Ilona Pamplona: Human Design Made Easy

Megan Hamilton (00:01.387)
I'm Megan Hamilton and this is the Embracing Enchantment podcast. I met today's guest in a mutual community and we soon found out that our interests align. Like me, she has a history with music in the music industry. She's got a master's degree in wellness coaching. She's a life coach, an author of the wonderful book, This Journal is Your Mood Ring, and the soon to be released Human Design Made Easy.

She is an astrology and human design educator and a genuinely lovely person. Welcome, Alona Pamplona.

Ilona Pamplona (00:38.604)
Thank you, Megan. That was such a intro.

Megan Hamilton (00:41.059)
Well, I'm very, very, very fond of you. So I'm really, really happy that you're here. And I'm so excited to dive in to all things human design. Human design is something that I started to hear whispers around about around 2020. And since then, yeah, it feels like it's become as popular as astrology in terms of popular culture. So I'm going to pull a tarot card for us. And while I'm shuffling, I wonder if

While I'm getting ready, you could tell us, what is human design?

Ilona Pamplona (01:16.376)
That is such a great question. The way I consider human design, it's a new assessment, right? It's a new esoteric assessment or spiritual assessment that we have that tells us in a very, you know, for me in a very reduced form, it's like, how does our energy work? How does our energy work? You know, it pulls from astrology, pulls from the I Ching, it pulls from the Kabbalah, pulls from astrology and the quantum, in quantum physics. And it says, how does your aura interact in the quantum field? And how do we use this information?

to really help you be your best self and really align to what you're here to do.

Megan Hamilton (01:52.835)
I love that and that is, know, really the whole point of this podcast is to find different modalities, different ways of making your life better, essentially, you know, just to put it in a nutshell and different systems that we can use to really explore who we are. so I love that. And all right, I'm gonna pull a card for us and see what kind of theme wants to come through today.

Megan Hamilton (02:32.855)
All right, okay, all right. I am here for Wheel of Fortune reversed and guess what? We're breaking cycles, right? I don't know what's happening in terms of the planets currently. I know that things are shifting massively. really feel, know Colin Bedell was a recent guest and he talked about the big stuff happening in March, March and April and.

Ilona Pamplona (02:39.169)
I love it.

Megan Hamilton (03:00.853)
When I look at the Wheel of Fortune, so for those of you who are listening and you want to see what this looks like, you can head over to YouTube or you can just pull up the Wheel of Fortune on Google and I'll just describe it real quick. So the Wheel of Fortune is a card that is of the Major Arcana and you've got the four directions represented. All of them are with creatures, winged creatures. So we have the angel who is and they all are reading books. We also have the

I can't remember, is that the Phoenix? That other corner. Yeah, yeah. And then we have the lion and the bull. And so they're, yeah, they represent.

Ilona Pamplona (03:34.968)
That is a great question. Yes, I think it is.

Ilona Pamplona (03:43.061)
Yeah, Phoenix represents Scorpio, I'm not mistaken. I think Phoenix, they also represent different astrologies.

Megan Hamilton (03:46.647)
Say that again.

Megan Hamilton (03:50.837)
Yes, they do. they, is it the fixed signs, I think maybe? Yeah, okay. And also angels. And so I remember at one point reading the way that angels are originally described in ancient times. These four directions are represented, they represent how we think of the angels. So, you know, there's so many different themes coming up. And there's also a little,

Ilona Pamplona (03:54.772)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep.

Megan Hamilton (04:20.661)
a little devil riding the bottom of the Wheel of Fortune as well as the snake, right? And then we have a sphinx on top holding a sword, reminding us of strategy. So this is a great card about blending what we can control, what we can't control, strategy, communication. so, you know, sometimes we can and well, I'm hoping that we'll get to this too when we talk about human design. Sometimes we can rely on

Ilona Pamplona (04:23.809)
yes.

Megan Hamilton (04:50.541)
all of these modalities, all of these relationships to other worlds or spirituality, but really nothing happens unless we take action. And that's what I feel like the sword here wants to let us know as well, the communication, the strategy, and then the actually getting out of there and doing it. So this is reversed. And when we have wheels, cycles reversed, sometimes that can mean breaking a cycle. And as we're recording this,

Ilona Pamplona (05:00.247)
Mmm.

Megan Hamilton (05:20.323)
You know, I gotta say it is October 29th, 2024. We are on the verge of a lot of different things.

And let's take this as a positive sign that cycles are breaking, things are changing. We are starting new paradigms. We are moving forward. We are embracing humanity and love and compassion and new ways forward because we are seeing every single day that this stuff is not working any longer. And I love that that's the card that wants to take us forward.

Ilona Pamplona (05:52.236)
Mm-hmm.

Megan Hamilton (05:59.209)
So, okay, as I said, there's a rather big election coming up and tension is high. I'm definitely feeling it. One of the reasons I started this podcast was because meaning making and connecting with my own spirituality, rituals and practices became a non-negotiable for me this year. How did you come upon human design and how do you use it personally?

Ilona Pamplona (06:26.092)
This is such a juicy question. love, I, I joke that I grew up in a spiritually fluid home. My mom was a big fan of Walter Mercado, who was a famous Puerto Rican astrologer. So my mom grew up with if it's energy and it's good energy, we bring it to the home. We learn about it. So by the time I was five, I knew when someone was a tourist Pisces for Gore Libra, because that was full in my family, like my entire lineage, like on either side was a lot of those. And, and so, you know,

As I got into my own ability to learn and my own time and space to invest in things, that's where I invested my time, like learning self-development and modalities. And so I learned, I fell upon human design around 2019. A few friends told me about it. A friend did a mini reading for me. And, and I, but it wasn't until 2020 when I was like, okay, I'm going to sit here and I'm going to figure this out. And I created a secret study group with a friend, with two friends of mine. We were each.

She was a generator, one was a projector, and I was a manifestor. We were all emotional authorities and we kind of really just dug in and realized how cool it was that it pulled from all different systems. I think I missed the chakra system as well before. So it's like all these things that we already knew about because we've been it's almost like it was building like, you know, upon all the things that we did. it's like, here's one system that brings everything together and then gives us a new way to look at the world and how we interact with it. And it.

Megan Hamilton (07:39.139)
Mm-hmm.

Ilona Pamplona (07:53.866)
It just fell upon me like in very serendipitously. And it was also really cool because I'd already been using astrology and coaching. And so it also became like an extra coaching tool because for me, these are just tools of self-awareness, not necessarily always like these divinatory experiences. Like, I think they're more like, hey, what does this teach me about me?

Megan Hamilton (08:06.818)
Mm-hmm.

Megan Hamilton (08:15.421)
my gosh, thank you so much for saying that. And yes, I think that is part of what

we can really think about when we're looking at these different spiritual modalities is we're not necessarily trying to buck the system or find out in advance what we're not supposed to know or get concerned. Let's say you look at the week ahead's astrology and you sort of think, no, a Mercury retrograde is coming. I'm going to stay inside and do nothing. Instead,

How could we look at it in a way that is more supportive rather than daunting?

Ilona Pamplona (09:02.806)
I am muted for a second. That is the most important thing that I've learned from anything. think everything, it's the intention that you go into a tool or a learning experience or any experience that really defines our relationship to that. Right. And just like you said, like everything's a lesson. Right. How do we how do I approach that? How do we use these tools to say Mercury retrograde happens multiple times a year. I don't have to hide every every cycle.

Megan Hamilton (09:31.267)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Ilona Pamplona (09:32.192)
What did I learn last time? If it's going to happen also, by the way, there's cycles kind of like the wheel of fortune. It's a circle cycles happen. How do we understand that life is this circular cycle? Things come and go and come and go. And it's our relationship to the coming and going of these cycles that actually define who we are at certain moments and could help us move into the next cycle with a new perspective.

Megan Hamilton (09:38.135)
Yes.

Megan Hamilton (10:02.795)
Yes, yes, absolutely. And, you know, going back to this Wheel of Fortune reversed, sometimes what I think this card can tell us is if we are going through a hard time, hello, hello, hello, it will change. Right? Nothing stays the same. Yes, exactly. Exactly. And, you know, the last thing we want to see when things are going well is a difficult card.

Ilona Pamplona (10:20.332)
and it's death validation.

Megan Hamilton (10:32.583)
or a piece of difficult astrology. Or actually, I could say that the last thing we want to see is when things are already hard and we get any difficult piece of astrology. But the thing is, these are just themes. We don't know the specifics. That's where you have to leave it up to whatever is happening in the giant web around us that we don't know anything about. we also have no control over. And I mean, you know,

in the sort of esoteric other world, but also in our world. Like, I don't know. I have plans with my friends next week. I don't know what's happening behind the scenes for them that might have to change the plans. And that doesn't necessarily mean, and I wouldn't even necessarily want to know or try to predict how that's going to go. I just have to let life life and show up and remember, I think this is part of.

the lessons of these teachings as well is you remember that things change, things are cycles, things shift, but you also develop the tools for how to deal with them better in the moment, right?

Ilona Pamplona (11:41.9)
Yes. I remember when I first started using astrology and all these tools and my coaching practice, my coaching practice originally started as a self-compassion container. And it's funny because when people hear self-compassion, they think self-love, like everything's great. I'm like, no, no. If we go into, so I used to do the series called Spellings. And when we look at the etymology of the word compassion, comes from Latin, compasione, which means to suffer with, right? And so when you're being self compassionate, you are.

Being really kind to yourself in a moment of not so niceness, right? A moment of difficulty instead of being like, why is this happening? It's been like, okay, this is a rough patch. Can I, can I hold space for myself in this rough patch? And my experience is that when we bring astrology or human design or the tarot or oracles or whatever magical tools you who are listening may bring in.

It allows, gives you that opportunity to hold space for yourself in that moment of challenge. Because a lot of people look at for it, like they're looking for the celebration, right? They're looking like, when am I going to make that money? When is my business going to do great? When am I going to find love? But really what it's doing, it's allowing you to hold space for you in the challenge.

Megan Hamilton (13:02.642)
Yes, yes, that's when we need it the most, right? It's not how can I, you when is this gonna change or how long do I have to wait? How can we not waste time by being present in the moment, accepting where we're at, right? Exactly what you just said. And the idea of self-compassion, I love etymology that, and it's so interesting to learn the roots of that word. When I practice shadow work,

Number one, before anything, self-compassion. Compassion is what we're building, because then, talk about a cycle, once you develop compassion for yourself, then you put that compassion out in the world, you start to see where other people are coming from, why they might be behaving the way they're behaving, and you have actual compassion. I love it. If you go and watch the YouTube channel, you can see that Ilona is literally cheering, and it is absolutely...

absolutely delightful. I know, I know. I mean, what are we doing if we're not developing systems that like, would we be hard on ourselves? You know, and and I mean, I think we definitely need to interrogate ourselves. We definitely need to hold ourselves accountable for our behavior and for our actions. But we also need to figure out where the heck is this coming from? Why? Why did I behave that way? What triggered this particular

Ilona Pamplona (14:00.628)
This is my jam. Like, yes, you get it.

Megan Hamilton (14:29.795)
reaction to something or something that I feel upset or ashamed about. Where's that coming from? And we can't get into that with ourselves. We're not going to have a positive outcome if we're like, well, you suck anyway. So it's probably just because you suck that this behavior is coming instead. It's now let's really get into it. You know, we're you know, that thing that people say like who hurts you. It's like you say that to yourself. Who hurt you? Why are you? Why is this like your sort of standard?

Ilona Pamplona (14:53.378)
Yes!

Megan Hamilton (15:00.245)
Okay, so I want to know.

How has human design changed your life? mean, we know that you've got a book coming out. We know that you're using it with clients as a tool. We know that you use it in your own practice and rituals. thinking about Ilona before human design and after, what would you say is just to help people understand how significant it can be?

Ilona Pamplona (15:28.692)
my gosh, this is, I love, I love all good questions. I'll always say this is a juicy question, right? I grew up first gen Latina and eldest daughter. And there was like a lot of like, you know, being, and by the way, also a lot of labor placement. So a lot of like helping others and, and, and being part of the group and like doing what other people need. And when I found out I have a manifesto aura, which doesn't mean I don't get to be supportive and all that.

But there is something about this or it's only 9 % of the population. So first of all, that was this moment of like, Ooh, that's not a lot of people. Why do I have this or I had a moment of like, no, not me. I don't want it. Not it. Like make me like the others. And then really embracing the idea that my energy came to work, like has a lot of impact, right? I had, you know, growing up, there was always like a lot of maybe like comments of like, you do this and it's so easy or.

Megan Hamilton (16:07.811)
Mmm.

interesting.

Ilona Pamplona (16:26.712)
You know, this this sense of like I was up to big things and I and I had this moment of like, I don't know what you guys are talking about. I'm just doing me and this kind of maybe witnessing of like, my my or does work in a very specific way. I don't want to say special because everyone's aura is exactly what they need. But like, this is why things when I go and just do something like I'm going to get it done. Whereas some people's energy are like, once I'm no longer.

My energy is no longer here. I'm no longer interested in this and not lighten me up. I get to move on. for me, it's like I'm just here to like plow through and get the thing done. When you understand when I understood the mechanics, because it's it's almost like the mechanics. Your aura has like this way of working. And when I learned that my aura has this very specific way of working, it's almost like I gave myself permission to not play small with the energy that it was given and really allow that.

Megan Hamilton (17:18.275)
Mmm.

Ilona Pamplona (17:24.642)
To be me, I'm not doing anything extra, right? Like none of us should be doing from this information. We should be being more from this information. And we all when we allow that, that energy to just be instead of forcing something else to happen, we really can see how things start to click and things start to illuminate in the way that they should have been illuminated. If that makes sense.

Megan Hamilton (17:45.091)
Hmm.

Megan Hamilton (17:50.955)
Totally, yes, it's a deeper understanding of yourself and where things are coming from and why you are the way you are. I love, it's so funny that you say this. next I wanna talk about what the different things mean because somebody who's listening for the first time who doesn't know human design might say, what is a manifesto? But what I love about this too is this idea that it's giving you permission to be

sort of this big energy that you probably knew was there. maybe, you know, sometimes we try to dim our light. There might be a lot of different reasons for it. Hello, eldest daughter as well. Because you were you when you found out what your human design was, you were like, no. And when I found out what mine was, I was mad. I wanted to be. Now I'm an Aries.

I want it to be the special one. But then now that I've been learning more and more about it and like, okay, it makes sense. It doesn't mean I'm not special. Everything's okay, Megan. I have to be honest, right? But yeah, tell us. I know it is. know. But it's also like, it's funny. Yeah, I'm working through my own issues about needing to have attention.

Ilona Pamplona (19:06.69)
It's important though.

Megan Hamilton (19:18.583)
But tell us what the different human designs look like. I know because I know that like astrology, you can start with your sort of 12 signs and in human design, it's a little bit different. And that can be enough. You can learn the basics, but then you can start to get really intricate and then you can get like...

Ilona Pamplona (19:34.466)
Yes.

Megan Hamilton (19:42.071)
really intricate. where do we start? Like when you say that you're a manifestor, that you have a manifestor aura, what does that mean?

Ilona Pamplona (19:43.405)
Yes.

Ilona Pamplona (19:50.072)
So, so before we get started, I want to say a really funny note. That was also something I struggled when people hear that I'm a manifesto. They're like, of course you are. And so I joke that my job here in the world is to eliminate aura envy because everyone gets to own the mechanics of their aura. Right. And so there are technically four aura types and one of them has a subtype. So there is, so some people say five energy types, but there are four auras, are the generators.

which has the subtype of the manifesting generator, the projectors, the manifestors and the reflector. So generators and manifesting generators make up 70 % of the population. that's also why people are like, I'm not special. There's so many of us, but no, you are. You're very special. Projectors are 20 % of the population. Manifestors are about nine and reflectors are about one. So reflectors are actually the most rare. And so the idea is that each of each energy type interacts with the world in a different way.

both generators and manifesting generators or auras are what we call open and enveloping. So even though they have two names and they kind of show up in the world a little bit differently, their auras are like, hello, I'm here. Their auras are open. The universe is throwing ideas, people, instincts, like, you know, connections, opportunities at them. And their job is to connect with their sacral definition. That's what makes a generator generator is that they have the sacral center.

Or what some people may recognize as a sequel chakra. So that center is defined and they have energy and that energy center goes, Hey, this is a yes. This is a no. Sometimes it'll even say not now. Maybe later. Let's come back to that. And the idea is when generator auras are connected to when their body is saying yes or no to something or lighting them up, they should actually flow to that instead of overriding with their thought. What seems logical.

Megan Hamilton (21:28.547)
you

Ilona Pamplona (21:43.862)
And when, generator or is a line with what's a yes, then the enveloping part comes in and they're like, yes, I want this. We're, we're holding onto this beautiful opportunity. Pure generators. They're probably going to stay there a little bit longer. They're known as builders, manifesting generators work a little bit faster. They're kind of more of like our multi-potential lights. They are once they're done, they're to be done a little bit faster than a regular generator and they're going to move on to something else and they're going to move on to something else. And there's a guilt of like, why am I moving on and why can't I stick to something?

But the point is when you're aligning to what's the yes and what's no from that embodied, not logical space, you're in alignment because you're following that energetic instinct that says this is your direction. And my favorite part is that in my experience, generator auras, you like the world is actually being brought to you. The energy is being brought to you. Your job is to be like, what do I want? What do want from this buffet of life?

Megan Hamilton (22:11.811)
you

Megan Hamilton (22:37.047)
From this buffet of life, I love it. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Ilona Pamplona (22:38.806)
Right? Whereas like if we go to the manifest or if it needs to be done, I need to do it. I'm not like, I don't have that thing where I'm like, yes, no. And like things are coming to me. I got to be like, I want to do that thing now. I just got it. Like the just do it really just belongs to manifestors. We're supposed to just do it. Whereas generator auras are really like, feel it out. Let let let like feel out what the universe is throwing to you and be guided from that internal instinct.

Megan Hamilton (23:08.896)
Right, okay. So it's whether the energy is sort of coming from within or whether it's coming from without.

Ilona Pamplona (23:16.322)
Well, no, we both have. So like the manifest or just still coming from within. Right. So like, there's this moment of like, I'm feeling compelled to do this or I have this spurt of energy now to do something. It's still coming from within, but it's, it's almost from a different operating. So the generator auras. It's it, it is like a very specific embodied ping it's, it's in the moment. It's very present. It's like, like one moment to the next, it could change. And, it's, but it's like, you're allowing.

yourself to flow with what the universe is presenting you. And universe is throwing you stuff, that guidance is still from within. All of us are being guided from within. It just we're being guided in a very slightly different way.

Megan Hamilton (24:00.771)
Okay, I love it.

This is so fascinating to me and you know I've been sort of learning about human design since I heard about it in 2020 and I had a reading and I'm still absorbing so much of it and I know yeah I know it's so much. What's something out there that you've seen that people are getting wrong about human design?

Ilona Pamplona (24:28.492)
You know, I think they're getting wrong that it's dogma or that it's supposed to be done in a certain way. When this was first created, my understanding is it was called the human design experiment. We are supposed to be playing with this. We're supposed to be seeing what part of this is really resonating, which part is really landing and how do we, know, for example, some generators, so the, the, intrinsic guidance for generators understand what your body's yes or no is. And they'll typically say it's like.

Megan Hamilton (24:32.227)
Mmm.

Ilona Pamplona (24:57.342)
I like a feeling in your gut or, know, it's like, it's coming from in you and you're like, yes, before a sentence has even finished, but not everyone is experiencing that way. My sister's a man, Jen, and she gets goosebumps from her wrists to her elbow whenever something's a yes. So it's not necessarily from coming from her gut, but it's still this embodied ping that goes, yes, in the moment. Yes, right now, let's do this. Go. Yes. And so it's when we kind of. I think when with Tara, with astrology, with human design, like.

I think all these systems is getting it wrong when it's so fixed that there's not an interpretation of your experience with the work rather than your lived experience with the

Megan Hamilton (25:40.395)
Yes. Yeah. And I say that with tarot a lot. I will have, you know, four of wands could mean something very different if I gave you a reading right now to a different client that I give a reading to next week to, to myself, you know, from day to day even, because some days, you know, I pull tarot every day for myself and some days I get the same card over and over again, five, six days in a row and

you know, there's the essence of the card, but then there's the interpretation of it. Then there's the connection to the other cards that you're pulling, the connection to what's happening that day, but also your own intuitive hit about what the card means. And I'll say, sometimes your intuitive hit.

or sometimes your initial hit, let's just say, is it's highlighting your fear.

Right? Because sometimes what you see first, it's not actually that, but it lets you know what you're afraid of. And that's information too. That's helpful to know. Right? Yeah. Everything I know. It's so frustrating. Just kidding. It's great. We love it. We love to learn about ourselves. It's exhausting sometimes, but that's okay.

Ilona Pamplona (26:41.566)
Yes, yes!

Ilona Pamplona (26:52.522)
Everything's a lesson! Everything's self-awareness lesson!

Ilona Pamplona (27:04.973)
Yeah.

Megan Hamilton (27:08.075)
Human design feels like astrology in that you can have broad strokes, understanding of the system and still get something out of it. But when you decide to study it. you know, Ilona has just written or has written a book that's coming out December 3rd, right? And can you remind us of the title of the book?

Ilona Pamplona (27:23.384)
Third.

Ilona Pamplona (27:27.512)
It's called human design made easy, which I always joke. I'm like, human design is never going to be easy, but I think it w if I could go back and probably say human design made basic, right? It's like the basics. It's like the one one course that needs to be done for people who are like, I don't want to teach this. just want to know the found foundationals of this kind of like learning sun, moon and rising energy for astrology. Right. What was this foundational part?

Megan Hamilton (27:50.443)
Yes.

And so, and we know as well that you can get really, really into it. I mean, I've looked at, if you've never looked at human design before, you can go and plunk in your birthday and the birth time and where you were born and get a very interesting looking picture come up that shows sort of your human design. And you, if you're like me, you look at it and go, I don't, I don't know what any of this means. None of this.

None of this makes sense to me. But then when you go and have a reading with somebody or if you read your book, you're going to start by learning sort of probably the four, starting with the four different types and then moving on. Tell us about your upcoming book and how it gets people started.

Ilona Pamplona (28:43.0)
So the thing is, just like you said, Megan, there's so much detail, right? This is pulling from so many ancient wisdoms, right? Astrology, the I Ching, the chakras, and there's so much, there's so much that you can impact just from unpacking the, the influence of those systems. But there's a basic foundations, right? Like the first thing is, do you know your art type? I have so many people that come up and they'll be like, yeah, I'm a manifester. And then you find out they're a generator.

And you're like, why did you, why did you say your manifesto? Because they are convinced that they're a manifesto, right? Like, so first it's like, let's, let's really have you learn what your aura type is, what your energy type is, right? What is your design? And then what does it mean to be that design? So I break down what we were kind of starting with, right? Like how does your aura work? You know, the, you know, the generators open and developing the projectors penetrating. kind of dives in the reflector is sampling. It's literally tasting energy from the world around them. Right. And so when we understand how our.

Megan Hamilton (29:16.579)
you

Ilona Pamplona (29:40.65)
aura works and how that functions in the world, then then we have a baseline to really say, OK, this is my aura. I am proud of it. This is how interacts. This is how I can really embody myself more. And they're going their practices or exercises. I had some reflective questions for each of them so we can really dive in and say, this is my aura. This is how it functions. I also mentioned every every design has what we call a non self theme and a self theme, which I think is

If you're just getting into this and maybe you're just getting into personal development that might feel like confusing. kind of frame them as like red flags and green flags. You'll know you're aligned when these energies like, you know, for generators, for example, there's this primary not self theme or red flag of feeling frustrated. So feeling frustrated is a hit that what you're not following your strategy and your authority that you're not listening to that inner pain. So really putting into context.

Megan Hamilton (30:35.395)
you

Ilona Pamplona (30:39.294)
How does your energy work? How do know you're out of alignment? How to get back in there. And when we start with that, then we can dive into the bigger details like all the gates and all the channels and all the defined centers, right? And things like that.

Megan Hamilton (30:51.703)
Yeah, and so for somebody who's listening and has never heard of human design, gates and channels, all of these things are what you see when you pull up the picture. how can we learn, like once we start to get more involved, once we start to understand what all of these smaller things mean and how intricate we can get, what else can that tell us about ourselves?

Ilona Pamplona (30:59.428)
my.

Ilona Pamplona (31:19.672)
my gosh. there's where do we start? Right? So channels are specific talents that you have, right? For lack of a better phrase, the centers are kind of energies that you're affecting people with, like that you bring to the table when interacting with others, there's going to be centers that are not defined or what we call open. And that's where maybe

You're receiving that energy from people. You're not necessarily giving that energy to people. So you actually understand what is the energy I'm bringing to the world and what is the energy that I'm feeling from the world and sometimes even guiding the world with. Right. Because we're wherever we're undefined. It's not that we don't have impact there is, but we're more of a guiding impact or a reflect, like reflective impact rather than an like an effectual impact in the world. And so really understanding that we're built in different ways and knowing those nuances are going to help.

how we're guiding and showing up. And we have gates, which is half of channels, which are like little mini talents that we have. Our profile shows us how we kind of show up in the world, both consciously and unconsciously. There's just so much. The planets, each of the planets has a gate. There are lines. For example, I've just been sort of, getting certified in what's called Genius Report, which is human design for the workplace. And so I'm learning.

You know, here's a, here's another misconception. Your aura type doesn't tell you what you should be doing when it comes to professions. Like you can be, anyone, any, any aura type can be any, be in any industry. They're just going to show up in those industries differently based on how their auras work, but where our talent slides is may actually one of the planetary activations. And that's going to give us a better indication of what you should be doing. So there could be.

Megan Hamilton (32:43.971)
okay.

Ilona Pamplona (33:03.544)
Famous singers that are all of the or a types there could be famous writers of all of the or a types it's just they're going to show up in a different way so that I think that's also very important just because you're an or a type doesn't mean you can't do something or be in a field or go for your dream. You're just going to go for that dream very differently energetically.

Megan Hamilton (33:22.371)
instead of fighting against what you think you should be doing. Okay, so let's get into you were talking about when you were talking about gates for example and they sort of show your mini talents what kinds of things can they show us about ourselves?

Ilona Pamplona (33:39.832)
My gosh. Well, there are 64 gates. so there are, and they're all based on, interesting fact. So for the astrology people here, like this might be, so I found myself really pulled to the gates because each of the gates are assigned to, correlated to different astrology activation. So for example, like I found that a lot of the gates, when I first started, I'm like,

Megan Hamilton (33:43.381)
Okay.

Ilona Pamplona (34:05.844)
my gosh, all of the gates in the spleen are Libra and Scorpio placements and all of the gates in the solar plexus are Aquarius and Pisces placements. The others are kind of scattered throughout, but you're like, okay, cool. Like now I understand not only what the gate represents and what the talent brings, but what kind of energy is that bringing? For example, the spleen is our intuitive center. It's our immunity. The solar plexus, our emotions, right? And so we're going to, the gate will tell us like specific information, for example,

I have gate 48. That's my, my Libra son is associated to the gate 48, which is known as the gate of the well. It's all about like holding a lot of depth, a lot of information, like, like the well has holds this water, but people need to come to the well and pull from the water. So it's like, my sister used to joke that I'm like the librarian, cause I know all this information, but I'm like, I'm not just out there spitting facts. I have to be pulled to a conversation, to an opportunity and share that information.

Megan Hamilton (35:04.347)
that is so interesting. I've been noticing recently because I think I've talked to you about this before, but that astrology doesn't stick for me. It's been so difficult. I leave it to the experts because it really is as it just sort of goes over my head. But slowly I've realized I've been absorbing it. And part of what I realized is that once I learned tarot,

and I learn what the four suits are and then I start to see how they relate to the four different fixed signs and the different directions that we associate with the signs. I start, and of course it makes sense with human design since it's built on tarot and astrology and all of the other structures.

I start to think to myself that it reminds me of how I learned how to play guitar by translating what I knew of piano in my mind into, so I was like, okay, well, if I want to go from an E to an A sharp here, what do need to do? So I would picture the piano keyboard, right? And it becomes almost like a language translation. And I can really start to see how using this as a coaching tool,

Ilona Pamplona (36:19.085)
Yes.

Megan Hamilton (36:25.515)
If you're finding a client stuck, you might say, okay, well, let's go look at what feels like the easiest way to do this because it's matching your aura, it's matching your gifts, it's matching sort of what's highlighted for you in your human design. And you might find that somebody's working against that or trying to do something different. Does that come up a lot for you?

Ilona Pamplona (36:50.39)
Yes. So what I find actually is, either a client is working against the way their energy is working, right? Like I'll find generators who are trying to like really hustling grind rather than being like, my gosh, this is what I'm here to do. And like, let me like really use my energy here, right? They're, they're trying to force something to happen rather than to like magnetize or, or, or, or really trust where they're being guided. But I also find that the open centers, so it's interesting.

Whatever is so, so if you've never, if you're listening and you've never seen a human design body graph, if they call it a body graph, not a chart, it'll look like a little human with little geometric symbols inside like boxes and squares and diamonds. And some of them are in color. Some of them are not. And the ones that are not, I often find that sometimes a client is struggling with the red flag theme of the little shape that isn't highlighted. Right. So for example,

I tend to source clients who don't have what we call the ego or the will center and the not self theme or the red flag is unworthiness. And so when someone is, you know, being blocked or like not getting the results they want and that little box is not in color. And I'm like, it's okay. Like this is something that you're here to learn. You don't have this defined. This is what you're, this is one of the areas that's going to teach you when you're not, when you're not in flow with yourself, when you're not really in the.

Megan Hamilton (37:54.211)
Ilona Pamplona (38:14.262)
And the flow of how your aura works, of how your energy works. So let's get back to that kind of, for me, it's like the operating system. Everything else, like you could have the gates, you could have the talents, you could have the centers, but if you're not following your strategy and your authority, then your computer isn't going to work. Right. You're going to have little glitches. You're going to have to have an update. You're going to have to reboot. And the reboot is always the strategy and authority.

Megan Hamilton (38:30.179)
Mmm.

Megan Hamilton (38:38.771)
my goodness, my goodness. We have so many things to learn about ourselves, don't we? Like it's an ever, it's a ever evolving, ever evolving challenge. Okay, so I wonder if, you know, one of the things that I like to focus on in this podcast is hopefulness because I find that hopefulness.

is if we really believe that things can change, if we really believe that we can change, if we really believe that we can change the world, that the world can change, then we have the kind of energy we need to actually go about and do it. And that's where I feel like hopefulness is such a gift. And so I'm wondering, how can we avoid feeling stuck or of the mindset that, know, well, this is my human design and I can't really change, right? How can we avoid that and embrace human design to be,

a sort of generative and nourishing system instead of a fixed or stuck system that holds us back.

Ilona Pamplona (39:42.936)
Yeah, I think it goes back to, you know, this sense of interpretation, right? Like the moment your interpretation of any system is this is the dogma. This is something that I'm stuck to. This is something that can never change. Then we have we have an interpretation that is fixed. And our job is to work on, you know, see like for me, I'm all about like, how can we see this in a different way? Like, that's my favorite question that I ask myself.

for any moment, any difficulty, any system that we're using, how do we see this in a different way? Cause I'll have clients who come on these calls and they're like, that doesn't resonate with me. And I'm like, great, here are the themes. What's coming up for you. How can you see this in a different way? And then they come up with their own instinctual experiences of that. And then we work on that rather than being like, no, no, but this is what this means. So you must be, this must be happening to you, right? It's really about like really opening the perspective.

It's like if we are to have hope, we don't have hope is because we have closed ourselves to the interpretation that there is nothing left. But there's always like, just like we said before, there's always ways to self-awareness. There's so much more to learn in all these systems. There's always more. There's always another way to see something. There's always another way to feel something. There's always another way to interpret something. And until we can get into that practice of opening the way we see something.

we're always going to be stuck in the hopelessness of this is all that's left.

Megan Hamilton (41:11.369)
so important. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. yeah, yes, it is. There's always a new, fresh perspective of looking at things. And I, you know, I know that you're like me and it's we're not just good vibes only here, like quite the opposite, right? We really want to understand what all of the driving forces are. But once we do,

you know, I find that hopefulness can be a choice and it is, it is a, now again, I just, you know, because of what's happening in the world and because I'm saying this from the comfort of my comfy chair in my house, I really do want to say that, you know, it, it might be easier for me to be able to do a quick mindset shift and embrace hopefulness. And you know, if things are,

out there and difficult and challenging and you're not feeling hopeful. It's not, I don't want to make it sound like it's just a quick little easy, like just go get your human design read and you'll be fine, light and love. Hopefulness is not always that easy. And I just want to give permission to make sure that I explain that from the comfort of my home right now, I can more easily find hopefulness.

Ilona Pamplona (42:20.29)
No.

Ilona Pamplona (42:34.496)
I get it.

Megan Hamilton (42:38.211)
Okay, so we're gonna get your book, Human Design Made Easy. We're gonna make sure that we've got where to get it in the show notes. We can start to understand ourselves and what drives us by learning about our human design. We can embrace the hopefulness. What is a message you'd like to leave us with today, Ilona?

Ilona Pamplona (43:01.424)
And one message, one message. mean, you know, I almost feel like what you just said, I feel like something gets to be said into that, right? Like. Hopefulness is an act of resistance. Art is an act of resistance, like anything that is beautiful, it's contributing a beautiful thing to the world is an act of resistance. And yes, we might not be able to use these tools to change the world at large, but I think everything starts with us, right? Like.

Megan Hamilton (43:02.883)
Hehehehehe

Ilona Pamplona (43:30.366)
We can't be of contribution to the world that we want to be in. If we are not, you know, really aware of the power we have, the energy we're using, the wisdom we hold and then being able to then ripple that out to our local community, which ripples out to the world, which ripples out to the results that we see. Right. Like, you know, all this stuff can seem fluffy and maybe unimportant in in times where the world.

There's really a lot going on, like you, like each of us has a contribution, whether it's, you know, caring for your family or being on large stage politics, every one of us matters. And, and this work kind of is here to connect us to the hopefulness that we matter, you know, in, in no matter what capacity you exist, you matter. And I think when people just remember that

Megan Hamilton (44:01.239)
Mm-hmm.

Ilona Pamplona (44:27.554)
You you matter, even if even if the world around you feels like there's no shift, there's no possibility. You could be that one beginning of the ripple of something being different, right? All it takes is one person. But we need to do the work to believe that we can be the beginning of that, right? We don't have to be the one that's going to be like, create the world peace, but we can be part of the chain of events that make something different down the line. I don't know. I felt very called to say that.

Megan Hamilton (44:53.275)
Yes. No, I love that every action counts. Right. Every action that you take. Yep. Absolutely. And on both sides of that, you know, whether it's towards making the world a better place or not making the world a better place, every action matters. Yeah.

Ilona Pamplona (44:59.561)
every action counts.

Ilona Pamplona (45:13.09)
We are source, we are source for everything. And when we know ourselves enough, we can begin to see how we're sourcing a better world.

Megan Hamilton (45:22.379)
I love that. Elona, I thank you so much for coming and sharing your knowledge with us today. And I'm so excited to read your book. I've been looking forward to it as soon as I found out that I can't even remember when you announced it. Was it two months ago or something like that? But it feels like it's been a long time coming. Get that book out in the world. And yeah, it's always so nice to talk to you and it makes me feel energized and it makes me feel

you know, hopeful essentially and I really appreciate your presence and thank you for being here.

Ilona Pamplona (45:59.426)
Thank you. I love this conversation. So good.

Megan Hamilton (46:02.015)
Yay, me too. Okay, so you can find all the information and takeaways from today's episode in the show notes or at embracing enchantment dot com. You can subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. And we'd love for you to leave a review or leave a voice note. You can find out more about Ilona and where to follow her in the show notes or at embracing enchantment dot com. And you're going to want to make sure you're subscribed because we have some exciting episodes coming up about.

whether magic is real, we've got a great astrology episode and so much more. And until then, here's to building an enchanted life.