What are the nine centers in Human Design?
The nine centers are nine energy points drawn on the Human Design bodygraph, each responsible for a distinct group of psychological and physiological functions. In the chart, a colored center is called defined, while a white center is called undefined. Wikipedia describes Human Design as a pseudoscientific theory and practice that presents itself as a comprehensive self-knowledge system combining astrology, the I Ching, Jewish Kabbalah, Vedic philosophy, and modern physics.
It must be said from the start: Human Design has no verified scientific evidence, and this article presents the system according to its own internal conventions, without endorsing any medical or predictive value.
Origin and place of the nine centers in the system
Human Design was initiated by Alan Robert Krakower, who published The Human Design System in 1992 under the pen name Ra Uru Hu, after an experience he described as mystical in 1987. Before that he worked as an advertising director and magazine publisher.
The system divides people into four main energy types: Manifestor, Generator, Projector, and Reflector, sometimes with a fifth, Manifesting Generator. Each type has a natural "strategy" for behavior, along with "true self" and "not-self" themes. The nine centers are the layer beneath these four types: the energy type is determined by which centers are colored and which are white.
Why nine, not seven?
Human Design's number nine does not come from Indian tradition. The chakra system familiar today usually has seven centers, popularized through Sir John Woodroffe's 1919 book The Serpent Power, a translation of Pūrṇānanda Yati's Ṣaṭ-chakra-nirūpaṇa ("Explanation of the Six Chakras," 1577). Medieval Buddhist texts from the 8th century mention four or five chakras, while Hindu sources give various numbers.
Human Design takes nine centers because it grafts seven chakras onto two additional centers drawn from Kabbalah and astrology. Kabbalah is a method, discipline, and school of thought in Jewish mysticism that emerged in Occitania in the 12th to 13th centuries, with foundational texts such as the Bahir, the Zohar, and later Etz Chaim ("Tree of Life"). Human Design borrowing the Tree of Life structure but changing its number and names is one reason scholars of religion view it as a "trans-religious" project blending seven or more traditions, according to theologian J. R. Hustwit.
In other words, the nine centers are not an anatomical discovery but a design convention of the system.
How do defined and undefined centers differ?
A defined center is a colored center, understood as operating consistently and reliably, producing steady energy throughout life. An undefined center is a white center, understood as a place where you do not generate fixed energy but receive and amplify energy from others, making you prone to conditioning.
This is the central pair of concepts for reading any chart. Wikipedia states plainly: a person's bodygraph shows which centers are "defined," meaning consistent and reliable in their operation.
How does conditioning happen?
According to the system's internal logic, when two people are near each other, one person's undefined center can be "temporarily colored" by the other's defined center. Repeated long enough, the person with the undefined center begins to believe that is their own nature. Human Design calls this conditioning, and treats recognizing it as the main practice goal.
Note: this is a description inside the system, not a proven biological mechanism. No anatomical or physiological research confirms the existence of these centers.
Why an undefined center is not necessarily a weakness
In common readings, an undefined center carries two sides. The downside is being easily influenced and confusing what you truly want with what others impose. The upside is greater capacity for learning, empathy, and flexibility, because you take in many different perspectives.
Many Human Design schools stress that an undefined center is not a "gap" to be plugged but a window of perception. This interpretation is not uniform among teachers: some emphasize the suffering aspect and the need for protection, others emphasize the wisdom and empathy aspect. This article notes both readings rather than choosing one.
The nine centers: function and meaning when defined or undefined
The table below summarizes how the system assigns a function to each center. These are Human Design conventions, not anatomical descriptions.
| Center | Functional group per the system | When defined | When undefined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Source of inspiration, mental pressure | Stable source of inspiration | Prone to pressure to think, easily overwhelmed |
| Ajna | Perception, analysis, forming views | Consistent way of thinking | Flexible but views waver easily |
| Throat | Communication, action, expression | Words and actions carry weight | Prone to talking too much or staying too silent |
| G (Identity) | Identity, direction, love and orientation | Clear sense of direction | Tends to find direction through others |
| Heart/Ego | Will, self-worth, material matters | Enduring will, able to commit | Prone to over-proving oneself |
| Solar Plexus | Emotions, emotional wave | Clear, cyclical emotional wave | Emotions easily swept up by others |
| Spleen | Intuition, immunity, instant sensing | Stable intuition, sensitive to timing | Prone to clinging to what is not good for you |
| Sacral | Life energy, work, vitality | Enduring resource, knows when enough is enough | Prone to overworking then burning out |
| Root | Pressure, drive, pace | Handles pressure and pushes well | Prone to rushing or procrastinating under pressure |
How to read a chart in practical order
A common reading order has four steps:
- Count the defined centers to estimate the chart's level of "energy independence." The more defined centers, the less conditioned the system considers you.
- Identify which defined centers sit in key positions, such as Throat or G, since they strongly shape expression and direction.
- List the undefined centers and note specific situations where you noticed yourself being swept along by others.
- Cross-check with the overall energy type (Manifestor, Generator, Projector, Reflector) to choose a behavioral strategy.
An illustrative example
Suppose a person has a defined Throat and an undefined Sacral. Per the system, this person speaks and acts with steady weight but tends to overwork when near someone with a strong defined Sacral. The internal advice is to learn to recognize when work energy is your own and when it is borrowed.
Conversely, a person with a defined Sacral and an undefined Throat may have an enduring resource but find it hard to say what they want, and be easily drawn into speaking on others' behalf. These are two entirely different configurations even though only the defined and undefined positions are swapped.
Comparison with chakra and Kabbalah
Comparing the nine centers with the seven chakras is a common trap. Chakra, in its original Sanskrit meaning, means "wheel" or "circle," and is a meditation aid in the form of spiritual energy centers in the subtle body, envisioned in many Hindu and Buddhist tantric practices. Chakras are seen as meditation tools helping the practitioner move from the lowest center up to the highest center blooming at the crown.
Human Design borrows the image of energy centers but changes the number, names, and purpose. Chakras serve a practice process; the nine centers serve the reading of an individual chart. Similarly, Kabbalah has the Sefirot structure on the Tree of Life, but Human Design does not copy that structure wholesale.
Academically, this is a typical New Age blending phenomenon: taking forms from many traditions, assigning new meanings, then presenting them as a unified whole.
Legal dispute and the copyright question
A little-known point: on June 3, 2020, the Court of Florence ruled that copyright cannot exist over the Human Design system. The case began with a lawsuit by Human Design Italia, an organization claiming exclusive copyright in Italy and in Italian based on a license from Alan Krakower's company Jovian Archive.
Human Design Italia sued Italian publisher Terra Nuova after Chetan Parkyn's book Human Design – Scopri la Tua Vera Natura was published in June 2019. The court concluded the plaintiff failed to provide evidence proving exclusivity over the "Human Design system" or its teachings, and that ideas, processes, and methods may be freely discussed, referenced, and illustrated.
This matters for readers: you do not need a school's license to study or write about the nine centers.
How should you approach the nine centers healthily?
Treat it as a self-inquiry questionnaire, not a verdict. The most useful question an undefined center raises is: "In this situation, is this emotion or desire mine, or am I borrowing it from someone else?"
Verify against real experience rather than believing absolutely. If a description of an undefined center does not match your behavior over many years, set it aside rather than bending yourself to fit the chart.
Do not use it to decide finances, health, or major decisions. Human Design has no scientific basis to replace professional medical, psychological, or financial advice.
Clearly recognize the boundary between self-inquiry and superstition. That boundary lies in whether you keep your own judgment or hand everything over to the system.
Conclusion
The nine centers are the backbone of how a Human Design chart is read: defined centers show where energy is stable, undefined centers show where you are easily influenced and easily learn. This is a pseudoscientific system with clear origins between 1987 and 1992, blending many traditions, and confirmed by a court to be impossible to monopolize. Its practical value, if any, lies in prompting self-reflection questions, not in predictive power.
