Manifestors

Manifestors — 8% of the population

Main characteristics

• Closed and “repelling” aura
• Here to have an impact
• Only type that can initiate action, instead of respond
• Independent
• Loves freedom
• Strategy is to inform

Finding out I was a Manifestor changed my life. Along with Projectors, we also operate differently than most people do, and being only 8% of the population helped explain why I never felt like I fit in.

Manifestors, like Projectors, don’t have a defined Sacral. But they do have a Throat Center that is connected to a motor — Solar Plexus, Root, or Heart.

Energy

Manifestors are the only Type that can “initiate” — you don’t need an energy already in motion to respond to, you don’t need an invitation. 

Because Manifestors don’t have a defined Sacral, their energy is going to come and go, despite their capacity to initiate and go, go, go! Manifestors are sprinters, not marathoners. Short bursts of intense activity, then rest. 

So for example — if I’m painting a room (to me a marathon activity, and full of torturous detail requirements), it’s better for me if I paint a section, then go do something else for a bit. It doesn’t have to be long — maybe just long enough to get something to drink and eat some chocolate — but I need to break it up. 

Big projects need to be broken down. Breaks need to be taken. 

Manifestor auras are “repelling” — which seems kind of harsh, but it means that it is both closed and impenetrable, and sort of pushes outward so that people can feel you before they see you. Your aura, pushing outward as it does, tends to trigger people.

I was once rushing into my office suite, feeling a little stressed, and a colleague asked me, “Are you mad at me?” My rushed, stressed energy felt like anger directed at her. It was really helpful to know that — after that, I made a conscious effort to stop and take a deep breath before entering anyplace. If they can feel your stress, they can also feel your peace. 

Manifestors are here to bring something new. The same old-same old, day in and day out grind won’t work for a Manifestor. 

Manifestors are here to have an impact. You’re here to do what you want to do. That kind of independent energy tends to freak people out. As a kid, you were likely headstrong and impulsive, an “I’m going to do what I want to do” kind of kid. This often means that Manifestor children experience more punishment than other types, with parents and teachers more likely to want to control you. That independent energy, that closed aura — triggers others that feel like you are unpredictable and out of control. 

Unlike others, Manifestors don’t “need” people. Manifestors often prefer to do things on their own, without interference. In fact, Manifestors, being so sensitive to that interference and having already experienced people trying to control or punish them, often decide to just fly under the radar, not telling anyone anything about what they’re doing.

This tends to just reinforce the unease people are already feeling around Manifestors, and trigger an even greater need to control or punish. Which triggers in the Manifestor an even greater determination to not tell anybody anything, because what’s the point? They’ll just get in the way, or say No, or punish.

Manifestor Strategy — Inform

But the way for a Manifestor to minimize resistance and even gain support is to inform people. It’s amazing what happens when Manifestors just tell people what they’re doing. They aren‘t asking for permission, because, just No.  But informing people, “I’m just letting you know…” calms people down. They don’t have to worry about what you might do next, they don’t have to brace themselves for whatever might be coming from you.

Informing people is usually the last thing that Manifestors want to do. Long experience of being interfered with, punished, and controlled usually compels Manifestors to hide, or at least try to fly under that radar. All that interference, control and punishment elicits an incredible amount of anger for a Manifestor, and they usually think that informing people is just going to create more interference, control, and punishment, eliciting even more anger. Who needs it?

The truth is that because Manifestor energy has such an impact on others, it’s considerate for them to inform. People feel seen and respected. Manifestors usually don’t realize the impact they have on others, and are surprised to hear that they do. But knowing this is key to their ultimate peace in the world, and their bringing the gifts they’re here to bring.

Manifestor children need to learn to ask permission, which they’ll hate — but if they’re given lots of freedom within certain parameters they’ll learn to thrive, and to not fear informing others as they get older.

Freedom — this is the magic elixir for Manifestors. It’s the most important thing. Give Manifestors lots of freedom and they’ll be happy. Clip their wings, try to control, tell them No, tell them what to do — and they’ll either respond with more anger, or will eventually collapse and give up.

So the strategy is to inform whomever is going to be impacted by what you’re doing. It may surprise you how many people are involved! It can also be as simple as, if you’re in a room with someone, “I’m going to get some water,” as you head to the kitchen. Or more complex as in, “I’m thinking about changing jobs.”

Lone Wolf

Know that because of your closed aura and your lone wolf tendencies, you’re not going to fit into the mainstream as easily as others. Social situations in general, and those involving small talk in particular, are actually exhausting for you. 

This might sound kind of weird (my husband thought it was sad, but he’s more extroverted), but here is the metric I use to know if a social situation is right for me. Whenever I’m invited to something, it usually sounds fine in the abstract. As the time gets closer, though, I can feel myself resisting it. I don’t want to go. It doesn’t matter who or what, necessarily — I never want to go. But if I don’t totally hate the idea of going, if it’s just the “I don’t wanna,” then I’ll go, and usually have a great time. But if it rises from the simple “I don’t want to,” to the gut churning, “UGH!!! NOOOOO!!!!!” then I give myself permission to skip it. 

It’s not that Manifestors don’t want or need to have meaningful relationships, because they do. But they need to be with the right people — people who accept them for who they are, who are okay with giving them the freedom they need to do what they feel called to do.

Anger Issues

In Human Design, each Type has a theme for when they don’t get to live as they are. For Generators it’s frustration, for Projectors it’s bitterness, for Reflectors it’s disappointment. For Manifestors, it’s anger. 

I found it extremely helpful to know that this is basically an unavoidable chemical reaction, as opposed to a character flaw I needed to fix. I spent countless hours in therapy trying to deal with my “anger issues.”

The thing is, I did also have anger issues, as you probably do too. There was a backlog of unexpressed anger in my system from years of traumas and misunderstandings that got triggered whenever anything new happened. And all of that backlog got activated, which came out as an over-reaction to that one incident.  

As one therapist told me, “You’ve got some shit to shovel.”

It’s necessary to deal with that backlog of anger, and it will take a while. Be patient and encouraging with yourself. Under that anger is a lot of hurt, which needs to be dealt with tenderly. 

But once you get through enough of the backlog, you can “right-size” the anger that will continue to flare up. You can stop making up stories about why you’re angry — there are differences in the pure chemical anger as a Manifestor, and the anger that comes from an injustice, let’s say. It gets easier to let go of looking outside yourself to assign blame for why you’re angry. I imagine myself as a frilled-neck dragon, flaring its neck thing as it’s threatened.  Just feeling it and letting it pass. There really isn’t much else to do about it. 

Obviously there are other situations you feel angry about that do require you do something about them. There’s usually a lot of trauma to unravel. Sometimes the trauma is about specific events or patterns; I found that there was also just the trauma of being in a world that I didn’t feel wanted me. 

Sensitivity

As a kid, (and all Manifestors have this sensitivity) I could feel people’s unconscious reaction to my energy. I didn’t understand it, I just thought there was something wrong with me that only they could see. 

But now understanding my impact, I can consciously project peace, love, compassion…and know that people can feel that too.

Sleep

For sleep, it’s better for Manifestors to get to bed before they’re exhausted. You need transition time, and it frankly feels terrible to drag yourself to the bathroom to brush your teeth when you’re feeling exhausted. So get that done early before the tank runs out and give yourself time to hang out in bed.