generator human design type

What are the Types in the Human Design System and how do they relate to each other?

In this blog you can learn what the types from the Human Design system are but most of all what does that knowledge mean in a practical way. What is the relationship between a Generator, Manifesting Generator, Manifestor, Projector and Reflector? Do you need to take a test to figure out if you are a generator? We zoom into the Generator Human Design Type. What type of energy is a generator? What the difference is between a Manifesting Generator and a Generator is something you can find in my other blogpost. 

Key Take Aways

  • There are four types: a Generator, a Projector, a Manifestor and a Reflector. 
  • The Manifesting Generator shares the same aura as the Generator but is a sub type and is called an Express Builder in the BG5 language. 
  • A type is not a label, and no type is better then others. We all have a role to play in our society. 
  • You can recognize a Generator by the humming sounds. 
  • A Generator thrives on Yes / No questions. 

Are you a Generator?

If you don’t know what your type is in the Human Design system. Well, let’s find out. Unlike Disk, Insights or the Myers Briggs personality test you don’t have to fill out a personality test. In Human Design we look at the imprint of the neutrino energy during your birth. For the calculation of your human design chart you only need to fill in your birth day, birth time and your birth place in the below form so you can Create your free Human Design Chart. Underneath the graphic of your bodygraph you will find what type you are!

There are Four Types in the Human Design System

There are four different types in the Human Design system: a Generator, a Manifestor, a Projector and a Reflector and one subtype a manifesting generator. A common misconception is that there are five types, but no a Manifesting Generator also belongs to the Generator aura type in the Human Design system. There are similarities and differences between a Generator and Manifesting Generator as you can read is my other blogpost

The definition of your channels in your human design chart are formed by your 26 gate activations based upon the positions of the planets during your birth and about 3 months before you where born. The energy of your definition and the life force channels they can create can “light up” your energy centers as a “lightbulb”. Depending on what centers are defined, aka colored in your chart that will give us the first clue of what energy type you are according to the Human Design system. The next step is to look at the position of your channels and how they connect your defined centers. You can think of your chart as a circuitboard! So your definition determines your energy type.

Energy Types vs Non Energy Types

The four types are grouped according to their ability to consistently generate energy or not. There are two energy types. You have the manifestors & generators who can self generate their energy. 

And there are two “non” energy types, the projectors and the reflectors. The relfectors have a no colored in centers and all the 9 shapes in their bodygraph is white. The Projector Type is a bit more complicated because we have Energy Projectors, who have their Solar Plexus, Root or Heart center defined. And we have non energy Projectors. These are the Splenic Projector, the Self Projected Projector and the Mental Projector. 

Non energy types do not have constant access to their own generating and manifesting capacity and their energy and stamina for work is not constant available to them. They need a more rest & sleep. 

But can perhaps can do more in less time because they use their there energy well and more efficiently! And this is also where strategy comes into mind is that is connected to your type. But more on that in a later when we talk about strategy.

Are Generators rare in Human Design?

Generators are about 35,83% of our world population, 30,44% are Manifesting Generators, 22,58% are Projectors, 9,71% are Manifestors and 1,44% is a reflector. So a Generator is not the rarest type because that is the Reflector type. That doesn’t mean that you are not special and unique. Because of all the layers of this mechanical personal development system there are so many variations that you truly are a unique cosmic event. You are the one and only you, so that kind of make you the rarest of all people! 

These statistics are based on the 43 million charts that the Jovian Archive has collected in their database. Of course these numbers might vary a little bit here and there when even more people will use the Human Design system. But we can conclude that that certain types are more common than others.

It is good the note that a type is not a label. Human Design is not about labeling or putting you in a certain box. 

generator human design chart

What is an aura type in the Human Design system?

Your type has to do something with your aura, your vibe. Your electromagnetic field, your bubble, your spark. Your energy that you bring to the room!

We cannot see it, but it is a form of unconscious communication in our interaction with others. It’s an electromagnetic field that we all carry with us at all times. You personal aura spans about two arm lengths, so if you would stretch out your arms, about twice of that space that is your aura reach.

Perhaps you felt something in your body change when you stepped into a room and somebody enters the room as well. Or perhaps you feel it when certain people stand to close to you in an elevator and you think “get out of my personal space”, right? 

Well, that personal space is kind of your aura. I know that it’s a word that is to woo woo for some people. And that is ok. For now just accept my word that there is a difference between the vibes of a Manifestor, a Generator, a Projector or a Reflector.

I organize Living Your Design workshops now and then as a IHDS certified Living Your Design Guide. And in these workshops we learn about this aspect of unconscious communication. And we practice with it in real life when we are in a room together. But since we are still covering our basics let’s move on to the different roles that the types have in our society.

And to illustrate that …it’s story time…

Once Upon A Time...

The Manifestors are the Kings and Queens of old. They set the big picture and could rule land and resources.

The builders or Generators worked for the nobles in exchange for protection. The Queen or the Kind devised a new plan and the builders went out and did the work.

The Manifestor or King or Queen relied on the reflection of the group which the evaluator, or Reflector mirrored to them. You could say that the Reflector is the canary in the coal mine…If the group miners are well, so is the canary. If the canary is affected by the toxic environment in the mines, well then the canary is the first to show the signs of that. And that is kind of how the reflector has the ability to reflect what is happening in the group and the environment they live in. 

The builders are building. And the wise advisors, or Projectors help the builders by guiding them in their process and asking them the right questions so the builders get the job done in an efficient matter.

The express builders, or Manifesting Generators, move at lightning speed, but also tend to forget a few things there and there. They move from a to z and back to D. Where as the classical builders are slower but consistent. Step by step they move in constant strides. From A to B from B to C etcetera.

And so we all have a role to play in the puzzle that is called our society. There is no type of “right” or “wrong. There is no judgment. Each is powerful in his own unique way. And when we learn to embrace ourselves, with love and self love, we can realize that we can only be ourselves.

So if we look at types we can say that approximately 66% of the world populations is a Generator type, or has a Generator aura. We therefore live in the society made on the basis of building ability of the largest group of energy type, the Generators.

What makes a Generator a Generator?

Let’s dive into the type of the Generators. 

I am a generator myself.

Generator are…well the generators. if you are a generator you can turn on the engines and recharge your inner battery at night. So every time you sleep the next morning you wake up with fresh energy. As a generator, or classical builder in the BG5 language, you are made to build on your own and other people’s idea’s. You may enthusiastically have fun, work and thereby generate the energy that others come to draw from you.

Everyone wants to hitch a ride on your energy. Therefore, they put some plugs into your generator unasked and they overload you with tasks, chores and problems for you to solve.

It’s as if you placed your generator, like the physical generator, the diesel generator that we use when we need some power, if you put it in the middle of the street and everybody plugs in their cables because they want your free energy. Even though the plugs they don’t even match our sockets and they try to smack them in anyway. Perhaps overloading your system until you made the decision to take out all the unwanted plugs of everybody else. And become more selective if the plug actually is allowed to tap into your energy.

Generators are here to shape the world. The creative energy from the sacral energy center is manifested from the inner response which, when applied correctly, can move mountains and transform everything. Generators are here to “make” life, to generate life. Born to work and love to be busy.

The generator is here to make the generation flourish. The generator only has to wait for life to call her and then step in at the right time and enjoy the process.

Generators strategy: Waiting for the Response

Waiting for what life brings a response to the triggers we receive. A sound, a smell, a picture, someone’s energy, a book, a TV show,  a news article, art. Everything around  us is stimuli to which generators respond. We therefore have a response ability. Or a responsibility, a responsibility for our own energy.

It is as if we have a magnet inside of us which attracts people, events and material things to our “bubble.” The things that are correct for you “trigger” your energy and you feel a physical, often unconscious, reaction. Gut feeling perhaps. Then when you react to a person, situation or action you can act with the full force of your strong energy.

So, generators are excellent builders. They draw their energy from their sacral center, the source of creative life energy. You have an enormous amount of energy at your disposal, but it takes some experimentation to best handle your energy. Most people have energy leaks and their “batteries” are drained by devoting energy to people pleasing, fears and your inner critic takes also a lot of energy from you if you will let it. In my group coaching program the Hexagon of Freedom I work with entrepreneurs who want to live life on their own terms! 

When you initiate yourself and try to do what your brain or your thought tells you to do, you may encounter resistance that manifests itself in frustration or the feeling of being stuck. When everything falls into place you feel satisfaction and content.

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Human Design Generator the Life force

There is a metaphor that I use to describe a Generator to my Human Design reading clients.

A Generator is like a diesel train. Slow and steady you start your journey on the track that you choose. In the beginning the diesel motor takes a little bit of energy to get started. The “all aboard” and the whistle is your trigger to get the energy moving. And within a few minutes you rattle in a steady flow over the train tracks. However it is harder for you to stop immediately. If you need to pivot your course, change tracks or even backtrack you need to slow down first. Only when you come to a full stop, then you can pivot to another route.

I just completed a cross country trip with the Amtrak from Flagstaff Arizona to New York, so the “slow but steady pace of the train” is still very fresh in my mind.

And if you translate this metaphor to daily life. It’s about responding to the right trigger. The trigger that gave you the energy boast to get going. And when you are going you are at full speed ahead. 

But on the other hand, you cannot pivot really quickly, maybe you’ve been in a certain situation with work or with relationships that you feel frustrated, but cannot change your circumstances immediately. 

That requires first a process of slowing down. Of assessing what are the things that frustrate you the most. Self care is the magic word here. You can only be the light of the party when you take good care of yourself. Because of how your unconscious vibes work, if you feel happy, everybody in your direct environment is happy. So vibrate happiness. But if you are not happy and you feel frustrated about your life, then everybody who is near you will feel your frustration.

It gives a whole different perspective of feeling egoistic right? With all good intentions you mentally try so hard to keep everybody happy, but it is not until you start taking care of yourself first that you can unconsciously make your environment a happier and healthier place.

I am curious if this sparks any recognition in you if you are a Generator. Or if you know a generator in your family or relationship?  

The sacral sounds of a Generator

Another trick to spot a Generator is that they are humming…
Hmm hmm hmm is a YES!!!
Uhhnee is a no!

It is kind of funny because I notices this in my environment as well. I am trying to “spot” the Generator. And it is really interesting to see that in conversations with certain people the humming part it’s so obvious now that I kind of start paying attention to it. It is a fun exercise to do. Think of the hmmn hmm hnnmm or unnghnn, it is a very different distinguishment of yes, yes, yes, no. So that is a generator.

Also good to know is that if you have a generator in your environment or if you are a generator.  It’s is very goot to use Yes No questions if you want an answer from them. This helps generators a lot. But more on that later when we dive into decision making later in this blog and podcast series.

That’s it for this episode. In the next one we will dive into the Manifesting Generator. It is still a Generator. But what are the differences between a Classical Builder or Pure generator or a Manifesting generator? You can read it here!

Have a happy morning, evening or afternoon, where ever you are reading this from and until next time!