October 16, 2019

What Is Human Design? (And Why Am I So Obsessed With It?)

Stop the presses.

If you’re like most people, you’ve never heard of Human Design. I never heard of it until last month (September 3rd, to be precise) when my friend Amari Ice introduced me to it after recording an episode of my podcast Dear Franny.

So what it is?

To be honest, I’m still working on coming up with a succinct way of describing it, so here’s my best attempt at this stage:

It is a system/science/framework that lays out your unique life’s blueprint. It tells you what your best strategy is for a fulfilled life, explains how you’re uniquely designed to make decisions, and much, much, more. Human Design goes deep – it can tell you your soul’s purpose on earth (really!), the trajectory of your life’s path and even how much time you should optimally spend working in a day.

It might sound crazy, or too good to be true. But honestly Ñ I’ve never felt so validated about so many things I’ve long suspected or understood about myself, but judged due to comparing myself to other people.

And that’s the magic of Human Design Ñ the entire foundation of the system is that you are a unique, one-of-a-kind human and you’re perfectly designed and equipped to lead a fulfilling life. No two people are alike, and so no two Human Design profiles are alike.

In order to see your own Human Design profile, you need your birth details Ñ date, time, and place of birth. You can enter that information HERE and get your chart for free.

Your chart contains a ton of information, and it won’t make sense to you at all unless you understand some basics. It won’t fully make sense unless you have it read by a professional Human Design reader, or if you do what I’ve been doing for the past month, which is diving as deeply as possible into this fascinating and unbelievably accurate system.

What It Isn’t

It’s not a religious philosophy, and it’s not something that anyone needs to be convinced of.

In my (admittedly limited so far) experience, Human Design is something that resonates with people deeply once they have their chart explained to them. Human Design should be showing you things you already know, even if it’s on a deep level that you’ve never articulated before.

Human Design, A Brief Overview

In Human Design, everyone is one of five different energy types. And every energy type has a “strategy” meaning how they should operate in the world. Every individual chart gets much, much more specific than your type, but this is the starting point.

MANIFESTORS, GENERATORS, and MANIFESTING GENERATORS are what HD calls “Energy Beings” — they have the energy to go out and create and build.

MANIFESTORS (9% of the population) are here to make things happen. They are the ones who are designed to have a new idea/inspiration and go out and take action to bring their vision into reality. They are the ONLY energy type that is designed to take instant action on whatever they want to see happen. Their strategy is “to inform”, which means they should tell anyone impacted by their actions ahead of time what they plan to do. They do NOT need permission, only to inform.

GENERATORS (37% of the population) are the doers of the world. They are the builders. They are the ones who actually do the work to make all the world’s systems go. They have a TON of energy and are able to focus on one thing and see it through. It’s important for Generators to do work they love, and if they do they will be energized by that work. If they don’t, they’ll burn themselves out and likely suffer physical health issues as a result. Their strategy is “to respond” — which means they should wait until they get an inspiration or a gut response telling them to take action. 

MANIFESTING GENERATORS (33% of the population) are a hybrid of Manifestors and Generators. They have the same strategy as Generators, which is “to respond”. They get an inspiration, they explore it, and if it feels right then they should act. Unlike Generators, MG’s are designed to have MANY different interests and to follow their multiple passions. They’re not designed to do one thing for their whole lives. Like Generators, they have unlimited energy IF they’re doing what they love.

PROJECTORS and REFLECTORS are considered “Non-Energy Beings” because they do NOT make their own energy and therefore don’t have as much energy as the other types. So it’s extra important for these types to take a lot of time alone and discharge the energy they absorb from others and to rest. They might appear lazy to some, but they’re not — it’s just how they’re designed.

PROJECTORS (20% of the population) are meant to be the guides and teachers of the world. They are here to become experts in whatever it is they feel called to, and make themselves visible as an expert. The Projector strategy is to “wait for the invitation” which means that they should NOT go out and “make things happen”. They are NOT designed to work a lot. They’re designed to spend most of their time preparing to be “invited” to share and to guide others.

REFLECTORS (1% of the population) are meant to be mirrors of the environment around them. They are meant to go through life in a state of awe and wonder, observing the world around them and reflecting the world back to the rest of us. They are complete empaths and sponges of other people’s energy. The Reflector strategy is to WAIT 28 days before taking a significant action/making a big decision.

Authority

In HD, everyone has what’s called an Authority, which is unrelated to your energy type. Your Authority is how you’re naturally designed to make decisions. It’s your most reliable source of wisdom. In HD, no one is designed to make decisions based on thinking. We are designed to use our brains as a tool to sort and process information. As a way of understanding what our different options are. But our unique Authority is how we are supposed to actually choose which option is right for us. 

Here are the different types of Authority:

Splenic: This means your intuition. Intuition speaks in whispers or “hmm I wonder if” or “I have a suspicion what I should do is…” Because it’s easy to ignore these whispers, it’s important for you to make sure you’re tuning in and FOLLOWING those whispers, bc they’re always trying to lead you on your path. 

Ego: Ego gets a bad rap but not in HD. It’s one of the rarest in HD (only 4% of all people have this authority).  There is no good or bad in HD — everything has its benefits and challenges. All it means is that your best course of action is always what is most beneficial to you. You are here to express your will and follow it. So any stubbornness you feel? That’s your ego and it’s meant to be your guide. 

Emotional (Solar Plexus): This means that you’re pretty constantly riding a wave of emotions. You also pick up on other people’s emotions and feel them even more strongly. So it’s SO important for you to NOT make decisions quickly, especially if someone else is trying to convince you to do something. What might feel like a good idea (or vice versa) at the time might not feel the same after you’ve slept on it/given yourself time to process. 

But at the same time you are meant to make your decisions based on how it feels. So give yourself that time and then always do what feels right for you.

Sacral: This is your gut response. Your gut responds YES or NO, and the answer comes immediately when faced with a choice. If you are presented with too many options, your gut can’t respond. So it’s important for you to frame your choices as yes or no, so you can hear what you’re meant to do. Your gut response is your superpower and should never be ignored!

Lunar: Limited only to Reflectors. What this means is that you should wait 28 days (a full lunar cycle) before making any major decisions. I know this can be hard in our fast paced culture, but for you it’s crucial. 

Self Projected: This is very rare and is limited to some Projectors. What it means is you don’t know your truth/decision until you hear it leave your mouth. So if you want to make a decision, open your mouth and speak and you will discover what’s the right choice for you. Which will lead you to often find yourself surprised by what you hear come out of your mouth.

So Now What?

As I’ve said, a Human Design chart contains a TON of information, far more than I could put in one blog post! I am diving deeper and deeper into the subject, and I’ve even started reading other peoples’ charts.

I will continue to share more information about HD as I get better at explaining each part of a HD chart.

If, like me, you can’t wait to learn more, some good resources I can recommend are:

Erin Claire Jones (I’ll be interviewing her in a couple of weeks for Dear Franny Podcast!)

Jenna Zöe

Interior Creature

If you’re so inclined, please feel free to share your chart or your type in the comments below!

I hope you find Human Design as inspiring and enlightening as so many others who’ve discovered it.

xo

F