If It Looks Like a Cult and Sounds Like a Cult... Is Human Design Ethical to Practice?
There is an ongoing issue in the spiritual community of practitioners taking the corrupt and exclusive origins of a white man's teachings to suit themselves. There’s many reasons for this bypassing act made in the name of money and knowledge. With big name astrologers and tarot accounts the first to spread the word about their latest topic of interest, smaller accounts can feel pressured to stay up on trends they set.
What evolves is a horde of spiritual consumers and teachers alike. At different levels of the craft and background, skimming the material quickly without learning the origins. Subtly before they even know it, they are perpetuating cult behaviors hiding behind spiritual buzzwords and a paywall... Boom. Add Appropriation, Capitalism and A Really Bad Trip, and you’ll get the latest teaching taking spiritual social media by storm: Human Design.
When Human Design was brought to my attention by the big name accounts on my feed, I had misgivings. As someone using my spiritual gifts after being raised in a cult for a majority of my life, I am more aware than most of the common tactics used by cult leaders for propaganda. Let’s start with the origin of Ra Uru Hu and Human Design:
The founder of human design, Ra Uru Hu (born Alan Krakower - cue Schmidt from New Girl shrieking: “ a WHUite Man??” here) was born in Canada to a wealthy family. After he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, his career path led him into the business world as an advertising executive, magazine publisher, and media producer. He’s not exactly struggling to get by. Alan then ran off to parties in Ibiza in 1987 during the height of Acid induced rave parties. On this trip, he manifested the system after a mystical "encounter" with "a voice," who gave him the ideas and tenets. The Four Types are then presented to you.
The language on the site is tamer than Ra himself uses. In an alarming video interview, Ra never engages directly and sways in an odd manner whilst speaking in a deliberate hypnotic monotone meant to relax you. He does not refer to people as humans with emotions or a soul. In fact, he never refers to vulnerability in a positive way. He talks lovingly of The Manifestor Type which is “rare” (like the 1 percent..) and the Generator Type who makes up 70 percent of the population. Ra states that The Generators don’t know how to live their best lives like the others. “My pet name for Generators is slaves,” he smirks. “You are the Great Workers who can just keep on keeping on keeping on.” He then goes on to say that “Generators are the most ignorant people he’s never met. They know literally nothing about who they are.”
Let's recap shall we?
A rich white man develops an “exclusive” program after an acid trip in 1987 based only on his perception and no one else holding him accountable.
Pervasive techniques and paywalls. If this is knowledge everyone should have it should be by the people, for the people. If it’s easy to do, why is it so hard to access?
Red Flag: Very little information on him and his background that his family/Archive does not directly control.
Indirect Buzzwords and shaming rhetoric aimed at the majority for not being their “True Selves” so they feel a need to fix themselves and listen to someone other than their own inner intuition.
Appropriation of spiritual cultures particularly Chinese and Vedic.Why not instead put your money and research towards the actual cultures and practitioners who teach it properly?
CLASS HIERARCHY “slave” types who must pay an obscene amount of money so you can be told how to achieve your “best self” (implying you hold no productivity or worth otherwise) is a favorite tactic of cult leaders.
Deliberately confusing language
After my research and having conversations both in favor and opposed to Human Design, I am disgusted by the origins and calling the spiritual community out on it. You can twist anything for your own ends, but that does not mean that you should. I’ve noticed a change in language and attitude in spiritual circles as more and more have been eager to not miss the wave of HD social media popularity. Much more ego, more paywalls, more exclusivity and I am not a fan. When the seed of a practice and way of life is rotten it will not bear healthy fruit. If you are being shamed into buying knowledge to better yourself and abandon your autonomy to avoid “Not Self” feelings that are natural such as grief, anger, fear and frustration that is not spirituality. That is spiritual manipulation using capitalism and cult methodology.
I have been incredibly disheartened how many even non-white spiritualists have quickly done an about face to capitalize on the next trendy shiny concept. When we use this mindset to make money or teach our communities, we are perpetuating cult behaviors and systems. There is so much knowledge to be found and millions of practices that stem from ancient communities and systems based in respect and accountability. I ask the spiritual leaders of our community and our clientele to re-examine their motives and research more about Human Design.
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