names the gates that would bridge a split.
What definition is
A center in the bodygraph is defined when a defined channel touches it, and channels also join defined centers to one another. Follow the defined channels from center to center and every defined center falls into a connected area. Definition names how many separate areas there are. When every defined center connects to every other, the chart has single definition. When there are two areas that no defined channel joins, it has a split, and three or four areas make a triple or quadruple split. A chart with no defined channel has no definition at all, the Reflector's chart.
How common each kind is
Measured on 10,000 birth moments spread evenly over 1950 to 2009, split definition is the most common at 48% of charts, then single definition at 39% and the triple split at 11%. The other two are rare: 0.9% of charts have no definition, and only 0.8% a quadruple split. A quadruple split needs at least eight defined centers in four separate pairs or more, with no channel joining any two of them, which few charts manage.
What each kind is read as
The tradition reads single definition as self-contained: everything defined works as one whole, so people with it tend to process life on their own and in their own time. A split is read as two areas that each work on their own, which often feels like something is missing until another person, or a transit, bridges the gap; people with a split are said to be drawn to those who complete them. A triple split is read as needing variety, many people and places to bring its three areas together, and a quadruple split as settling decisions slowly while its four parts find their way to each other. With no definition, a Reflector takes in and reflects everyone around. None of these is better than another; they describe how a chart takes in the world.
Bridging gates
A split has a second measure: how far apart its two areas sit. When a single gate you do not have would complete a channel between them, that gate is called a bridging gate, and the split is simple. When no single gate is enough and it takes a whole channel or more, the split is wide. On the same 10,000 charts, 79% of split charts are simple and 21% wide. A simple split often has more than one bridging gate to choose from: only 23% have exactly one. A simple split is often read as easily bridged, by many people and many transits, and a wide split as more independent: completed by others less often, and less dependent on it. No triple split in the sample could be joined into one piece by a single gate.
Finding your definition
The free Human Design chart calculator gives your definition with your chart and, for a split, says whether it is simple or wide and which gates would bridge it. A bridging gate that someone else carries is one reason a relationship can feel complete, and the Human Design compatibility chart shows the centers two people define together, including any that neither defines alone. Birth time matters here as elsewhere: the Moon moves into a new gate about every ten hours, and a gate it adds or removes can join areas or split them.
The five kinds at a glance
How common each kind of definition is on 10,000 birth moments spread evenly over 1950 to 2009, with its number of separate areas.
| Definition | Share | Areas |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 39% | 1 |
| Split | 48% | 2 |
| Triple split | 11% | 3 |
| Quadruple split | 0.8% | 4 |
| No definition | 0.9% | none |
Simple and wide splits
Of the 4,807 split charts among the 10,000, 79% are simple, joined by a single bridging gate, and 21% wide. Only 23% of simple splits have exactly one bridging gate; the rest can be bridged by any of two or more.
| Split | Share of splits | What joins the two areas |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | 79% | A single bridging gate |
| Wide | 21% | A whole channel or more |
Questions
What is definition in Human Design?
How your defined centers connect to one another through your defined channels. Connected centers form an area of definition, and the number of separate areas gives the kind: single, split, triple split or quadruple split, or no definition at all for a Reflector.
What is the most common definition?
Split definition. Measured on 10,000 birth moments spread evenly over 1950 to 2009, 48% of charts have a split, 39% single definition, 11% a triple split, 0.9% no definition and 0.8% a quadruple split.
What is the difference between a simple split and a wide split?
In a simple split a single gate, the bridging gate, would join the two areas; in a wide split it takes more than one. On the same 10,000 charts, 79% of split charts are simple and 21% wide.
What is a bridging gate?
A gate you do not have that would complete a channel between your separate areas of definition. The tradition says people who carry your bridging gate can feel especially complementary, and the free Human Design chart calculator lists yours.