Here's the CliffsNotes version: Frida was born in Mexico City in 1907. Not only did she battle polio as a child, BUT she was horrifically injured in a bus accident when she was 18 that caused her severe pain, resulted in multiple surgeries, and basically affected her until the day she died. BUT none of that stopped her from MANIFESTING. Whatever she wanted, she made happen. Frida was a force of pure action. She didn't ask permission. She really didn't give a fuck about what others thought of her. She lived her life with a fierce authenticity and passion. (I think no one is surprised her Self/Identity Center is closed). She dressed how she wanted, saw the world via her own unique perspective, and read the things/pursued the topics that called to her, even when society tried to silence her, fit her into a box, and dull her shine. Even at her lowest, she painted and created art from her bed. Like, in a back and neck brace. Even with that limited physical mobility, she figured out ways to be able to create her art. She was incredibly politically active and met her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, through her work with the Communist Party (sidebar: she also met a few of her lovers that way, too). Frida Kahlo: Genius artist. Creative force of nature. Powerhouse. LGBTQIA+/Feminist Icon. MANIFESTOR QWEEN.
Manifestors are often misunderstood and have gained a reputation as unstable. You are the ones who innovate and immediately act, usually alone, without giving the rest of the community a heads up or a chance to assist. Change can be scary, especially for those Projectors/Manifesting Generators/Generators/Reflectors who find themselves in the passenger seat with a Manifestor behind the wheel, flooring it. People fear what they can't control. But you, dearest Manifestor, are not meant to be controlled. Others people's fear is THIER SHIT to deal with, and is ultimately not your responsibility. If they don't like where you're driving, they can get their ass out of the car.
But since no one is an island, one way Manifestors can alleviate some of the stress/fear/anxiety your GO GO GO energy triggers in others is to simply INFORM (for more about informing, check out the post on your half-sibling Manifesting Generators, as they need to inform, too). Give the ones you love and work with a heads up about your plans before you jump in the drivers seat and take off. This is not so they can weigh in and try to change your mind or course of action. Nope. This is just a formality: it makes non-Manifestors feel like they were part of the decision-making process and allows them a little window of awareness into what you're ultimately going to do, which clears the path of resistance. So many Manifestors grow up being told to sit still and stay silent, which shoves their powers of manifestation into the closet and leaves them feeling like others are trying to control them. Using your strategy of INFORMING is actually taking that power back: it gives those around you the illusion of collaboration and control, but ultimately leaves you firmly in the drivers seat, empowering you to DO unimpeded.
What's challenging for others is precisely what works best for you: Manifestors are the only pure doers of the types, and although you can work really well with the other types, you don't actually need them to make things happen.
In a beautiful, symbiotic world...
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Manifestors would have an idea and start a project
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Projectors would guide the right resources to take on the right roles on the team
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Generators and Manifesting Generators who have the sacral YES response would engage their energy and work the tasks to completion, and meanwhile
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Reflectors would be acting as the foreman, gauging how the work is progressing
Utopia, right? Unfortunately, due to our collective cultural conditioning and where we are in our evolution, things don't always go this way.
As a Manifestor, your not-self theme is anger, and this can surface is two distinct ways:
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rage and rebellion (FUCK YOU I'M DOING IT ANYWAY!)
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passivity and accomodation (FINE. We'll do it your way. See how well that turns out. **crosses arms and legs, sits in a corner and disengages**)
Anger is the language your body uses to tell you that you're not in your integrity. You've given your power and influence to something that isn't serving you so CUT IT OUT ALREADY. This is a sign that you've acquiesced to too much conditioning influence and need to energetically reset. Your aura is meant to protect you: there's a reason why others might perceive you a A LOT or as unpredictable and might be repelled. Those that are repelled by your energy are not meant for you. They're not your people and don't bother wasting your time and energy trying to make them your people. You are here to be disruptive. Don't apologize for your power. You are not designed to fetch and carry for others. You are not here to build other people's dreams. You are here to build your own, and if your dreams are also in service of a higher, greater good, EVEN BETTER! In fact, when a Manifestor is trying to build something that only serves the ego, you might run into resistance and obstacles. Reframe: how can your creation serve the highest greatest good? One way you can work well with others is by joining forces with someone who has a defined Sacral Center. You can work off their energy is short intense bursts, meanwhile providing them with the catalyst for them to respond to!
One question that might bother you as a Manifestor: "Will anyone pick up what I'm putting down? Will anyone respond to the thing I just put out there?" If you're acting within your integrity, using your strategy of INFORMING and your authority to guide you, and acting in service to the greater good, then the answer will always be FUCK YES THEY WILL!
Our Human Design is comprised of nine centers, thirty-six channels, and sixty-four gates, all of which present as either open or closed, connected or absent, on or off, respectively. There are a lot of parts and pieces and potential combinations, so suffice it to say that how these centers, channels and gates interact all combine together to form our overall Human Design.
Over the past few weeks, we tackled all nine of our energy centers. If you're new to Human Design, and want to get yourself caught up, check out the "New to Human Design?" link above and follow the center-by-center click path.
Last week, we started our exploration of the types with Generators and Manifesting Generators. Monday was about Manifestors, and today we're diving into the fourth of the five types: Projectors.
Liz Taylor. Silver Screen Goddess. Projector.
Projectors are about 21% of the world’s population and are non-energy types, meaning you do not have a defined Sacral Center and there's no motor connection with the Throat Center, which means you have no built-on potential for generating or manifesting (womp womp). That doesn't mean you can't make things happen: it just means you need to leverage your strategy and your authority and work really well to leverage the energy of those around you. More on that later...
Projectors are the Guides, and part of your journey is understanding how to best harness the auric energy of those who are energy types (like Generators and Manifestors) to increase your productivity. Remember, in Ra Uru Hu's utopia, a mutually beneficial relationship is designed to exist between the types:
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Manifestors (and some Manifesting Generators) are here to INITIATE, and their focus should be on their impact
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Generators & Manifesting Generators are here to RESPOND, are their focus should be on knowing themselves (their response process and what fulfills them)
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Projectors are here to GUIDE, and their focus should be on knowing how to best utilize the gifts and energetic resources of the other types.
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Reflectors are here to REFLECT the state of the world, and their focus should be on the wellbeing of the environment and the people around them
Cleopatra was not a Projector, since this energy type only existed after 1781. Some other famous projectors are Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Pablo Picasso, Barak Obama, Mick Jagger and Brad Pitt.
According to Ra Uru Hu, Projectors are the new leaders of the future. Here's an example: George W Bush is a Manifestor. Think about the way he governed. Barak Obama is a Projector. Now think about his leadership style. Completely different. Projectors offer a completely new way of harnessing the power of others, channeling energy and leveraging each person's individual strengths to make things happen. As we continue to evolve, Ra Uru Hu predicts that the traditional leadership types (and in democracies, citizens) will start to recognize the value of what Projectors have to offer and start inviting them into positions of power. 👸
As a Projector, you have a focused, probing aura and are able to engage with people on a complex, deep energetic level. You are open to taking on the energies of others through your open centers, sampling and tasting what works best for you in different situations. Since you have so many open centers, it's crucial that you are a curator of the energies around you and not a collector/hoarder. When engaging with others, really ask yourself: Is this person right for me? Does this person have energy I want to emulate? Does this person see me for who I am? Reflecting on the answers will help guide you to your community.
Waiting for the invitation like...
You have a capacity to see the bigger picture and recognize the value and talents of others and as a result can bring people together. Projectors make great mediators, administrators, networkers, diplomats and advisors. Projectors can also be gifted organizers and really get how to maximize energy and resources effectively. KNOW: you guide most effectively by ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, not through directives. This is HUGE! If you're a Projector, you're designed to guide, so asking questions is crucial as it gives energy types like Generators and Manifesting Generators something to respond to so they can access their Sacral energy and GET TO WORK. And as their Sacral kicks in, you get to ride their energy wave like a contact high. BUT REMEMBER: you are built to work in short bursts, and not designed with stamina in mind.
In terms of conditioning, culturally most Projectors have been raised to think that they're Manifesting Generators. They've been fed messages (as we all have) like "JUST DO IT!" and "WORK HARD AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!". Projectors can make things happen, but it's not as simple as, say, a Manifestor's path. Whereas Manifestors are designed to have an idea and act upon it alone and pretty much immediately, Projectors need others to help them bring their dreams to life.
I mean, I'd invite her anywhere, as long as she wears that hat. #hatgoals
As a Projector, your strategy is to "wait for the invitation." In fact, when you're living your design, your aura magnetically calls others to ask you a question or to invite you to join/share/lead, etc. It’s through an invitation that you receive recognition and success, and also conserve your energy. If you choose to initiate rather than wait, you might face rejection, resistance or not be seen at all, which can understandably cause you to become frustrated, bitter and depressed. And don’t try to fish for invitations or recognition, because others perceive this as needy or demanding and it puts people off. After cycles of this, many Projectors can feel like it’s hard to find people who show a genuine interest in them. Solution: stop 👏🏻inviting👏🏻. This is the one time the “treat others as you want to be treated” rule we learned as kids doesn’t work. You are not the inviter. You are the magnetic guest. This absolutely applies to the biggest areas of your life: love, career, living situations, friendships. As a result, it's going to feel like there's a lot of downtime between big invitations...so what should you be doing while you're waiting? Enter the Magic In-Between. You need to be focusing on doing all the things that you love and are passionate about and leveraging your strategy and authority.
Remember: invitations come from silence. Waiting quietly for the recognition and the invitation is a quality of readiness. Here's an analogy: think about football (I know very little about football so bear with me, as this is a surface-level analogy). When the team on offense lines up before a play, they're all ready but they can't move forward yet and have to wait for the QB to call it and/or hand off the ball to start the action. If anyone on the offensive line tries to move forward before those two things happen, it's a false start and they have to line back up and start again. Waiting for the invitation is like that. You have to be ready to move, but you have to wait until you're invited or nothing progresses forward. **Therein begins and ends my knowledge of football 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻**
Here's an example: say you're a Projector and you feel called to be a writer. You might feel like you have to follow the traditional marketing path: start a blog, post on Instagram, self-publish e-books to sell on Amazon. All of those strategies are built by and for Manifestors and Manifesting Generators. They can just create shit and things just naturally magically happen. But you're a Projector. You could be the MOST AMAZING WRITER TO EVER BRING PEN TO PAPER, but if NO ONE has ASKED YOU to share your brilliance, you're not going to gain the traction you need to be successful. You’ll be doing all the “right” things, but nothing will stick, and you’re going to wonder "why is no one reading my blog/buying my books/sharing my stuff?” Despite all of the energy you invested, you are going to end up feeling bitter and depressed at best, or perceived as attention-seeking and desperate at worst. And it won't be because you aren't talented or that the writing life is not for you: it'll be because you weren't leveraging your strategy and authority and living your design.
Projectors are designed to wait between invitations. I call this the MAGIC IN-BETWEEN. This is where you dedicate time to focus on what you’re passionate about and what lights you up, trusting that the Universe will bring you the right people to offer an invitation. The key to the Magic In-Between is PATIENCE. So you might have to be brilliant alone for a bit, and really focus on dedicating yourself to your craft BEFORE people tune in and read/buy your work. This means flipping your tactics: keep writing and creating content that you love, but CREATE IT FOR YOU. Forget about the audience/customer and focus on your love of the craft and the process of writing itself. Read amazing books. Talk to people whose writing you love. Join writers circles and connect with other writers. Maybe go back to school and take a writing class. Tune into what lights you up and turns you on and think of it less like finished products and more like pieces in progress. And then start leveraging others to call in that audience for you: who can you interact with that would LOVE the work you do and could INVITE you onto their podcast/blog/channel that could introduce you to your future readers? Who could you workshop your writing with that would sing your praises and INVITE you to meet their agent/read at their event/talk to their listeners to generate more eyeballs on your words? Don't send solicitation emails. They aren't going to be received the way you want them to be. Instead, reach out to people to ask for advice, to collaborate or to compliment their work. If they are your people (and you are really focusing on what lights YOU up and brings you joy and not on what you think might make you money or gain you acclaim or even get you to your end goal the fastest) they’re going to find you to be magnetic and INVITE you in. The Magic In-Between is all about honing the thing that makes you magnetic and letting your aura do the talking. And remember, the journey is equally as important as the destination, and PATIENCE is the key to arriving there at all.
Liz spends some of her Magic In-Between at the beach...
A quick note on invitations: not all invitations will come via the postal service on gilded stationary with a choice of chicken or veal. Just like Generators are #nevernotresponding, invitations can come in the form of body language, questions, glances, an inner pull...anything that gives you the clear sense that your involvement is being requested is an invitation. Invitations coming from clear external sources are always easiest to recognize, so really learning to work with your authority is HUGE.
Also remember: just because you're invited doesn't mean you have to RSVP YES. Lean on your authority to get clarity about what is meant for you and what is not. Because you don't have a defined Sacral Center, clarity isn't going to be immediate. You might have to ride the emotional wave of your Emotional/Solar Plexus Center or sift through feelings of fear from the Spleen. Be sure to watch this space next week for AUTHORITY WEEK where I'll be breaking down how to work with each and every authority that can be present in a chart! It'll be just like Shark Week...just minus the sharks.
There are three types of Projectors, and each works with their authority in a slightly different way:
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Mental Projectors: You tend to have a deep reliance on your Mind Center, and need to be able to bounce ideas off of others to gain clarity. This allows you to really hear yourself out, so to speak. We NEVER make decisions from our Mind Center...talking things out just allows you to better connect to your authority. Keep in mind because SO MANY of your energy centers are undefined, you are super vulnerable to conditioning influence of others, so you need to be a ruthless curator of the energies you allow around you.
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Energy Projectors: You have one or more motor centers defined and REALLY need to rely on your authority. The challenge here is the pressure you'll feel from the motor centers, which push you to act BEFORE you're invited, which is a no-no. This will lead to the temptation to either initiate OR to commit to something outside of your integrity just to release some of that motor energy. It is crucial for you to be engaging in something you enjoy and to be properly invited in order to be fulfilled.
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Classic Projectors: The only defined centers in your chart are below the Throat Center. You have NO defined motor centers, so you need to taste test the energy of others and decide what you want to fuel you each day, and really need to be selective about the invitations you accept.
I am all about recognizing this amazing lewk.
Projectors are here to be wise about others, and sometimes can be more interested in the designs of others than your own! You like to seek out systems that help them understand individuals, groups and how people work together. (FACT! I have had several Projectors ask me to read a spouse or a friend instead of asking me to read for them!! How about we focus on YOU first eheheh). As a result, this can leave you a tad bit blind to your own needs. You really need help from the other types in recognizing when you're overdoing it. To stay healthy, you need to remember that you're built to work for short bursts of time and then REST. Naps are really important. You also need to lay down to rest BEFORE you're ready to fall asleep. Plan on getting into bed ALONE to relax and unwind and DISCHARGE all the energy you took in over the course of the day about an hour or so before you plan on turning out the light. Read. Journal. Meditate. Give your body time to release what isn't yours so that pent-up energy doesn't continue to ricochet around in your body all night and keep you awake. Also, if you have a partner that has their Sacral Center defined, you might want to sleep alone a few nights a week just to really truly decompress and recharge.
Recognition is a HUGE part of your strategy. This provides you with strategic boundaries which you should lean on when determining which invitations to accept and which to pass on. A huge part of this is recognizing what energetic gifts you can take on from others. You also have a need to have YOUR gifts to be recognized by others, BITTERNESS can creep in while you’re waiting for the invitation to receive the accolades you DESERVE. Your strategy requires cultivating patience, not just in the invitation, but in your authority’s response. You also need to have patience with yourself as you sample the energy of others as you determine who is energetically good for you and who isn’t. Practice this and you can be far more objective and selective about which invitations you accept. Surround yourself with people who will recognize and invite you and give you energetic resources to work with. Danger: staying in a relationship with someone who gives you that needed recognition but otherwise isn’t good for you. YOU ARE DESIGNED TO BE A CURATOR OF PEOPLE, NOT A COLLECTOR. Choose your inner circle carefully and with discernment. Trust that you are designed to be seen and you will be if you surround yourself with the right people.
SILENT MAGIC.
Our Human Design is comprised of nine centers, thirty-six channels, and sixty-four gates, all of which present as either open or closed, connected or absent, on or off, respectively. There are a lot of parts and pieces and potential combinations, so suffice it to say that how these centers, channels and gates interact all combine together to form our overall Human Design.
Over the past few weeks, we tackled all nine of our energy centers. If you're new to Human Design, and want to get yourself caught up, check out the "New to Human Design?" link above and follow the center-by-center click path.
Yesterday, we shifted our focus and zoomed in on the first of the five types: Generators. Today we're tackling Generator's half-sister: Manifesting Generators.
waiting to respond like...
What makes a Manifesting Generator? MGs are a unique hybrid of Manifestors and Generators. They have a defined Sacral Center like a pure Generator but also have a direct connection between one of their four motor centers and their Throat Center like a pure Manifestor.
🚨CONTROVERSIAL OPINION 🚨 Some Human Design experts consider Manifesting Generators their own type, while others lump them in with Generators, but we are all about everyone getting what they need here at interior creature, so we're giving MGs their own post.
If you're a Manifesting Generator, it might behoove you to give yesterday's post on Generators a read, since leveraging your Sacral response is a huge part of your decision-making process. In fact, whereas Generators ideally are waiting, reacting, then responding, your process is like a variation on that theme:
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wait
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feel that sacral reaction
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try it on/test it out/visualize/dip your toe in (hold space for inner clarity)
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respond
Manifesting Generators have two more strategies in addition to simply responding: visualize and inform.
Visualize: Many times, taking a beat AFTER experiencing the sacral response just to test the waters and imagine the outcome is super helpful for Manifesting Generators. It helps you confirm your response before you act on it. It also helps with planning: sometimes, as MGs you engage your sacral energy so fast and get to work so quickly that you inadvertently skip crucial steps along the way...which means you might have to go back and redo some things once you think you're finished, which ultimately leads to frustration. One thing an MG HATES is unproductivity and having to retrace your steps is NOT something you enjoy.
Inform: Like pure Manifestors, an MG's plans go a lot more smoothly when you simply let people know what you're going to do before you do it. This stabilizes the energy around you, and though for MGs this step can feel like slowing down, it actually prevents a ton of resistance once you get going.
Holding space for inner clarity
As a Manifesting Generator, you're energetic and love multi-tasking, though how proficient you are at it depends on how well you listened to your authority and followed your strategy. You are designed to be doing more than one thing at once and need to express that part of your energy or you can develop health problems, especially with your thyroid. Your energy is like trying to capture lightening in a bottle: it will ricochet around your body wreaking havoc unless it has somewhere external to go. So to protect your health, make sure you have enough to do each day, and that you're leveraging your strategy of responding. And like a pure Generator, you're designed to empty out your energy each day and go to bed exhausted, so make sure you're getting plenty of physical activity and setting aside time to rest and recharge each night.
Rest is super important for MGs, so take advantage of those lazy summer vibes...
Like a pure Manifestor, as an MG you CAN initiate, BUT 👏🏻ONLY👏🏻 AFTER 👏🏻you honor your Generator side's gut response. MGs are like Manifestors in waiting. You have to have the sacral reaction, hold space for inner clarity, and then dive in and respond to your idea for optimal results. Like many MGs, however, you might struggle to really hear and feel your sacral response, and it might take you a bit more time and practice to really reengage that connection and learn what a sacral ah-HUH 😃 or UHN-uh😭feel like for you.
And when you do initiate, WATCH OUT! You have the one-two punch of Manifestor zeal and Generator energy at your disposal, and you can go from 0-60 once you're engaged. A bonus of having that Manifestor aspect to your design is that you can hit the brakes mid-engagement. Pure Generators, once they engage that Sacral energy, there is no turning back until the task is complete, but you have the unique ability to pivot and course-correct as you go.
One thing you might find challenging as an MG is to find a career path that lets you both initiate and respond. To be truly fulfilled at work, you need to be able to blaze trails and forge new paths, as well as respond to projects and devote your energy to bringing to life the vision of others. And once you master holding the space for inner clarity, the holy moment between having the sacral reaction and engaging the energy to respond, you are amazing at really understanding the process that needs to take place that takes a project from start to finish, as well as which steps are crucial and which are superfluous and can be skipped.
Our Human Design is comprised of nine centers, thirty-six channels, and sixty-four gates, all of which present as either open or closed, connected or absent, on or off, respectively. There are a lot of parts and pieces and potential combinations, so suffice it to say that how these centers, channels and gates interact all combine together to form our overall Human Design.
Over the past few weeks, we tackled all nine of our energy centers. If you're new to Human Design, and want to get yourself caught up, check out the "New to Human Design?" link above and follow the center-by-center click path.
Today, we're shifting our focus and zooming in on the five types, starting with Generators.
Before we get too far into our specific discussion of Generators, let's put the five types into perspective. According to Ra Uru Hu, a mutually beneficial relationship is designed to exist between the four* types:
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Manifestors are here to INITIATE, and their focus should be on their impact
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Generators are here to RESPOND, are their focus should be on knowing themselves (their response process and what fulfills them)
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Projectors are here to GUIDE, and their focus should be on knowing how to best utilize the gifts and energetic resources of the other types.
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Reflectors are here to REFLECT the state of the world, and their focus should be on the wellbeing of the environment and the people around them
*Ra Uru Hu categorizes Manifesting Generators as a variation of a Generator and not a type by themselves, but so much has been written about them that we'll give them their own post tomorrow :) In a nutshell, Manifesting Generators have their Sacral Center defined like a Generator, but also have a direct connection between the Sacral Center and the Throat Center, which gives them that power of initiation. A close look at a Manifesting Generators centers can reveal whether they are more Manifestor or more Generator, and which strategy is most appropriate for them.
Artist: Daphne Kladis (when we're in the FLOW, energy just courses through us!)
Where my fellow Generators at? 🙋♀️👷♀️🏃♀️💪
As Generators, the key to our success is a three-step process:
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wait
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react
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respond
On the surface, this seems like SUCH A SIMPLE THING TO DO, but so many of us really struggle to do just that.
As Generators, we all have a defined Sacral Center, and many of us have Sacral Authority in our charts, which means the messages we receive from our Sacral Center ideally should guide our decision-making process. Unfortunately, we don't have a direct connection between a motor center and our Throat Center, which is why even though our Mind Center makes us think we can initiate, we often really struggle to do so. In fact, getting our Mind Center involved is just about the worst thing we can do, as the Sacral Center is designed to give us all the mechanical automatic guidance we need to know what's right for us, and what definitely is not.
Generators comprise roughly 37% of the population, with our siblings the Manifesting Generators comprising roughly 33%. That's 70% of the population, so we're in good company. We are the doers, and (thankfully) over time, we've evolved and developed the capacity to live out this charge more awake and alive, aware of the full potential of our Sacral energy with more control over where it's directed.
Again, according to Ra Uru Hu, the overarching goal of the four types (remember, he lumps Manifesting Generators and Generators together) should be perfect symbiosis: our relationships are deeply mutually beneficial when Manifestors initiate, Generators respond, Projectors guide said response, and Reflectors reflect back the state of affairs. So as Generators, our goal is to really focus in on knowing ourselves deeply, which includes how our own Sacral Center communicates to us (in addition to how our Authority communicates to us, if it's something other than Sacral) as well as what we values and enjoy. As Generators we are designed to LOVE what we do, and we're supposed to feel a deep sense of fulfillment and accomplishment through our work, whether that work is in a career we love, directed toward a hobby or passion project, or devoted to raising and supporting a family. The only way that we receive that sense of fulfillment is by tuning into our body's response and only committing ourselves to the things that elicit a FUCK YES.
Artist: Daphne Kladis . (a physical representation of the UHN-un😭)
So there are two big questions I get from Generators all the time:
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What am I supposed to do while I'm waiting to respond? and
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How will I know if I responded to the right thing?
Let's tackle the first question first: What am I supposed to do while I'm waiting to respond? EVERY BREATH WE TAKE IS A RESPONSE. #nevernotresponding I think there's a weird misperception that we can only respond to direct questions or to tasks given to us by the people around us, but that is so limiting. We can respond to ideas, to energies, to invitations, to art, to music, to books, to actions, to topics in discussions...the list just goes on and on.
I humbly present myself as a case study: Six months ago, when I was MISERABLE and debating whether or not to quit my corporate job and start this blog, I had no idea what it would end up looking like or what path it would take, so I started by setting an intention: I want to be self-employed and I want to write. So then I waited for guidance, and while I waited, I immersed myself in topics and ideas that lit me up: I went hiking, because being on the trail always lights me up and while I'm hiking, because my body is engaged and my mind is clear, I often end up receiving synchronicities, pings and downloads. I bought books and started journaling, because reading and writing are two things that creatively turn me on. I felt a pull toward the book The Women Who Run With the Wolves, and in response to some of the ideas in the book, this blog was born. I listened to podcasts and followed the social media accounts of women who were making it happen in the blogging/podcasting/wellness space, and watched what they were doing and how they were running their businesses, and started feeling out what might feel right for me. (Even the day I quit came from a deep vocal UHN-un. That morning, the moment I heard my alarm go off, I just erupted into tears and this guttural involuntary UUUUHHHHHNNNN-UUUUNNNNN just came pouring out of me. My body was literally screaming at me that I could not spend one more day devoting my energy to a job that was literally making me ill). And the entire time I kept checking in with my Sacral energy: did I feel pulled toward something (my ah-HUH 😃) or did I feel a contraction of energy (UHN-un😭)? I just made the conscious decision let go of fear and doubt and decided to really go with my gut and let the universe respond to my intention by giving me the ideas, people and tasks to respond to that would lead me to where I needed to go. And it has worked out so well thus far. In the past six months, I went from depressed, stressed, negative and physically sick to the path back to my growing, creative and intuitive self...and each day just keeps getting better.
And how do you know if you're responding? Well, by taking action, are you:
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answering a question?
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addressing a need?
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filling a void?
If you can answer YES to any one of those questions, even if the action you're taking is creating something, you're responding. I want to be clear: Generators and Manifesting Generators are not here to do the bidding of the other types. But we do need to be discerning about what we give our tremendous Sacral energy to. Once those energetic floodgates open, it's hard to pivot or change course, so our strategy of responding just ensures that whatever action we do decide to take isn't in service to the ego and instead serves either or highest self, the greater good, or both.
If you're just learning to let yourself be led by your Sacral Center, you can practice first with responding to questions or ideas that are from a solid, external source. Then, as you get better at discerning the way your authority or Sacral Center communicates YES or NO to you, start posing questions to yourself. OR try this exercise: read a menu for a restaurant you've never been to before and allow your Sacral to respond with an ah-HUH or UHN-un to every item on the menu. Food is super sensual, and and usually easily elicits a verbal or authentic Sacral reaction. Most of us have been conditioned since we were children away from listening to our gut, and told to use our heads when making decisions, so getting back into this old habit might take some practice.
How will I know if I responded to the right thing? Well, you'll either feel FLOW or FRUSTRATION. For me, flow feels like this buzzing, energetic surge of activity, like words are just pouring out of me and my fingers are struggling to type fast enough to keep up. It's a happy humming of feel-good vibes and even if a task seems like a lot of work, it's joyful work, work that I can't wait to get started doing. I think we're all familiar with what frustration feels like, but I think a KEY thing to keep in mind is frustration is not a feeling that we should beat ourselves up over. Frustration doesn't mean failure. So much of what’s been written about frustration claims that if you feel it, you must be doing something wrong when in fact, as Generators, frustration can be our greatest teacher. It’s through frustration that we attract new things to respond to.
When we feel frustrated, we need to lean into the feeling, pause, and wait for the next thing to respond to. When we pause and wait, the universe usually shows up pretty quickly and provides us with a next step. But fearing or avoiding that frustration response is like trying to have a conversation with someone blindfolded wearing noise-cancelling headphones: frustration and flow are the language the outer world uses to nudge us in the right direction, to teach us what is meant for us and what is not. All we have to do is show up, listen, wait, react and respond. And once we respond to something that is right for us, our Sacral Center kicks on and engages, fueling our efforts until the task is complete.
While we're responding, we might feel our energy plateau a bit. This is not the time to quit. It doesn't necessarily mean we responded to the wrong thing. It just means that we need an additional something to respond to that will reengage our Sacral energy and get us to that next step. Luckily, Generators are MAGNETIC in that we are designed to draw questions out of others, and it's precisely this process of responding --> plateauing --> reengaging --> frustration --> pausing --> receiving --> responding that directs our steps along our path. We just need to remain open-minded and trust that even though the Universe might take us a different way than we envisioned taking, we will ultimately get to our destination.
Now, real talk for a minute: a world in which we only say yes to things we want to do and say no to everything else is impossible to achieve overnight, and not 100% possible 100% of the time. We all have obligations and responsibilities, like laundry and dishes and paying taxes that DEFINITELY don't light us up and we can't just say NOPE NOT GONNA without there being some real world consequences. That said, a more realistic expression of this charge is that of balance and evaluation. Here's a healthy exercise for Generators, especially those just starting to feel out how to best work with your Sacral Center:
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Sit down with a trusted friend and talk through a typical day, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed.
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Have them ask you YES or NO questions as you go, for the big events as well as the little things.
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Take note of which activities elicit an ah-HUH 😃and which elicit an UHN-un😭. Keep a list/tally your responses.
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Brainstorm: of all the UHN-un😭s you uncover, where do you have flexibility? Where can you stop committing your energy tomorrow that would make a difference in your quality of life? Little shifts lead to bigger shifts...AND this gives you something to respond to!
Here's an example:
You: "I usually get up around 5:30am"
Friend: "Do you like getting up at 5:30?"
You: "UHN-un."
Friend: "Then what happens?"
You: "Well, I hop in the shower and listen to music."
Friend: "Do you prefer showering in the morning?"
You: "ah-HUH."
*AND scene*
We learned two things about the "you" in this scenario: 1) responding to an alarm and waking up that early feels bad and 2) showering in the morning as a response to their wakeup time feels good. Those things might seem SUPER mundane and obvious, but if you go through your entire day with that level of detail, you might uncover where you've gotten into habits that are out of alignment with the ah-HUH 😃energy your Sacral Center WANTS to release and make available for you, and where you might have committed yourself to a UHN-un😭that's stealing your precious time and energy. Tally it up and look at what you find: How much of your day is ah-HUH 😃? How much is UHN-un😭? The goal is to create a day, and eventually a life, that's filled with the things that light us up, so that taking care of our obligations don't send us over the edge.
Our Human Design is comprised of nine centers, thirty-six channels, and sixty-four gates, all of which present as either open or closed, connected or absent, on or off, respectively. There are a lot of parts and pieces and potential combinations, so suffice it to say that how these centers, channels and gates interact all combine together to form our overall Human Design.
Over the past few weeks, we tackled all nine of our energy centers. If you're new to Human Design, and want to get yourself caught up, check out the "New to Human Design?" link above and follow the center-by-center click path.
Last week, we started our exploration of the types with Generators and Manifesting Generators. Monday was about Manifestors, Friday was about Projectors, and today we're diving into the final of the five types: Reflectors.
Sandra Bullock, famous Reflector. So is Fyodor Dostoevsky, though he's not nearly as photogenic.
The rarest of the five types, Reflectors comprise about 1% of the population. What makes you unique? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR NINE CENTERS IS UNDEFINED, which means you have no inner authority to guide you.
Here's an analogy: Generators, Manifesting Generators, Manifestors, and Projectors are all SOLAR types. Just like the sun produces its own light, these types produce their own energy via at least one defined center. Reflectors are LUNAR types. Just like the moon doesn't generate its own light and instead REFLECTS the light of the sun, so do Reflectors mirror, absorb or magnify the energies of the other types through your nine open centers.
Reflectors have the strategy of waiting 28 days before taking action regarding a decision and have Lunar (sometimes called Moon) Authority. Like Mental Projectors, you need to talk your decision out before committing to a course of action. Talking it out DOES NOT MEAN you're asking for unsolicited advice or unloading your problems so that others will solve them. In your case, you're leveraging the inspirational folks around you to use as a sounding board so that you can hear yourself and get your thoughts in order as you determine which course of action to follow. And how you feel about what you say will change as the month goes on. This process intentionally takes 28 days or one full lunar cycle to complete because you really need to feel how the various courses of action resonate in each and every one of your 64 gates, and it takes about 28 days for the moon to move through and touch all of those aspects of your chart before you'll have true clarity around your decision (I promise we'll dive into gates soon!).
Because your Self/Identity Center is open, you're designed to wear many hats over the course of your life, so don't beat yourself up if you've changed careers multiple times, gone back to school or changed your course of study, or followed a "nontraditional" career/family/love path. That's exactly what you were built to do! In fact, a great guiding question for Reflectors is "Who am I today?" or "What new/fresh experience will I have today?" Your one true internal "authority" of sorts is FEELING GOOD, and what feels good will change depending on where you are and who you're with. The 28 day Lunar Authority waiting/reflection period really applies to the BIG decisions in your life (i.e. love, business partnership, career, life changes, moving, having children, etc) AND NOT the mundane, day-to-day decision (i.e. what to have for lunch, picking a new pair of shoes, etc). The lighter decisions are to be made simply by following what feels good in the moment, which again is why it's so important to curate the people you have around you!
Gathering her community & waiting to be initiated. (image via Glamour)
MAJOR KEY: Healthy Reflectors are ruthless curators of the energies they allow themselves to be exposed to.
Reflectors are meant to hold space at the center of the community. You have an auric field which is designed to sample the energies and auras of all the other types. Reflectors are like the barometers of the emotional/mental/spiritual/physical health of the community. If the community you gather is super emotionally/spiritually healthy, as will you be. If you surround yourself consistently and exclusively with low vibe people, and you allow yourself to absorb rather than sample and release their energy, you're going to feel unhealthy, too.
In a perfect Utopia, Reflectors have auras that kind of act like sunscreen: you let the good rays (energies) in and keep the damaging rays (energies) out. At your healthiest, Reflectors mirror back all of the community with equanimity and can pick and choose which feelings to ride and which to release. Unfortunately, the messages that society sends to a Reflector from an early age can pressure a Reflector to homogenize and give into not-self behaviors in order to feel seen. At your unhealthiest, when you're living out of alignment with your design, you become a sponge and not a sieve, taking in, absorbing and magnifying all the energies around you instead of sitting in the seat of consciousness and allowing all those energies to pass through you, learning what you can as they float on by. It comes from the need to BE SEEN, and if you need to be an energetic, emotional whirlwind to get that attention, magnifying the drama around you, unhealthy Reflectors will do that.
So to be your healthiest, most authentic self, Reflectors should live by the following mottos:
Be the SIEVE and not the SPONGE.
To be a SIEVE, think of life like eating at a tapas restaurant: the goal there is to order a whole bunch of different types of dishes for the table and sample a little bit of each...not to pick one plate and eat it all, especially because, for the purposes of this analogy, you didn't do the ordering and you're not paying. Your goal at this metaphorical tapas table is DETACHMENT and DISCERNMENT. Don't become too attached to any particular dish (they don't belong to you). Sample everything to discern what you like and what you don't, and then share your reflections with your nearest and dearest (ex: "There's too much lemon on the calamari!" or "I'm loving the olives! They're seasoned perfectly!").
To be a CURATOR, you also want to be super discerning about who you allow to join you at this metaphorical tapas table: if someone is cranky, gets too drunk, is gluttonous, insults the waiter, etc. you're going to at best mirror those energies back and at worst absorb them/magnify them and have a super shitty time. So you need to curate your metaphorical guest list to the people you find to be loving, giving, inspirational, etc, whose energies and vibe you want to emulate. Your metaphorical table is in the VIP room, guarded by a thick velvet rope. Filter who gets access and who definitely does not.
Your community is here to initiate you into your big life decisions, so surround yourself with the people who you want to energetically/auric-ly sample as you make your decision, as well as people who you would want initiating said opportunities.
In short, healthy Reflectors living in alignment with their design:
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sample energies,
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reflect them back to the community, and
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release said energies, allowing them to flow around them and away
Your purpose in the Collective is to bear witness to all the feelings and energies flowing through you, to become wise about emotions, and to share that wisdom with your community. You have an uncanny ability to sense pretty quickly who is living authentically and who is operating outside of their integrity, and are super talented at facilitating discussion around how we can all improve to become a more just, equitable, and cooperative society. We all grow through your experiences, so your job is to really feel out when to focus on what's coming to you from others and when to focus on YOU. Your day needs to hold space for both, so establishing healthy boundaries is super important so you don't inadvertently lose track of yourself.
Just like Projectors, it's CRUCIAL that you take time to discharge the energies you have taken in over the course of the day before you try to sleep. A good rule of thumb is to set time aside about an hour before you plan to fall asleep to be alone and unwind. This could involve a meditation practice, journaling, a hot bath, reading, etc. Anything that allows you to empty out all that you've taken on over the course of the day so that your sleep is truly restful. You also may want to sleep alone as much as possible, especially if you share a bed with someone with a defined Sacral Center.
How can the rest of us support our lovely neighborhood Reflector?
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RECOGNIZE THEM! Reflectors' deepest fear is that of becoming invisible. Ask them to share their opinions and observations, as I guarantee there's a ton of wisdom there.
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When you go out with them, allow them to feel things out. If they feel uncomfortable, let them leave early and try not to take it personally. They probably picked up on an energy you didn't and shouldn't have to stay somewhere that makes them feel bad. Think of it like having this superpower of deep perception.
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Don't rush them into a decision! They really need the time and space to feel things out over the course of their 28 days. Be a great sounding board and only give advice when asked, even if you see what they should do clearly. They need to feel it for themselves to be completely grounded in and committed to their course of action.
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Don't take their changeability personally. Their day-to-day mood varies depending on where they are and who they're with. Just know they also struggle sometimes to really know what's consistent and stable within them.
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Take your Reflector outside. Go hiking or to the beach. Anywhere quiet and serene. Hermit time in nature is super beneficial as it allows them to discharge all the energies they've taken on. Reflectors don't do well in huge crowds, as it's way too overstimulating. And don't get offended if you Reflector wanders off for some alone time. They'll bring their soothing, calming influence back when they're ready.
1. Run your chart at myBodygraph.com. It's free. Who doesn't love free??? Remember your password (learn from my mistake🤦🏻♀️) because we're going to break down every single piece and part of the chart together over the next several weeks. Info you'll need: birth place, date and time. If you ran it on a different site, NO WORRIES! The info is the same regardless of the software system.
2. Read this post that explains what Human Design is OR take this FREE micro-course entitled “WTF is Human Design?” (code: NOURISH)
3. CENTERS: We're starting our deep dive by going into each of the nine centers:
4. TYPES & STRATEGIES:
5. AUTHORITIES
6. LINES OF THE PROFILES
7. PLANETS (celestial and astrological influences in our charts)
8. THE PROFILES (more coming soon!)
9. THE GATES (more coming soon!)
10. THE CHANNELS (stay tuned!)
11. THE INCARNATION CROSSES (stay tuned!)
Hi! I’m Samatha the founder of Chasin’ Unicorns, a lifestyle brand and monthly subscription box, on a mission to spark unconditional self-love. I am a projector with an open sacral and a 4 gate in my chart. The human design has profoundly changed my life and my outlook. Once I master my strategy: wait for the invitation, things in my life became easier. No one ever enjoyed my advice when it was unsolicited. I hope that this blog helps you in the way to learning your own chart!
This blog started as a passion project for sharing holistic wellness blogs and self-care tips, quickly grew into a lifestyle brand. I wanted to show our community that simple organic products can be the most effective.
After launching my business from my grandfathers kitchen, I was able to quit my 9-5 job 1 month later and organically gross over a million in sales our second year. Flash forward to 5 years later we have our own warehouse space in Costa Mesa, CA have been voted Glamour and Buzzfeeds best gifts for women.
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