This is one of the most frequently asked questions once people become curious about their human design.
The magic of human design is that it works based on your birth date, time and place instead of the quizzes or questionnaires required for personality tests.
How does human design work if I don’t have my exact birth time?
Birth date and place are normally no-brainers.
Your exact birth time can be another matter.
In many countries, this information is located on your long-form birth certificate. If your birth certificate does not show this, you may have an abridged version and can contact the relevant issuing office for further details.
In my case, I was able to phone the local Standesamt in Germany to get the details. A friend of mine made the same inquiry in writing. This method also works for many other European countries.
If born in the US, you can contact your birth state’s vital records office.
If born in the UK, your time of birth is unfortunately not recorded on your birth certificate or held at the local register office. It is, however, recorded on a baby’s hospital band or tag so make sure you keep that sh!t!.
If you cannot find an official record of your birth time, there are further options:
- Ask parents or family members
Sometimes the right birth time comes from the most surprising sources. One of my clients has a hand-drawn card announcing her birth including all the details. Another has a painted plate. It could be in a baby book. Sometimes families have beautifully embroidered wall hangings that include their child’s birth details.
If your family members are uncertain, you can ask about any special memories related to your birth. My co-parent’s mother remembers he was born right before hospital visiting hours. Parents may remember sunrises/sunsets or significant personal or public events that occurred right around your time of birth. This may not be exact but can assist massively in narrowing down the possibilities.
- Check with the hospital
Again, this is country dependent but you may be able to request a copy of your medical records from the hospital where you were born, or check with the midwife who assisted with your birth.
Babies born in the last 10-12 years should have electronic records that can be accessed online via their NHS number.
Thanks but none of that worked. Does this mean I can’t work with human design?
Nope, it don’t.
Here are some further avenues to pursue:
- Get a birth time rectification
This is a system based on tracking meaningful events in your life.
A qualified astrologer can use this information to work out a rectified birth time by considering events against planetary positions in astrological houses at different times during your day of birth.
If you already have a trusted astrologer, consider asking them whether they offer this service. If you don’t, contact Devon-based astrologer Lynne Speight at lynnespeight@gmail.com.
- Work with a human design professional
As a human design reader, it is possible to track down significant shifts in a chart on your day of birth. In most cases, that means looking for when there are changes in either energy type or profile number. Based on this information, your human design reader can ask you questions to ascertain which birth window is most likely.
Most often, this approach lets you work with the foundations of your human design chart such as your energy type, profile and defined / undefined energy centres.
[This approach may not be suitable for diving into advanced chart properties such as digestion, environment, perspective or motivation.]
Remember this is the 20% of your chart that creates 80% of the impact!
➡️ BONUS: If you book a 1:1 human design conversation, this service is included free of charge.
