What is an Emotional Authority in Human Design?

How it feels to make decisions from emotional clarity

In the mystical-scientific system of Human Design, no one is supposed to make decisions from their minds. Which is pretty much how we all do! Instead, you are meant to make decisions by following what’s called your “inner authority.”

To give you an idea, there are seven different authorities in Human Design. By using your authority to assess which opportunities are right for you, you will make correct decisions as your true self. No more asking others for advice.

Half of the population has an emotional authority, also listed as a “solar plexus” authority. If your solar plexus center is defined on your Human Design chart, you have an emotional authority.

My defined solar plexus/emotional center circled above.

The most important thing you need to know about having an emotional authority is that you need to give yourself time to make decisions. The advice “sleep on it” is for you!

Furthermore, you want to wait until you’re not so emotional, neither on an emotional high nor a low, to make a decision. Which isn’t so easy for people with a defined emotional center.

Here’s why.

How to make decisions from “emotional clarity”

People with an emotional authority, myself included, are always on an emotional wave. Some days you’re up, some days you’re down, and sometimes for no particular reason at all. That’s just the nature of having a defined emotional center, and it’s total normal to have fluctuating moods.

When presented an opportunity (like a new job or a new person), people with an emotional authority may initially feel a surge of excitement and say yes! But then wake up the next day, or a few days later, and feel differently and want to pull out of the commitment.

The challenge of having an emotional authority is that you need to wait until your emotions mellow, like the flatline of the sine wave pictured at the start of this piece, before making a decision. Don’t make decisions in the moment, especially out of strong positive emotions (hope, excitement) or negative ones (fear, anger). Resist the pressure to know what to do in the moment.

Having an emotional authority can also present as “indecisive.” But you’re not, you just need time to make decisions.

If you’re patient for long enough, you will reach what’s called “emotional clarity.” This clarity will come to you when you’re in a more neutral emotional state and any strong emotions have settled. You’ll just know what to do.

Also, give yourself permission to ask for time to make decisions that involve others: Can I sleep on it? Can I get back to you?

With an emotional authority you are not meant to make spontaneous decisions (these you’ll often regret) or even act out of “intuition.” Your initial instinct may be right but you always want to give yourself the space to be sure. In the end, your decision should just feel right.

A note for Generator and Manifesting Generators: If you’re a Generator or Manifesting Generator with an emotional authority, you have a strong gut instinct but you are still an emotional decision-maker. This means that you need to watch that what your gut is telling you is consistent over time. Is your gut still lighting up or pulling you towards something after sleeping on it? Then go for it.

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Get to know your emotional wave: the 7 emo channels

How emo are you?

There are different types of emotional waves, depending on which channels you have coming out of your solar plexus center. As an emotional authority you have one or more of the following waves:

6-59 (channel of mating): Your emotional wave is subtle and doesn’t come with intense highs and lows but emerges more intensely in intimate relationships.

12–22 (channel of openness): Your emotional wave is intense with sudden mood swings. Just as you can quickly shift to an emotional high or low, you can just as quickly come back to stillness. Always honor what you’re in the mood for and pay attention to what you’re feeling.

19–49 (channel of sensitivity): Your emotional wave slowly builds and then needs to be released. Keep in mind that this emotional release or explosion isn’t always in proportion to the trigger or the moment but an accumulation of all the things that came before it.

30–41 (channel of recognition): Your emotional wave is impacted by the expectations you carry. It’s important to release expectations as much as possible when entering a new experience. You can crash if something doesn’t meet your expectations, especially after a period of feeling like things are getting better.

35–36 (channel of transitoriness): Your emotional wave is impacted by the expectations you carry. It’s important to release expectations as much as possible when entering a new experience. You can crash if something doesn’t meet your expectations, especially after a period of feeling like things are getting better.

37–40 (channel of community): Your emotional wave slowly builds and then needs to be released. Keep in mind that this emotional release or explosion isn’t always in proportion to the trigger or the moment but an accumulation of all the things that came before it.

39–55 (channel of emoting): Your emotional wave is intense with sudden mood swings. Just as you can quickly shift from an emotional high or low, you can just as quickly come back to stillness. Always honor what you’re in the mood for. So much creativity can come from your wave if you don’t try to run away from the lows.

Learn to ride your emotional waves and not attach too much meaning to them. Gaining awareness that the ups and downs of your waves will pass, none are permanent, is one of your life lessons as an emotional authority.

Remember, clarity is always on the other side of whatever wave you’re on.

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Hi, I’m Ana! I’m a coach who does Human Design readings to help people make better love, career, and life decisions for themselves. Book a 1:1 reading with me.