Your Incarnation Cross is Your Purpose- So Why Isn't The Internet Talking About It? [Summer Shorts Series]

Episode 83: Your Incarnation Cross is Your Purpose- So Why Isn't The Internet Talking About It? [Summer Shorts Series]

 What if your purpose wasn’t something you had to figure out—but something that’s been encoded in your energy all along? In this episode of Return, Caitlan  cracks open one of Human Design’s juiciest secrets: the Incarnation Cross.

WTF is an Incarnation Cross anyways? It’s your energetic blueprint for impact, drawn from the gates of your conscious and unconscious Sun and Earth. Caitlan walks you through what your type of cross says about how you’re here to serve, lead, and evolve—whether your path is personal, collective, or deeply fixed (hello, Juxtaposition crew).

She also shares her own Incarnation Cross of Service and how it plays out in her biz, her boundaries, and her soul assignments. This episode is your permission slip to start r e t u r n i n g. 

*Discounted Human Design Reading for the First 3 Listeners to Book* This is the only way to access this offer. Click here.

Want to work with Caitlan? Book a 90 minute IFS & Human DesignDeep Dive Session Here!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✨ WTF the Incarnation Cross is (and why it matters)
✨ The 3 types of destiny paths in Human Design
✨ How to decode your energetic GPS using your gates
✨ The difference between personal, transpersonal, and fixed life purpose
✨ How Caitlan’s own cross impacts her business + identity
✨ Why this tool brings way more clarity than another vision board

Key Takeaways:

• Your Incarnation Cross = your life purpose in energetic form
• It’s created from the 4 most powerful gates in your chart
• 192 unique crosses exist—and they’re not one-size-fits-all
• Right Angle = your story. Left Angle = others’ stories. Juxtaposition = straight-line fate.
• This tool isn’t just deep—it’s practical (especially if you’re building a biz that feels like you)

Chapters:
00:00 – WTF is the Incarnation Cross?
02:22 – Where to find yours + what it’s made of
05:28 – Right Angle Crosses = Me, Myself, and I (in the best way)
09:04 – Left Angle Crosses = The “We” mission
12:40 – Juxtaposition = The cosmic through-line
13:31 – Caitlan gets personal: Cross of Service in real life
17:48 – Now what? Your next steps

Links & Resources:

Learn more about working with Caitlan: www.caitlansiegenthaler.com

Follow Caitlan on Instagram: @caitlansiegenthaler

 Loved this episode? Don’t gatekeep—share it with a friend, leave a review, or DM Caitlan your Cross (we’re serious, she’s obsessed).
 She loves hearing from you & sharing or writing a review is a token of gratitude. 

Transcript

Caitlan Siegenthaler (00:00.888)
Hey, hey, hey, welcome to another episode of Return. I'm your host, Caitlin Seigenthaler. Welcome back to the summer shorts series. It's like a little summer treat. These are 20 minutes or less. There are four in total. This episode is going to be about human design and your life purpose in human design. The previous episode was about your high achieving parts in internal family systems.

Next week's episode is going to be about getting your money in your business organized with Profit First. And our Grab Bag episode is coming at the end of the month and it is going to be je ne sais quoi. I don't know yet, but I'm adding things to the list, including I've got to this in quick because I don't want it to take up so much time. But you guys, people, y'all, a beetle.

landed on my hand as I was finishing my final preps to record this episode and it freaked me out. It was like a big black beetle on my hand. So I shoot it away and then I couldn't find it. So I was like looking everywhere for it. I was like, where is this thing? Could not find it. I mean, I was like shaking out my clothes the whole nine yards, okay? I also wanted to look up what does this mean spiritually. So I looked it up.

And according to YouTube, it means that really good things are coming. So it's like a good sign, but still kind of free. This like a big black beetle, like the size of a dime probably. So I shoo it away. Then my dog Henry needed to go out. So I stopped recording this, go to let him out.

This freaking beetle is on my chest again. And I was like, whoa, the universe is trying to send me a message. So message received. I'll probably put this in the grab bag episode as we go more into like animal messages, spirituality. Ooh, I feel like that will be fun. But I had to tell you, isn't that wild? Anyways, hello, I'm Caitlin. I'm a human design. No, cut that out. I'm Caitlin.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (02:23.992)
I'm an energetic business strategist and I love getting into the energetics of you so that you can run your business from a place of like calm collection and still getting that money, honey. Okay, today I wanna talk about why your life purpose and human design is actually the best place to start in your chart. A lot of people will start with energy type so you might know that your

a manifesto or a projector or a mani-gen or a generator or a reflector. So today, I'm talking about the incarnation cross on your human design chart. And this is your life theme or purpose, and it's a very, very good place to start.

And part of the reason why people don't talk endlessly about this on the internet is because they are very complicated and there are 192 different ones. So I'm gonna give you a high level breakdown of kind of how it works. The incarnation cross piece. Also, could we come up with a better name? Like what? I'm sure there's a reason for that name, which we are not gonna explore today, but if you're curious, email me, voice note me, and we'll, we'll.

incorporate it into something. Okay, so the incarnation cross in your chart is formed from your conscious sun and your earth and then your unconscious sun and earth gates. Basically, the little sun and earth symbols on the right and left hand side of your chart when you're looking at your chart and then there's numbers, that's what we're talking about. So the top two numbers on each side of your chart.

this is what forms your incarnation cross. And I just had a beautiful question in a session I was doing with a client where they asked how, like, how does where I'm born play a role in my human design? And my answer was like, this is where the astrology piece comes in, the sun gates, and it really informs your life purpose. So it plays a pretty big role.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (04:34.968)
There are 64 gates in total. If you've ever worked with me, you might hear me refer to your gates as your gifts. It's the energy, the tools you're bringing in to this lifetime to execute on your life theme or your life purpose. So each gate can be the sun or the earth gate. I don't want us to get very confused about gates. Let's just forget about that.

The only positions of the sun and the earth are, only the positions of the sun and the earth are used to determine your incarnation cross your life purpose, which results in these 192 unique combinations. And not all possible combinations are used, only specific and meaningful ones are recognized and named in human design. So also very interesting, right?

And the 192 possibilities are grouped into right angle crosses. So yours will say like right angle, blah, blah, blah, or left angle crosses, left angle of blah, blah, blah, or juxtaposition crosses. This is for the four one profiles only. And I'm gonna break down what.

each of these mean. So the right angle crosses is personal destiny. Okay, these are four if you are a one, three, a two, four, a three, five, or a four, six, that's me. And these crosses represent a life path that is largely about your own journey. So you're here to live your unique story, to follow your own inner urges, the lessons, the experiences.

and you're not here to focus on fixing or saving others, though you may impact people as like a byproduct of living your own story. But the plot of your life is for you, very main character energy. And not to say that the other people, can't be a main character, just stay with me, okay. So the key traits of the right angle crosses. You have a personal karma.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (06:54.74)
so you're not tied to other people's journeys. You're not impacted as much by them. Also, if you have a right angle cross, you're going to learn through your own trial and error and your own relationships and your own inner transformation. So I feel like this information is so helpful regardless of your energy type, right? Because if you're a reflector, you already know that you're mirroring

a lot of energy back to people, but if you have a right angle cross, then you know, okay, this is me and this is how I'm interacting with the world. So see why this is so cool? Why don't more people talk about it? Because who has time? A lot of readers and stuff, like memorizing 192 different things, a lot, you know?

Okay, if you have your right angle cross, your life has its own internal logic. You don't need to justify your path to anyone. So you are not really here to explain yourself. And as someone who has a right angle cross, I can really see like the traditional conditioning of over explaining. In fact, a friend gently pointed this out to me the other day and was like, bro, you don't need to.

over explain, just say no. And then you meet others along your path, but you don't need them to fulfill your path. You're not like waiting for the guide. You are the guide, honey, okay? You are the person. So an example of this, and I will go deep into my incarnation cross in a moment, but...

Let's go with a different one. The right angle cross of the vessel of love. You are living a life centered on embodiment and self love and living by example. So there you go. Left angle crosses, okay? If you have a five one profile, a five two, a six two, or a six three, and your theme is transpersonal destiny. So you carry transpersonal karma.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (09:10.434)
You are here to interact with others in a faded way, and your journey is less about personal fulfillment alone and more about playing a role in the collective narrative. So whenever I'm reading a left angle, it's always about something for the collective. Like these life purposes also have an impact on the collective.

And you might feel like your life really begins when you start serving others and or you're being called into relationships, leadership, guidance. The key traits of this are you are here for karmic connections. When you have this life purpose though, people are going to project things onto you and you're really here to influence and impact others.

your life can feel more intertwined with the path of other people and you are not here to go at it alone. Your purpose often unfolds in response to relationship or to a collective need. So you're kind of tapped into the collective and then you're responding to that. Now notice how your energy type matters less here. Like you could be a five one projector.

with this piece and you in your life theme are meant to respond in relationships to collective need, that's a different strategy than waiting for the invitation as a projector. Human design is so nuanced, but this is so high level and impacts every single thing you do, so we need to talk about it, right? This requires discernment.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (11:04.128)
especially if you have a fifth line profile because projection can become a major theme if you have a five in your profile. Here's an example. You might have the left angle cross of demands as your life theme, as your life purpose, which means you're here to guide and support others often through discerning what is and is not worth giving your energy to. So notice how that's.

other focused where the right angle cross vessel of love is like you focus like you're living a life centered on embodiment self love and living by example which influences others and then the other one is like you're guiding and supporting others in a first through this way I hope that makes a lot of sense and then

The last one is for the 401 profile only, the juxtaposition crosses. This is a fixed destiny. It's a very unique category. It's not personal or transpersonal. It's the bridge between, and you are walking more of a fixed life path. You are here to live a very specific storyline, and it doesn't really deviate much. It's like a train on a track. You're just like, whoo.

your laser focused and your life is about stability, foundation and conviction. You're actually not here to be flexible or adaptive like other profiles. You're not like responding to the collective. You're not learning lessons and trial and erroring like the right angle. You're just like, boop, this is me, baby. This is me. So you're not here to experiment or go off track.

You're here to hold a particular frequency and life is about building and maintaining a specific foundation. You don't have karmic ties to resolve or fated meetings to fulfill. Your life path is really like self-contained and steady and you're just going, going, going and it's really important for you to stay super focused. So I hope that's helpful.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (13:18.51)
Right angle is individual destiny, left angle impacting others destiny, juxtaposition is fixed destiny, anchored and stable. So let's look at my incarnation cross to give you an idea of how all of this will play out. I have right angle cross of service with the gates 27, 28, 59 and 55. So your

incarnation cross will say like right or left angle of blah blah blah and then it will list the numbers there are four and remember those are your son and earth gates conscious and unconscious which we don't have time to get into in this episode maybe another one so for me I have gift 27 which is nourishment and I came here to care deeply but with discernment so this gift for me is about providing for others but not in a martyrdom way

It's like an energy of devotion when it's aligned and the shadow of that is over giving. that resonates. So my growth involves learning where the line is between being of service and self-sacrifice. This has been like lesson for me for the last 10 years. So the gift of this is supporting others through aligned generosity and real impact. Hopefully I'm doing that right now.

And the shadow of this is burnout, been there, resentment, definitely been there, and over responsibility, I am the captain of that ship. Okay, so then I have gate 28. So you can look at every single gate, the four of them.

just the way I'm doing it now and look at what's your gift, what's your shadow, so you can learn how the whole thing kind of comes together. These are the tools you have at your disposal to execute on your life purpose. So for me, have, gate 28 is seeking meaning in everything. I'm not here to live a superficial life. I crave depth, duh, challenge.

Caitlan Siegenthaler (15:23.682)
Yes, significance, uh-huh. This energy brings an existential edge, so I'm driven to find out what's worth fighting for and what truly matters. The gift in this gate is resilience and purpose-driven action, and the shadow is struggling without meaning or fear of a meaningless life. Yeah, a million percent.

Gate 59. So now I've gone through my two conscious gates. The first two numbers are things that you are more aware of. These are gifts that you're more like, yeah, I know what this is. And then the second two numbers are like, I don't really know as much about that, but they are super important. So I have gate 59 here, which is intimacy. And this is about breaking barriers to connection. I bring in energy of emotional transparent.

Transparency, sexual and creative intimacy and a desire to form bonds that lead to like literal or metaphorical creation. So the gift of this is deeply authentic, catalyzing intimacy and creativity, shadow oversharing, Naiva podcast, boundary confusion and entanglement and like, well, let's not even get into this. Okay. Gate 55, spirit. This is my unconscious earth. So.

This is my gift that's more unconscious. This is a deeply emotional gate linked to mood, abundance, and spiritual faith. It's the energy of trusting in the unseen, believing that my emotional waves are sacred and that my spirit leads the way. What's super cool is this really ties to astrology because I have my North Node in Pisces, something that I'm working through as well. So if you know about astrology, I just love when all of this stuff comes together and lines up.

The gift in this is trusting in emotional, spiritual surrender, leading with vulnerability, shadow, pessimism, scarcity. Yeah, feel that. So then you can look at the big picture and I kind of take this as I'm here to not grind myself down by being helpful, but redefine what it means to serve in a way that honors my energy, creates deep meaning, invites real intimacy and uplifts the spirit. I feel like I'm...

Caitlan Siegenthaler (17:39.642)
really embodying this or really trying to embody this. So what should you do now? Go look up your incarnation cross and see if it's right or left or juxtaposition. Pay attention to the four numbers. These are your like big four gifts that you really want to get to know, especially the unconscious ones, because those are not as like natural or...

They're not as much in your consciousness. And then book a deep dive with me so we can use your life purpose to guide your next steps. Link to do that is in the show notes. I adore you. Thank you for listening. I hope you're loving the series. If you are loving it, please send it to a friend who needs to hear this or, and, or, writer of you, Apple reviews go such a long way for helping the show get discovered. You can do that by going to return on Apple.

podcast, clicking the links going all the way down to the bottom and then writing an honest review of the show. And this is like a form of currency for me. If you want to say thank you so much, Caitlin, for creating this free content, please go ahead and do that. I would adore you. Again, you can book a deep dive with me on this. have three more spots in July and then they are poof gone. So book it now and I'll see you next week. Take care.