“Follow your Strategy and Authority”…but what does this actually mean?
Before we go any further, if you don’t know your Human Design, all you need is your date, place and exact time of birth and you can generate your chart for free HERE. I suggest saving your chart somewhere handy so that you can refer back to it as you read through this article.
In Human Design circles there is a very commonly used phrase “follow your Strategy and Authority.”
But with so many moving parts to explore in Human Design - energy centres, gates, channels, profile, incarnation cross, variables, planets and more - it’s easy to overlook the basics in favour of the more intricate pieces. So today we are taking it back to the foundations of Strategy and Authority, because without a solid foundation, everything else will start to wobble.
Let’s dive in.
Understanding your Strategy and Authority
Your Strategy is directly linked to your energy type and refers to how your energy is designed to interact with, and move through, the world. It shows you how to engage with life in a way that creates more ease, flow and alignment, rather than feeling like you’re swimming upstream.
Your Authority on the other hand, is your inner compass, your body’s natural intelligence that helps you make aligned decisions from your inner truth rather than from the mind, fear or external conditioning.
Together, I like to see that your Strategy and Authority essentially form your in-built personal navigation system. Your Strategy shows you the big picture approach to life while your Authority shows you the finer details of how to make decisions.
So, with that being said, let’s consider each Strategy and explore the potential authorities that may guide decision-making within each type.
Manifestor Strategy: Inform and initiate
Manifestors are here to initiate, start movements, spark ideas and set things in motion.
Your Strategy is to inform before you act.
But remember, informing isn’t about asking for permission but rather about clearing the path and creating energetic harmony. When you share what you’re about to do, others can move with you instead of resisting you. Following your Strategy helps reduce pushback and keeps your creative flow open.
Manifestor Authority Examples:
Emotional Authority - When making decisions, there is no truth in the immediate moment. Instead of reacting impulsively, waiting and moving through the full range of your emotional wave brings you clarity and the best results.
Splenic Authority - Decisions can be spontaneous and impulsive. This may present as an inner feeling, knowing or sudden realisation that can be hard to explain and which often doesn’t make logical sense.
Ego-Manifested Authority - Decisions are made based on your will, self-esteem and heart’s desire. It’s important for you to gauge whether your heart is in it or not as this will allow you to decipher what opportunities are aligned and what aren’t.
Generator Strategy: Wait to respond
Generators are here to build, create and bring ideas to life through sustained energy and mastery.
Your Strategy is to respond. To wait for something outside of you, a person, opportunity, question or situation, to ignite your sacral yes or no gut response.
When you respond, your energy naturally magnetises the right opportunities. When you initiate without something to respond to, you often meet resistance or frustration.
Generator Authority examples:
Sacral Authority - Decisions are made by trusting your gut response in the moment. This is often felt as a somatic visceral physical sensation within the body.
Emotional Authority: Allow your emotional wave to settle before committing. You may have an initial gut instinct but instead of reacting impulsively, sleep on it. Allow yourself to move through the full range of your emotional wave to achieve clarity and the best results.
Manifesting Generator Strategy: Wait to respond and then inform
Manifesting Generators are here to move quickly, follow their excitement, pivot, experiment, skip steps and show us that the straight path isn’t always the right one.
Like Generators, your Strategy is to respond, but because you have Manifestor energy, there’s also a need to inform before you take action.
Following both of these steps ensures aligned opportunities, reduces friction and creates a path of ease and flow.
Manifesting Generator Authority examples:
Sacral Authority - Decisions are made by trusting your gut response in the moment. This is often felt as a somatic visceral physical sensation within the body.
Emotional Authority - Allow your emotional wave to settle before committing. You may have an initial gut instinct but instead of reacting impulsively, sleep on it. Allow yourself to move through the full range of your emotional wave to achieve clarity and the best results.
Projector Strategy: Wait for the invitation
Projectors are here to guide and see deeply into others. Your energy works best when it’s recognised and invited in, therefore your Strategy is to wait for the invitation before offering guidance or advice.
You have incredible wisdom to offer and your insight is your greatest contribution but to use your energy efficiently and ensure your guidance lands, share in places where you have been invited and where you feel seen, recognised and valued.
And remember, waiting isn’t passive. Waiting involves following your curiosities, mastering your craft, cultivating your wisdom, being visible and trusting that the right invitations will come when you’re aligned.
Projector Authority examples:
Splenic Authority - Decisions can be spontaneous and impulsive. This may present as an inner feeling, knowing or sudden realisation that can be hard to explain and which often doesn’t make logical sense.
Emotional Authority - When making decisions, there is no truth in the immediate moment. Instead of reacting impulsively, waiting and moving through the full range of your emotional wave brings you clarity and the best results.
Self-Projected Authority - Decisions are made by acting in accordance with what feels aligned to your sense of self, identity and direction. It can be helpful for you to talk through a decision, not from a place of seeking advice but because you hear clarity in your own voice.
Ego-Projected Authority - Decisions are made based on your will, self-esteem and heart’s desire. It’s important for you to gauge whether your heart is in it or not as this will allow you to decipher what opportunities are aligned and what aren’t.
Mental Authority - Decisions are made based on the reflection of your thoughts. Allow yourself time to consider your options, spend time in different environments to feel into different perspectives and it can also be helpful for you to talk through a decision, not from a place of seeking advice but because you hear clarity in your own voice.
Reflector Strategy: Wait a lunar cycle
Reflectors mirror the health of their community and offer deep wisdom. You are deeply sensitive to the environment and collective energy.
Your Strategy is to wait through a full lunar cycle (about 28 days) to reflect on your true feelings and thoughts about a particular situation or opportunity. This period allows you to experience, observe and understand your feelings and the influences of your environment.
Remember, patience and environment are everything for you, the right people and spaces bring clarity.
Reflector Authority example:
Lunar Authority - Clarity comes over time. Your openness means you can be easily influenced by others so waiting a lunar cycle (approximately 28 days) allows you to feel how these different energies affect you and discern what is true for you.
Bringing it together
Understanding, and following, your Strategy and Authority provides a pathway out of comparison, doubt and confusion and allows life to flow more naturally. There is less resistance, more ease and a deeper sense of trust in yourself and your path.
And of course something I love about Human Design is how it not only provides greater understanding and awareness of yourself, but also of others. This is why I love sharing about Human Design in the context of parenting, but this applies for all relationships whether with your partner, friends or family.
When you understand the energetic dynamics between people, when you understand how the people in your life operate differently to you, for example, why one person needs time to make decisions when you don’t, it becomes easier to communicate, hold compassion and release the pressure for everyone to operate the same way. We create space for deeper connection, mutual respect, ease and love.
Foundational yes, but easy… not always
As I mentioned, there are so many intricate and exciting components to explore with Human Design but if you are new to this, or perhaps feeling overwhelmed with how deep the rabbit hole is, my advice is to come back to your foundations of Strategy and Authority.
But remember, just because it’s foundational, it doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
There’s often a lifetime of conditioning, people-pleasing and expectations that can create initial resistance and fear to following your Strategy and Authority.
This is why Human Design is considered an experiment. It’s an invitation to try something different, be curious and tune into your inner wisdom.
And you may be surprised that while it may feel unfamiliar at first, at some level it tends to resonate deeply….almost as if your soul remembers that this is the way it was always supposed to be.
With love,
Alice x
If you are curious to hear more on this, you may like to listen to this podcast episode…
And of course if you’re looking for more personalised insight and guidance, you can book your reading HERE and let’s dive deep together.