Say No to Type, Strategy, and Authority

you're a human, not a box

Your questions are unanswerable because you want to know how one ought to live. One lives as one can. There is no single, definite way for the individual which is prescribed for him or would be the proper one. If that’s what you want you had best listen to Ra Uru Hu and Jovian Archive join the Catholic Church, where they tell you what’s what. Moreover this way fits in with the average way of mankind in general, which is why this cult is so prevalent on social media. But if you want to go your individual way, it is the way you make for yourself, which is never prescribed, which you do not know in advance, and which simply comes into being of itself when you put one foot in front of the other. If you always do the next thing that needs to be done, you will go most safely and sure-footedly along the path prescribed by your unconscious. Then it is naturally no help at all to speculate about how you ought to live. And then you know, too, that you cannot know it, but quietly do the next and most necessary thing. So long as you think you don’t yet know what this is, you still have too much money to spend in useless speculation. But if you do with conviction the next and most necessary thing, you are always doing something meaningful and intended by fate.

— C.G. Jung¹

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The Human Design system is a tool that is meant to help human beings live in harmony with themselves, with other people, and with Nature. It is a system that describes a fundamental layer of this phenomenal world.

It takes the energy language of the I Ching and overlays it upon the tropical zodiac in a specific way. The I Ching is the “Book of Changes”, which symbolizes how energy changes and flows. The natal placements of the planets, as well as their placements at the point in time 88 degrees of the Sun before the birth time, are plotted on the Human Design natal chart, called the bodygraph.

This combination of the conscious forces that animate us, the planets, and the hexagrams of the I Ching, the energy blueprints of this dualistic reality, combine in the bodygraph to show one’s innate energy potential. Furthermore, the bodygraph is cleverly designed to allow one to compare two energy potentials by overlaying their bodygraphs, whether they be of an individual and some planetary transits, or of two individuals.

Fundamentally, Human Design is meant to show how our energy bodies are constructed, how energy flows in and through them, how planets interact with human beings, and most especially how human beings interact with each other on an energetic level.

I believe this is the essence of what was transmitted by the Voice to “Ra Uru Hu”. Specifically, I sincerely believe that the Voice said nothing about Type, Strategy, Authority, Profile, Incarnation Cross, or any of the many other things that Ra suddenly came out with more than 10 years after his experience with the Voice.

I believe that Type, Strategy, and Authority are in fact antithetical to the original purpose and intent of Human Design, and that trying to use these concepts causes more harm than good.

The Human Design bodygraph is a graphical representation of your energy potential, yet Type, Strategy, and Authority claim not only to tell you the best way to live your life, but also claim to tell you “what you came here to do”. Jovianism says you are a unique individual, and then asks to you to put yourself into one of four boxes.

Aura

The most obvious factor that gives the lie to this whole endeavor of Type, Strategy, and Authority is the concept that each “Type” has one specific kind of “aura”.

“There is an electromagnetic energy field surrounding and extending outward from every living thing,” says The Definitive Book of Human Design (p. 115), explaining that it is a “powerful and non-verbal form of communication”.

I agree with these simple statements, but then the book goes onto describe how each “Type” has a specific kind of aura. This is entirely wrong. One’s aura is the totality of one’s energy. The aura contains in subtle form the information symbolized by our Human Design bodygraph, in addition to the conscious and unconscious energies of our thoughts and emotions.

An aura is entirely unique to an individual at a certain place and time. Each bodygraph is unique, therefore every aura is unique in its structural form, and further expresses its uniqueness through the energies inhabiting a person at any specific time. The idea that all “Generators” have a specific type of aura is nonsense. A defined Sacral center adds its own touch to one’s aura, which may be discernible by various means, but this does not make everyone with a defined Sacral center have the same type of aura, because it leaves out the vast majority of who a person is.

The impetus for the invention of “Type” seems to have come from observing patterns between different bodygraphs. “Manifestors” have a motor to the throat, “Generators” have a defined Sacral center, “Reflectors” have no centers defined. What about “Projectors”? So-called “Projectors” have designs that don’t fall into one of these patterns. Yet, Ra says that “Projectors”, a group of people who lack a clear pattern in their designs, have one single “aura” and one single “Strategy” that works best for all of them.

This nonsense of “Type” and its aura can be seen most obviously here. “Projector” designs can have 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 centers defined, and they can be single, split, triple-split, or quadruple-split definition (which, by the way, are concepts originally given by the Voice). We are supposed to believe that all of these designs have the “same” aura, and the same “Strategy”. No, each of these designs has an individual aura and individual way of relating to life.

“In looking at thousands of charts, one thing stand out — no two are exactly alike.” (ibid., p. 8) And yet the same people who wrote this sentence believe that there are only four types of auras.

“Strategy”

While the Jovian concept of “Strategy” is predicated on “Type”, which we have seen is unsupportable, I want to say a few more words about this concept itself.

There are three categories of “Strategy”. The first is that for the “Reflector”: “wait 28 days”. This is because “Reflectors” are supposedly “lunar” beings and therefore a cycle of the Moon will help them to make a decision. But, “Reflectors” are no more lunar or solar than anyone else and therefore this “Strategy” has no inherent utility. (See below for a discussion of “Reflectors”.)

The second category is the “Strategy” for “Generators”: “wait to respond”. This “Strategy” is based on the fact that all “Generators” have a defined Sacral center, and so what this “Strategy” is saying is that these people should follow their Sacral commands. Everyone has a Sacral center, so everyone can have access to what the Sacral center says, though someone with a defined Sacral will have more consistent access to it. Its use should be based on one’s own understanding of one’s own (energetic) body and how the center works in an individual’s real life. This strategy can work because of the nature of the Sacral center, but saying that this is a “Generator’s” “Strategy” implies they should always and only follow this, which is far too limiting for actual, real human beings.

The last two “Strategies” fall into a group: for “Manifestors”: “to inform”, and for “Projectors”: “to wait for an invitation”. These always bothered me because I wanted to know where they are in the bodygraph. The bodygraph is the fundamental reference of Human Design, and we should be able to read in it everything Human Design can tell us. At least with “wait to respond”, we can see that in the bodygraph. But “to inform”, “wait for an invitation”, where are these in the bodygraph? The answer is: nowhere. These “Strategies” are not in the bodygraph, and they are not valid as being specific to certain patterns of definition, just as certain auras are not specific to certain patterns of definition.

I don’t have any problem with these as strategies in life. Informing people, especially those potentially affected by one’s actions, is certainly a useful strategy. I myself have not done so when I should have, and experienced anger, both mine and others, as a result. Likewise, I’m sure that plenty of people with defined Sacral centers have given unsolicited advice, or butted in where they really weren’t wanted. Waiting to be invited into those situations probably would have been a better option.

These two strategies are not bad in themselves. Indeed, they are fine life strategies in general and everyone can learn something from them. However, they are not specific to people who have a motor to the throat, or to people who don’t fall into one of the other patterns of definition.

“Authority”

Despite searching in The Definitive Book of Human Design, I was not able to find an actual definition of “Authority”. The closest I found was on p. 106, where, under the heading “Authority”, it says “Our Unique Authentic Truth”.

This seems to imply that each person has their own “Truth”, which is a thorny philosophical issue that I’m not going to get into here. Rather, I will interpret what I think they mean: each person has a way of making decisions that is right for them. I agree with this basic idea, but a person cannot understand their right way of making decisions only by the concept of Jovian “Authority”.

I think it is more accurate to say that each person has an “inner voice”, and that this inner voice will lead one in the correct direction, if one can properly identify, understand, and follow it. However, Jovian “Authority” is not your inner voice. I believe that one’s inner voice can only be discovered by that person through the act of living their lives. Understanding one’s energy potential (i.e., one’s Human Design bodygraph) and one’s predispositions (e.g., one’s Vedic natal chart) can go a long way in helping a person to understand themself and finding their inner voice, but none of these things can tell you what your inner voice is or what it sounds like.

This is clear when we consider “Emotional Authority”. This means not making decisions based on emotion, rather waiting for “clarity”. What is clarity and how do you know you have found it? That is something you have to discover for yourself. “Ra Uru Hu” cannot teach you that.

I also find this concept problematic because it implies that if you don’t have a defined Solar Plexus center, then you don’t need to worry about anything under “Emotional Authority”. While I don’t believe in “Authority”, the descriptions of them can possibly be helpful, because they explain how the centers work, and that is the basis for the practical use of Human Design: how your centers actually work in your real life. I have an undefined Solar Plexus, yet I have definitely made decisions based on my emotions. Everyone has emotions and it is the nature of emotions to change, so waiting if one has the urge to make a decision based on an emotion is a good general advice that everyone can benefit from. But this isn’t the sole way that any person “should” make a decision. It isn’t anyone’s “Authority”.

Though the following example could apply to anyone, let us consider a person with a defined Solar Plexus and a defined Spleen center. The Solar Plexus is always having an emotional experience, while the Spleen is always considering the environment and its safety or lack there of. Suppose this person is in a situation the Spleen considers to be dangerous, and it signals “No, stop, don’t do that!”. If this person were to follow their Jovian “Authority”, they would say “there is no truth in the now, so I need to wait and find clarity”. But this is blatantly ridiculous, because the Spleen is the one sending the signal, and it does in fact live in the now. This person should probably heed the warning on their Spleen. If their Solar Plexus were talking, waiting would probably be a good idea, but, if their Spleen is talking, acting on that impulse might be the right thing to do.

This is a simple example that demonstrates one major flaw with the concept of “Authority”: it assumes that decision-making is simple and easy and all you have to do is “follow your Authority”, but this is not how life actually works. No one can tell you the right way to forever and always make the “correct” decision.

Some Nonsenses of “Type”

“Reflectors”

One hears that “Reflectors” are a “lunar” “Type”, whereas the other three are “solar”. What does this mean?

“The Manifestor, Generator, and Projector are all solar Types, which means that they operate in an imprinting program rooted in the neutrino stream coming from the sun. The Reflector is the only Type that can be described as ‘lunar’ since it operates in an imprinting program that is reflected through the movement of the moon as it passes through the solar neutrino stream.” (The Revelation by Richard Rudd, p. 198)

“Manifestors, Generators, and Projectors are solar Types, meaning their purpose ‘shines’ through them. As the only lunar Type, the Reflector is designed to operate as a lunar reflection of the sun’s programming. They reflect the planetary program’s neutrino imprinting process. Like the moon, the Reflector’s ‘glow’ is subtle, yet wields substantial influence, especially when it is detected by others.” (The Definitive Book of Human Design, p. 138)

These are great examples of passages that appear to be profound on the surface, but when you think about them deeply and try to truly understand them, they reveal themselves to be nonsense.² It could be that I’m just not that smart, but I don’t understand what this means: “the Reflector is designed to operate as a lunar reflection of the sun’s programming”. I suppose this means the same as Rudd’s statement: “[the Reflector Type] operates in an imprinting program that is reflected through the movement of the moon as it passes through the solar neutrino stream”.

But everyone is subject to that “imprinting program” since we all get neutrinos from all of the planets. This is the basic idea of Human Design cosmology: neutrinos pass through planets, then they pass through us and thereby “condition” us. Everyone gets neutrinos from the Sun and the Moon, and are thereby “imprinted” by both of them. It makes no sense to say that one “Type” is more sensitive to the neutrinos of the Moon because they have no centers defined.³

This is clear when looked at through the lens of Vedic astrology. There, the Sun is the one ever-present ātman, while the Moon is the individual reflection of that ātman. In other words, the only solar type is an enlightened being, a jivanmukta; everyone else is a lunar type.

In Rudd’s book, he goes through a lunar cycle with an example no-definition chart, showing how the Moon changes the person’s definition through this cycle. However, we can do this exercise with everyone’s chart, because everyone is affected by the Moon, just as everyone is affected by the Sun. There is no particular significance to doing this with a no-definition design as compared to one with definition.

It would be more logical to think that no-definition people are more affected by the transits of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in particular, since they stay in gates considerably longer. If such a transit were to define a center, that center would be defined much longer than the 8-12 hours that a center would be defined by the Moon. But, again, this actually applies to everyone, since all transits affect everyone.

It is possible, but not certain, that no-definition designs might have some specific patterns that aren’t present in designs with definition, but that doesn’t make them a “lunar” “Type”.

Harms of “Type”

The prime object of Human Design, the bodygraph, shows our energy potential, the ways in which energy is patterned to flow in us. Moreover, it allows us a simple way to understand how two people affect each other energetically. This is one of the most meaningful potentials of Human Design: to give a graphical representation of ways in which we influence others, and ways in which we are influenced by others.

The invention of “Type” by “Ra Uru Hu” took this simple potentiality and applied it to areas that it really says nothing about.

In The Definitive Book of Human Design, as well as many other places on the Internet, you can read about how “Manifestors” are “pure doers”, how they act this way and think these things and want those things; how “Generators” are “born to work” and they need this kind of environment and not that one and how they always get “frustrated” and they can’t “manifest their ideas for their own life”; how “Projectors” are “here to guide” and they’re always tired, etc., etc., etc.

None of this is meaningful. The bodygraph does not directly indicate any of these things. The vast majority of “information” about “Type” is a conditioning influence that is trying to tell you who you are and how you should live your life.

Moreover, Human Design is not an adequate tool to indicate someone’s “purpose”. One’s energy potential can certainly affect how one might achieve that purpose, but it does not by itself determine that purpose.

Consider C.G. Jung: he was very influential and impactful in the field of psychology. He studied and understood it deeply, writing many books, giving many lectures, as well as guiding many people through challenges in their lives. Doesn’t that sound like a “Projector”? However, C.G. Jung had a defined Sacral center, so he, like most people, doesn’t actually fit into this wrong system of “Type”. This simple example shows that the bodygraph does not determine what you were “born to do”; it shows the way energy flows in your being and how that influences others and is influenced by others. It does not show your purpose, it shows how energy flows in your life.

I recently listened to this podcast with guest Rachel Varitimos. Rachel is an astrologer, but during the podcast she said she actually started with Human Design and was a certified Human Design reader. She stopped doing it because she felt like people were using Human Design to put themselves into boxes and limit their potential. “Projectors” would feel bad that they weren’t being “good Projectors”; “Generators” might beat themselves up because they didn’t want to work all the time, etc. The problem is really the framework of Type, Strategy, and Authority, which encourages people to put themselves in boxes and feel that they have to follow the way “Ra Uru Hu” says their “Type” should behave.

But there is no such thing as “Type”. “Type” is an invention, not a revelation, so I urge you to get rid of it. Cultivate self-awareness and learn how to "always do the next thing that needs to be done”. Learn how to live how you live.

My Opinion

This is all my opinion. I believe that Type, Strategy, and Authority were not given by the Voice. They were an invention of “Ra Uru Hu”, used to serve his ego.

The fundament of Human Design is the bodygraph, and the vast majority of things that are said about Type, Strategy, and Authority cannot be found in the bodygraph.

I urge you to free yourself from Ra’s conditioning, from the conditioning that you are a certain “Type”, you have a certain “Strategy”, and you always need to follow your “Authority”.

Human Design can help you find your inner voice, but it cannot tell you what it sounds like. This world was made to be free in, and Human Design should not be a tool of bondage. Truly, Human Design is a tool of freedom.

1. Letter to Frau N., 15 December 1933, Letters, Vol. I, pp. 132-133, quoted in The Quotable Jung, collected and edited by Judith Harris, p.277

2. more entertainingly known as new age bullshit

3. which is not to say that I believe in this cosmology, because I don’t. “Imprinting” and “planetary program”, or even “The Program”, are common Jovian terms that I really despise, because they imply the we are simply controlled by neutrinos passing through space, which I don’t agree with at all.