Michael Jackson - Study in Conditioning, Part 2 - Spleen
Review of Part 1
The first installment inspired many of you to send in responses. Thank you and keep them coming! One reader wrote "... I am beginning to look at my own undefined Sacral in a new way." This is really the point! A few people sent me messages such as “I’m a 6/2 Splenic Projector” or “I’m a 5/1 Projector.” I'm not sure what this means to you or what you might think you’re telling me. The profile information does have certain value, however in my view, the emphasis on profiles eclipses the much more important knowledge of what your undefined centers are.
In Part 1, the subject was Michael Jackson and his undefined Sacral center. There was no mention of his type as a projector. Yes, it’s on his chart, but specifically not where I started to highlight the subject of conditioning. My present evolution in Human Design makes it clear that skipping this first, fundamental step as to how centers work in favor of the more intermediate interpretation of types hides from your perception something much more significant.
The Types are popular because they're effective generalizations, however, the labels of the types focus on behavior rather than giving you a complete picture about centers defined and undefined, (with the exception of Reflectors having no centers defined). Viscerally perceiving centers in yourself is much more powerful.
Nine Centers
Folks, there are only nine centers. And it is the beginning. Understanding how you experience any one of them clues you into how you’ve experienced conditioning and maybe how to live more intelligently.
This series using Michael Jackson’s chart to explore conditioning and its potentially deadly effects motivated me to use this compelling example to show you how you can build a solid foundation of Human Design by really understanding centers. If you grasp this fundamental first step and then use it to directly see the centers as they condition you or others, you will know a lot about anyone. If that's as far as you get, you will have the essence to understand anyone’s chart.
The key is to understand conditioning and the important role consciousness can play in making more intelligent choices ... consciousness, yes, not No Choice.
Second Chakra and the Sacral Center
In part 1, I discussed the undefined Sacral center in Michael’s chart. There was a sense of “spending” his life force as he did. Now consider that this center corresponds directly to the second chakra. If you’ve listened to either Christiane Northrup or Caroline Myss on the subject, they refer to second chakra keys as sex, money and power.
This small phrase, “sex, money, power” has given me so much food for thought. There's lots to contemplate, but the most important exploration for yourself is about your own body, your own sexuality, your vital resources and how you spend or expend them. Do you push yourself or others? Do you meet resistance in yourself or are you responding to life?
Michael Jackson's never-realized last tour was largely inspired by the need for money. The This Is It tour (wow, what a prophetic name that was!) was organized at least in part to meet the many debt obligations he had amassed over the years of legal wrangling and his inability to hold onto the huge amounts of money he’d earned.
If you have a defined Sacral center, this might be a clue for you in identifying your Sacral energy as a source of wealth, an energy reservoir that is yours to honor. If you have an undefined Sacral center, you might check the conditioning that is the most nourishing for you, conditioning that makes you feel vital, creative and alive.
Spleen Center 
The centers that relate to the physical experience most directly are the Spleen, relating to the body consciousness field, awareness of the sensory input (smell, taste, touch, hearing, sight) and well-being; the Sacral center, with its creative, reproductive power of the life force; and Root center for survival mechanisms, physical security, material manifestation, and arousal as the imperative to procreate.
MJ had an undefined Spleen center, as did Heath Ledger, another one of our planetary lights so soon extinguished. In contrast, Britney Spears has a strongly defined Spleen center, so while her forays into drugs helped make a mess of her emotional life, she has been able to recover from the physical abuses and now is carrying on.
Both Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson had sleep problems and also physical pain that led to addiction or at least use of heavy narcotics. This points to the nature of trying to feel good (classic undefined Spleen) and not getting the right information from the body that a defined Spleen center person like Britney probably would (“this is killing me” or “I shouldn’t take so much of this” or “this isn’t healthy for me”).
The physical part of being conditioned in the Spleen is the desire to feel good in the moment. However, undefined Spleen center people don’t discriminate body information very well. The warning system for a person with the undefined Spleen might not be effective. Think of Michael Jackson’s hair catching on fire during the Pepsi commercial filming. He didn’t feel it, perhaps couldn't smell it or didn’t interpret the information very well. Like with those very strong IV medications, he didn’t get the correct information.
He suffered numerous health crises. During a rehearsal when he fell and broke his nose, this began a long, complicated series of rhinoplasty to try to open his breathing again. The discoloration of his skin plagued him, as did teenage acne. Spleen relates to the lymph system and detoxification. Having an undefined Spleen center doesn't mean you have health problems, but it indicates a challenge to really learn appropriate information on what would help you stay healthy.
For advanced students, here's the Momentous Transit of death that shows the Sacral and Root centers defined by transit, but not the Spleen center. What role do you think the transit of the North Node in gate 60 that began May 23 had on MJ for his last month? This defined his South Node in gate 3 (first half of his life).
Next time, I’ll discuss the Root center and its role in security and survival themes.
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