The art of surfing the emotional wave

A guide to the four types of emotional waves and how to work with them

I didn’t intend to do a mini deep dive on emotions this week, but here we are. And I’m trusting that what feels most alive for me is probably what will be most supportive for this community right now too.

Earlier this week, I shared an example of how I experience my emotional wave on social media. In response, a follower asked me whether it’s possible for people’s emotional waves to be different in length. (She was finding that her own wave seemed to last longer than her son’s.) The answer is YES! In fact, not only can it vary from person to person, but an individual can also have different types of emotional waves.

Since 53% of people are considered “emotional” according to their human design chart, there is a very high likelihood that one or more of your loved ones will be subject to these waves. So, whether or not you have an emotional authority yourself, understanding these nuances can be incredibly helpful when it comes to navigating relationships of all kinds.

In this post, I’m going to describe what it’s like to ride each type of wave and how to keep moving with the current of emotions instead of against it.

What all emotional waves have in common

There are of course some basic principles that apply to all emotional waves.

For example, a wave always has a beginning, a middle, and an end. All emotional authorities are designed to have an emotional response to the people, places, and circumstances they encounter throughout life. Once the emotion surfaces (beginning), it builds and builds, until it reaches a crescendo where the emotion is the most intense and overwhelming (middle). While this is often referred to as the “top” of the wave, it can manifest an emotional high or low. Eventually, the laws of physics ensure that the wave breaks and the water becomes calm again (end).

Perhaps the most important thing to grasp is that emotional authorities do not have clarity until the wave has broken and they find themselves bobbing up and down on a more gentle, glassy sea.

But that’s where the similarities end. How quickly your wave builds, how long you remain at the top or the bottom of the wave, how intense the emotional high or low feels, and how you experience the “neutral” emotional state after the wave breaks will vary from person to person.

There are a lot of factors that play into these variations, including other chart elements, as well as environmental influences. One of the biggest determinants, however, is the type(s) of wave someone is subject to. And this depends on how their solar plexus center is defined in the chart.

Three types of emotional waves

All emotional authorities have at least one defined channel coming out of the solar plexus center. There are seven potential ways the solar plexus can become defined (i.e., activated) in the chart: two channels that connect to the throat center, one channel that connects to the ego, three channels connect to the root center, and one channel that connects to the sacral center. These seven channels can be divided into four types of waves — each with a distinct frequency and pattern to it.

The tribal wave (49-19 channel & 37 - 40 channel)

If you have the 19-49 channel or the 37-40 channel defined, you are subject to the tribal wave. The tribal wave builds slowly, and usually ratchets up in increments. There are typically several smaller waves that build on one another, until it culminates in an outburst of emotion.

This wave is often triggered by the perceived needs of others and driven by a desire to meet them. When you feel appropriately recognized and appreciated for your efforts, you will experience an emotional high. If you do not feel like your contributions are valued, however, or if you entered into the exchange in a way that was not aligned (i.e., you did not wait for the invitation as a projector), you will be pulled into an emotional low.

By waiting for the wave to break, you ensure that you have more clarity around whether something is aligned or not. This reduces the likelihood that you end up feeling taken for granted and upset. Interestingly, this wave is highly sensitive to touch so a well-timed hug, or feeling especially connected to your community, can precipitate your journey to calmer waters.