What's the Difference Between Open, Undefined, and Defined Centers?

As you embark on your Human Design journey, one of the first stops you are likely to make is at the centers. The centers in Human Design mirror the chakra system in they each represents an archetypal energy or field of experience (peep this post for more on the centers’ meaning). For example, the head center deals with thoughts, ideas, and information – it is also our connection to the divine and the place where information from our higher selves, the universe, source (you name it!) comes through.

Getting familiar with the meanings of each center can help you recognize the multi-faceted nature of what it means to be you. Firstly because it allows you to name, pinpoint, and feel through a variety of experiences that otherwise may have felt muddled. I mean recognizing that feeling like you need to prove your worth not only comes from a center but you can locate it, sense it in your body, and work actively and co-collaboratively with it…. MAJOR gamechanger, right! I’m a firm believer that if you can see or understand a phenomenon you’re experiencing then you can process and integrate it.

Different types of centers

You may have noticed that of the nine geometric shapes on your Human Design chart, there are some that are colored in, some that are completely white, and some that are white but have black or red lines coming off them. If you felt a little puzzled by this visual, oh believe me … you are not alone! Simply put, the variety of centers on your chart is unique to you. There are many different potential combinations and permutations of center activations in a Human Design chart and there is no such thing as having too many or too few. Now with that foundation laid, it can be helpful to understand what the difference is between open, undefined, and defined centers. Feeling into each and how they show up for you will enable you to better understand how and why you experience your own energy and that of the world around you.

What is a Defined Center?

Defined centers are shown as colored in shapes on the bodygraph. Defined Centers are where your energy is consistent. These are your natural strengths and you're meant to share the authentic expression that comes from them with others. As a baseline, you should look to embody and own the power of these centers because you have the ability to show up in a consistent manner.

However, this doesn’t mean that defined centers are not subject to conditioning or that it is always easy to own their strengths. You can look at the centers in your chart as areas for potential. Doing a quick self-audit to check in with how you are currently using your defined centers and if you feel comfortable or safe to express them can be very helpful. It can also be good to consider what other centers your defined areas are connected to. Are they all connected through channels? This can give you insight into how you can leverage different centers to grow your comfort levels with each.

For example, if you have a defined head and ajna that connects to your throat, you have consistent energy to share your thoughts and opinions with others. Perhaps you are very aware of your clear opinions or logical arguments but feel a bit timider when it comes to sharing. This may be an area where you need to lean into the strength of your voice and trust the consistent power that enables you to speak in a compelling manner. Understanding that the magic of your defined head and ajna will handle ordering your thoughts and the throat will deliver them for you can help release the fear that comes from conditioning. It’s all an experiment and yours to explore different levels of comfort. Being powerful can be incredibly liberating but it can also be a vulnerable experience. Be gentle with yourself (but trust there’s some badass energy just waiting to be used).

What is an Open Center?

Open Centers do not have any gate activations. These centers are wide open with no red or black lines lit up. Open centers are where we take in and amplify energy from others around us. Completely unfiltered, we experience a range of expressions and flavors that come through open centers. Areas of openness in the chart act like antennae picking up signals from the world. This can be incredibly helpful because it creates a window into the experience of another – but discernment is important because it is very easy to over-identify with energies that are not yours and make them your own. This can lead to "conditioning" that causes you to behave out of alignment with your natural behaviors or tendencies and creates resistance/roadblocks.

Open centers tend to be the ones that draw our attention most. Unlike defined centers that consistently operate in the background, you can feel the experience of amplifying openness like a shock to the system. Any time you’re around someone with the defined counterpart to your open center, you will be intaking their energy. This can show up as taking on someone else’s emotions, stress, pressure to be certain, fears, identity, etc – depending on which centers you have open. Ultimately, these are places where you are meant to get curious and explore the idea that you are the one who sets the definition of these centers. Rather than looking to the external world to validate or set goals for your experience in these centers, your journey is toward understanding that wisdom comes from within.

What is an Undefined Center?

Similar to the open center, these are places where you take in and amplify energy from others. The difference is in gate activations. If you have a gate or gates active in a center but they do not make a complete channel to another center, then this will be an undefined center! While your journey is the same in learning to get curious about the energy that passes through these centers, there is a filter of experience associated with them.

Let’s say you have an open head center but the gate of doubt is active  – this could mean that as you are channeling in ideas and thoughts from others, your view is most often focused on playing Devil’s Advocate, questioning the logic, or simply being a little skeptical. Since this is not a defined center, your experience won’t be consistent so sometimes this may be the case and other times not. You can use the knowledge of your gate activations to explore and lean into your experience with undefined centers. If you have conscious gate activations, maybe these are traits you readily recognizing in yourself and you can use that association to anchor your experience of the undefined center.

Being Mindful of Areas of Openness

When we take energy in through our openness/undefined and start to alter our behaviors or actions to cope with that experience, this is where conditioning can happen. A person with an undefined root center experiences stress as very intense and to be avoided at all costs. As a result of this, they may never let a task go undone at the expense of their own rest, nourishment, or happiness. This is a vicious cycle because there's always a new stressor that takes the place of the last one. This is where we can get burnt out really quickly if we aren't aware of the need to manage that stress.

This is just one example of how open center energy can begin to dictate our lives, and each energy center has a particular trap to look out for. Learning the language of your open centers is very important so you can communicate your needs with others to make sure you're acting from a place of strength rather than avoidance. Being able to notice and name the feelings or sensations that show up through your openness can help you move back into the strength of your definition.

As with everything Human Design, this is yours to explore and experiment with. Keeping a journal can be a helpful exercise as you start to work with the centers. When you can observe your interactions with the world and start to identify how they are influenced by defined, open, or undefined centers, you start to develop a deeper relationship with what it means to be you!

The good news is, you don’t have to do all this work alone! I cover the centers and strategies to work with them in readings. If you’d like some extra support, I’d love to chat with you!