Human Design is a sophisticated and powerful system combining astrology, the I’Ching, Kabbalah, the Chakra system and quantum physics to provide insight to individuals and their unique energetic blueprint.

This system was originally founded by Alan Krakower, who goes by the pseudonym Ra Uru Hu. To read more about Ra you can go to the Jovian Archive website here, and to get your chart you can click here.

Since uncovering my Human Design and embarking on my experiment in January 2021, my life has completely changed. It gave me language for things I was feeling about myself that I couldn’t explain, and it gave me permission to live authentically instead of trying to fit into a societal box. I felt seen, and I hope it does that for you too.

This blog is going to cover the bare minimum of uncovering what Human Design is and help you understand what your chart is telling you about living your life authentically. Let’s dive in!

An Experiment

One of the things that sold me on Human Design was the fact that living your design was called “an experiment”. This gave me so much freedom to hold onto what I felt applied to me from this system, and reject anything that didn’t.

Human Design has valuable insights, but should be used as a tool alongside your own intuition and discernment. Do not let this or any system become dogmatic – no system should make you feel boxed in. If Human Design makes you feel that way I give you full permission to reject it. I encourage you to learn and decide for yourself whether or not any of this information enhances your life.

Now, let’s start diving into your design.

What am I looking at?

When you first get your chart, you will see an image of a body with shapes and lines inside of it as seen in the picture of my chart below. This is called a BodyGraph. You will also see two columns on each side of the BodyGraph including numbers and planetary symbols. Finally, you will see four arrows at the top of the BodyGraph, two on each side of the head. Everything that you are looking at represents specific energetic pieces. Each BodyGraph is unique in the consistent energy it holds, meaning you have a unique energetic blueprint you operate with. The more in alignment you are with that blueprint, the more authentically you feel you are living your life.

The most important energetic piece to start with is your energetic ‘type’. You will see your type listed next to your BodyGraph. There is a way to identify your type by just looking at your chart but that’s for future study. If you are interested in learning more detail about how to read a chart, consider my How To Read Your Chart workbook.

Let’s continue.

The Energy Types

The human design BodyGraph gives you a detailed blueprint of how your energy is designed to operate. The biggest function of your energy is your type. It is based on your aura. Your aura is the energy the surrounds your body and connects and communicates to the other energies around you. Your aura type guides you to the best way to interact in all aspects of your life based on the energy it brings.

Generator

The generator aura is open and enveloping. Generators are meant to respond to the world. Their aura moves through the world touching everything – but it is the generator’s yes/no gut response that lets them know whether the things they touch are meant for them to interact with.

Generators are the only type with access in their body to consistent life force energy from the sacral chakra (the sacral chakra is defined in their chart, meaning the second square from the bottom is colored in). Because of this, they are designed to use their energy to build and master that which feels deeply satisfying and exciting to them. Generators make up roughly 70% of the earth’s population (this includes manifesting generators). We live in a generator world. 

To be in alignment, generators should listen to their gut when deciding how to make decisions. When not listening to their gut, they will find themselves burnt out and often feeling frustrated in life. At work and in relationships, this may present as them feeling apathetic and taken advantage of. However, when living in alignment, generators will feel extremely satisfied in life. They will know when enough is enough for them and learn to easily say “no” to the things their gut does not respond to.

Manifesting Generator

Though different from the generator in some ways, the manifesting generator is still a generator and has an open and enveloping aura and must use their gut to respond to life around them.

The mani-gen differs from the generator by operating more quickly, often cutting corners and at many times is multi-passionate. Mani-Gens may struggle with feeling like they never “complete” anything, when in reality their gut is telling them that the energy for this passion project has run it’s course and their energy will now be best served on the next thing. Mani-gens, when you feel the need to pull away from something you once enjoyed, know that you learned and did everything you were meant to up until this point and it is time to step back. Rest assured, are designed to operate this way.

Similar to the generator, when not in alignment they will start to feel frustrated and present as such. This is a sign that you need to check in with your gut. Dissimilar from generators, they also have a bit of manifestor energy to them. Because of this, after you respond you will also want to inform those around you of your plans. If you don’t inform, you may be confronted with questioning or criticism from those unaware of your plans resulting in anger fro you. Know that informing is not asking permission, and is an important step to maintaining stability.

A Note for Gens & Mani-Gens

Your aura is powerful to non-energy types. When you choose to go against your gut resulting in frustration, the rest of us feel that and it inhibits progress for many. This doesn’t mean I’m telling you that you are beholden to making us feel good – I’m actually telling you the opposite.

I have coached many generators who struggle with saying yes to themselves (and their gut) for fear of burdening others or letting them down (this is a stress response we can get into later). It is NOT selfish do say “yes” to the things you desire to be part of and “no” to things that drain your energy. This is how you are meant to operate. Honoring yourself, honors the collective.

Manifestor

The manifestor is a non-energy type. This means that they have their sacral center undefined (white on their chart) and don’t have access to consistent life force energy from the sacral. Manifestors may experience bursts of energy followed by longs rests of recovery. This is because their energy is meant to be used is bursts of initiating new ideas.

Their aura is closed and repelling. This aura allows them to stay focused on their initiations. When I think of the manifestor aura, I imagine this picture below of a shark moving through a school of fish. It’s as if his presence just pushes everything around him out of the way. This is the manifestor aura.

Aside from initiating when a new idea occurs, they also need to inform those around them. Oftentimes, manifestors just start taking action – but without informing others, everyone else might feel a bit jarred with these new plans. This can cause others to question the manifestor for their own awareness which can result in the not-self of anger. Anger is a sign that you haven’t informed or are waiting for others to initiate and are living out of alignment.

My manifestor friends are powerhouses and I love them dearly, and I’ve noticed the anger stew in their bodies if they try to control the outcome too much. Manifestors – you are meant to initiate but your energy isn’t meant to always take the idea to completion like a generator. Let others take your inspirations and ideas and run with them.

Projector

Projectors are the newest energy type, first coming on the earth in 1781. Like the manifestor, they are a non-energy type and don’t have consistent access to the life force energy from the sacral.

Projectors are the guides in human design. Their energy is meant to be used to see into and guide the energy of others. Their aura is focused and penetrating so they can see deeply into the people and systems they are meant to impact.

Projectors are powerful seers and guides, and because of this they need to wait for the invitation from the other before guiding. Everyone has free will, and even though as a projector you may see a better way and know what needs to occur, those you may want to guide may not be ready to hear it. They are on their own path and you must be recognized as someone who can guide them and then be invited in before you can have the appropriate impact. Guiding without invitations risks creating tension within relationships because, let’s face it, know one want to be told what to do.

When projectors are acting out of alignment, they will start to feel incredibly bitter. This is because they feel they are being unrecognized or their insights and guidance are being disregarded. This is usually a sign that you are offering too much unsolicited advice and have not been invited, or are in the wrong environment or not setting boundaries. This can be a drain on your energy and not only cause bitterness but massive energetic depletion.

Many projectors feel immobilized by this instruction to wait (I know, I’m a projector) – but it’s not an instruction to wait to be invited to every little thing! In fact, it’s an incredible invitation of freedom to live your life! Allow yourself to have fun and be playful. Focus on and study the things that feel good to you and will help grow your skills. Live life for YOU until you are invited into relationship with another. People will naturally see your gifts when you are loving your life and want to invite you in.

Reflector

Reflectors are the smallest group, making up only 1% of the population. Reflectors have a completely undefined (white) chart and their aura is sampling. As the name suggests, they reflect the health of the people and environments around them.

I have a friend that is a reflector. We used to work in the same toxic environment. During this time, she was feeling sick, ending up depressed, showing up late, and just genuinely not taking care of herself. Now, we aren’t victims to our design and she had free will to make changes, but I do find it interesting how her body and mind were reacting to the situation we were in.

To be in alignment, reflectors need to wait a lunar cycle. What this means is, you basically have to be in a mode of surrendering to your environment. You gain a lot of information by just witnessing and feeling the energies around you – if you can be in flow enough to trust yourself and your movements you will end up delightfully surprised with where your life takes you.

You are energetically designed to be more in flow. Let life come at you and then let it go by you. Take your time sampling the environments you’re in before deciding if it’s a correct situation for you. Just because you may take longer weighing options and situations, doesn’t mean you have any responsibility to remain attached to them.

In Conclusion

Human design is an experiment in listening to your body. Listening to your body to recognize what it feels like to be out of alignment, and noticing when that tends to occur. Listening to your body and using discernment to know if any of this even matters to you and would be beneficial to your life at all.

There is so much more to your chart than your type, but starting here is crucial. If you can learn to live by your type, everything else will naturally fall into place.

If you want to dive deeper, download my ebook How to Read Your Human Design Chart or consider an HD Session with me, complete with a pre-recording of your type and a deeper analysis of your chart followed by a weeks worth of coaching through messenger for integration of everything we discussed.

Happy Experimenting!