Human Design: Which of the 5 Types Are You?

Just as your astrology birth chart provides a roadmap for your life, so can a Human Design chart.

Human Design starts with a BodyGraph, or a “Soul Roadmap.” Like your birth chart, you need to know your birth date, time and location to calculate a Human Design chart.

A Human Design chart is a snapshot of who you are meant to be and the gifts you are meant to share with the world.

Much like looking at an astrology birth chart for the first time, a Human Design chart can be overwhelming—the numbers, symbols, lines, centers, arrows. The terminology may be new to you and difficult at first to understand. But the more you learn, the more the information “clicks” and you will love the messages and mysteries that it solves.

So, what is Human Design?

When we’re born, all this energy comes into our beings. That’s our code; it’s like DNA. Human Design is less a belief system, more an awareness system.

Created (or more accurately, channeled) by Alan Krakower, AKA Ra Uru Hu, Human Design combines astrology, Kabbalah, I Ching and Vedic Philosophy into a system that divides people into five core energy types that guide how we can best express and exchange energy with the world.

How to create a Human Design chart

To create your Human Design chart, try any of the following resources. While the information generated will be similar, the vocabulary may differ. It’s good to have multiple options when exploring HD and it’s recommended that you find the chart that most resonates with you.

Soul Care Commune (www.soulcarecommune.com)

Jovian Archive (www.jovianarchive.com)

MyBodyGraph (www.mybodygraph.com)

MyHumanDesign (www.myhumandesign.com)

The Human Design “Big 3“

Dive into your Human Design chart by looking at your “Big 3.” Sound familiar? In astrology, we look at our Big 3—your Sun, moon and rising signs. And for a lot of people, that’s enough information to take in, especially when learning.

In Human Design, the Big 3 are:

Your Human Design Type:

Explored in detail below, your Human Design type is like your “prescription.”

When you discover your type, really look at the description and ask yourself, “what does it mean?” Page back to your childhood; it will tell you what you were before you were conditioned, before we chipped away at our gifts.

Your Human Design Strategy:

Your Human Design Strategy is how you navigate through situations, based on your type

At this stage you’ll ask, “How am I allowing things to happen in my life? For example, at times when you let the fear take in and won’t engage. That’s when you realize you’re not honoring your type and strategy.

Your Human Design Authority:

Your Human Design Authority is how you make decisions

It is important to ask: How am I using my authority? There are eight authorities in HD. Your authority is based on which centers are defined in your chart. 

The 5 Types in Human Design & Their Strategies

How to “live the experiment”

Your type is the foundation and defines your energy strategy. By learning about your type, you can understand how to use your energy and to stay aligned. (Each type has a strategy, sign and not-self theme for knowing when you are in and out of alignment.)

For HD purists, there are four types, although you may discover in your reading that there are sometimes five types (included at the end of this list). That’s because the Human Design system is continuously evolving and expanding as the community expands its thought leaders.

Once you learn your type and strategy, honor it for the next 30 days to see how it works for you. Live the experiment! Learning how to use your Strategy (for all types) and Authority  is a skill that must be practiced and honed, so be patient with yourself as you’re learning.

The Generator

Generators are the life of the party. They are here to light up the world—do what they love and use all their energy to build what inspires them.

Generators are the most prevalent of the types, but do not be fooled by thinking they are common. Generators are one of the most magnetic HD types. When they are aligned and doing work that inspires them, they are on the right track. That delicious feeling of being satisfied is the No. 1 indicator they are aligned. If they are out of alignment (the not-self theme), they will feel frustrated.

The Generator strategy is to respond to what energizes and excites them. Generators can toggle on-off, but when they get excited about an idea, that’s their cue to say YES. Conversely, if the idea drains them, just say no!

Generator Strategy: Respond to what energizes and excites you

The Manifesting Generator

Manifesting Generators are hybrids of Generator and Manifestor. Some see this as a sub-type of Generator.

The Manifesting Generator holds a powerful energy that allows them to get things done and do lots of varied activities. As children, they were the ones who probably wanted to do dance classes, horseback riding, art lessons, fencing AND be in the spelling bee—all at the same time. These traits usually follow them into adulthood with them experimenting with various jobs and lots of volunteer activities. “Man-Gens” are like Generators in that they are meant to use up all their energy throughout the day doing the things they love.

The strategy for Manifesting Generators is to wait to respond. It is a practice in trusting the universe and that life will send you the opportunities you need. When in alignment and flow, Man-Gens, like Generators, feel satisfaction. When out of alignment, they experience frustration and/or anger. For both Generators and Manifesting Generators, going “with your gut,” is tantamount, or, in HD-speak: “Listen to your Sacral.” (This is explored deeper if you read about the concept of Authority).

Manifesting Generator Strategy: Wait to Respond

The Manifestor

Manifestors are here to initiate and share their amazing new ideas happen. They exemplify the “Just Do It” motto. Transformation is the name of their game. Their independent spirits allow them to make their ideas known to others and get the support to make them come to life.

Manifestors should surround themselves with people that appreciate their vision. Many Manifestors were very independent children who always had a vision for what they wanted to do and to be.

A sure sign that a Manifestor is aligned is they feel peace. Their not-self theme is anger. Anger can result when they are not living in their natural flow to bring forth new ideas.

A Manifestor’s strategy is to inform others of their ideas and intentions. This makes way for others to come in and assist where needed and get those ideas built and moving. A Manifestor’s dream is to surround themselves with people that lift them up to be the effective leader who guides with trust.

Manifestor Strategy: Inform others of your ideas and intentions

The Projector

A Projector is a non-energy type that receives energy from the environment around them. A Projector is like a bird on a wire noticing the workings of all that is in their view. They are able to see new, more efficient ways of completing tasks or making systems better. 

A Projector’s strategy is to be invited. This can be a challenging strategy for people who want to share their ideas with the world. But when they do not follow their strategy, they may find that their brilliant ideas and gifts are not received well. Learning how to decipher what is an “invite” is a talent for a skilled Projector. 

If you want to know if a Projector is in sync, they will feel success and imbue that quality to all those around them. The No. 1 sign a Projector is out of sync is they will feel bitterness. When a Projector does not feel supported, heard or understood, bitterness is the telltale sign they need to re-examine their environment and the people they have surrounded themselves with to achieve flow. 

Projector Strategy: Wait for the invitation

The Reflector

Reflectors are a seldom-seen “non-energy” type. They are the unicorns of the HD world. Being a non-energy type means they receive their energy from the people and environment in which they surround themselves.

An aligned Reflector is a wise observer of the world around them. They are extremely valuable to any group, because they mirror back the well-being and health of that group. When a Reflector is in flow, they feel genuine surprise and excitement. They will often feel included and recognized by their community.

When not in flow, a Reflector’s not-self theme is disappointment. The strategy for Reflectors is to wait. For example, waiting a moon cycle (roughly 28 days) to make decisions may seem like a long time, but Reflectors gain a clearer understanding of the consequences of their decisions, both positive and negative.

Reflector Strategy: Wait a full lunar cycle to decide

The 8 Authorities of Human Design

1. Solar Plexus/Emotional Authority: Trust that “emotional waves” will take you to the right answer; rash decision-making is not this Authority’s best decision making tool

2. Sacral Authority: Do well with making decisions in the present moment

3. Splenic Authority: Listen to your first immediate instinct

4. Heart Center (Ego) Manifested Authority: This Authority should ask themselves, “does this serve me and is my heart totally into this?”

5. Heart Center (Ego) Projected Authority: same as Heart Center Manifested Authority but for Projectors

6. G-Center/Self-Projected Authority: Make decisions based on what brings them closer to their life’s direction

7. Environmental/Mental Authority: Also known as the Sounding Board, this Authority does best when they are able to talk about their decision-making process/have someone to act as a sounding board. This allows them to work out something by listening to themselves talk about it. 

8. Lunar Authority (Reflectors): Sometimes referred to as No Authority, Lunar Authority is what all Reflectors have; big decisions should be made over 28 day lunar cycles

Learning about your Authority will help you determine if you are meant to make a big decision off-the-cuff or with a lot of analysis. Your Authority will spell this out for you. And it may surprise you or be different from how you’ve been taught, by parents or society, or felt compelled to act your whole life!

Living your Human Design Big Three

You blend all three elements to discover if you’re aligned or not aligned, acting as your true self or your “not-self.” It’s not necessarily about discovering something to “fix” but rather a guide for how you can live better.

At its core, the process of Human Design is insightful. It brings to light the things we don’t know. Just as in therapy, when we learn things about ourselves, HD can teach us about ourselves. HD illuminates the dark places. It’s a gift!

A mantra in Human Design is: Live the experiment. HD isn’t here to prove you wrong, it’s here to help show you how to live.

Just as in astrology, there is much more to learn beyond the “Big 3”––such as “gates” and “channels” built on what the planets represent. But for the beginner, the Big 3 provides a strong foundation to start and build on should you want to learn more.

Using Human Design in your life

By following the clues your HD Soul Roadmap provides, you can align and re-align yourself to get back on track. Following Human Design is really about trusting that the universe is at constant play in our lives and we are meant to dance and play with it.

For me, it was like one day I didn’t know about Human Design and the next I knew. I did my chart and was intrigued. I was in a toxic, difficult job that wasn’t doing anything for my soul. In my soul searching I was asking, “how do I get out of this burned out state?” Human Design answered a lot of questions that I had. And it helped me change jobs. The tools I have learned by honoring my Design have been instrumental in turning a stress-filled life into a life with more focus and flow.  

Live the experiment and see how it works for you. I took that to heart, live the experience, and I tried it for a year. See the power that Human Design can change your life, even with the basic knowledge to get started.

Photo by Craig Chitima on Unsplash