Human Design Authority Explained: How to Make Aligned Decisions with Confidence
You know those moments where a decision looks great on paper… but just doesn’t feel right?
We’re taught to trust logic. To “think it through.”
But the mind isn’t where clarity lives.
I’ve always known I need to sleep on things.
In the heat of the moment, I usually can’t feel what’s true for me.
Learning I had Emotional Authority in Human Design helped me stop thinking that was a problem.
Now, my motto with decisions is: play hard to get.
When I wait for clarity, things feel calmer, clearer, truer.
💡 That’s what Human Design gives us: permission to trust our unique decision-making process.
Step 2: Discover Your Authority
Your Authority is your personal decision-making compass. It’s how you’re designed to make aligned choices—without overthinking, second-guessing, or outsourcing your intuition.
In Step 1, we explored your Type—how your energy flows through the world.
Your Authority takes it deeper by revealing how you’re meant to make decisions that feel clear, grounded, and right for you.
👉 Need to find your Authority? Click here to pull your Human Design chart
🧭 What is Human Design Authority?
Authority → Your inner decision-making GPS
Aligned decisions feel like → Relief, clarity, ease
Misaligned decisions feel like → Doubt, hesitation, pressure, or forcing
Let’s break down the 8 Authorities in Human Design and how they show up in real life 👇
BTW - There’s so much more to your Authority than I can cover in one blog post—but this will give you a powerful foundation to start working with your energy right away.
💥 Sacral Authority – Your Gut Knows Instantly
How This Shows Up in Life:
You get an immediate “yes” or “no” feeling about things, but sometimes you ignore it because it doesn’t seem logical.
Your Superpower:
Your gut response is always right—it’s a built-in yes/no detector.
Try This:
Next time you make a decision, pause & notice your first visceral response. If your body says “ugh” (no!) or “ooh” (yes!), trust that reaction.
🌊 Emotional Authority – Wait for Clarity
How This Shows Up in Life:
One moment, something feels like a YES—and the next, you’re unsure. You’re the kind of person who needs to “sleep on it.”
Your Superpower:
You’re meant to make decisions based on what truly makes you happy—but only once you’ve reached emotional neutrality. When you wait, you avoid snap decisions and instead choose what genuinely makes you happy.
Try This:
Ride the emotional wave and check in when you feel even and steady. If a choice still feels right after the highs and lows, it’s the right one for you.
⚡ Splenic Authority – Trust Your First Instinct
How This Shows Up in Life:
You get sudden intuitive hits, but if you don’t act quickly, self-doubt creeps in.
Your Superpower:
Your intuition speaks instantly—but it won’t repeat itself.
Try This:
Next time you get a flash of intuition, act on it before doubt takes over. Or at least write it down. This way you can validate your intuition and begin to trust it more.
🎤 Ego Manifested Authority – Speak Unfiltered to Hear Your Truth
How This Shows Up in Life:
You feel most clear when expressing what you want boldly and unapologetically.
Your Superpower:
Your truth comes through unfiltered speech—if you let yourself talk freely, you’ll hear what your heart is all in on.
Try This:
Say your decision out loud without overthinking it—your body will tell you if you really mean it.
💬 Ego Projected Authority – Own What YOU Want
How This Shows Up in Life:
You’re at your best when you’re fully aligned with what you desire.
Your Superpower:
You’re meant to be “enlightened selfish”—decisions should make you feel valued and recognized for your worth.
Try This:
Ask yourself, “Is this what I truly want?” If the answer is a full-body YES, follow it—you’ll know it’s right because you won’t be pushing your willpower limits in the process.
🎙 Self-Projected Authority – Talk It Out (But Not for Advice)
How This Shows Up in Life:
You need to talk things out to know how you really feel.
Your Superpower:
When you speak freely, your authentic desires reveal themselves.
Try This:
Find a trusted person to be your sounding board—but make sure they know you’re not looking for their opinion. You just need space to process out loud.
🏡 Mental (Environmental) Authority – Clarity Comes from Time & Spaces
How This Shows Up in Life:
Certain places or people help you feel clear and after some time the a-ha just drops in.
Your Superpower:
Your mind works best when it has space to process and explore. You’re designed to gather information, switch up your environment, and talk things out before landing on the right decision. When you give yourself this freedom, clarity comes effortlessly.
Try This – Your 3-Step Process for Decision-Making:
1️⃣ Mental Deliberation – Look at all the info, facts, figures, pros/cons, and logical details.
2️⃣ Switch Up the Environment – Go to different spaces you love—each will bring new insights and perspectives.
3️⃣ Talk It Out – Bounce ideas off trusted friends (without needing them to decide for you).
🌙 Lunar Authority – Your Truth Emerges Over Time
How This Shows Up in Life:
You feel different day to day, making it hard to trust one single feeling.
Your Superpower:
You need a full lunar cycle (28 days) to gain clarity—and the world can’t rush you.
Try This:
Give yourself time. If something still feels right after 28 days, you can trust it completely—no matter what outside pressure says.
💫 Want to Go Deeper?
🎙 I break all of this down in WAY more detail in this episode of the Practical Magic Podcast → Listen Here
🔮 Ready for deeper clarity? You can book a 1:1 Human Design Reading here → Book Now
✨ Your Human Design Quick Start Guide
This post is part of a 4-part foundational series to help you understand and embody your unique design. You can explore each part in any order or move through them step by step:
Step 1: Your Type – How your energy flows
Step 2: Your Authority – How to make aligned decisions
Step 3: Your Profile – Your personality archetype & life role
Step 4: Your Centers – The energy hubs that shape your patterns
