top of page
.png)
Authority: Your Internal Guidance System
In Human Design, your inner authority or simple “authority” works hand in hand with your aura type and strategy to help you make decisions. Sometimes called your “inner guidance system,” the authority is pointing you towards the best possible outcomes for you and the world.
In our culture, we are taught to make decisions based on what “makes the most sense” or by “following your heart.” Still, each of us has our own unique process of making decisions that is correct for us based on our aura mechanics (the information in our Human Design chart).
Vehicle Intelligence
As you will notice, the mind is not included in the list of authorities below. According to Human Design, the mind is never the best tool for making decisions. This is in great contradiction to many schools of thought. When faced with a decision to make, we often tell people that we need to “think about it,” but, if you’re anything like me, using just my mind rarely brings more true clarity.
Sometimes the “facts” of a situation have nothing to do with what is best for us as unique, individual people. We should make decisions using the wisdom of the body in what is called “vehicle intelligence.”
Within Human Design, there are seven different authorities:
Emotional (Solar Plexus)
Sacral
Splenic
Ego
G or Self
Mental or None (Ajna)
Lunar
Each person’s authority is based on which centers are defined within their Human Design chart. For example, if you have a defined solar plexus, you have Emotional authority. This makes around 50% of the population. If you do not have the solar plexus defined, but you do have the sacral defined, then your authority is sacral, and so on!
So what is your authority? If you need your free human design chart, get it now to find out!
Let’s dig a little deeper into each authority:
Emotional Authority
Emotional Authority (Solar Plexus)
The emotional authority makes up around 50% of people
and dramatically influences the rest of the population. The
motto for this authority is “There is no truth in the now. Truth
reveals itself over time.”
Emotional beings are deep and built to experience a wide range of emotions. They travel on an emotional wave that goes from their highest happiness to their darkest down. Each person’s range, and the expression of that range, is unique. Surrendering to this authority means deconditioning from the understanding that emotions are to be avoided and experiencing them makes us weak or out of control. Surrendering to this can be tough, especially for men who may have heard that “boys don’t cry” or even mocked for their displays of emotions.
It is through the experience of their emotions that, over time, people with this authority can get clear on the best decisions for them. Here is an example:
Heather has the emotional authority and was offered a job in a new city. When she receives this news, she is low on her emotional wave, meaning she may be feeling a bit “blah.” The job doesn’t seem like a good idea. She shutters when she thinks about all the energy it will take to move. It’s definitely a no at this time.
Three days later, Heather is feeling a bit brighter. She wakes up in a good mood, and her energy is high and happy. When she thinks about the job offer, she gets excited about the prospect while recalling that she has always wanted to move to a new city to experience new people and things to do. This is going to be great!
Two days later, she is feeling emotionally neutral. She is clear, and her emotions are concise. She decides that, while there will be good and bad experiences in moving, the opportunity is correct for her at this time.
Notice how Heather’s emotional state changed her opinion of the opportunity. Sometimes when someone with an emotional authority is high on their “emotional wave,” they can impulsively make decisions that may not be the best for them. The opposite is true for when they are low on their wave. It’s vitally important to allow for the time and space to get clarity on the decision.
This is in opposition to today’s culture of instant gratification and sales techniques that demand immediate purchases. If you have this authority, never let anyone rush you into an important decision. Honor yourself enough to take to time to get the clarity you need.
Sacral Authority
Sacral Authority
A person with no definition in their solar plexus with a defined
sacral will have this authority. This authority speaks when faced
with a decision to make. The answer comes from deep within.
Think of a “gut feeling” or a visceral reaction in the form of
“yes,” “no,” or “I don’t know.”
Each sacral being has a “sacral sound” that they can familiarize themselves with. The sacral doesn’t speak in words. The sacral sound for yes could be, “uh-huh.” The sound for no could be “nuh-uh” and so on. Figuring out your sacral sound is the first step.
Experiment with finding your sacral sound if you have this authority! Ask yourself yes or no questions and try to feel the answer. “Do I want pizza tonight?” “Do I want to go to the pool?” “Am I ready to go to bed?” “Do I want to donate to this charity?” The answer of “I don’t know” is just as valuable as “yes” and “no.” “I don’t know” generally means “Not right now.”
It is important to learn and commit to following your sacral sound to make decisions before the mind gets involved and “talks” you in or out of something. For example, if you ask yourself, “Do I want pizza?” and get a resounding “UH-HUH!” your mind may come in quickly with a “...but I had pizza last week, and I am trying to lose weight…” Remember that the sacral knows whats best for you in the moment and won’t steer you wrong.
Splenic Authority
Splenic Authority
The splenic authority gives a soft whisper of a response.Unlike the
Sacral and the Emotional authorities, it is not based in a motor/energy
center and initially can be challenging to understand and hear.
The spleen is the seat of survival, health, and intuition in the body
and knowing this can help people with this authority differentiate its
voice from the voice of other defined centers or the mind.
If you have a direct and clear connection with your intuition, then understanding the spleen is much easier. It is a gentle “knowing,” a soft nudge, or a magnetization to people, places, and things. It is a hunch, a calm instinct, or want.
The splenic authority is not responsive like the sacral authority, where you can ask questions and get a response like “Do I want chicken tonight?” It is an answer in the NOW. Because this is based in survival and health, many times, the spleen doesn’t have an answer. I like to joke and say, “The spleen can’t be bothered with this right now ...”
The spleen moves independently of the mind in that it may lead you to something or someone by sending impulses around a topic that you were not actively thinking of. To follow this authority takes faith and trust in the process, but once this is understood, it leads to a life of great intuitive powers that make manifesting your goals and dreams a truly spiritual experience.
A good activity for someone with splenic authority is to practice noticing the quiet hunches or inclinations that pop up throughout the day. The soft “let’s go down this aisle” or “let’s call this person”. As you follow the direction, take note of synchronicities that start to occur. Doing this will build trust in following this guidance.
Ego Authority
Ego Authority (Heart)
Those with the ego authority should follow their heart. Lucky people huh?
When presented with a decision they should ask themselves,
“What do I want?” or “What is in it for me?” As you can imagine,
for many people this wildly goes against what they were taught and
how they were conditioned to respond to the world.
Many of us are told to think of others first, to put other’s interests
and comfort before our own, and to be humble. For people with the ego authority, this is incorrect. Their aura mechanics are focused in the ego and the throat or the ego and the G-center which means their truth comes from their will and their expression.
Of course like all things there are healthy and unhealthy expressions of this. When one asks “What do I want?” the understanding should always be that this should never be something that hurts someone else. “What’s in it for me?” inherently sounds selfish in the negative sense, but when looked at like “Is this a good place for me to exert myself?” or “How will this nourish and sustain me?” the focus is on self-care and growth.
Self Authority
Self Authority (G-Center)
This authority is very much like the Ego or Heart Authority in that they
are focused inward to their own desires. Those with the Self or G
Authority are to follow what makes them happy. Again, as wonderful
as this sounds, the work and effort comes in the deconditioning.
Much of the cultural story around happiness has been that it
“doesn’t matter” and that it is secondary or even tertiary to
“doing what you need to do.” Whether in work, religion, or the family
unit, being happy is seen as an indulgence. A lot of guilt can come from stepping out of that mindset into one where your happiness is your compass and priority.
The question for this authority is “Will this make me happy or bring me satisfaction?” This question isn’t to be done solely in silent introspection, however. Having an out-loud conversation with yourself or other trusted advisors allows this authority to feel the resonance of the situation and whether it is correct for them.
These people need others in their life to act as a sounding board as they wax on different scenarios.
Once what is right comes up, there will be a vibrational response experienced by the body. Like two tuning forks matching each other. When that resonance sounds, pay attention to what was just said and move forward in that direction.
Mental Authority
Mental Authority (None)
People with this authority have no defined centers below the throat.
Due to this lack of definition, they are very sensitive to cues and
messages from their environment.
Like the Self or G Authority, these people need others to act as a
sounding board for their ideas and thoughts around different
decisions.
Talking it out is the perfect way to feel the resonance of the idea or decision and feel the vibration of the right choice for you. These sounding boards MUST be trusted advisors with innocent motives. The environment is very important for the mental authority because if it is not right, the people in it will not be right. A wrong environment equals wrong people which leads to incorrect decisions.
Lunar Authority
The only people with this authority are our beloved Reflectors (aura type).
They have no defined centers and their authority comes from their
relationship with the moon.
When presented with a decision to make, they must wait a full cycle
of the moon, or 28 days. This is tough for many reasons and
immediate gratification is the least of it!
In the go-go-go world we live in, many people expect answers right now or at most in a few days. To wait an entire lunar month seems preposterous but those with this authority may be comforted by the fact that if you miss an opportunity during this 28 day window, it either wasn’t for you, or it will be back at a later time. Sometimes mere days later!
During the waiting period, this authority should discuss the situation with their trusted (oh so trusted) advisors and gather information. They can witness how the conversations go but ultimately wait for the clarity that will inevitably arrive after 28 days.
Please keep in mind that this authority is not around small decisions such as what to eat or what to wear. This is about big choices like where to live, what job to take, who to date, etc. When it comes to the smaller decisions, Reflectors use they immense amount of information they glean from their tasting and sampling nature to determine was feels right and resonates with them.
Learn more about the Reflector aura type here
Lunar Authority
Create the Life You Want
When you Understand your Strategy, and use it in conjunction with your Authority you have the perfect guidance system that leads you to create the life you want.
Applying your authority takes time and practice but you will find comfort in how aligned your decisions become. In a world with infinite choices, establishing what is correct for you, in all of your beautiful uniqueness, is absolutely precious.
bottom of page