How to read your Human Design chart? Part 1
Human Design is so interesting! Have you been stumbling upon this system for a while now and your interest has piqued but still haven’t gotten a reading? Want to read your own chart before you see a professional analyst? No worries, I’ve got you. Let’s start with the basics!
Do you know what Human Design is already? I shared my definition here. If you already know what it is, let’s dive in deeper in what a human design chart looks like!
For this mini-guide, I’ll use the charts generated in Jovian Archive. You can see below that in the image there are 9 geometrical figures – these are called centers, and I’ll discuss them in part 2 and 3.
On the Jovian Archive website you can find some text next to the image if you’re on desktop or below, if you’re on your phone – it concerns your Type, Strategy, and Not-self theme. This is where a reading usually starts.
Note: The images I use are randomized – they serve only as an example of possible type formations.
There are 4 and a half types – 1 1/2 of which are so-called ‘energetic’ types, while the rest are ‘non-energetic’. The ‘half’ type is not really half, it is a mix of two types but follows the strategy and not self of its core component.
The energetic types are Generator and Manifesting generator, which are also more than 70% of the population, while the non-energetic types are Manifestor, Projector, and Reflector. Each of these types comes with their corresponding strategy and not-self theme.
The strategy is the way Human Design believes that you are built to make decisions. The not-self theme is how you feel when you are trying to be anyone else but yourself, i.e., when you are not honoring your design. Now I’ll give an overview of each type with its basic components in this order:
- Generator: To Respond, Frustration
- Manifesting Generator: To Respond, Frustration
- Manifestor: To Inform, Anger
- Projector: Wait for the Invitation, Bitterness
- Reflector: Wait a Lunar Cycle, Disappointment
1. Generator: To Respond, Frustration
Generators are here to create and work. They bring anything and everything into existence – paintings, meals, kids, writing, ideas, etc. Generators are the reason why we live in a material world as they have worked to build it step-by-step, while being entirely focused on the activity. They are here to enjoy the process of creation and of life, which is why their strategy is to respond.
Responding is a type of waiting and tuning in to your body. To respond means to let the outside world call or ask you to do something – it could be as small as smell a flower or as big as starting a business or having a child. This response comes from the Sacral center, the sacral chakra, or that area 2 fingers below your bellybutton. It is usually a sound, which you have to learn to recognize as your personal sound could be any variation of these – mhmm for yes, nuh-huh for no, mmm for I don’t know.
The sacral response is different for every generator and manifesting generator – it could be a feeling of water going up or down within your body, a stream of excitement once you hear a question, a very slight and barely noticeable pull towards something, or even immediate action before you’ve assimilated the question. The only common denominator between the sacral responses is that they are the answer to a yes-or-no question, coming from the outside.
The question is not necessarily a verbal one, as it could be a bird that feels like it’s calling you to follow it, an article calling you to write it, a friend’s Facebook picture exciting you to get in touch with them, or even a song in your mind asking you to listen to it.
Every time you follow your strategy, i.e., you respond to an outside stimulus, you will feel satisfied. Satisfaction is just as personal, as the sacral response – it could be a feeling of calm and oneness with nature, euphoria, or a feeling of energy and power.
When you (consistently) do not follow your strategy, it’s likely you will feel frustrated, stuck in your circumstances, tired and without energy, unhappy. The magnitude of frustration may differ, but it will be there as long as you’re going against yourself.
Note: I am a pure generator, so most of what you’ll read on this blog will be my own realizations.
1.5. Manifesting Generator: To Respond, Frustration
A manifesting generator (MG) has the energy foundation of a generator, with the add-on of manifesting. What this means is that MGs have a big excess of physical energy – they are the people that always have things to do, want things done right now and push to make them happen, the ones that are insanely productive and creative.
This type of generator tends to create things fast, but not detailed – sometimes they miss steps out of the process. MGs feel happy when they are active and productive, when they have a goal to achieve. Satisfaction recharges them instead of slowly tiring them, as is the case with the pure generator.
As with the generator, their strategy is to respond. The difference here is that manifesting generators can bring things into existence quicker and can also invite others in their process – this is their manifesting quality. Pure generators can only respond and get sucked into their own activity, while MGs create a storm of interest towards themselves and their actions when they respond because they work towards an end result.
They don’t do things just for the sake of doing them – this, along with their manifestor’s authority, is why it’s easier for an MG to convince someone else to join their rush to get things done.
The manifesting generator’s not-self is similar to the pure generator’s – they feel frustrated, while being extra with the manifestor’s anger. When this type is not following their strategy, they feel stuck, angry at themselves and/or the world, and they often direct their energy towards (self)destruction. This is why it is so important for MGs to get in tune with their inner voice, so their life can shift towards creative efforts and satisfaction.
Let’s move on to the non-energetic types!
2. Manifestor: To Inform, Anger
Manifestors are a sort of transition between the energetic and non-energetic types. Non-energetic does not mean that they lack physical energy, however, it often means they lack consistent energy. Let me explain:
Generators and MGs are defined by their sacral center, which is the battery for all life. This is the consistent energy to create. There are 3 more centers that have consistent capacity for energy, called motors – the Root can carry out physical work, the Solar Plexus can tell stories and be emotional, and the Ego can recognize value and push the capable ones to create it. In the How to read your Human Design chart? part 2 and 3, I’ll talk more about defined and undefined centers.
Back to manifestors – they are recognized by their defined throat connected to one of the 3 motors and a lack of a defined sacral. This means that manifestors have the energy to initiate, to begin things, but not to carry them out.
This type’s strategy is to inform. Manifestors are typically very autonomous, and from the side look like they are working on their own, but they’re not. They are a part of the whole, and their most common role is as the boss, who tells everyone what needs to be done – this is how they inform others.
Manifestors are here to be at peace. They are here to say what they want, how they want it, and who they want to create and bring it to them, then relax. They set the tone for their interactions, set the direction and start of projects. When they are verbal about their intentions and wants, they can be the happiest of all types and have the most contagious good mood, especially if they are emotional.
When manifestors reject their core of being leaders and the people who bring things in motion, they feel anger. Anger at themselves, at others, at the world. This anger makes them seem unapproachable or like big meanies, so even when they want to express their intentions, ideas, wants – they seem hostile, thus people are resistant to oblige, leading to more anger and to feelings of exclusion.
Effective communication is everything it takes for a manifestor to feel peaceful, happy and a part of society, which is why their strategy is to inform before taking action.
3. Projector: Wait for the Invitation, Bitterness
Projectors are characterized by the undefined Sacral and no manifesting channels. This means that projectors not here to work.
Yes, you read that right. A lot of projectors believe they are here to manifest things, to work them out, to earn what they want. However, as a non-energy type, conditioned projectors often start something and work until they have no strength anymore.
This type is here to observe and guide others. Projectors see the potential in everyone and has the ability to pull that potential out of a person if they are invited to do so. The projector’s strategy is to wait for invitation as then the other party will provide the energy for the exchange, not the projector.
If a projector starts projects and works consistently, they will feel bitter and will experience periods of total exhaustion. This is their not-self. They wish only to be recognized and appreciated by those around them.
It is crucial for projectors to learn to recognize when someone is searching for them, asking them for advice because they recognize who the projector is in their core rather than looking for personal gain. So, the projector’s strategy is not only to wait for the invitation, but to wait for the correct invitation, that comes from being recognized and appreciated for who they are.
If you are a projector, and you follow your strategy, you will feel successful – you will feel appreciated, needed for your special gifts, and the sense of success that comes with it.
4. Reflector: Wait a Lunar Cycle, Disappointment
Reflectors make up about 1% of the world’s population – they are unique in that they have no defined centers, thus no reliable energy whatsoever.
This type is here to observe and sample the energies that surround them – be it people, environment or the daily transits. Reflectors reflect and multiply those energies, thus experiencing them very strongly. When reflectors try out different people and environment, they arrive to unique perspectives and learnings.
As it comes from their name, reflectors reflect the defined centers of others. When people meet reflectors, they see certain parts of themselves, and rarely see the reflector for themselves due to their openness. Reflectors are here to move humanity forward through their sampling and unique perspective.
The reflector’s strategy is to wait a lunar cycle to make a decision – 29 days. This is to give them time to sample the energies of the daily transits, to clean themselves of others’ opinions and auras, so they can hear what they have to say.
If a reflector follows this, they will experience surprise of where they will end up. It is important to note, that besides following their strategy, reflectors must pay close attention to their surroundings – they should be supportive and patient.
The not-self of the reflector is disappointment. When you do not honor yourself, you will feel disappointed and most likely overwhelmed of everything happening around you.
Next steps
I hope that this introduction to the types helped you set the foundation on how to read your own Human Design Chart and what that means for you. I will be writing 2 follow-up posts – how to read your defined centers and what do the undefined ones mean for you.
Let me know in the comments below if your type resonated with you! 🙂
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