The Gene Keys are the 64 aspects of our genetic code. These teachings give a new dimension to the Human Design System. They were received by Richard Rudd, an English teacher, mystic and poet, author of the Gene Keys Book and the Golden Path Program.

Human Design had discovered that the human genetic system was composed of 64 codons that strangely resemble the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, representing 64 aspects of the human personality. About 20 of them are defined by the positions of the planets at the time of birth.

The revelation of Richard Rudd is that our personality (and our resulting behaviors) is not an irremediable destiny imposed on us by the time of our birth, but it can evolve into other dimensions according to our Level of Consciousness. It means that we are masters of our destiny and our personality.

Richard Rudd has identified three Levels of Consciousness, the Shadow, the Gift and Siddhi, and created the Spectrum of Consciousness, a table where each Gene Key is represented by three key words that describe these three levels.

Shadows, Gifts and Siddhis

Richard Rudd, in his Gene Keys Book, explains that the domain of our personality that is symbolized by a hexagram has three different aspects. They represent three fundamental attitudes, corresponding to three different Levels of Consciousness. The first one is a negative attitude, the Shadow, the attitude of the victim, who is motivated by fear and selfishness. The second is a positive attitude, the Gift, the attitude of a seeker on the path, who has opened his heart to others. The third is an awakened attitude, the Siddhi, the attitude of the Accomplished Being who has transcended the duality of the other two. 

The first stage is to recognize our personality's negative aspects, our Shadows, and how they imprison us in the position of the victim, and then to accept them as something that belongs to us. From the acceptance of our Shadows, we can begin to change our attitudes and develop our positive aspects, our Gifts. When we fully live our Gifts and put them in the service of others, the Siddhis start to appear spontaneously. 

The way to increase our Level of Consciousness and to transmute our Shadows into Gifts and Siddhis is the practice of Contemplation.