All Reflectors Should Start Here

Whether you're new to Human Design or you've been on this journey for a while, if you're a Reflector, you'll want to make sure you're tuned into these 3 key aspects of your chart if you want to get all the benefits of your unique Human Design.

In this post I'm breaking down the 3 most important parts of your chart that lay the foundation for just about everything else human design has to offer. So, grab your chart and let's get started.

When you first laid eyes on your chart, chances are you scanned the shapes, lines, numbers, arrows, planetary symbols, and maybe read through the descriptions written out for you. All in all, you were probably a little overwhelmed. There is a lot to take in when it comes to your chart, and human design is a complex framework, so as you're making sense of things and starting to integrate things into your life, try to focus on the big picture instead of getting lost or confused by the smaller details like a single gate or one particular arrow.

 

#1 The Role of a Reflector
Here's the first thing to focus on, and it might seem way too straightforward but it will serve you well, I promise. It's the role of your energy type, and if you're here, you are probably a Reflector. That, in and of itself is a monumental categorization. So many of the Reflectors I've worked with have described their experience in finding out they're a Reflector, as being validating, feeling a sense of relief, feeling overwhelmed, and even grieving the loss of the part of their life up until now. All of these are real experiences and understandably so.

When you find out you're a Reflector, you're also discovering that you make up less than 1% of the population, and that you operate entirely differently from the other 99%. Now, I can see why someone might want to jump into other parts of their chart to look for some certainty or clues about what the future holds, but bypassing the significance of your role as a Reflector type is doing YOU a major disservice. To fully appreciate what this means in your life, you may want to look back at some major life events to see how you handled them. And similarly, put your future hat on and imagine how being a Reflector might change how you do things moving forward. Your role as a Reflector is to take on qualities and energy from other people, also called sampling, and show it back to them so they can take a hard look at how they're living life.

You are a mirror of truth, and this can feel a little strange when you first start noticing examples of how you've reflected others in real life. Maybe you started dressing like your best friend or sharing their taste in music, or you started using phrases and language they do. Some might assume you're just really impressionable, and to a degree that's spot on. You are meant to take on these qualities but only long enough that the other person or people around you see it and recognize it in themselves.

 

#2 How to Make Aligned Decisions
The second aspect of your human design I want you to get really comfortable with is your strategy and authority. Don't let the strange terms get in the way here. Strategy just means the tactic for how you make decisions, and the authority is where you'll feel the knowing in your body when it's time to make the decision.

For Reflectors, our strategy is to wait a lunar cycle, and this terminology drives me absolutely crazy because it doesn't actually describe our tactic at all. It paints a picture of someone who's sitting on a couch twiddling their thumbs for 28 days until a lightning bolt strikes them with an automatic yes or no. That is so far from the truth, and if you sit around waiting for a lunar cycle you're setting yourself up for disappointment because you won't find your answer.

Instead, here's the real way Reflectors make decisions. Yes, we have a deep connection to the lunar cycle, which I've explained in some earlier posts (check out 3 Ways the Lunar Cycle Impacts Reflectors and Why Quick Decisions Don't Work for Reflectors), but what's important now is that you know what to do during those 28 days. Instead of waiting, Reflectors are meant to prepare for opportunity. See the difference? Waiting is passive and makes you feel like you have no control over the process. But with preparing for opportunity, you're in the driver's seat, calling the shots, and getting feedback from the universe around which way to go. And since you're preparing, not waiting, you'll want to take small action steps that let you try on the decision, without needing to make anything finalized.

Here's an example. For a while I was considering writing a book for Reflectors but I hadn't felt a complete yes or no. Realizing that I needed to try on the decision, I began jotting down an outline with a sentence or two describing each chapter. That felt good! I was curious about how to make the messaging really clear and that got me looking into some programs that could teach me the ropes, without any major commitment. Again, this felt really good. I was drawn towards learning more, getting better, and figuring out all the components involved in actually bringing a book to life. This went on for several weeks, and before I knew it, I'd pretty much gotten everything in place and ready to go. I wasn't waiting for a decision. I spent my time trying on what it would be like to write a full-length book and everything along the way gave me the green light.

If I had listened to others telling me as a Reflector that I need to wait a lunar cycle, where do you think I'd be with this Reflector book? Probably still thinking about it but no closer to a decision! The reason understanding your decision-making process is so important for Reflectors, is because it is never a thinking exercise. Sure, you might need to work through some logistics and use your problem solving skills but this isn't a pros and cons list. We need to take a small action to get feedback in our bodies about whether it's a yes, a no, or maybe not right now.

That's the strategy portion but what exactly is a Reflector's authority? Depending on where you get your chart, you might see that your authority is called "lunar", "outer", or even "none". Again, this is super misleading because it sounds like we're just waiting for something outside of us to lay down a path, and that's not the case at all. If you are a Reflector, you have lunar authority, and what this means is that by preparing for opportunity throughout the lunar cycle, you'll get clarity and eventually a confirming feeling in your body telling you the answer. Your body will always tell you the truth about what's right for you but because Reflectors are very open to feeling what others around us feel, you need to give it enough space to fully realize how you feel about things, without letting someone else's energy cloud the decision.

 

#3 The Power of Openness
Now that we've covered the role of your type and decision-making, it's time to move onto the third key aspect of your chart. And the secret here is that this characteristic isn't even explained in a typical human design chart. It's something that you can see just by taking a look but you won't find a description of it anywhere. This hidden gem is your openness. That's right, look at all those shapes in your chart and you'll notice that none of them are shaded in. It's the telltale sign that you're a Reflector when none of your centres are shaded in, or defined, as it's called.

Now I'm going to explain why your open centres are so important. You may have heard that Reflectors are inconsistent in how we experience energy, except again we're facing a bit of a misconception. Nothing in human design says that Reflectors aren't capable of focusing or putting attention on something when it's important, so let's throw that notion in the garbage. Reflectors are not scatterbrains. Reflectors are deep, wise, and capable of producing incredible transformations.

The openness of your nine centres are where you're meant to experience your surroundings so you can become truly wise about other people through this energy exchange. Each of the nine centres controls a specific area. For example, the throat centre is all about expressing yourself. Whether it's by speaking up, through writing, or some other modality, it's your way of getting your point across. Since your throat centre is undefined you won't have a set way that you always speak or write or create. Whereas someone with a defined throat centre will almost always speak in the same tone and have their preferred vocabulary, a Reflector will find themselves speaking authoritatively one day, intellectually the next, and maybe minimally the following day.

In this example our openness allows us to take on whichever type of expression we're feeling most aligned with. And the best part about it is that by just letting yourself speak however you feel like speaking, you're actually more likely to connect with people in a way that helps your message be received. One thing I want to address here is that we are often taught to do things in a consistent way, and the other 99% of the population is pretty good at this. But when it comes to you as a Reflector, your magic lies in being able to change up how you do things based on who you're around.

Think about it. If you were talking to a child, you'd use different words than if you were doing a TED talk. Being adaptable is an incredible superpower, and it's not limited to the throat centre. I won't get into what all the centres do, we'll save that for a future post, but let's take the sacral centre for example here. This is an energy powerhouse. Someone with a defined sacral centre is going to have energy from morning to night to use in ways that make sense for them. Not Reflectors! Our sacral is open to being influenced by the energy of other people, so you might feel physically energetic for short bursts but more laidback the rest of the time. And guess what? These changes in your energy give you a chance to rest and restore your focus for whatever is coming next. So you can relax, knowing your openness is here to set you up for success.

Final Thoughts
Alright, there you have it. Three of the most important high-level areas of your Human Design to really lean into if you want all your unique gifts to show themselves. In my experience on my own human design journey, it's been these three focal areas that have had the biggest impact in allowing me to feel like the realest version of myself. It kind of lays the foundation so that all the other, more intricate parts can reveal themselves without me having to put in extra effort.

 

What I love most about starting with the type, the decision-making process, and understanding the benefits of our Reflector openness, is that you don't have to know a lot about human design to get a lot out of it. You're free to let your curiosity run wild and explore all the layers of your design but if you ever felt like human design was too complicated or difficult to understand, just having these 3 areas to start with makes it way easier to digest and make sense of things before you decide how far into your design you'd like to investigate.

Now, if you're not sure how to get started with making aligned decisions or you'd like a deeper understanding of your design in general, I invite you to head over to Reflector Essentials. It's our online space that shows you exactly how to embody and live your design, in a really easy to understand way. Plus it covers the fun stuff in your chart like your life's purpose and profile numbers, as well solving some of the challenges Reflectors tend to have with their careers and creating supportive relationships.