The Gene Keys Explained
a guide to the Gene Keys, written by a Gene Keys Guide ;)
Who this post is for.
If you just came across Gene Keys, someone told you about it, you went to the web site, you've been on the Subreddit, or God-only-knows what rabbit hole led you to the Gene Keys, rest assured it was no accident. You can ignore the call or you can step into it at whatever speed you want, but one thing is for sure. Once you study the Gene Keys your life will never be the same. So grab a cup of tea, coffee, or water, and join me in this introduction to how I interpret the Gene Keys. I am a Gene Keys guide and have been contemplating/studying the Gene Keys for a few years now. One thing you'll hear me say over and over is that your contemplation and study of the Gene Keys, i.e. you, is never ever done. There are layers upon layers. This is why Richard Rudd calls it a hologenetic profile. The teachings, the awakenings, the integrations are ever evolving as you contemplate them, as you move with the flow of your life.
If you are just walking into astrology or human design, the Gene Keys may seem daunting, and you are not wrong. It took me 18 months after I had heard of the Gene Keys to even come back to the web site and try again to dive in. The timing is always perfect and there is no "missing out." I would recommend understanding the basics of western astrology (significations of planets, placements - that definitely helped me). Also knowing the basics of your human design chart and authority may be beneficial before diving in. It's not a requirement but it may help. If you find that this is just too complicated, or too much, you can also schedule a reading, or take a course with others who want to learn with you and from whom you can learn, too.
Introduction:
All doubts aside, the Gene Keys are a "download" or transmission received by, or work compiled by Richard Rudd during an unexpected spiritual awakening experience he had in his late twenties.
Richard Rudd worked with the founder of the Human Design system, Ra Uruhu. The Human Design system is another "download" that came to Ra Uruhu while he was in one of the spanish islands on the Mediterranean. Human Design combines astrology, chakras, the iching and other modalities to form its own "personality" design. That system is in and of itself a massive, deep rabbit hole. People's entire careers can revolve around human design and even parts of it. Not going to get into it much in this post for brevity's sake. Suffice it to say that Richard Rudd was heavily involved and knowledgable in HD before Gene Keys came to him.
The Gene Keys are yet another synthesis of the I-ching, astrology, human design, and the chakra system. The promise of the Gene Keys is to guide you into who you actually are. The true essence of you. It's who you came to be. Who you are without societal conditioning or expectations. It's the real you. That is the best promise, don't you think?
Now, you can't just buy into this, right? The offer here is one of dancing with this system. To study this, take a look at the course of your life and see if any of those things revealed in your Gene Keys profile are actually true? Could you use them? Would it make your life better?
The doubts creep in, inevitably. A lof of us are as afraid of success as we are of failure. Some of us more so. It takes courage and faith to look at your life through the lens of any of these systems whether it's astrology, Gene Keys, human design, numerology, etc. That's why as I say, timing is everything. If this is resonating, keep reading.
The Gene Keys Approach
One thing that is drilled first and foremost is the Gene Keys approach. I glossed over this at first. If you're hungry for knowledge it can be pretty easy to want to skip this. But do so at your peril. The number one rule of Gene Keys if there is a rule, is PATIENCE. Without patience you will unlock nothing. There is no rushing this process. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Absorb, Digest, Apply and Embody.
The Gene Keys approach, per Gene Keys principles is
🧘 contemplation → 🧐 inquiry →🪶gentleness → 🐢 patience.
For some this may be harder than for others. But we will all struggle with this. No doubt in my mind. I don't think the order matters. For me, everything starts with inquiry - that's wired into my conscious Earth / Gene Key Sphere of Evolution: 61.1 The Gate of Mystery. The design of a person who constantly asks why. So, for me, everything starts with curiosity. So Inquiry is first - that sends me into research and contemplation, I (try to) do this with gentleness, and to give myself patience through the process.
The Gene Keys approach is a stack and it is also a hologram. Nothing really comes first, it all may just come at once. It's a mystery really. Treat it like an experiment. See if it works for you, watch this unfold in your life as you contemplate in your day to day activities. Give it a fair shake. Don't quit after a week (unless you just truly feel like this is not the right time), you may find that this is what you’ve been searching for.
The 4 Principles
🧐 Inquiry - approach the Gene Keys like a hermit crab - sideways, ask questions, probe, is this true for me? This does not sound like me at all. Why does this not resonate with me? What are ways this could be a pattern in my life? What has been my greatest challenge? What have people come to me for? What do I do better than anyone else? How is this related to this Gene Key? What do I most love to do? What do I constantly attract in my life? what are lessons I've had to repeat with people or situations? How is this related to me?
🧘♀️ Contemplation encompasses the practice of going about your life and inserting moments of focused thought, unfocused thought, dreams, journaling, walking meditation, or just going about your daily life while also ruminating on a specific topic. In this case, a Gene Key, line, or shadow, or ? Contemplation cannot be rushed, resistance is futile. One thing I find that works is asking God, Universe, Spirit, whatever Higher Power you believe in to show you how that is true in your life. The inquiry you do is directly correlated with the contemplation and insights you will receive. This stuff is magical. And for me, the best gift has been the
🪶 Gentleness: don't force this process - resistance leads to blocked energy. Be nice to yourself. Especially when you're diving into the Venus Sequence and your core wound. Be a loving steward to your heart.
🐢 Patience - don't try to go too quickly. For a tree to grow and last it must first build roots. Without a proper foundation a building cannot stand for long. Give it the time that it needs to take. It's different for everyone. You are never done with the Gene Keys - this is a lifetime path. When you summit a mountain you find another base waiting. This is life folks. The journey is as important, if not more so, than the destination. Enjoy it.
What is a Gene Key?
Per Rudd, it's
a unique code that pertains just to you(-ish)
It's part of your DNA,
There are 64 of them
an Archetype
The Gene Keys form into 13 groups called codon rings that share the same amino acids as our own human DNA.
Each Gene Key:
Comes with 6 possible lines. The lines add flavor, individuality, subtle differences to the gene key archetype and how it navigates through life.
Has a shadow, a gift and a siddhi
The shadow:
The shadow is your "survival mode"
The shadow is your path into the gift - don't walk around it, walk through it
Is a challenge to overcome or vanquish
The shadow can be seen as the form difficulties take when they show up for you in life. Think of the shadow as your default mode of addressing (or avoiding) life's difficulties.
Has a repressive and a reactive way of showing up in your life - the reactive and repressive nature of each shadow of each Gene Key can be found in more depth in the Gene Keys book, or through a deep dive of any of the Gene Keys sequences.
The Gift:
is the expression of that Gene Key in the part of your life that corresponds to its sphere
is a creative force
The gift is revealed in your life by noticing, allowing and embracing the shadow
Every shadow contains the gift
The Siddhi:
is the highest expression of the Gene Key
what transcendence looks like for you in that area of life
Depending on placement, shows you where it corresponds in your life
The Profile
The profile is the map to your genius, core wound and prosperity. This map is made up of spheres that are holographically connected via pathways. Each of the spheres correspond to a part of you and how you relate to life according to where the sphere is located in the profile. Each sphere has a number and a line that describe how you were born to show up to those areas of life.
The first number in the sphere is the Gene Key, the second number after the dot is the line of that Gene Key.
The profile looks like this:
The Spheres
There are 11 spheres in the hologenetic profile (I know Richard Rudd and Team Gene Keys are currently working on other sequences, but at the moment there are 3 sequences containing a total of 11 spheres).
The spheres correspond to an area of your life which they 'rule' or color. Some spheres are conscious, others are unconscious. It depends on where in the chart they are and where planets where situated on your design date, exactly 3 months before your birth (unconscious), and on your actual birth date (conscious).
The implications of whether a sphere is conscious or unconscious are what you'd expect. The conscious spheres like your Life's Work and your Evolution are out, displayed in your everyday life and others and you will be well aware of them. The Radiance and Purpose spheres correspond to your design and are therefore unconscious. That means they tend to be hidden gifts that you may not realize you have. Or that you may not "see" until later in life.
The Lines
The line is the number after the dot in the Gene Key sphere in your profile. There are a possible 6.
They are calculated according to birth time. If you are not 100% sure of your exact birth time, you'd do well to understand all of the lines and how they color the Gene Key. Perhaps another line resonates more with you. But I will caution you here not to use this as an excuse to avoid your true purpose or to wish you had another line and wrongly identify with it. I tend to do this, maybe you don't. Just watch for this as you contemplate your profile.
The lines in human design and Gene Keys follow the lines of the iching.
The first three lines are personal lines - meaning they are introspective and internal to the individual.
The 4th-6th lines are transpersonal lines - with these lines, the focus on the world "out there."
Line Descriptions
I've summarized the lines into a neat little table. There is obviously a lot more to these lines. Especially when studied and contemplated within the context of the Gene Key it describes. Think of the line as the personality of the Gene Key. The line is how that Gene Key wants to show up in the world. And if two people are born on the same day in the same hospital in the same city they can still be quite different because of the lines and how they show up.
The Programming Partners
In your contemplation it is helpful to also look at the programming partner for the Gene Key you are contemplating.
In the activation sequence, and in human design, the Life's Work and Evolution are programming partners. The sphere of Radiance and the Sphere of Purpose are also programming partners. They make up your incarnation cross (in human design).
They are programming partners because they are opposites. In Human Design, the Sun and Earth are 180 degrees apart on the zodiacal wheel and so these two gene keys are set to trigger one another at the shadow level, but they work hamorniously, in synarchy with each other at the Gift and Siddhi levels.
The programming partner of a Gene Key sits exactly opposite its partner in the I-ching/Gene Key wheel:
To find the programming partner look to the opposite of the i-ching/mandala and you will find it. The programming partner number has nothing to do with where it is placed.
When contemplating Gene Keys sequences like the Venus and Pearl, it is especially useful to contemplate the programming partners as they provide a push-pull, attraction-rejection at the shadow level. It can be helpful to know some of the influences/energies that could sabotage or instigate the shadow you are contemplating.
I hope you’ve found this a useful primer for contemplating your gene keys profile.