Human Design 101

What Human Design Is

Human Design is a modern system of self-discovery that weaves together ancient wisdom and contemporary science. Drawing from astrology, the I Ching, the chakra system, the Kabbalah Tree of Life, and quantum physics, it creates a unique chart—your BodyGraph—based on your birth details. Think of it as a personalized blueprint, a user manual for how your energy is designed to move through the world.

For your journey, Human Design is profoundly beneficial because it helps you understand your natural strengths, decision-making style, and the life themes you’re here to experience. Instead of trying to fit into roles or strategies that don’t align, you gain clarity on how to work with your energy, not against it. This often means less resistance, more flow, and greater self-trust.

When you live aligned with your design, you experience more ease in relationships, confidence in choices, and fulfillment in your work. When you don’t, life can feel like an uphill battle—frustrating, draining, and misaligned. Human Design provides the language and framework to recognize these patterns, release what isn’t yours, and step fully into the way you are uniquely meant to thrive.

It’s based on your birth data (time, date, and location), which generates a BodyGraph chart.

The Core Components to Know

Type

Your Type describes your general role in life and how your energy interacts with the world. There are five:

  • Manifestor – Initiators, here to spark ideas and movements.
  • Generator – Builders, with steady, sustainable life-force energy.
  • Manifesting Generator – Multi-passionate builders, fast-moving and efficient, blending Manifestor initiation with Generator stamina.
  • Projector – Guides, here to direct and manage the energy of others.
  • Reflector – Mirrors, highly sensitive to their environment, reflecting the health of the community.

👉 Knowing your Type is the first step—it tells you how your energy naturally works.

Strategy

Each Type has a Strategy—the best way to engage with life so things flow more smoothly:

  • Manifestors: Inform before acting
  • Generators: Respond to what shows up
  • Manifesting Generators: Respond first, then inform (fast energy, but alignment comes from pausing before leaping).
  • Projectors: Wait for the invitation
  • Reflectors: Wait a lunar cycle (28 days)

👉 This is about reducing resistance and making decisions in alignment with your natural design.

Authority Types

  • Emotional Authority → clarity comes over time (ride the emotional wave; don’t decide in the moment).

  • Sacral Authority → gut yes/no response (available only to Generators and Manifesting Generators).

  • Splenic Authority → intuitive, in-the-moment guidance (a quiet, instinctual knowing).

  • Ego/Heart Authority → decisions guided by willpower and desire (ask: “Do I truly want this?”).

  • Self-Projected Authority → direction comes through speaking your truth out loud (listen to what you say).

  • Environmental / Mental Authority → clarity comes from talking things out in the right environment (no inner authority, relies on surroundings and sounding board).

  • Lunar Authority → clarity comes only by waiting a full 28-day lunar cycle (Reflectors need time to sample different energies).

👉 Each authority shows you how you’re designed to make decisions—your most reliable compass.

Profile

Your Profile is made up of two numbers (like 3/5 or 2/4). It shows how you interact with life and how others perceive you. The first number is more conscious (what you recognize in yourself), and the second is more unconscious (how others see you).

The 6 Lines (building blocks of Profiles):

  • Line 1 – The Investigator → Loves learning, needs a solid foundation, researches deeply.
  • Line 2 – The Hermit → Natural talents, needs alone time, often “called out” by others.
  • Line 3 – The Experimenter → Learns by trial and error, resilient, adapts through mistakes.
  • Line 4 – The Opportunist → Community-driven, thrives on networks and relationships.
  • Line 5 – The Teacher / Problem Solver → Practical solutions, seen as a guide, may attract projections.
  • Line 6 – The Role Model → Life in 3 stages: first trial & error, then retreat/observation, then embody wisdom.

Examples of Profiles:
1/3 → Investigator-Experimenter: deep researcher, learns through trial/error.
4/6 → Opportunist-Role Model: builds community, matures into wise example later in life.
2/5 → Hermit-Problem Solver: gifted but needs alone time, called into visibility when needed.

👉 Your Profile gives insight into how you live your purpose and how others naturally experience you.
When open (white) → You absorb/amplify others here; it’s where you learn wisdom but also conditioning.

Centers

These are similar to chakras—there are 9 centers in the BodyGraph. 

The 9 Centers are like upgraded chakras. Some are defined (colored in) (consistent, reliable energy), and some are open/undefined (white) (sensitive, influenced by others).

The Nine Centers:

  • Head (top triangle) → Inspiration, ideas. Open = easily influenced by others’ thoughts.
  • Ajna (below Head) → Mental processing, opinions. Open = flexible thinking, but can feel uncertain.
  • Throat → Communication, manifestation. Defined = consistent voice, open = speaks for others.
  • G Center (diamond in middle) → Identity, love, direction. Defined = stable sense of self, open = fluid identity.
  • Heart/Will (small triangle right of G) → Willpower, ego, self-worth. Open = can feel pressure to prove.
  • Sacral (square under G) → Life force, work, sexuality. Defined only in Generators/Manifesting Generators.
  • Solar Plexus (triangle bottom right) → Emotions, waves of feeling. Defined = emotional authority, open = empathic.
  • Spleen (triangle bottom left) → Intuition, health, survival. Defined = consistent instincts, open = sensitive to fear/health.
  • Root (bottom square) → Pressure, drive, stress. Defined = steady pressure, open = amplifies external stress.

👉 When defined (colored) → You broadcast this energy; it’s consistent.
When open (white) → You absorb/amplify others here; it’s where you learn wisdom but also conditioning.

The interplay of defined and open centers shows where you’re most reliable vs. where you’re most influenced by your environment.