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Our Human Design is comprised of nine centers, thirty-six channels, and sixty-four gates, all of which present as either open or closed, connected or absent, on or off, respectively. There are a lot of parts and pieces and potential combinations, so suffice it to say that how these centers, channels and gates interact all combine together to form our overall Human Design.

In these first nine posts, we're going to zoom in on each of the nine energy centers in the Human Design chart, and explore how we're impacted when they present as open/undefined in our charts and how we're impacted when they present as closed/defined in our charts, so get your chart ready!

SOME BACKGROUND ON OUR CENTERS

There are nine energy centers within the body, and within our charts which roughly correlate to the seven chakras:

head/crown (Sahasrara)
mind (Ajna)
throat (Vishudha)
heart (Anahata)
solar plexus/emotions (Manipura)
sacral (Svadhisthana)
root (Muladhara)

plus two more centers that don't specifically correlate to a chakra:

spleen
self/identity/G

Each center present as either open or closed, defined or undefined.

If the center is closed/defined, it indicates that this function/aspect of your personality is more fixed or consistent.
If the center is open/undefined, it means that this function/aspect of your personality is more flexible or malleable, leaving you more open to the influence or energy of others. These open/undefined centers are where we’re the most open to the conditioning and influence of others, whether we’re conscious of taking on that energy or not.

The knowledge of where our traits are the most fixed and where we’re the most open to the influence can help us sit in our power on a daily basis; they help us figure out which of our choices, feelings and actions are coming from a place of truth, and which are opportunities for reflection and change.

These centers correlate to not just emotions but to physical body parts as well. Our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing is all interconnected. Many times, when we experience physical symptoms (discomfort, illness, etc) in these areas of our physical body, it may indicate that we’ve fallen out of synch with our overall human design.

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HEAD/CROWN CENTER (SAHASRARA CHAKRA)

The Head/Crown Center is the seat of inspiration and the center from which all truth, doubt and possibility emerge. Depending on which gates are present, the questions we pose and the answers we seek through the Head/Crown Center can either be logical, abstract or personal in nature. This center is unique in that it's only linked to one other center in the body (the Mind Center), and it's one of two pressure centers in the body. The pressure we experience from the Head/Crown Center is pressure to find meaning in life, or the urgency to seek an answer to a problem. In the physical body, it's associated with the pineal gland, which produces melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness. It's through our Head/Crown Center that we either experience life as AWAKE and INSPIRED or as the walking dead, checked out and operating on auto-pilot.

Grab your Human Design reading and take a look at the very top: in the head area, you should see an isosceles triangle. Is it colored in or left blank? If it's white or blank, your Head/Crown Center is undefined/open. If it's colored in, your head/crown center is defined/closed.

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OPEN/UNDEFINED Head/Crown Center

If your Head/Crown Center presents as open/undefined, you find inspiration everywhere and in everything. Those with an open Head/Crown Center don't have a consistent, internal source of inspiration and have to search for it outside of themselves, and tend to be drawn to stimulating environments like bookstores and art galleries or TED talks and podcasts. You might have multiple Pinterest boards (guilty✋🏻) or a super diverse Amazon wishlist (also guilty✋🏻) as you're particularly susceptible to taking on the inspiration energy of others: if someone else is really passionate about and inspired by an idea, it's super easy for you to get caught up in the energy and want to act on it. The challenge comes when you get overwhelmed; your interest can get pulled in so many different ways it can be hard to decide which path to follow. And because the Head/Crown Center is a pressure center, you might feel pushed to follow ALL OF THEM.

When you are operating in the flow within this open center, you are able to see the forest through the trees, so to speak. You're able to act as translator, and your openness to receiving inspiration allows you to see the ideas/problems/dilemmas of others and to break them down into their essence in a way that is simple and easy to process.

The Head/Crown Center is also all about inquiry and finding answers to our big, pressing, soul-level questions. People with an open Head/Crown Center can find themselves taking on the big questions of others, which can muddy the waters when making decisions.

One way folks with an open Head/Crown Center can check themselves is to stop, take a step back, and ask yourself: "Am I actually inspired by this? Or is it the energy the other person has for this topic that I find inspiring?" A lot of the work done through meditation regarding watching one's thoughts objectively and without judgement can help someone with an open Head/Crown Center with this work. If you feel like you might be taking on the concerns or questions of others, something else to ask yourself is "Why am I feeling pressure to answer this question? Is this question mine to ask? Is it mine to answer? Does it impact me? Is this a path I feel personally inspired/compelled to follow?"

One of the challenges of having an open Head/Crown Center: am I dancing to the beat of someone else's drum?

CLOSED/DEFINED Head/Crown Center

Those with a closed or defined Head/Crown Center are the inspirational powerhouses of the world. They have a consistent supply of inspiration and inquiry inherent in their makeup and radiate that energy outward. They are constantly asking questions and strongly compelled to leave no question unanswered. If you have a closed/defined Head/Crown Center, you might not even realize how frequently you question the world around you, because that's resting stasis for you. It's just how you operate: you're always reviewing, thinking and conceptualizing the world around you. The challenge comes when you allow yourself to stress about how to make your internal workings external for the benefit of others: a lot of time can be wasted trying to break down the big things you're thinking about into practical, tangible concepts you can communicate to others. This is the pressure center pushing you to understand and explain, so choose your battles. Maybe it's enough that your energy alone arouses deep reflection and inspiration in others. Another important self-care action item: make sure you're giving yourself the time and space to reflect and process. Practice patience. Every question that comes to you doesn't need to be acted upon and solved immediately.