An Intro to Human Design | The Five Types | Projectors
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:
Manifestors (and some Manifesting Generators) are here to INITIATE, and their focus should be on their impact
Generators & Manifesting Generators are here to RESPOND, are their focus should be on knowing themselves (their response process and what fulfills them)
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.
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:
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.
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.
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 your 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.
Are you a Projector? Did this resonate with you? Let me know in the comments 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Sources:
Curry, Karen. Understanding Human Design. Hierophant Publishing, 2013.
Parker, Karen Curry, et.al. Abundance by Design. GracePoint Matrix, 2016.
Parker, Karen Curry. Human Design Activation Guide. GracePoint Matrix, 2018.
Parkyn, Chetan. Human Design: Discover the Person You Were Born to Be. New World Library, 2009.