The Nine Human Design Centers
In Human Design, the chart is drawn as nine shapes called centers, joined by lines. Each center is tied to a theme, such as emotion or willpower. Whether a center is defined or open is what gives the chart its individual look, and it feeds directly into type and authority.
Nine centers, one figure
All nine
The nine centers at a glance
The gate counts add up to 64, the number of gates around the wheel.
Pressure · 3 gatesHead
Inspiration, questions and mental pressure
- Defined
- A steady source of ideas
- Open
- Takes in other people's questions
Awareness · 6 gatesAjna
How you think things through and form opinions
- Defined
- A fixed way of thinking
- Open
- Flexible, can pretend to certainty
Expression · 11 gatesThroat
Your voice, and how ideas turn into words and action
- Defined
- A recognizable voice
- Open
- Voice varies with company
Identity · 8 gatesG
Your sense of identity, direction and love
- Defined
- A stable sense of self
- Open
- Shaped by place and people
Motor · 4 gatesHeart
Willpower, promises and self-worth
- Defined
- Reliable will in bursts
- Open
- Feels a need to prove worth
Motor · 9 gatesSacral
Your life force and energy for work
- Defined
- Renewable energy
- Open
- Borrows energy, misses limits
Motor and awareness · 7 gatesSolar Plexus
Your emotions, moods and desires
- Defined
- A personal emotional wave
- Open
- Amplifies others' feelings
Awareness · 7 gatesSpleen
Instinct, timing and a sense of what is safe
- Defined
- Quick, steady instincts
- Open
- Holds on past its time
Pressure and motor · 9 gatesRoot
Pressure, drive and getting things done
- Defined
- A steady way of handling stress
- Open
- Absorbs urgency and hurries
How a center becomes defined
A center is defined when a complete channel reaches it. A channel is a pair of gates, one at each end, and it is complete when both gates are active in your chart. Both of its centers then become defined together. A center with no complete channel stays open, and a chart where no channel is complete has no defined centers at all, which is the Reflector pattern.
On the picture, defined centers are filled in and open centers are pale. TwoInks colors them for you when you calculate your chart, and the guide to reading your chart shows how to trace the channels.
Four roles worth knowing
Motors. These supply energy: the sacral, heart, solar plexus and root. Which motors you have defined, and whether they reach the throat, decides your type.
Awareness centers. These take in and interpret information: the ajna, spleen and solar plexus.
Pressure centers. These push you to think or act: the head and the root.
Expression and identity. Each has a single center. The throat expresses, and the G center holds the sense of self.
Groups of centers and definition
Once you know which centers are defined, look at how they connect. Centers joined by complete channels form a group. One group is called single definition, two is split, three is triple split and four is quadruple split. The system says a split chart tends to look for other people who bridge the gap, and that a single-definition chart is more self-contained. Reflectors have no groups at all.
Defined is not better than open
The most common misreading is to treat open centers as holes. The system presents them differently: an open center is a place where you are flexible, take in the world and may learn the most, and also a place where you can lose track of what is yours. A chart with few defined centers is not weaker than one with many.
A quick way to use this is to go through the pale centers one at a time and ask whose pattern you may be borrowing there. It is a question for reflection, not a diagnosis.
Centers, type and authority
Your authority comes from the highest-ranking defined center, in the order solar plexus, sacral, spleen, heart, G with throat. Your type depends on the sacral and on whether a motor reaches the throat. The center pages explain each part in detail.
Human Design is a belief system with no scientific evidence behind its claims about centers. The method page explains how the chart is calculated and what it can and cannot tell you.
Questions
Updated
How many centers are there in Human Design?
Nine: head, ajna, throat, G, heart, sacral, solar plexus, spleen and root. Between them they hold the 64 gates of the wheel, and 36 channels connect pairs of them across the chart.
What is the difference between defined and open centers?
A defined center has at least one complete channel and is shown colored in. An open center has none and is shown pale. The system calls defined centers consistent and open ones sensitive to other people.
Which centers are motors in Human Design?
Four: the sacral, heart, solar plexus and root. They supply energy, and their connection to the throat decides whether you are a Manifestor, a Manifesting Generator or one of the other types.
Can a defined center become open?
Not in the chart. Definition is fixed by the birth data. The system does say that passing planets can switch an open center on briefly, which is why open centers are described as taking in other people's patterns.
Are Human Design centers the same as chakras?
No. Several names overlap, but the gates, channels and the idea of definition are Human Design's own, and the centers do not map one to one onto the seven chakras.
