What is Authority in Human Design?

How to make the best decisions for your life

One of the wildest aspects of Human Design—okay, there are a few—is that no one is supposed to make decisions from their minds. Instead, we are meant to follow what’s called our authority, which is our decision-making process. 

Your authority is your internal compass and will reliably lead you to your truth and to correct choices for your life, even if they don’t make sense to others. 

When you follow your authority, you longer need to outsource your guidance to others. It’s one of the most important and actionable pieces of your design. Use your authority for the big life choices—who to enter a relationship with, what jobs to take, where to live—and for the small decisions whenever possible too. 

Here are the seven authorities.

The 7 authorities 

1. Emotional authority: wait until you feel clear about a decision. Wait until you’re in a calm emotional state (not super excited or super low). It’s best to sleep on decisions. Spontaneous decisions often lead to spontaneous mistakes. 

Note: An emotional authority is possible for Projectors, Manifesting Generators, Generators, and Manifestors. 

2. Sacral authority: trust your gut feeling. Drop into your belly and see how it responds to a choice you have to make. Trust your visceral pull towards something or away from something. Don’t sleep on decisions but trust your instinct in the moment. 

Note: Only Generators and Manifesting Generators can have a sacral authority. 

3. Splenic authority: listen to your intuition. It’s usually quiet and fleeting. Spontaneous decisions are correct for you, so trust what’s coming to you in the moment instead of sleeping on a decision. 

Note: Only Projectors and Manifestors can have a splenic authority. 

4. Ego authority: follow your heart’s desires. It’s correct for you to make selfish decisions that prioritize you. You have a lot of willpower, so make sure your heart is really into something before committing.

Note: Only Projectors and Manifestors can have an ego authority. 

5. Self-projected authority: talk it out. Use people as sounding boards to talk through your decisions. These sounding boards are not meant to give you advice but are so you can reach clarity when hear yourself verbally process. 

Note: Only Projectors can have a self-projected authority. 

6. Environmental (mental) authority: talk it out in an environment that feels good. Your mind is strong but you need to talk out your decisions to hear your own clarity in your voice. Use trustworthy people as sounding boards. Try talking it out in different spaces that feel good to you. 

Note: Only Projectors can have an environmental authority. 

7. Lunar authority: wait 28 days to make big decisions. As a Reflector, be sure you’re talking to the right people and in the right spaces when processing a decision over the course of a month. Be patient, your clarity comes over time. 

Note: Only Reflectors can have a lunar authority. 

A good rule of thumb for all the authorities is to notice if you’re rationalizing, explaining, or justifying a decision. That’s a sign that you’re using your mind and not your inner authority. 

There’s nothing wrong with using your mind! But you want to free it up from making decisions and use it instead to do your work in the world, share your gifts, or do your taxes. 

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To learn more about your unique Human Design, book a 1:1 reading with me. I help people make better love, career, and life decisions for themselves.