Reflective Authority in Human Design

( Sounding board, no specific center. Clarity through speaking to different people and observing what YOU say )

Around 2% of human beings have a reflective authority.

Only Projectors can have a reflective authority. It is a process-based authority, it takes time and it can never be spontaneous. You speak with different people about the topic that you are pondering to come to a decison upon, you listen to what you say and reflect on that. Over time it gets clearer and clearer. Different people connect to and light up different parts in your body and chakra system (system of energy centers), so everyone you talk to will cause a different process and outcome in you. Everyone you talk to will give you a different access to areas within yourself. Because of that, it is important not to talk to the same person over and over again, but to talk to different people in order to find out what is right for you. In that way, other people act as a sounding board to you. Clarity emerges out of what you think and say. They can give you valuable input, but in the end, it is about the sum of ways in which your own energy expresses itself in the company of different people and under the influence of different planetary transits.

You observe what you speak, reflect on that and then speak with another person. One person at a time. It is not about what they have to say on the topic, it is about what YOU say. It is about what you recognize and experience in yourself and in your voice while you are talking to them. Is the frequency of your voice authentic? Does it sound true to you or is it just empty bla-bla coming out of your mouth?
It is very important for you to have those people in your life who you can talk to openly, and who will not try to push their own agenda upon you.

As a Projector, you have to be recognized and invited for who you are and for what is authentic for you to contribute. With a reflective authority, you can have a maximum of three centers defined: the head center (crown chakra), the Ajna, and the Throat. Every center in your body below your throat center is open. You have no constant inner access to the energy of a motor center.
What you can be invited to will be very specific. It will have to do with your thinking or your ability to express your thinking. If someone invites you to brainstorm about an issue, and that interests you, then there might really be something to it. But if somebody is inviting you for something less fitting, for example, to work physically, or if they are calling for your willpower (rooted in the ego center - which you do not have defined, and therefore have no reliable access to), you already know that this invitation is not yours because what is invited is not you.

Because of all your open centers, you are tempted to mentally make decisions from your openness. It will benefit you to look at the chapter on energy centers and figure out what they mean for you, so that you can recognize even better when you are not true to yourself. You are not your emotions (open solar plexus center), you can't afford to make decisions from your emotionality and from how it feels emotionally. You can't make decisions in order to get rid of pressure (open root center), you can't make the right decisions based on your mind's logic, and so on.

Your open centers are not here to make decisions from, they are here for you to become wise. Because your body is so open and receptive to the energy of others, you can offer extremely powerful and highly valuable guidance for others when you learn to distinguish between what is you and what comes from the other.

When do I have a Reflective Authority?

You have a reflective authority when you meet both of these two criteria:
All centers below the throat center are open AND two or all of the following three centers are defined: head center (crown chakra), ajna center, throat center.
Only Projector aura types can have a reflective authority.