Spleen Center
Your Spleen speaks up spontaneously and only for the moment, and your Authority decides which signal takes the lead for you.
In Human Design, a center is either defined or undefined. An undefined center is called open when none of its gates is activated, and undefined with individual gates otherwise.
Defined
In Human Design, the Spleen stands for body intelligence, intuition and instinct. Its voice speaks only to the present moment. It doesn't explain anything, and it doesn't predict anything. Like the Ajna and the Solar Plexus, the Spleen is an awareness center, but unlike the Solar Plexus, it is not a motor.
In your chart, it is defined. This means you can receive spontaneous signals about what is good for you in the moment. A warning signal about a place or a person passes no judgment. It simply means: not right just now. Whether the Spleen is your inner Authority depends on two other centers. If your Solar Plexus or your Sacral Center is defined, your Authority lies there, and the Spleen's impulses remain pointers for the moment. Otherwise, your Authority is the Spleen.
Because the Spleen is quiet, your head, your feelings or stress can easily drown it out. An impulse comes only once. The Spleen is also considered a storehouse of ancient human fears. The task is to tell fear and body intuition apart, so that alertness doesn't hold your life back. A defined Spleen can also come across as warm and radiant.
For 14 days, pay attention to small, spontaneous body signals in everyday life, such as a brief hesitation or a sudden sense of well-being, and write down what happened afterward. Also note the times when you couldn't tell what a signal meant.
Undefined (with individual gates)
Your Spleen is undefined but has at least one activated gate. You mirror other people's fears and can amplify them. It helps to look at them more closely and figure out where they come from. At the same time, you can clearly pick up on how others are feeling and what they fear. In the teaching, the gift lies in telling these impressions apart from your own needs.
Around people with a defined Spleen, you often feel especially safe and come to trust them quickly.
In the Not-Self, you can hold on for a long time to things that aren't good for you, such as relationships, jobs or habits. People you feel close to can then easily talk you into something that doesn't serve you. The question to watch is whether something truly fits according to your Strategy and Authority, or whether you just don't want to lose their company.
When you make small commitments, notice whether you say yes because it fits you or only so you won't be alone. Also write down the times when you couldn't tell the difference.
Open (no gates)
Your Spleen is open. None of its gates is activated in your chart. You have no fixed instinctive sense, and you mirror the fears of others. It helps to look at these fears more closely and figure out where they come from. You clearly pick up on how other people are feeling; in Human Design, the gift here is seen as telling those impressions apart from your own needs.
You like to seek out people with a defined Spleen, you feel safe around them, and you trust them easily.
In the Not-Self, you hold on for a long time to things that are not good for you. People you are close to can then easily talk you into something that sits just as poorly with you. How you make decisions is covered in the section on Strategy and Authority. One question the teaching offers for self-observation is whether you stay because it fits or only so you won't be alone.
Notice which habits or commitments you stick with even though they barely sit well with you anymore, and write down what keeps you there. Also make a note when you found no reason at all.
Human Design is a system of interpretation, not a scientifically proven method. Read this description as an invitation to observe yourself.