An Intro to Human Design | The Five Types | Reflectors
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.
Over the past few weeks, we tackled all nine of our energy centers. If you're new to Human Design, and want to get yourself caught up, check out the "New to Human Design?" link above and follow the center-by-center click path.
Last week, we started our exploration of the types with Generators and Manifesting Generators. Monday was about Manifestors, Friday was about Projectors, and today we're diving into the final of the five types: Reflectors.
Sandra Bullock, famous Reflector. So is Fyodor Dostoevsky, though he's not nearly as photogenic.
The rarest of the five types, Reflectors comprise about 1% of the population. What makes you unique? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR NINE CENTERS IS UNDEFINED, which means you have no inner authority to guide you.
Here's an analogy: Generators, Manifesting Generators, Manifestors, and Projectors are all SOLAR types. Just like the sun produces its own light, these types produce their own energy via at least one defined center. Reflectors are LUNAR types. Just like the moon doesn't generate its own light and instead REFLECTS the light of the sun, so do Reflectors mirror, absorb or magnify the energies of the other types through your nine open centers.
Reflectors have the strategy of waiting 28 days before taking action regarding a decision and have Lunar (sometimes called Moon) Authority. Like Mental Projectors, you need to talk your decision out before committing to a course of action. Talking it out DOES NOT MEAN you're asking for unsolicited advice or unloading your problems so that others will solve them. In your case, you're leveraging the inspirational folks around you to use as a sounding board so that you can hear yourself and get your thoughts in order as you determine which course of action to follow. And how you feel about what you say will change as the month goes on. This process intentionally takes 28 days or one full lunar cycle to complete because you really need to feel how the various courses of action resonate in each and every one of your 64 gates, and it takes about 28 days for the moon to move through and touch all of those aspects of your chart before you'll have true clarity around your decision (I promise we'll dive into gates soon!).
Because your Self/Identity Center is open, you're designed to wear many hats over the course of your life, so don't beat yourself up if you've changed careers multiple times, gone back to school or changed your course of study, or followed a "nontraditional" career/family/love path. That's exactly what you were built to do! In fact, a great guiding question for Reflectors is "Who am I today?" or "What new/fresh experience will I have today?" Your one true internal "authority" of sorts is FEELING GOOD, and what feels good will change depending on where you are and who you're with. The 28 day Lunar Authority waiting/reflection period really applies to the BIG decisions in your life (i.e. love, business partnership, career, life changes, moving, having children, etc) AND NOT the mundane, day-to-day decision (i.e. what to have for lunch, picking a new pair of shoes, etc). The lighter decisions are to be made simply by following what feels good in the moment, which again is why it's so important to curate the people you have around you!
Gathering her community & waiting to be initiated. (image via Glamour)
MAJOR KEY: Healthy Reflectors are ruthless curators of the energies they allow themselves to be exposed to.
Reflectors are meant to hold space at the center of the community. You have an auric field which is designed to sample the energies and auras of all the other types. Reflectors are like the barometers of the emotional/mental/spiritual/physical health of the community. If the community you gather is super emotionally/spiritually healthy, as will you be. If you surround yourself consistently and exclusively with low vibe people, and you allow yourself to absorb rather than sample and release their energy, you're going to feel unhealthy, too.
In a perfect Utopia, Reflectors have auras that kind of act like sunscreen: you let the good rays (energies) in and keep the damaging rays (energies) out. At your healthiest, Reflectors mirror back all of the community with equanimity and can pick and choose which feelings to ride and which to release. Unfortunately, the messages that society sends to a Reflector from an early age can pressure a Reflector to homogenize and give into not-self behaviors in order to feel seen. At your unhealthiest, when you're living out of alignment with your design, you become a sponge and not a sieve, taking in, absorbing and magnifying all the energies around you instead of sitting in the seat of consciousness and allowing all those energies to pass through you, learning what you can as they float on by. It comes from the need to BE SEEN, and if you need to be an energetic, emotional whirlwind to get that attention, magnifying the drama around you, unhealthy Reflectors will do that.
So to be your healthiest, most authentic self, Reflectors should live by the following mottos:
be the SIEVE and not the SPONGE
be a RUTHLESS CURATOR of your personal community (not a collector and not a hoarder of friends)
Be the SIEVE and not the SPONGE.
To be a SIEVE, think of life like eating at a tapas restaurant: the goal there is to order a whole bunch of different types of dishes for the table and sample a little bit of each...not to pick one plate and eat it all, especially because, for the purposes of this analogy, you didn't do the ordering and you're not paying. Your goal at this metaphorical tapas table is DETACHMENT and DISCERNMENT. Don't become too attached to any particular dish (they don't belong to you). Sample everything to discern what you like and what you don't, and then share your reflections with your nearest and dearest (ex: "There's too much lemon on the calamari!" or "I'm loving the olives! They're seasoned perfectly!").
To be a CURATOR, you also want to be super discerning about who you allow to join you at this metaphorical tapas table: if someone is cranky, gets too drunk, is gluttonous, insults the waiter, etc. you're going to at best mirror those energies back and at worst absorb them/magnify them and have a super shitty time. So you need to curate your metaphorical guest list to the people you find to be loving, giving, inspirational, etc, whose energies and vibe you want to emulate. Your metaphorical table is in the VIP room, guarded by a thick velvet rope. Filter who gets access and who definitely does not.
Your community is here to initiate you into your big life decisions, so surround yourself with the people who you want to energetically/auric-ly sample as you make your decision, as well as people who you would want initiating said opportunities.
In short, healthy Reflectors living in alignment with their design:
sample energies,
reflect them back to the community, and
release said energies, allowing them to flow around them and away
Your purpose in the Collective is to bear witness to all the feelings and energies flowing through you, to become wise about emotions, and to share that wisdom with your community. You have an uncanny ability to sense pretty quickly who is living authentically and who is operating outside of their integrity, and are super talented at facilitating discussion around how we can all improve to become a more just, equitable, and cooperative society. We all grow through your experiences, so your job is to really feel out when to focus on what's coming to you from others and when to focus on YOU. Your day needs to hold space for both, so establishing healthy boundaries is super important so you don't inadvertently lose track of yourself.
Just like Projectors, it's CRUCIAL that you take time to discharge the energies you have taken in over the course of the day before you try to sleep. A good rule of thumb is to set time aside about an hour before you plan to fall asleep to be alone and unwind. This could involve a meditation practice, journaling, a hot bath, reading, etc. Anything that allows you to empty out all that you've taken on over the course of the day so that your sleep is truly restful. You also may want to sleep alone as much as possible, especially if you share a bed with someone with a defined Sacral Center.
How can the rest of us support our lovely neighborhood Reflector?
RECOGNIZE THEM! Reflectors' deepest fear is that of becoming invisible. Ask them to share their opinions and observations, as I guarantee there's a ton of wisdom there.
When you go out with them, allow them to feel things out. If they feel uncomfortable, let them leave early and try not to take it personally. They probably picked up on an energy you didn't and shouldn't have to stay somewhere that makes them feel bad. Think of it like having this superpower of deep perception.
Don't rush them into a decision! They really need the time and space to feel things out over the course of their 28 days. Be a great sounding board and only give advice when asked, even if you see what they should do clearly. They need to feel it for themselves to be completely grounded in and committed to their course of action.
Don't take their changeability personally. Their day-to-day mood varies depending on where they are and who they're with. Just know they also struggle sometimes to really know what's consistent and stable within them.
Take your Reflector outside. Go hiking or to the beach. Anywhere quiet and serene. Hermit time in nature is super beneficial as it allows them to discharge all the energies they've taken on. Reflectors don't do well in huge crowds, as it's way too overstimulating. And don't get offended if you Reflector wanders off for some alone time. They'll bring their soothing, calming influence back when they're ready.
Are you a Reflector? Did this resonate with you? Let me know in the comments 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Sources:
Curry, Karen. Understanding Human Design. Hierophant Publishing, 2013.
Parker, Karen Curry, et.al. Abundance by Design. GracePoint Matrix, 2016.
Parker, Karen Curry. Human Design Activation Guide. GracePoint Matrix, 2018.
Parkyn, Chetan. Human Design: Discover the Person You Were Born to Be. New World Library, 2009.