Undefined Energy Centres in Human Design: What They Mean and How to Decondition

Your undefined energy centres are where you take in and amplify the energy of the people and environment around you, and where most of your conditioning happens. Below, you'll find the Not Self pattern for each of the nine centres, what it feels like when it takes over, and where to begin deconditioning from it.

In your Human Design, you will have a combination of defined (coloured in) and undefined (white) energy centres. Each centre governs a specific quality of energy. When a centre is defined, it means you have consistent and reliable access to that function of energy. This is energy you transmit outward, and it impacts the environment and people around you.

Your undefined energy centres are where you are sensitive, taking in the energies of the environment and people around you. This is energy you experience inconsistently, and it's where you experience most of your conditioning from the outside world. This conditioning often leads to feeling like you are not enough in some way, and to overcompensating in order to keep up or fit in.

Living this way, constantly persevering at being someone you are not, is exhausting, and it most commonly leads to burnout and fatigue.

A large part of your Human Design experiment is deconditioning from your Not Self: an often confronting and uncomfortable process of illuminating the patterns, behaviours and traits you have taken on that are not true to who you really are.

Deconditioning is a journey of illuminating the identities, behaviours, patterns, values and beliefs you have taken on that don't serve you, and learning to recognise the difference between your Not Self (your conditioned self) and your True Self (who you are innately).

Through deconditioning, and illuminating who you are not, you begin to liberate who you really are.

Deconditioning takes time, and I believe we all continue to decondition for most of our lives. You cannot rush or speed up this messy, uncomfortable process. The only way through is through.

I have found deconditioning to be a cyclical process, one in which you meet those ingrained patterns again and again, in different forms, as you deepen into the truth of who you really are. Even now, after nearly seven years of deconditioning, I find my Not Self patterns still rear their heads, sometimes in sneaky and inventive ways. I continue to meet that discomfort and witness the ways these patterns take me off track.

Below, I'm sharing some themes that relate to the Not Self of each undefined energy centre. Have a look at your own chart, focusing on the centres that are white. If you want to go deeper, our personalised Human Design reports cover how each centre functions in your chart, including your defined centres.

Undefined Head Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined Head Centre is thinking about things that don't matter. When this centre is undefined, you take in and amplify the mental pressure of the people and environment around you. You take in the pressure to ask why, what and how, and amplify it. Through this centre, you can feel tremendous pressure to solve other people's problems and get caught up in their questions.

If you have this centre undefined (as I do), you may find yourself running around like a headless chicken, caught up in the mental fuckery of the world around you, trying to understand, resolve and problem-solve things that don't really matter to you.

Deconditioning: pay attention to where you are thinking about things that don't matter or aren't relevant to you, where you are caught up in mental confusion, doubt or scepticism, and where you are taking on other people's questions and problems as your own.

Undefined Ajna Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined Ajna is pretending you are certain, and feeling intellectually inferior. When this centre is undefined, you can feel pressure to prove that you know for sure, and pressure to prove your intelligence. The thing is, you aren't meant to know for sure. You are sensitive to, and take in, the ideas, perspectives and opinions of the people and environment around you, which makes you intellectually curious and versatile.

Some incredible minds have this centre undefined, Einstein among them. But this is a different kind of intelligence, one where the gift lies in your ability to be open-minded and fluid in your perspective, ideas and opinions.

Deconditioning: pay attention to the times you feel you have to be rock solid in your opinion, or need to prove to someone else that you are certain and know for sure, instead of admitting that perhaps you don't. Notice, too, the times you question your intellect and feel inferior.

Undefined Throat Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined Throat Centre is questioning whether you will ever be seen and heard, and trying to attract attention. This can present as unhealthy attention-seeking, or as verbal shutdown and feelings of inferiority.

If you have this centre undefined, you will likely feel pressure to speak and act in order to garner attention. You may feel pressure to speak up out of fear that your opportunity will never come again, or pressure to take action prematurely in the aim of being noticed. The gift of this centre emerges when you surrender control of how and when people will see you, and how and when you communicate and act. You are a powerful communicator when you allow your expression and action to flow through you spontaneously and organically.

Deconditioning: pay attention to the times you feel invisible, the times you question if you will be heard, the times you find yourself mentally over-preparing what you will say, and the times you catch yourself taking premature action. Notice what happens when these patterns override your authority and lead you to act on things that aren't correct for you, and pay attention to how your energy feels.

Undefined G Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined G Centre is looking for love and direction in the wrong places. It's common for those with this centre undefined to feel pressure to fix themselves as one thing, to stick to a label that clearly defines who they are and where they are going. But when you are undefined here, you are sensitive to the identity and direction of the people and environment around you, which means your own sense of direction is influenced by the direction of those you surround yourself with.

You are here to learn to love who you are today without having to define who you will be tomorrow. Rather than a select menu of opportunities, you are here to enjoy a buffet of endless potential. The key is ensuring you are in environments that feel good for you. When you are in the right environment, you are with the right people, and you can trust you are heading in the right direction.

Deconditioning: pay attention to the times you feel you need to lock yourself down as one thing, define yourself with a definitive label, or feel pressure to find "the thing." Notice what happens when this pattern hijacks your decision-making.

Undefined Ego Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined Ego is feeling you have something to prove. With this centre undefined, you are likely to question your worthiness and value in the world, and can feel like something is wrong with you because your motivation and willpower ebb and flow. In your Not Self, you waste time and energy making promises and commitments you don't have the energy for, being overly competitive, trying to be the best, or needing to always come first.

Remember, you have nothing to prove. You are valuable and worthy just as you are. Living your life trying to constantly prove your value and worth is a quick path to burnout and exhaustion. Instead of proving your worth, your gift lies in discerning what is and isn't valuable.

Deconditioning: pay attention to the times you feel you have to overcompensate, or say yes to something just to prove you are valuable and worthy. Give yourself grace, and know you aren't designed to feel motivated in the same way others can; it's natural for you to feel unmotivated sometimes. Do your best not to make promises and commitments, and pay attention to the times you fall into cycles of constant self-improvement, or feel you have to do more, be more and have more.

Undefined Solar Plexus

The primary Not Self of the undefined Solar Plexus is avoiding truth and confrontation. If this centre is undefined in your chart, you take in and amplify the emotional energy of the environment and people around you. Not everything you feel is your own, and recognising this sensitivity matters.

The Not Self of this centre can present as people-pleasing, where you hide your truth or tell white lies to keep the peace and not rock the boat. You may find it harder to face confrontation, and you can be hijacked by other people's emotions, which leads you to make decisions that aren't right for you. You are here to become wise about emotions, desires, truth and healthy confrontation.

Deconditioning: pay attention to the times you feel emotionally heightened; if you can't connect that emotion to your own life, there's a good chance you're amplifying the mood of the environment and people around you. Try to hold off making decisions when you feel emotionally up or down; aim for cool, calm and collected. Gently build your tolerance for sharing truth, having uncomfortable conversations and embracing healthy confrontation.

Undefined Sacral Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined Sacral is not knowing when enough is enough, and if you know my story at all, you'll know this has been a big one for me personally. This Not Self can look like overworking, overdoing and overgiving. If you have this centre undefined, you must be a Projector, Manifestor or Reflector; this is part of what defines these energy types.

The Sacral Centre governs lifeforce energy, workforce energy and creativity, and if this centre is undefined, you will have an inconsistent experience with these themes. You are not here to work in the traditional sense; your energy ebbs and flows, and you will likely do best with a more seasonal approach to your work.

Deconditioning: do your best to stop before you feel tired; by the time you feel tired, it's likely you've already overdone it. Pay attention to the times you feel you have to keep up with the world and people around you. Embrace the seasonality of your energy. Give yourself grace, and don't be hard on yourself; you are formed differently to 70% of the world, and your value has nothing to do with how much you do or how productive you are.

Undefined Spleen Centre

The primary Not Self of the undefined Spleen Centre is holding onto things that aren't healthy for you, and resisting change. The Spleen Centre governs your experience of safety, survival and wellbeing, and those with this centre undefined typically come into life questioning their safety and security.

In your Not Self, you may find you hold onto relationships, roles, jobs and possessions you know aren't healthy for you, because they give you a sense of security. You're here to learn not to compromise your wellbeing in this way. It can also present as hoarding physical things. With this centre undefined, you also take in and amplify the fears of the people around you, which can lead you to take reckless action, or resist the change you know is best.

Deconditioning: pay attention to the times you feel overwhelmed by fear, and ask whether that fear is really yours. Notice where you may be resisting change, or holding onto something (a relationship, job, environment or possession) you know is unhealthy for you, and get curious about the payoff: where are you swapping your wellbeing for artificial security?

Undefined Root Centre

The primary Not Self of the Root Centre is rushing to be free from pressure. People with this centre undefined can, in their Not Self, do the work of three or four people in a day. But this is a quick path to burnout and exhaustion. Instead of rushing through life, you are here to learn to witness the pressure you feel without acting on it.

When this centre is undefined, you take in and amplify the pressure, stress and ambition of the environment and people around you, and you are more sensitive to stress. This pressure can lead to constant, misaligned busyness, or to complete inaction and stagnancy. You might find you procrastinate on the things you need to do, and distract yourself with other things.

Deconditioning: start to notice the ways you rush through life, and all the ways you distract yourself with misaligned busyness. Give yourself grace, and remember you are here to embrace more spaciousness and ease. Prioritise wellness practices that help you wind down and destress. You are not here to rush through life.

Deconditioning Your Undefined Energy Centres

Your Not Self patterns can create some external success; you may even think your undefined Root, and your ability to do the work of three or four people in a day, is a blessing. But this will never be healthy or sustainable for you long term. Your Not Self patterns only work to keep you stuck, distracted and locked in homogenisation.

If you want to truly differentiate and live a life that is true to you, deconditioning your undefined centres is the best place to start. Only when you see and illuminate who you are not can you truly begin to liberate who you really are.

I invite you to see, with compassion and curiosity, where you may hold Not Self patterns, behaviours and values in your life, and how you can lean into your strategy and authority the next time you're making a decision, rather than allowing these patterns to hijack your decision-making.

Amy xx