What is a Projector in Human Design?
I’m stoked to write this post about Human Design Projectors. When I started digging around my Projector type, a lot of content I found was not written by fellow Projectors. Instead, it was written through the eyes of (usually) Generator types or Manifestors who often compare the Projector mechanics to their own. That’s why you hear about us needing more rest, compared to the Generator workhorse or the lightning speed Manifestor. Or you might get told too many times that you need to wait for your invitation (aka “know your place”) as a means to dismiss a Projector.
As Projectors, we’re the newest Human Design type. We’re one of the three solar types (Reflectors are the only lunar type) and we make up roughly 20% of the population.
My name’s Fiona - I’m a 3/5 self-projected Projector and I’ll be your guide through this awesome world of projecting. Save this post for later or when you need a pep talk in this wild world.
Generating Your Human Design Chart
How do you know that you’re a Projector? The only way is to get ahold of your Human Design chart. I recommend using The Wild Pixel’s chart generator.
When you type in your birth info, you get something that looks like this:
Your chart isn’t going to look exactly like mine. What we will have in common is that our sacral centers are not colored in.
The Projector’s Aura
You don’t see this in the Human Design chart but all Projectors have a similar aura. At this point, I’d encourage you to dismiss any preconceived notions about auras because you need to look at Human Design as its own system. Temporarily forget any expectations of aura colors, shapes, or meanings.
Projectors have a piercing, projecting, and penetrating aura. This is important to remember when you read about the Projector strategy of waiting for an invitation.
The Projector’s aura makes them perfect for one on one work. This doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of group work or that you are stuck trading dollars for hours, but let’s consider a few things:
Do you get overwhelmed when multiple people are talking to you at once?
Do you have a hard time making generalizations because you can see how unique and different each person’s needs are?
Are you sensitive to how each individual relationship feels to you?
You don’t have to answer any of these questions right now but these are prompts for you to chew on as you explore your Projector type.
What does “Waiting for an Invitation” REALLY mean?
I want you to sit with the words I used to describe a Projector’s aura.
Piercing.
Projecting.
Penetrating.
These words have an uncomfortable vibe to them. They all require some form of consent before the other party is truly receptive. This is why Projectors need to wait for an invitation before they connect with someone.
A few days ago, I saw a pretty sad post on social media. Someone was talking about how much they wish people would stop trying to explain Human Design to them and give them space to learn on their own. A Projector commented that they bet all the people explaining were Projectors who forgot to wait for an invitation.
The other piece to a Projector’s strategy is to wait for recognition. Recognition is a two-way street.
In the above example, the person who felt that Projectors need to wait before answering something on Facebook is toeing a gray line. Ideally, a Projector wouldn’t waste their energy answering someone on social media anyway, unless that person has shown over and over that they value that specific Projector’s insight.
This is also why I’m no longer part of forums, Facebook groups, or any “free” Human Design spaces. These are usually places where people recognize the value of something free rather than the value of the person providing their guidance. As a Projector, there is something to be said about being recognized by people who have skin in the game and invest in you the way you invest your guidance in them.
It’s also so important for you to understand that not everyone is ready for you. You’re often several steps ahead of others and you need to learn how to cultivate space for those who aren’t ready for your aura.
As a personal example, I’ve been through a lot of crap in previous relationships. I also used to subscribe to the idea that I need to stay married to someone who didn’t treat me well for the sake of my children. Now that I’m on the other side, it’s tempting for me to tell people in similar situations to just get out and save their children the grief. This is me projecting rather than guiding. Instead, I tell my loved ones, “I’ve been there and if you ever need an exit plan, you know where to find me.”
Protecting Your Projector Energy
People have a tendency to take advantage of Projectors. Meanwhile, Projectors subscribe to the narrative that to be a good person or to truly be a guide, they have to make other people happy to sustain that recognition.
You get to say no, at any time. Again, recognition is a two-way street. Not only do other people recognize you, but you need to recognize that this is something worth your energy. This is how you protect yourself.
Many Projectors also consider themselves star seeds, empaths, or other variations of a highly sensitive person. They will walk into a store and pass by someone, feeling their despair. They will hop on a call with a coaching client and download a myriad of information about them. However, you can’t trap yourself into thinking that this is what your life needs to be in order for your sensitivity to be valid. One of my Projector mentors tends to remind other Projectors to mind their own business. For example, if a woman passes by you and you can sense her grief, let her grieve. Don’t try to fix her. Don’t try to wonder if your sensitivity is right. Don’t pity her. Go about your day and mind your business.
This is what it means for a Projector to wait for recognition and invitation. Go about your day and continue doing what you love, until other people make their business your business. This is also how you protect yourself as a sensitive Projector.
The Projector Subtypes
Projectors are not all the same which is why it’s difficult to read something like a blog post on Projectors and relate to everything. Let’s look at your subtypes through your motor centers (or lack of).
Classic Projectors
If you have no defined motors (none of them are colored in), your primarily get your fuel from the people around you or the transits. This makes you a classic Projector that is often told you need to get a lot of rest. To reframe the sleepy Projector stereotype, it’s important that you understand how you’re spending your energy. Are the invitations you’re saying yes to really invitations that you want? Are you deconditioning from what society wants you to do versus what your authority encourages you to do? When a classic Projector experiences burnout, it takes much longer for them to fully bounce back versus those with a defined motor center (aka Manifestors, Generator types, and Energy Projectors).
As a classic Projector myself, I say no to a lot of things. Can we gossip about our neighbors? Don’t have the energy for it. Can we drag out this launch and do lots of free webinars? Nope, don’t feel like it. Since I know that I rely on external sources of energy, I’m not going to waste the precious energy I do have on anything other than what I genuinely enjoy.
Splenic Projectors (with no connection to the heart center or root center) and self-projected Projectors are classic Projectors.
Energy Projectors
If you have a defined motor center (one of the motor centers labeled in the image above is colored in), you are an energy Projector. You won’t have a defined sacral because this would make you a Generator, not a Projector, but the other three motor centers may be defined for you. Motor centers are the energy resources of a human being. Since you have consistent access to at least one energy resource, you may not relate to the stereotype of the sleepy, tired Projector. Still, you are not designed to be a workhorse, pushing through the day using your motor center’s resources. (Generators can do this because the sacral center is self-regenerating through their response - the other motor centers are not).
Splenic Projectors (with a connection to the heart center or root center), emotional Projectors, and ego-projected Projectors are energy Projectors.
Mental/Environmental Projectors
There are two umbrellas of authorities: inner authorities and external authorities. In Human Design, we often tell people to tune into their own bodies because they likely have an inner authority. Reflectors and Mental Projectors have an external authority. In fact, reading content about Reflectors may be more relatable for you rather than just content about Projectors, especially since waiting a lunar cycle can help you consider a decision.
You are a mental/environmental Projector if you do not have any motor centers defined and no other centers defined below the throat center. I encourage mental Projectors to be in spaces where they are around people that are okay with them taking their time. “I’m processing right now,” is a great phrase to keep in your back pocket. Also, know that your decisions and the flow of information may change on a day-to-day basis. It’s not that you’re inconsistent; you’re designed that way.
The Emotional authority Projector.
This can make certain Projectors groan because first, they had to wait for an invitation. Then, they have to wait for their emotional wave!
📌 Very important: The waiting has no minimal or maximum time limit. It’s a wait.
Sometimes, the emotional authority has already waited, but they didn’t realize it. For example, if the Projector has is being proposed to, they have likely ridden the emotional wave of knowing they want to marry this person.
It’s common to feel ups and downs (though there’s one variation of the emotional authority that doesn’t feel it as much. If you’re an emotional authority, my 40+ page PDF can help you understand if you have that emotional wave).
Do not force yourself to wait longer than feels right. The trap a lot of emotional authorities run into is that they trick themselves into thinking they haven’t waited enough. Listen to your wave.
The Splenic authority Projector.
The splenic center is different from the emotional center. It is the most primal of all authorities and speaks through intuition and instinct. This happens suddenly and in the moment. It’s important to note that the splenic authority is associated with good health however that looks like for you.
📌 This does not mean that if you have a chronic illness, you are using your splenic authority incorrectly. Some practices, including Human Design, believe that the splenic center plays a part, but you are born with what you’re born with, and your life’s circumstances are your own. For example, your definition of good health might mean taking several naps daily because you’re prone to exhaustion. Don’t compare what your good health means to other people’s.
The splenic authority is notorious for “telling you once” and never telling you again. In case there are splenic authorities or defined splenic people in my webinars or courses, I always start by saying not to solely listen to me and take notes. There will always be a video replay.
Instead, I encourage them to listen to their intuition because they can forget what messages came to them or how their splenic center reacted to something I said when they were in the zone.
The Ego-Projected authority Projector.
Ego-manifested Projectors are rare. It is based on willpower- the pull of whether the Projector is willing to do something. Since willpower is something society deems “pushing through,” it’s a common misconception that Manifestors have that they can “will themselves through.” They mistake it for the Generator’s sustainable sacral center.
The ego-projected authority is capable of burnout, and if the Projector can’t fulfill their end of the bargain, they dive into their bitterness, not self.
Another important thing to remember is that this authority isn't about thinking they’re willing to do something. They feel it in their chest or their heart. There’s no wondering or logical reasoning.
Bargaining, contracts, and the material world are the playgrounds of the ego-projected Projector. It comes naturally. They understand the language of money, though, when in not-self, they mindlessly use it due to something wrong. It doesn’t change the fact they are born knowing money.
I’ve had Projectors ask me why they’re not rich or where this money is supposed to come from. I don’t know. There’s no concrete answer other than if it feels like you’re supposed to be rich, your authority will take you there. Nothing in Human Design guarantees money or the manifestation of cash.
Ego-projected authorities tend to feel that they don’t relate to being a sleepy, tired Projector because they have this defined motor center. They can will through, but the ego is still not a self-sustaining sacral center. They gotta be careful not to fall into that trap!
The Self-Projected authority Projector.
This is my authority. It is based on the G center, the diamond in the middle of a Human Design chart. This center is based on a sense of love, direction, and identity, meaning that this Projector comes to decisions from that place.
Since the G center isn’t an “awareness center,” they have no concept of being aware of their identity or where they’re headed. They just know where they’re pulled to and what they’re saying. That’s it. Overthinking is the bane of this Projector.
In my experiment, I feel a tugging in my chest. Something just feels right and needs no explanation.
Also, note the term self-projected. This means it comes from the self and doesn’t require outside intervention.
The Environ(mental) authority Projector.
This is the rarest authority for the Projector. The difficulty of this authority is that I will tell people to check in “internally” with themselves.
Mental authority Projectors can’t do that because they have an external, not internal, authority.
They require checking out the environment and feeling it out, much like how a bat navigates something through echolocation. Information bounces back. A trusted circle is important for the mental Projector, but they are not designed to outsource that decision. They can get feedback from that person. The mental Projector is also not someone designed to “think” about their decision, though the name can be misleading.
Instead, let the answers bounce around. It will “tell” you.
Being in a relationship with a Projector.
If you’re reading this because you’re in a partnership or relationship with a Projector, here are a few things you should know:
Ask them out. Even if you’re already together, ask them on dates.
Know them deeply. Few people in this world take the time to know the other person intimately. Remember their favorite foods, songs, etc. This lets them know you recognize them.
Call them out when they are being invasive. They must be invited; sometimes, you are not ready to share something with them. Their aura is so piercing that it can be particularly painful for you.
Show them they are appreciated. Projectors quickly lose self-esteem and try to be someone they’re not when they feel unappreciated.
Sleeping habits for a Projector.
Traditional Human Design suggests that Projectors should sleep alone to detach from other people’s energies from their daily interactions. They should also sleep well before they are tired because, unlike the Generators, they are not designed to be exhausted and collapse. If they feel overstimulated or constantly in a state of bitterness, they should try sleeping alone to discharge other people’s conditioning.
Auras extend 6 feet (1.8 meters) in all directions. As long as there is that distance’s worth of disconnect, deconditioning is happening.
Marketing Yourself as a Projector
I love talking to Projectors about their businesses, marketing, and masteries because resources come to us so much differently than our Manifestor or Generator type counterparts. In a world filled with sales funnels, digital marketing hacks, and salesmanship, all a Projector needs is to exist.
People who are incarnated as a Projector are here to hone their mastery. Projectors tend to ask me what that mastery is but in truth, it can change on a day to day basis. Mastery is not linear.
The only trick to marketing as a Projector is to partake in work that lights you up that day. I often shut down my Human Design readings or don’t update my blog for months at a time because that’s how I’m currently feeling. I’ve worked in digital marketing long enough to be able to recite consistency is king! but whoever said that was probably reciting out of the Generator’s workbook - and Generators, we are not.
Our aura is piercing and penetrating, doing its best when it focuses on one thing at a time. For example, I wrote this blog post in a single day. I woke up, felt called to write, and let the content flow through me. I did minimal research on the topic because the days I do readings are days where I learn more about real-life Projectors (including my lived experience). Then I took a break to play video games with my partner for several hours, read a book, and came back to this post when I felt the pull.
If I forced myself to write this blog post to optimize my website, you’d have something so dry that it puts crackers to shame. As I followed my passion, I worked on these masteries:
My writing (because I’m writing)
Honoring my truth (because I’m writing from my perspective of Projectors, not what I imagine a search engine would want me to say just to put me on the front page)
Storytelling and writing again (because my Dungeons and Dragons book gives me lots of tips on how to tell a better story which, in turn, makes me a better writer)
Communication (because what’s better than slaying dragons with your partner to hone communication skills, right?)
You see my point. Society would have you believe that you need twenty years of experience, a bunch of certificates, and endless accolades from peers in order for you to have true mastery and gain recognition/invitations. That world is just conditioning that Projectors subscribe to because our way of existing seems so alien.
Try taking just one day out of your schedule as a “wherever the stars take me,” day. See what happens 😉
