The 5 Types in Human Design

Learn about Types and Strategies

The FIVE TYPES
The easiest way to begin benefiting from Human Design concepts is to know one’s Type and to follow the strategy for that type. In the Human Design System there are five personality “Types”, each with a unique strategy for making decisions. Knowing your Type can help you develop confidence and trust in your capacity to make reliable decisions for yourself.

The five Types are called the Manifestor, the Manifesting Generator, the Generator, the Projector and the Reflector. Each Type has a different natural role to play when interacting with others and the world.

The Manifestor
The first Type is called the Manifestor. Approximately 8% of people are Manifestors. Manifestors can initiate action without waiting. Manifestors are energy beings that possess tremendous initiating power but they have to use their power carefully or risk angering others. Their purpose in life is to initiate action.

If a Manifestor decides that to start a business, for example, all they have to do is decide on the right timing and then just do it. All of the other types have to wait before they can take action.

In spite of the fact that most of us think we would love to be Manifestors, being a Manifestor can have its own challenges. Many Manifestors have had to struggle to learn how to use their power appropriately and may be conditioned to hide their power or suppress it. Manifestors must learn how to channel their energy properly or they will face tremendous resistance in life. Properly channeled, Manifestor energy often gives the other four Types something to respond to.

Some famous Manifestors include Al Gore, George W. Bush, Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon and Richard Burton.


Manifesting Generators and Generators
The next two Types are called Manifesting Generators and Generators. Together these two Types comprise 67% of the population. These two Types are the only Types who possess a special energy center called the Sacral Center. For both the Manifesting Generator and the Generator, the most important thing in life is finding the right work. If a Manifesting Generator or a Generator is not working in the right job, he will burn out. When these types find the correct work for themselves, their Sacral Center supplies them with a virtually inexhaustible source of energy.

Manifesting Generators and Generators have to wait until things come to them before they take action. Most of us are taught to "just do it". If we are Manifesting Generators or Generators we can experience deep frustration if we try to initiate things. For Manifesting Generators and Generators, waiting for something to respond to is crucial for ensuring success in life and avoiding burn out from committing to the wrong work.

For example, a Generator who is a workshop facilitator might desire to teach a particular workshop. If this woman decides to initiate this workshop without anything to respond to other than her own mental urgings, most likely she will find that the workshop turnout may be low. But, if instead, this Generator woman waits until someone suggests that she teach workshop, she has something to respond to and the outcome of the workshop will probably be much different.

Of course, waiting can feel very challenging for these energy types. It does not feel natural for most people to wait and see what Life brings. If you are a Manifesting Generator or a Generator, experiment with waiting, even if it is for just a few days and see what happens! Your energy field communicates to the world that you need something to respond to. When the Manifesting Generator and the Generator wait, things always come to them in the right time and the right way.

Even though these two types are similar in how they must wait to respond in order to make decisions, there are some interesting differences between them. Manifesting Generators have some of the energy characteristics of Manifestors. They tend to respond more quickly to situations than a pure Generator. Manifesting Generators may also have to "test drive" their response to situations that come to them in order to see if they are correct. Because of this characteristic of trying out responses, Manifesting Generators can seem as though they are changing their minds frequently. Pure Generators act more deliberately when they respond, and they usually know what is correct for them to do without having to try it out first.

Famous Manifesting Generators and Generators include Madonna, John Lennon, Dalai Lama, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Timothy Leary.


The Projector
The fourth personality Type in the Human Design System is the Projector. Projectors represent about 24% of the population. Projectors can become the natural managers and leaders of the world. Projectors do not carry energy in their own personal energy field, but instead take in the energies of others and manage it. Projectors have to wait to be recognized and invited into the major events in life, such as love relationships, career and right place (where they live). If an invitation feels good for a Projector and she accepts it, she channels an enormous amount of energy and power into that situation. She can then use that energy to manage others and the world around her.

Projectors, for all their wisdom, can have a frustrating and debilitating life process if they try to push themselves and initiate action. A Projector simply does not have the energy to “just do it”, and if they try to initiate like a Manifestor, or work steadily like a Generator, they will burn themselves out very quickly. The challenge for the Projector is to trust that the right invitations will come and to them, and to wait for those invitations. Sometimes Projectors wait months or years for the right invitation.

Because they are “non energy” types and they are not here to work steadily like the Generator Types, the Projector Types may receive a lot of judgment from other and be perceived as "lazy" when. In fact, it is literally unhealthy for these types to initiate any kind of action or to work at the wrong kind of jobs on a steady basis. They usually can't sustain the energy flow on their own.

Projectors are here to deeply understand others. Projectors can be powerful resources if they are recognized and used properly. A Projector can, simply by watching an energy type, intuitively know how that other person can maximize their energy and their potential. This makes them natural coaches and mentors.

Projectors are here to be recognized and invited by others. Many Projectors are magnetic, charismatic recipients of amazing invitations. Ringo Starr is a Projector. He was literally “invited” to join The Beatles after one of the original band members left the band.

Other famous Projectors include Steven Spielberg, John F. Kennedy, Paul McCartney, Fidel Castro, Karl Marx and Demi Moore.


The Reflector
Reflectors are the most rare of the types. Less than 1% of people are Reflectors. The Reflector is here to "mirror" or reflect the health of the community around them. A Reflector is extremely open to all kinds of energy. The Reflector takes all the energy from the world around him deep into his own energy system and then reflects it back out.

If you are a Reflector and you are happy, then where you are at the moment is a happy place. If you are a sad Reflector then the community, or the world around you is sad.

Because Reflectors are completely open, they can become very deeply wise about others and the world around them. Reflectors take in so much energy and information that it can take them a while to make decisions. A Reflector needs to wait 28 days, the full cycle of a moon, before they can feel certain about their decisions. Sometimes, they have to wait out two or more moon cycles until they know a decision is correct for them.

Reflectors need to talk about their decisions to everyone. Because they are always taking in information and processing it, it can be difficult for the Reflector to know herself. Reflectors have to see their decisions reflected through others in order to know what to do.

Famous Reflectors include Michael Jackson, Uri Geller and Roslyn Carter.


CONCLUSION
The Human Design System is a very deep and complex personality assessment tool. A Human Design Analyst can sit down and talk to you about your chart for many hours. At the same time, there is a beauty and simplicity to Human Design that makes it instantly useful for anyone who encounters it. All the depth and the power that was imprinted on you at the time of your birth can be lived out gracefully by simply knowing and living the strategy of your type. Live true to your type and you will truly live out your own personal Destiny.

 

Article reprinted with Permission from Karen Curry, author. I invite you to check out her website for more information and ideas at www.joyfulmission.com. 
 

Love,

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