Human Design: the 9 Centres
how Centres are more important than Type, their key themes and how to spot conditioning by Centre
Human Design is a blend of modern science and ancient wisdom, bringing together astrology and quantum physics, chakras, the Kabbalah & and the Chinese I-Ching. It’s the ultimate profiling tool, giving us full permission to be ourselves. It offers a user manual for each of us, showing us how to be who we’re designed to be, how to work with our energy and how to make great decisions that are just right for each of us.
We can find our purpose, our ideal environment & our superpowers on this map. And we can journey through it to heal ourselves, our relationships & our work. If you’d like to find out more, download your free chart here or book a chart reading with me here
Human Design appears to a complex system, but it can be beautifully simply to integrate into your life, so I’m going to demystify it for you here in a series of posts; this one is all about the Centre.
What are Centres in Human Design?
The Centres are evolved from the chakra system you might know very well, except you might notice there are 9 instead of the 7 you might be expecting… in Human Design the Heart Chakra is in two parts, the G or Identity centre and the Heart / Ego / Will centre. And the Solar Plexus is also in two parts, the Solar Plexus (SP) and the Spleen.
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To find out the pattern of your defined and undefined Centres before you read on, click below to get your free chart from my website.
What does defined vs undefined mean?
Where you have a centre that’s coloured in (no matter what colour, different charts might have different colour ways) it is defined centre. This means it has a full coloured in Channel connecting it to another centre. You’ll have a consistent way of expressing the energy of this Centre.
Where you have a centre that is white, it’s undefined. This means it’s not connected to another centre, even if you have half a Channel coloured in going from the centre. White centres with no half-Channels at all are referred to as open, or completely open. You won’t have a consistent way of expressing this Centre’s energy.
Your Gates are what make the Channels and half-Channels.
The Centres and Conditioning
The Centres are a useful place to look for conditioning and start to release it - we can be conditioned in defined or undefined Centres as we grow up, and I often start here with clients who are ready to live in their full self. Read more here about exploring your design.
If you’d like to talk about how coaching can look before diving in, do book a virtual brew with me to find out.
The Head Centre
The theme of the Head Centre is inspiration, and as it’s a pressure centre it’s always under pressure, particularly to answer questions. Shadow tendencies can include trying to answer other’s questions, or being overly critical with yourself.
The Ajna Centre
The theme of the Ajna is dealing with information, and it’s an awareness centre. An undefined Ajna will likely be open minded and have different ways to process; a defined Ajna is reliable and more fixed in how it operates. Shadow tendencies include trying to be sure, and using the mind to make decisions.
The Throat Centre
The theme of the Throat is communication and manifestation. All energy in the Bodygraph is trying to reach the Throat via defined Channels. An undefined Throat may feel under pressure to speak and be unpredictable but holds great wisdom (and can definitely be a public speaker, ignore any suggestions to the contrary!) - a defined Throat speaks with the theme of other Centres it’s attached to. Shadow tendencies include ignoring Strategy and speaking to get attention, or speaking too much.
The G / Identity Centre
The theme of the G is love and direction and is thought to be where the soul is found. An undefined G will see the direction of others & give them insight (often healers & coaches have this, including me) and it’s key to be in the right place. A defined G knows who they are, and is here to give love. Shadow tendencies include feeling unloveable, taking on others identities and suppressing the self.
The Heart / Ego / Will Centre
The theme of the Heart is willpower. It’s one of four motor centres too, and needs to be recharged. An undefined Heart (the majority of us) has deep wisdom and no willpower! A defined Heart has consistent access to willpower, and needs to rest after periods of work. Shadow tendencies include taking on too much to prove something and expecting too much of others.
The Solar Plexus Centre
The theme of the Solar Plexus (SP) is emotional; it’s the second of the four motors with waves of emotional energy. An undefined SP (around half of us) can be highly empathetic when they understand this centre (it can be very uncomfortable if not, especially for children, so taking a look at your family’s charts can be very useful) - a defined SP will experience emotional waves and should learn these well as they make form your Authority. Shadow tendencies include avoiding conflict and making emotionally driven decisions.
The Spleen Centre
The theme of the Spleen is intuition and survival, based entirely in the now. An undefined Spleen may have a sensitive immune system that notices subtle bodily changes easily, a defined Spleen is designed to be in the moment, with a knowing of what’s correct now, Shadow tendencies include not being able to ‘let go’, unrealistic feelings of fear and inadequacy.
The Sacral Centre
The theme of the Sacral is work and life-force energy. It’s the third of the four motors and is the only one with consistent energy availability. An undefined Sacral is not designed to work a typical ‘working week’ (my clients often experience a ‘crash’ around the age of 40 as they can no longer sustain the pattern & come to me as they try to figure out why, and what to do next) and it suits you better to find flexible options. A defined Sacral is here to work, specifically doing what lights you up (you are a Generator after all). Shadow tendencies include not knowing when to stop, and taking on too much.
The Root Centre
The theme of the Root is adrenaline and it’s the second of the pressure centres. It’s also the fourth of the motor centres, a pulse that is either on… or off! An undefined Root may enjoy experiencing adrenaline and craves freedom from pressure, a defined Root may feel immune to adrenaline, and operates with a natural cycle of energy. Shadow tendencies include trying to finish to feel free of pressure, or working outside the natural rhythm of the Root energy.
Here are some other ways to learn about human design 🌟 listen to the podcast 🌟 read the archives 🌟 treat yourself to a 1-1 Chart Unpack.
Or you are always so welcome to press reply on an email, or post a comment with questions or tell me if this resonates, I’d love to chat further about my favourite topic with you!
Sending love & courage ✨
Sarah xx
Hey I’m Sarah, certified Human Design coach, qualified life coach & Master NLP Practitioner. I guide women during times of change, helping them to build their foundation self-belief and giving them full permission to be exactly who they’re designed to be, living and working with ease and flow.
I created The Human Design Resource Library to offer a starting point on your journey, and a reference point to return to as you travel It’s my interpretation of the knowledge, based on in-depth training, research and time with clients, but I want you to know that not everything you read (here or anywhere) will resonate, because you are 100% unique!
To go beyond the generic knowledge, a 1-1 session is the perfect way to discover exactly how the Human Design knowledge applies to you, and how you can live as you’re designed to. Or to discover your design, take your first step by downloading your free chart here.
More in the Human Design Resource Library:
The 64 Gates (coming soon)
Family charts (coming soon)
The 4 Arrows (coming soon)
Definition (coming soon)
