The 9 Human Design Centers Explained
The centers are the nine geometric shapes in your bodygraph — energy hubs that each govern a specific area of life, from how you think to how you act, feel, and make decisions. They evolved from the seven chakras into nine, and in your chart each center is either defined (colored in) or undefined (left white).
Whether a center is defined or open is one of the most practical things you can know about yourself. It shows where you are consistent and reliable, and where you are flexible, impressionable, and here to learn rather than to lead.
Defined vs. Undefined Centers
A defined center has a fixed, dependable way of operating. You radiate that energy consistently, and other people feel it coming from you. An undefined (open) center has no fixed energy of its own — instead it samples and amplifies the energy of the people and environments around you.
Open centers are where you are most conditioned, where you try hardest to fit in or prove yourself. They are also where you grow wise over a lifetime, precisely because you experience that theme in so many different forms through other people.
The Nine Centers and What They Govern
Each center carries a distinct theme: the Head/Crown (mental pressure and inspiration), the Ajna/Mind (how you conceptualize and form opinions), the Throat (communication and bringing things into action), the G/Self (identity, love, and direction), the Heart/Ego (willpower, worth, and material drive), the Sacral (life-force and work energy), the Solar Plexus/Emotions (emotional waves and feeling), the Spleen (intuition, instinct, and bodily health), and the Root (stress, pressure, and the drive to get things done). Use the cards above to explore each center in depth.