What is a Generator in Human Design?
There are two types of Generators: the classic (also known as pure) Generator and the Manifesting Generator.
🟥 If you’re a Manifesting Generator, read this post instead.
What makes someone a Generator type in Human Design?
Your chart has nine shapes called centers. Each center is either colored in or white.
Colored in: Defined.
Not colored in: Undefined.
You are a Generator because you have a defined sacral center. To get your full Human Design chart, you can generate it here.
The sacral center is the red square in the image below.
Generators dictate life on Earth.
The sacral center is directly correlated to reproductive organs and sex.
If you are an asexual Generator, this doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with your sacral. If your sacral center dictates that you are asexual, that’s what your sacral center has declared. Life is breathed into everything, not just babies.
Since Generator types comprise 70% of the population, you can see how impactful the sacral center is on the rest of humanity.
The sacral center is the only center that can work sustainably on a day-to-day basis, meaning that Generators are the only type capable of shaping the world. They can see the visions of others and bring them to life- as long as the sacral center gives a yes.
This might sound like Generators are here to be the workhorses and servants of the other types. Generators are designed to work, but they are not here to be used.
Like all types, they have their own strategy and authority that determines whether they say yes or no.
In a way, the other types are at the mercy of Generators who bring things to life.
Because they dictate it.
Why do Generators need to “wait for a response?”
Generators have an enveloping, hugging aura that constantly pulls stimuli toward them. This aura extends six feet (1.8 meters) in all directions. While this happens, the aura dumps all of that stimuli toward the sacral center, encouraging the sacral center to respond.
Here’s a rough drawing to give you an idea of what it looks like 👇🏼
This is where the sacral center gives the response, which helps the Generator’s decision-making process.
How does the sacral center respond?
Traditional Human Design says that the sacral center makes “uh-huh” and “nuh-uh” noises to answer yes or no. The sacral has a toddler-like voice that doesn’t speak with full sentences. It’s a voice you’re likely familiar with but need to reacquaint, like an old diary.
In my experience with private clients, I have heard people feel hot/cold in their womb/belly area. They may have also felt turned on, whether in an “I’m going to hump something” way or not. If you’re a Generator type, you’ll learn how your sacral responds to you.
Don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t come immediately. It’s like a muscle. The more you practice and give it space to tell you how it speaks, the more you’ll understand. Eventually, it becomes automatic and something you don’t think about.
That’s the goal: getting so in tune with your strategy that you don’t think about it.
Exercises for Generators and their sacral response
There’s an exercise I give clients when they leave sessions.
The sacral center loves multiple-choice questions. My partner is a Generator and doesn’t like to choose things to watch on TV. He always hands me the remote and says, “You choose something.”
I also don’t like choosing, so I look up, give him three options, and let his sacral take over from there. It helps keep the peace.
So next time my clients want to order something, I have to go through the menu and let their sacral talk. Maybe they want a snack and have a choice between three different yogurt flavors. They may also have three outfits they may want to wear that day.
Let the sacral decide.
Putting the dominant hand over the lower belly (sacral) can also help trigger the mind to remember not to think about the answer but to listen for the answer.
If you’re a Generator or live with one, try multiple-choice.
I have two Manifesting Generator children, but they are still Generator types. Since they were toddlers, I would ask them, “Are you big, medium, or small hungry?” when I plate their food. They’re much older now, but they still respond with one of those options. My Generator partner has also adopted this as a way of answering me!
Generators are designed to find their work and live with ease
I’m prefacing this by saying that you’re not “doing Human Design wrong” if you’re a Generator who is stressed out. We’re talking about a perfect world where most of our lives are not dictated by laws and rules outside our control. However, we do the best we can with what we have.
The not-self of the Generator is frustration, which happens when a Generator is worn out but isn’t doing work that makes it experience their signature, satisfaction.
All Generators should be exhausted at the end of the day. They are designed to collapse in the bliss of doing good work for that day.
A check-in before bed can be helpful.
What caused frustration today?
What created a sense of satisfaction today?
This can help a Generator tap into what kind of exhaustion they’re receiving.
But the question here is: how can a Generator determine the type of work that they are best designed to do? What brings ease?
Human Design can give hints, but it doesn’t give a concrete answer such as, “You should be a life coach!” or “You should get a sugar daddy!” Your strategy and sacral responses, especially when you understand your not-self versus your signature, will help you narrow it down. It is usually a “theme” rather than a singular title.
When a Generator begins to discover their work, they find the way they contribute to life. This is where that “life of ease” comes in.
This is where the Generator gets comments of, “Wow, it seems so natural and easy for you!”
In turn, it also gives Generators life.
Generators are nobody’s bitch
A trap Generators fall into is that they believe they are here to make anyone else’s dreams come true. They are actually designed to be picky. The sacral isn’t saying yes to just anyone. It’s playing hard to get, and it will cause frustration and painful exhaustion when forced into submission.
Generators are capable of turning their sacral yes into reality. They have the sustainable energy to breathe life into existence.
But not just any life and certainly not to be used by just anyone.
Generators are encouraged to have thick skin and foster the ability to say “no” when the sacral is resisting. Of course, there are things a person cannot say no to, such as obligations to other people and employers.
It is enough for the Generator to do it, but understand that they are getting the sacral no. From there, they can manage how much or little energy they’re willing to devote to whatever they need to do.
The Emotional authority Generator
Generators can either be a sacral authority or an emotional authority. If you’re a sacral authority, you’re all set. The exercises above will be enough.
If you’re an emotional Generator, your sacral response is connected to your feelings. It can take time for your sacral to give you that yes or no for large decisions, but don’t take silence for a broken sacral. It is asking you for patience. You’ll also notice that there may be a back-and-forth chatter in your sacral center as it goes through the greyness of the emotional scale. Your sacral is feeling it out. There is no time minimum or limit except for what the day-to-day world enforces.
I’ve also met emotional authorities who force themselves to wait because they don’t believe their decision can be made that quickly. Patience doesn’t have to be forced. Imagine asking someone an important question about how they feel. Sometimes, they already know because they have felt it for a while. Sometimes, they have to mull over it. It’s unpredictable, as human emotions are complex.
Being in a relationship with a Generator
If you’re reading this because you’re in a partnership or relationship with a Generator, here are a few things you should know:
Give them options. Instead of “Where do you want to eat tonight?” ask them, “Do you want to get sushi, pasta, or curry?”
Be patient with their silence. They do not always have instant answers, and their sacral should not be pressured into giving them.
If you are both Generators, it’s common and healthy for both of you to ask each other questions back and forth so your sacrals can respond to each other. Allow yourselves patience.
Acknowledge what the Generator is good at. This will help them recognize what they bring to life and what brings them to life.
Sleeping habits for the Generator
Traditional Human Design suggests that Generators should go to bed when they are exhausted. Until then, they can burn off their energy by watching TV, going for walks, etc. It’s up to that individual Generator.
However, this is only one part of sleep hygiene. Regardless of type, everyone needs to acknowledge the difference between staying up on their phone because they’re addicted versus knowing when to put it down.
My partner is a Generator, and I’m a Projector. Despite traditional Human Design teachings, we share a bed. Before we met, I was someone who went to bed promptly at 10 pm. I shut off my lights, turn off all electronics, snuggle with my cat, and close my eyes. I’ve always been lucky to be the type of person who can fall asleep within minutes of closing my eyes.
My Generator's other half has the TV on when he goes to bed. He sets a timer for one hour and puts something on in the background until he falls asleep. Funny, he manages to fall asleep faster than I can, though I imagine part of it is because the darn TV is so stimulating. There’s the rare occasion that he’s exhausted and doesn’t bother with the TV, but even after a full day of physical labor at his job, he somehow manages to have leftover energy.
Check out the rest of your chart
The Generator type is just one part of your chart. You can use my Human Design chart calculator to get the rest. I also offer the expanded PDF version that covers everything you see (and what you don’t) in a 40+ page PDF specific to your chart.
