An Introduction to Human Design - Part 1: The Types
Human Design is a system of understand yourself and others capable of great detail. At first glance at the materials and your personal Rave Chart it can seem quite arcane and overwhelming, with all of these numbers, planetary symbols, Centers and Channels, and I Ching Hexegrams, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming as each chart has five categories calculated from the various planetary placements, giving you something easily understood. The particulars of your chart can be left to professionals and learned later while you get to understand your Type, Authority, Profile, and Incarnational Cross, Definition. In this introduction series we will cover each in that order, starting with the most important: Types.
What is Human Design?
This is a system that incorporates Astrology, Kabbalah (Tree of Life), and the I Ching into a birth charting technology, originally conceived by Ra Uru Hu after several days in a trance and hallucinatory state, and expanded upon over the following years. The source may not be purely scientific or strictly logical, but the profundity of this system can only be verified by personal experience. I urge you to GET YOUR PERSONAL CHART DRAWN FREE HERE
Understanding Your Type
At the root of all Human Design has to teach is an important lesson: learn who you are, be who you are, don't be who you're not. The greatest source of discord and struggle in this world is our misunderstanding of our true nature and that of others in our lives. Society is currently designed around an insistence that we are all the same, that we all relate to the world and energy in the same way. Naturally we have all internalized this to one degree or another, so we punish ourselves and punish others for not conforming to these external ideals. The first step towards breaking out of this prison and freeing others from your expectations is to understand your Type, its Strategy, and the dangers of trying to go against your nature.
There are four Types (and one sub-Type) according to Human Design, which all have their own ways of operating energetically and their own ways of relating to each Type in others. They are: Generators, Manifestors, Manifesting-Generators, Projectors, and Reflectors. They're defined by which Channels are open between which Energy Centers, but let's leave the details aside for now and look at each Type's Strategy.
Generators (66.65% of today's population): Are defined by their Sacral Center, giving them a potentially endless source of creative energy when it is appropriately triggered. Generators do not have direct access to their Sacral energy, so their Strategy is to Wait to Respond to a person or event that will require their energy so that they can either reject or engage it. Generators who do not Wait to Respond and instead attempt to jumpstart the Sacral engine can find themselves in all manner of discord as they experience their Not-Self Theme of Frustration. Which is common in most people as, most people being Generators, are taught to be Manifestors by our society. Someone who can act purely from one's own center. This is tragic as we Generators are the engine of civilization - we see the designs and desires of our friends, family, and society, and we work endlessly to bring those into fruition. Like Reflectors, we are suited for groups, specifically because groups of people throw out a variety of stimuli for us to Respond to with a yes or no and give ourselves to fully. Depending on an individual's Design, however, a Generator may also thrive on being alone, yet still need an environment of stimuli of some sort. When operating normally, using their ample energy for the right projects and activities, and freely being able to run down their batteries, Generators experience the Signature of Satisfaction.
Technically, what makes a Generator is a Defined Sacral (meaning one or more Channels connect the Sacral Center to another), which is the source of the creative energy. However, it is not connected to the G/Identity Center (Manifesting-Generators) or the Throat Center (Manifestors), giving them no conscious control over its mediation.
Anecdote: As I was writing this piece and had gotten to describing **Reflectors**, my flow began to stagnate a little as I have limited knowledge of the Type. At that moment my **Projector** housemate, who was mowing the neighbour's lawn, came and asked me to fetch petrol for the mower and some milk. Being a Generator, searching my inner Authority (which only took half a second), I switched modes instantly and prepared to get on my bike. Although my muscles and lungs are worked and my breathing laboured, I return to my original task, and not only am I not tired but even more energized.
Manifesting-Generators are more or less the same, except their Sacral Center has a Channel to the G/Identity Center. The share the same Strategy as Generators.
Manifestors (9.58%): While Generators may have built the pyramids, Manifestors laid the foundations for them to be built. They have conscious access to the Sacral Center, unlike the other Types, which finds expression in the Throat Center - where energy comes to be manifested in the subtle and material world. This means that they can create, but their job isn't to start a project and bring it to completion without the help of Generators. This Type is the archetype our society demands we all emulate, but it also insists we be Generators and work autonomously as well. Of all the Types, Manifestors and Manifesting-Generators are the most attractive to others as they alone have access to the Throat Center, which can be very appealing and sometimes addictive for others. Their nature is to operate alone and this is where they run into their Not-Self Theme. The Strategy of the Manifestor is to Inform Before Acting. Their creative power may be alluring to others, just it can also be jarring in its force as they quickly make decisions and leave the rest of us in the dust. Without Informing they will be misunderstood and perhaps blamed, but also unsupported by others. This results in Anger. If you're a Manifestor, remember your power and its potential downfall. Remember to keep those around you Informed and remember also the potential of your power: when you Inform you can create wonders with your Energy-Type friends. When operating normally, Manifestors experience their Signature of Peace.
Projectors (22.34%): Probably the trickiest Type to be incarnated as today. So tricky, in fact, that Projectors are often given discounts and special attention when learning Human Design. As with everything in life, the power and shadow of something is always equally matched. Projectors are strong and intelligent minds, here to understand and guide others, as well as analyse and improve systems and technology, and are literally suited for nothing else. It's even often said within Human Design that Projectors aren't supposed to labour at all. Along with Reflectors, they're a Non-Energy-Type, meaning they're neither consciously or unconsciously able to regulate their (Undefined) Sacral Energy. For reasons we will get into soon, their Not-Self Theme of Bitterness will drive them to try extra extra hard to connect with people that they will then take on the Sacral (and other) energies of those around them and work themselves to exhaustion. Projectors, having no connection to Sacral energy, have no way of knowing when they're physically tired, so their health is dependent upon their right relationship with the individuals around them. Their nature is to operate on a one-to-one basis, making a meaningful connection in order to, at root, understand who the Other is. Their Strategy is to Wait for Invitation, meaning their drill-like energy that burrows into the field of the Other is not always welcome. The relationship between the Projector and the Other is quite sacred, thus, seen as it can be quite painful or unnerving for the Other to be "drilled into." When a Projector doesn't know how to Wait for Invitation they will be directly or indirectly rejected, resulting in their Not-Self Theme of Bitterness. If they are unaware of why they're feeling or thinking, unaware of their Not-Self Theme playing out, they will then be prone to forcing themselves into that one-on-one connection. When operating normally, being invited to understand and guide others, they experience their Signature of Success.
Reflectors (1.42%): Being such a small minority of the world's population, I personally haven't met any Reflectors and so my knowledge is limited. There are many resources freely available online, and I suggest you fill in the gaps of my knowledge with your own study if you are a Reflector and have one in your life.
Reflectors, like Projectors, are a Non-Energy Type. They're different from Projectors in that they have no Defined Energy Centers at all. Thus it is important to understand Undefined Centers in order to understand Reflectors (and Projectors).
When Defined, a Center produces its own vital energy corresponding to the Center's role. When Undefined, a Center is open to energy from someone elses' corresponding Defined Center when the two's energy fields are in range.
Example: I have an Undefined Head Center, so when alone I experience my thoughts in an orderly and a (usually) manageable manner. Say I have a friend called Ted and he has a Defined Head Center. His thoughts are on constantly and may be overwhelming at times, he is always thinking in a way I can't comprehend. When in a few feet of each him I have a constant stream of thoughts flowing through my head and may pick up on what Ted is thinking (depending on my own abilities), because I am riding his mental wave. Say Ted has an Undefined Solar Plexus (Emotional) Center, while mine is Defined. Ted can't trust his emotions, and especially when he's around me, unless he has a keen awareness that the waves and shifts in feeling he's experiencing are coming primarily from me and possibly manipulating his own.
We experience each other in multiple ways, and varying ways depending on our unique configuration. This is a beauty and curse of having Undefined Centers. Now imagine a creature who has no Defined Centers at all - they experience the full being of the Other. Unlike Projectors, Reflectors here to experience the Other without analysing. Not to serve them, not to guide them, not to command them. Simply experience them. Unlike any other Type they're simply here to sample the energy of, and communicate with, others. As their name suggests, they are a mirror of consciousness itself, potentially giving an accurate reflection of those around them, with the incidental effect of allowing the others to see themselves and evolve/transform. This is their nature and what they enjoy doing. However, this comes with a danger. They can't trust themselves in-the-moment when it comes to making big decisions. Their Strategy, therefore, is to *Wait One Moon Cycle*. In absence of inner *Authority* we are subject to the Lunar cycle, just as every basic lifeform on the Earth is. When making a major or life-changing decision, the Reflector has to allow themselves enough time to discern the energies from others which influence them from the natural universal energy flow. Reflectors, then, have an opportunity to experience Universal Will more directly than any other Type and must learn to adhere to that. To not follow their Strategy results in the Not-Self Theme of *Disappointment* as a decision made by others is inevitably going to disappoint. When operating normally, sampling the people and environment around them and allowing their decisions to come to them, Reflectors experience their Signature of Surprise. The fascination of discovering the other and what the world has to bring to them.
PART TWO COMING SOON
