Marga’s new Human Design series, Three Channels a Month, continues with three Tribal channels
If everybody else around you is unhappy, you cannot be happy, because man is not an island. He is part of the vast continent. If you want to be happy you will have to help others who surround you to be happy. Only then – and only then – can you be happy.
You have to create the atmosphere of happiness around you. If everybody is miserable, how can you be happy? You will be affected. You are not a stone. You are a very delicate being, very sensitive. If everybody is miserable around you, their misery will affect you. Misery is as infectious as any disease. Blissfulness is also infectious as any disease. If you help others to be happy, in the end you help yourself to be happy. A person who is deeply interested in his happiness is always interested in others’ happiness also…”
Osho, Yoga: The Alpha and the Omega, Vol 6, Ch 4
Three Tribal Channels: Procreation, Defense, Family And Beyond
One of the most fascinating aspects of Human Design is how it allows us to study not only the psychology of the individual but also the anthropology and sociology of humanity as a whole.
Human Design is a profound system that offers a multidimensional understanding of life. Through its three main circuits and their sub-circuits, it reveals how our energy is wired, how we interact with others, and how we carry both the wisdom and the challenges of our evolutionary past.
By analyzing the Tribal Circuit, that focuses on support, sustenance, entrepreneurship, resources management, and continuity within the tribe or community, we can see how tribal dynamics have shaped our social structures, traditions, and ways of relating to each other, from ancient civilizations to modern organizations, families, and communities.
The three tribal channels we’re going to discuss here, 50-27, 59-6, and 37-40, each play distinct roles in this circuit, contributing to the themes of procreation, defense, and family cohesion.
While these channels operate at a practical, survival-based level, they also carry deeper themes that extend beyond basic tribal functions. They relate to values, creativity, and individual identity within the collective, shaping not only physical well-being but also cultural and social structures.
Channel 50-27: The Channel of Preservation
This channel, a Generator channel, connects the Spleen (Gate 50) to the Sacral (Gate 27). It embodies the energy of nurturing and responsibility, emphasizing the importance of caring for others and ensuring the well-being of the community. Individuals with this channel are naturally driven to provide support, structure, and ensure survival.
However, Preservation is not only about physical protection and nourishment, it is also about preserving the core values of a community. These values define the identity of the tribe, ensuring continuity not just through survival but through shared principles and beliefs.
Key Themes
- Shadow: Overprotection or taking on excessive responsibility, leading to burnout or fostering dependency. A deeper shadow of this channel is corruption, where tribal values become distorted for personal or political gain. There can also be a misguided sense of nourishment, where care becomes smothering or manipulative rather than supportive. Or where the giver fails to nourish themselves.
- Alignment: Balanced nurturing, fostering independence while providing care to the offspring, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the community. At a higher level, this channel protects not only the people but also the ethical and value system integrity of the group.
Channel 59-6: The Channel of Connecting
This channel, a Generator channel, links the Sacral (Gate 59) to the Solar Plexus (Gate 6), governing intimacy, reproduction, and emotional bonding. It facilitates breaking down barriers to form deep and lasting connections, essential for the continuation of the tribe.
Beyond its role in physical reproduction and emotional bonding, the Channel of Connecting is also about creativity at another level. In other words, intimacy is not only about physical closeness, it is also a powerful force that fuels creation, innovation, and social transformation. True connection can be a source of inspiration, artistic expression, and even collective healing.
Key Themes
- Shadow: Emotional turbulence or difficulty in forming stable and lasting connections, leading to relational instability. In the deeper shadow, intimacy can be used as a means of control, whether through emotional manipulation or power dynamics within relationships.
- Alignment: Healthy intimacy within clear boundaries, fostering deep and meaningful relationships that contribute to tribal growth and emotional security. When aligned, this channel transforms intimacy into a creative force, birthing not only new generations but also new ideas, art, and deeper communal bonds.
Channel 37-40: The Channel of Community
This channel, a Projector channel, connects the Solar Plexus (Gate 37) to the Will-Power Center (Gate 40). It represents bonds between community members, focusing on agreements, contracts, and the balance between work and rest. Individuals with this channel are attuned to the needs of the community, striving to create harmony through mutual support and shared responsibilities.
However, this channel also represents the eternal struggle of the individual within the community. Unlike the Individual Circuit, which focuses on complete personal empowering, and differentiation, the 37-40 highlights the challenge of maintaining personal identity while being part of a group. Those with this channel often seek spaces for self-expression and independence within the collective, a balance between belonging and autonomy.
Key Themes
Shadow: Over-commitment or neglecting personal needs in favor of tribal obligations, leading to resentment and exhaustion. A deeper shadow is the abuse of community structures for personal gain, where individuals manipulate collective agreements for self-benefit rather than for the well-being of all.
Alignment: Equitable distribution of responsibilities, honoring both personal boundaries and communal duties to maintain harmony and sustainability. At its highest expression, this channel fosters a community where both belonging and individuality are respected, ensuring that the tribe supports personal growth rather than suppressing it.
The Role of the 19-49 Channel of Sensitivity
Although not the main focus of this article, the 19-49 Channel of Sensitivity plays a crucial role in this Tribal sub-circuit. It is deeply connected to needs and the sense of belonging. It highlights the emotional and physical requirements of the tribe, ensuring that members feel included and valued. It is also responsible for determining the rules of inclusion and exclusion, shaping the boundaries of tribal identity. It shares the theme of belonging with 37-40, reinforcing it on a more intimate level, while both channels contribute to the emotional and social ease of the tribe and its members.
Integration of Tribal Energy
Collectively, these channels underscore the Tribal Circuit’s emphasis on survival, support, and continuity. However, beyond the physical and emotional roles, they shape the deeper foundations of culture, values, creative evolution, and the balance between individual and communal life.
- The 50-27 Channel, Preservation, ensures that values, ethics, and traditions are protected and passed on to future generations, while also guaranteeing that people are physically cared for, fed, protected, and raised to contribute to the tribe. It represents the fundamental responsibility of safeguarding both cultural and physical well-being.
- The 59-6 Channel, Connecting, governs the physical continuation of the tribe, creating partnerships and managing attraction, not just through sex and reproduction but also through deep bonds that foster trust, friendship, creative expression, and emotional security, showing how intimacy and connection can birth not only life but also ideas and transformation. It ensures that bonding serves a unifying purpose, allowing for the creation of both life and shared experiences, reinforcing the social fabric of the group.
- The 37-40 Channel, Community, ensures that agreements are honored, work is shared fairly, and that the entire tribe remains functional and stable, reinforcing the principles of loyalty and commitment that keep a tribe strong. At the same time it represents the constant negotiation between individuality and belonging, shaping how communities evolve while respecting the needs of each member.
Ultimately, without these energies, there is no tribe, no structure to hold people together, no social order, no continuity of traditions, and no foundation for future generations. No matter how modern or digital society becomes, the Tribal Circuit is deeply embedded in human nature, governing how we protect, reproduce, and sustain our people.
Unfortunately, the Tribal Circuit is not without its shadows. While it is the foundation of cooperation, and support, it is also the birthplace of fanaticism, exclusion, and the dominance of one group over another. The same strong sense of identity and belonging that unites a tribe can also lead to the rejection of outsiders, rigid hierarchies, and power struggles. These behaviors, deeply rooted in human history, can be traced back to tribal instincts, where security and survival often depended on drawing clear lines between us and them.
Nevertheless the Tribal Circuit is a powerful reminder that we are not only individuals but also members of a greater whole, bound by deep-rooted instincts, traditions, and the timeless need for loving connections, mutual protection and care, and belonging together. Humans are not islands, after all.
Related articles
- The whole series on Osho News: Three Channels a Month
Marga offers Human Design readings:
you can contact her on whatsapp 0091 9503332918 or margajee@gmail.com
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