The 7 Inner Authorities
Human Design names seven inner authorities: Emotional, Sacral, Splenic, Ego, Self-Projected, Mental, and Lunar. Which one a chart carries depends on which centers are defined, in a fixed order: a defined Solar Plexus outranks everything, then the Sacral, the Spleen, the Heart, a G Center linked to the Throat, and definition only above the Throat; a chart with no defined centers has Lunar authority. Each is an experiment: a signal to notice, over a timing, before acting.
Emotional Authority
Emotional authority belongs to anyone with a defined Solar Plexus center and sits at the top of the Human Design authority hierarchy: there is no truth in the now, and clarity comes only from waiting out the emotional wave before deciding.
Sacral Authority
Sacral authority belongs to Generators and Manifesting Generators who have a defined Sacral center and an undefined Solar Plexus, and the experiment is to notice the gut's immediate response in the moment, before the mind has time to reason.
Splenic Authority
Splenic authority appears when the Spleen center is defined and neither the Solar Plexus nor the Sacral is, and it speaks once, quietly, in the present moment, as an instant sense of what is healthy or unsafe.
Ego Authority
Ego authority appears when the Heart center is defined and nothing above it in the hierarchy is, and the experiment is to say what you want out loud and notice whether the will has the appetite to see it through.
Self-Projected Authority
Self-projected authority occurs only in Projectors whose G Center is connected to the Throat by one of four channels, and its truth arrives in the speaking, when the person hears their own voice describe the decision.
Mental Authority
Mental authority, also called environmental authority, occurs in Projectors whose definition sits entirely above the Throat, leaving no inner yes or no: clarity comes from articulating the decision aloud to trusted people, in the right environment, until one answer survives the retelling.
Lunar Authority
Lunar authority belongs exclusively to Reflectors, the roughly 1% of people with no defined centers, and it requires waiting through a full lunar cycle of about 28 days, feeling the question from every state the cycle produces, before a major decision.
The seven authorities compared
| Authority | Center that carries it | The signal | What to experiment with | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emotional Authority | Solar Plexus defined | A wave of feeling that moves between high and low over time | Wait until the same answer holds at the high, the low, and in between; say nothing binding on the spot | Hours to weeks, until the charge is gone |
| Sacral Authority | Sacral defined, Solar Plexus open | A gut sound or shift, uh-huh or uh-uh, before any thought | Have someone ask yes-or-no questions out loud and notice the response that comes first | In the moment, in response to something |
| Splenic Authority | Spleen defined; Solar Plexus and Sacral open | One instant sense of safe or unsafe, with no story attached | Act on the first signal and notice what hesitation costs | Once, in the present; it does not repeat |
| Ego Authority | Heart defined; Solar Plexus, Sacral and Spleen open | What the will wants, heard as you say it | Say what you want out loud and notice whether the will is in it | As you speak |
| Self-Projected Authority | G Center linked to the Throat; nothing above it defined | Your own voice describing the choice | Talk it through with people who listen without steering, and notice what your voice says | Over one or more conversations |
| Mental Authority | Only Head, Ajna and Throat defined | No inner yes or no; the room and the retelling change the answer | Talk it through in more than one place and with more than one person, and notice which answer survives | Over several conversations and environments |
| Lunar Authority | No defined centers | The same question felt differently as the Moon moves through the chart | Track the question through a full cycle, talking it over, and notice what stays constant | About 28 days |
Every authority page also covers the physiology behind it. See the Human Design medical astrology reference for the full picture.
New to the idea of an inner authority at all? Start with What if You Were Your Own Authority? For where authority lives in the body and how to recognize it, read The Mechanics of Accessing Your Authority.
Ra Uru Hu on this, in his own voice
One recording from the Jovian Archive, played through SoundCloud. Nothing loads from SoundCloud until you press play.
- Human Design Is About Decision Making SoundCloud
Questions people ask
What are the seven authorities in Human Design?
Emotional (Solar Plexus), Sacral, Splenic, Ego (Heart), Self-Projected (G Center), Mental (also called environmental), and Lunar (Reflectors). They rank in that order: whichever is highest among the defined centers in a chart is the authority. Emotional is the most common; Lunar belongs only to Reflectors.
How do I find my authority?
Calculate a chart from your birth date, time, and place. The chart shows which centers are defined, and the hierarchy above gives the authority; the free chart on this site names it under the bodygraph. If your birth time is unknown, treat the authority as unconfirmed until the time is narrowed, since a different time can change which centers are defined.
What is the difference between Strategy and Authority?
Strategy belongs to the Type and describes how a person meets what comes: a Generator responds, a Projector waits for the invitation, a Manifestor informs, a Reflector waits a lunar cycle. Authority is the signal in the body once something is in front of you. Both are experiments to run for a while and observe, and the two work together.
Which authority is the most common?
Emotional authority. Roughly half of people have a defined Solar Plexus, and a defined Solar Plexus outranks every other center, so about half of all charts carry it. Sacral authority is next, since Generators and Manifesting Generators with an open Solar Plexus make up most of the rest.
Can my authority change?
No. It is read from the definition in the birth chart, which is fixed. Transiting planets can define a center for a day or a few weeks and change how a decision feels during that window, but the authority in the chart stays what it was at birth.
Is the mind ever the authority?
No. In Human Design the mind is never the inner authority, and that holds for Mental authority too: there, clarity comes from hearing yourself talk the question through in the right environments, and the mind is the instrument being listened to rather than the judge.
Which of these is in your chart?
Calculate your free bodygraph and see in seconds.
Get My Free HD ChartAlready have your chart? Have it read for you