The authority of your Human Design is your decision-making mechanism. It’s your internal compass. Your inner GPS. Together with your type and strategy, it’s one of the key components in your design.
When you get started with Human Design, you will often hear to just follow your Authority and Strategy and that will guide you to energetic alignment for the rest of your chart as well.
In Human Design, the mind is never the authority. The thinking, logicial mind is there to process information, but not make the actual decisions.
And science agrees with Human Design. Who would have thought that?!?! We mostly make our decisions with our limbic, emotional brains and then use our logical mind to rationalize the decisions that we already made. When we try to make decisions solely with our rational minds, we tend to overthink and be paralyzed by choices.
Why are we struggling with making decisions?
Many of us first need to learn again to follow our own authority as we’ve been trained to mistrust our own judgment. We’ve been trained to make decisions from the mind. We’ve also been trained to disregard our own internal compass and follow other’s opinions instead.
The 7 Authorities in the Human Design System
There are 7 Authorities in the Human Design System:
- Emotional or Solar Plexus Authority
- Sacral Authority
- Splenic Authority
- Ego / Heart Authority
- Self-Projected Authority
- Mental / Environmental Authority
- Lunar Authority
All the descriptions on how each of the Authorities might sound and feel are general descriptions. The key is to learn for your own embodied experience how your Authority sounds and feels for you. How it sounds and feels when we get a yes or no is individiual.
Emotional or Solar Plexus Authority
You have an Emotional Authority if you have a defines Solar Plexus center. All types except for Reflectors can have Emotional Authority.
A defined Solar Plexus operates in emotional waves. Meaning that most of the time, you’re viewing the world through either pink or blue tinted glasses. That’s why you make your best decisions when you wait out your emotional wave until you come to a place of neutral confidence.
When you’re either hyped or in a low (either depressed or agitated), you’re less likely to make decision that are correct for you.
Good mantras for you are “There is no truth in the now.” and “Let me sleep on it.“
Sacral Authority
Only Generators and Manifesting Generators can have Sacral Authority. You have Sacral Authority if you’re either of those two types AND your Solar Plexus is undefined.
In contrast to Emotional Authority, this is an authority that knows in the now. Asking clear yes/no questions will help you get a clear answer. Through practice, you can learn to recognize what your “gut feeling” sounds and feels like.
A good motto for you is to “Follow your gut.”
Splenic Authority
Splenic Authority is exclusive for Manifestors and Projectors, who have an undefined Solar Plexus and a defined Spleen.
The Splenic response is instantaneous in the moment. It’s described differently by different people and the key is to learn to recognize your own unique splenic sensations through practice. Many describe it as a subtle “yes”, but it generally doesn’t repeat itself.
Ego/Heart Authority
The types who can have Ego or Heart Authority are Manifestors or Projectors with an undefined Spleen and Solar Plexus and a defined Heart.
People with Ego Authority feel selfish because it’s about what in it for them. But if you truely live in alignment, this will also be of greater good, even if that’s not your direct motivation. You might feel in as an opening or “swelling” in the chest are.
Your motto is to “Follow your heart.”
Self-Projected Authority
This is exclusive for Projectors, whose G-Center is connected to the Throat.
With this authority, you’ll get clear on what’s right for you if you speak and listen to your own voice – whether it’s in a dialogue with yourself or AT another person. The emphasis is on speaking AT another person because it’s all about speaking and listening to your own voice – not what they think about it.
Mental / Environmental Authority
Mental authority is the other Authority that’s exclusive for Projectors. The experience of a “yes” is about feeling invited to do something, go somewhere, or be with someone. Similar to Self-Projected Authorities, you’ll gain clarity through talking out the decision. You’ll find most clarity if you do this after or while you’re physically close to the place or the person, or witnessing the thing in question.
Lunar Authority
Lunar Authority is the domain of Reflectors. As a lunar being, clarity and inner knowning of whether something is right for you or not comes while contemplating important decisions over a full lunar cycle.
Similar to Mental Projectors, enviroment is important to you. The more safe, comfortable and supported you feel, the easier it will be to gain clarity on your decisions. In addition, hearing the perspective of people you trust during the course of the lunar cycle, helps you develop an inner knowing of whether something is right for you.
There’s a lot more that I could say about each of the Authorities and the real magic begins when you embody your Authority and integrate it into your everyday life. If you want any support with that and also learn more about the other important elements in your Design, you can book a session with me.