meanings of this are incidental at this stage. What matters is that you note the distinction between a centre defined in colour and a centre which is white and therefore undefined.
Also note the distinction between a fully coloured channel, which is active, and one which is white or half – coloured and is, therefore, inactive.
It takes just one full channel activation to turn on the connecting centres. For example, in Prince Harry’s chart, the active 59–6 channel defines both the Sacral centre (red) and the Emotions centre (brown).
To recap: a centre is defined in colour, depending on whether a connecting channel is active or non – active.
You are now armed with the rudimentary basics of what constitutes a Human Design life chart. I’ve mapped out the road ahead. Now, let the journey – and the fun – begin.
The Nine Centres
‘Finally, someone has explained what it’s all about – who I am, the way I am, and what to do about it.’
Rob, London, UK
Life is one long sequence of sometimes dramatic events and introductions. Our days ebb and flow with actions and reactions, meetings and greetings, and it is the nine Human Design centres that assimilate and distribute life – energy around our physical body to determine how we interact with each other. These energies within are what build the foundations of our true nature.
Whilst the centres have familiar names such as Spleen, Heart or Throat, they are not physical things but internal zones which correspond with the way we function. So your life chart is a map of your ‘energy body’ as opposed to your physical body. In this respect, it is not dissimilar to the chakra system.
The crucial thing to understand is that each centre ‘communicates’ and crosses over with the designs of other people, meshing together in a daily dance and influencing all our interactions on a moment – by – moment basis. These invisible energies are forever interweaving by simply being in the same room as someone else. So, on the surface, our eyes and mouths may well be doing all the obvious communicating, but it’s the powerful undercurrents of the nine centres that are doing the real work, pulling our strings on a deep bio – energetic level.
In a basic example, a man could be standing in a room with a woman and their respective energies will interact, drawing them together. You’ll be familiar with that feeling when you’ve been pulled towards someone and yet have no idea why. Or there’s something about someone that unsettles you. That ‘something’ is the energy at work within different centres.
Your Human Design, therefore, is always affected by the energies of those with whom you engage in love, business or friendship. It is a system which is interconnected, like humanity itself.
Once you understand how different designs interface, engage and communicate, you’re better able to understand the dynamics and undercurrents running beneath all relationships and associations. It is basic quantum physics – the fact that everything in the Universe consists of vibrations and energy and that we are an integral part of that same energy. I’m not going to indulge in such complexities in this book. All that needs to be understood is something which is supported by science – that the nine centres of the Human Design system interface between the Universe’s energy and the energy within all of us, translating it into individual functions and expressions.
Defined or Undefined
Knowledge of the workings of the nine centres will help you understand what happens within you on a daily basis, but the first thing you need to find out is: are you defined or undefined?
Take a look at your life chart.
If a centre is defined with colour, it indicates a function or tendency that is fixed and consistent. These aspects are set in stone, a constant part of you. They are the part of your being that you can always count on – energy that’s available to be harnessed 24/7.
If a centre is undefined and white, it means that its specific energy is not consistent, making this part of you malleable and flexible. This means you’re open to the influence of those who do have this centre defined. When in their company, you effectively adopt their energy and may be swayed or conditioned by it. This is what we call a ‘conditioning influence’.
But this doesn’t mean you’re a helpless puppet. Instead of absorbing that energy, you can learn to recognize what’s happening, how your undefined centre is being engaged, and say to yourself: ‘This influence is not me, it’s them.’ This will allow you to stand back and adopt a detached objectivity, transforming such an influence into what we call ‘impassive wisdom’. That wisdom allows you, as an uninvolved observer, to reflect back what you are witnessing, allowing the other person to see the wood for the trees. This is why the white centres provide an opportunity for the exchange of considered reflection, comprehension and insight.
Please don’t think that not much is going on in your life chart if it’s not awash with colour. If anything, it makes you more empathic, flexible and less fixed than someone with a more colourful chart.
So, to recap: a defined centre has fixed traits and functions. An undefined centre has qualities that will be intermittent, coming and going depending on what other ‘designs’ are around you.
It is worth knowing that each centre also relates to a bodily organ or gland within us, thereby playing a part in our well – being. When living true to your design, you attune to your body’s needs on physical, mental and emotional levels. When you fall out of synch with your design, or go against your nature, you can become susceptible to physical discomfort or illness. Resistance to a centre’s energy can, therefore, have an adverse effect on the corresponding organ or gland.
THE NINE CENTRES
The Crown
Inspiration
Sitting at the top of the head is the triangle of the Crown. Kings and queens have always worn crowns to denote an attunement to a higher way of thinking. It is no surprise, therefore, that in Human Design terms, the Crown is the centre of inspiration, and the triangle’s peak could well be interpreted as the antennae’s receptor for the body, receiving inspiration from above. This is the centre from which truth, doubt and possibilities can emerge.
The Crown is unique because it is linked to only one other centre, the Mind, where it downloads inspiration to be mentally processed. It is one of two ‘pressure centres’ and its applied pressure is to find meaning in life. Whenever you feel a strain to get your head around something, you’re feeling the pressure of the Crown. Or, put another way, the urgency of a problem searching for an answer.
