Human Design: A Look into Gates and Channels

I have spent the entire day studying up on Human Design. I realised that I can't solely focus on my Strategy (Manifestor), Inner Authority (Emotional), or even my Defined versus Open Centres. Today I decided to invest time into understanding the gates. Let me start out by posting my Rave Chart:

Profile: 1/3

Type: Manifestor

Strategy: To Inform

Signature: Peace

Not-Self Theme: Anger

Inner Authority: Emotional Authority

     Incarnation Cross: Right Angle Cross of Consciousness (63/64 | 5/35)

Previously, I had looked at the big picture because it seemed daunting to try to figure out what the red and black lines were, what the symbols, personality, and design meant, but after slowly studying this information and waiting for my energetic levels to be high enough to fully immerse myself, I've finally begun to make sense out of Human Design. I had no idea there was so much information out there, but after seeing how many videos and links to various informative sites/books exist, I was encouraged to get a feel for my entire chart. It has completely changed the way I view my chart as well as my friends'. Just because a centre is open doesn't mean it lacks fixed gates within that centre that are reliable and relevant to the wholeness of one's rave chart. Whilst studying Human Design with my partner I was confused as to why I was able to maintain a logical and consistent thought-process and voice during arguments and moments where I was my 'Not-Self' (Anger), while he contradicted himself and seemed to lack this consistency despite having defined Head and Ajna centres, but now it makes sense. The secret ingredient that plays an important role in our 'genetic' makeup is fixed/unfixed gates.

To start off, the most important part to remember about the gates is that they have the potential to create channels that connect centres, resulting in them being defined. It is not enough for a centre to have many fixed gates if those gates do not create a channel to another centre. Thus, while a person can have consistencies within a single centre based on their fixed gates, their Rave chart will not define the centre unless there is a connection: aka, a channel. For example, taking a look at the chart I posted above we can see two lines that are completely filled with colour. I will get to the importance of the colours in a moment, but for the purpose of introducing this complex concept I will stick with the gates and whether or not they create a channel. Each gate that is fixed in my chart is circled in purple. There are 19 fixed gates in my chart. It varies depending on the individual's birth date, time, and location. As you can see, where there is a fixed gate there is a bit of colour, be it black or red, protruding outwards down the channel lines. These channels are constant in every chart, but what varies is if those channels are connected (coloured in) based on whether or not the numbers at the ends of those channels- the gates- are fixed.

If you look closely you'll see there are three channels connecting the Head centre (the triangle at the top) to the Ajna centre (the triangle flipped underneath it). Some channels have more connections than others because there are more gates in some centres than in others. For instance, there are 9 gates within the Root centre (the bottom-most square) and only 3 gates within the Head centre at the top. I imagine this puts the odds of having fixed gates in the favour of whichever centre has the most numbers. The numbers of each gate each represent a specific aspect of the human design. These aspects are directly related to an old practice called I' Ching. In I' Ching there are 64 Hexagrams, according to the Human Design's science page. Since I have read so many pages I cannot find where exactly I read this, but I also discovered that each gate has the possibility of decimal variation because each Hexagram has 6 lines. Therefore, if you look at the right or left-hand section of my Rave Chart you will see that, while I have Gate 63 circled in purple in the Head centre, the specific number itself is 63.1 in the Personality section.

Now that I have summarised the gates and channels I will go into the colour parts of the chart. This part, fortunately, is very simple: red is the unconscious and black is the conscious. In other words, red gates and channels, which are specified to the decimal under the Design section, are our unconscious drives and motivations in life.  When discovering the red aspects of one's chart it might not be immediately something with which we identify because it is unconscious. On the other hand, the black numbers and channels represent the conscious 'Personality,' hence the name. We are more likely to identify with the gates in black because of how readily-available they are within our consciousnesses. For more information on the Design and Personality, here is an informative link. Thus, looking at my chart I am more likely to acknowledge and understand the parts that are my Personality than I am the parts that are my Design. At this moment I am typing up a surface-level understanding of my conscious gates, or in other words, my black Design numbers. Each gate has a consistent definition, but I have yet to have found detailed information about every single gate. That will take at least an entire day of ambitious internet searching to acquire.

I have also learnt about my Not-Self today in relation to the gates. In order to go into this I have to explain how to read the Bodygraph chart. As I've mentioned, there are gates that are circled in purple that are fixed in one's chart, and there are numbers that are not circled. My previous understanding of Human Design was that if a centre wasn't defined in my chart- i.e. if one of the triangles or squares were not coloured in- I would be acting as my not self by trying to be like one of those open centres. What I learnt today is that this is not necessarily true. Looking at the whole picture can be misleading because of this simplified understanding. It would appear that the Not-Self is actually activated when we try to take on a gate that is not fixed within our charts. Since two gates from two difference centres must meet in order for those two centres to be defined in a chart, it all boils down to those gates and their relationships to one another. Even within my defined centres there are specific gates that I can rely on for consistency. Looking at my chart again, if you look at the triangle at the bottom right that is in brown (the Solar Plexus centre), you will see that numbers 49 ad 36 are in purple. These gates are the actual consistent parts of my Solar Plexus centre. Just because my Solar Plexus centre is defined does not mean that every gate in that centre is reliable or consistent. The only reason why my Solar Plexus centre is defined is because it has a shared channel, based on its fixed gates, that connect it to another centre. In my chart it connects to two centres based on gate 49's channelling to 19 of the Root centre and 36's channelling to 35 of the Throat centre. I am still limited in these centres based on the specific skills that exist within the gates that are fixed.

I am still confused by the fixed gates in centres that are not defined, but from what I can make of it, it would appear that these gates play an important role in my identity. I am still able to think logically and abstractly because my Head centre has two fixed gates. I have the ability to articulate my thoughts consistently because my Throat centre has gate 35 fixed and is also directly channelled to a centre of authority. This is why my partner, who also has a gate in his throat centre, is unable to articulate that gate from an authoritative place. His fixed Throat centre gate is 62, which does not form a direct connection to any channels; however, because 62 is related to how one thinks and detects whether something is reasonable or unreasonable, he has the ability to express this specific characteristic within that gate. So, having both gates 64 and 63 fixed within my chart explains why I have this cognitive ability to think abstractly and use rhetoric so successfully. Gate 64 is the gate of confusion- I "have the ability to identify all the pieces but may struggle to put it all together" (loveyourhumandesign). Looking at all the pieces at once can lead to feeling confused and dizzy. Gate 63 is the gate of doubt. It involves logical questioning through analysis and is the energy that starts the drive to finding answers.

Because these gates are fixed in my chart I will consistently use these methods in how I think. I believe, however, that since these two gates lack a channel to the Ajna and then the Throat Centre that I struggle to access these thoughts verbally, especially when my Solar Plexus, which is directly connected to the throat and is far stronger in how it comes off, is the leading signifier to what it is I convey. At the same time, however, the 'Personality' chart puts the most conscious and influential gates at the top. If 64.1 and 63.1 are my strongest conscious gates, surely they would take precedence over all other modes of Human Design? Of course, I cannot base this on my conscious gates alone but must also look at the top gates from my Design that are unconscious to me. 5.3 and 35.3 take precedence over all gates of my unconscious design, but I do not yet know how the unconscious and conscious relate to one another. Does one gate ultimately express itself more strongly in my chart than all others? So many questions, and since I have only just written out all 13 of my conscious gates and their vague meanings I do not yet have enough research to say. But I will quickly look at gates 5 and 35 for the sake of this blog to see what my two most unconscious Designs are.

• 5: According to the "Love Your Human Design" link I posted in the previous paragraph, states, "Fixed Rhythms energy is a mechanical need to have fixed rhythm in your life. Your habits will have an unconscious push to have rhythm. Perhaps you eat at 6 pm and nothing should interfere with that schedule." This does not feel unconscious to me at all. I am fully aware of my need for schedule and, whilst living with my partner often experienced and expressed a need for routine. I am not sure why this is supposed to be unconscious to me, but perhaps I just have a good understanding of my conscious and subconscious natures. 
• 35: Also from the same source, it states, "The Gate of Change is the sense of a need for change. The sense that the wheel needs to turn. It is not a logical next step, but a sense that this is the right direction to go. Like walking around a wheel there will need to be another step and then another step to keep the wheel turning." This seems to contradict gate 5, so it's no wonder why I am often struggling with my need for routine and my need for change. I suppose, however, that this means that I need to have change when I get an illogical sense that it is time, yet I can also keep the rhythms that I resonate with. For example, I often need a change in pace from whatever it is that I am doing, but the little details of my behaviours are constant, whereas the outside details of what I choose to do outside of my living area is in constant need of change. I have a routine in my home: make the bed, don't talk while eating breakfast, take shower at night, burn sage when stressed, meditate when confused, write when emotional, and so forth. I cannot have this type of routine in whatever it is that I am working on. I cannot make a schedule and go by it because I am constantly changing. I can't approach my dissertation or where I want to walk/eat or what I want to write about or how I want to meditate, etc. based on any sense of rhythm. I see now how this can be confusing to outsiders, even close loved-ones, because these two unconscious gates are contradictory. Perhaps the unconscious design is more unconscious to the people around me than it is to myself, and the conscious design is more readily available to those around me, thus creating this confusion and unpredictability others experience in my presence. 

As you can see, if anyone has read this far, these gates play a huge role in the genetic makeup of one's Human Design. There is only one aspect that I have not discussed as of yet. This is the Not-Self. I know I briefly mentioned it, but now that I have provided examples of how to read one's Gates I believe it is time to explain what I perceive is meant by one's Not-Self. My 19 Gates are my Self. If I rely on these gates and their relationships to one another there is a high chance that I will be at peace. However, since these gates are often contradicting themselves, I struggle to understand which to rely on. My inner authority is Emotional, so it seems that I should rely on the two Gates within the Solar Plexus for stability, yet my Personality and Design are telling me that the most important components of my gates are 64, 63, 5, and 35. None of these involve the Solar Plexus or Emotional Centre. Perhaps that is not what is meant by the Personality and Design charts. Either way, all of this is irrelevant to the Not-Self that I wish to discuss right now. Once again referencing my chart, let's take a look at my Root Centre at the bottom. I will post my chart again so that you don't have to scroll up to the top:

As you can see, I have many fixed gates. However, because those gates do not fully connect to gates in other centres, I cannot rely on a channel to make consistent choices. Gates 41 and 39, for example, are fixed in my Root centre, and you can see red lines leaving these Gates in attempt to connect with 55 and 30 in the Solar Plexus Centre. But, because these gates can only meet halfway in their attempts to make a complete channel and thus activate the two Centres attached, one cannot rely on numbers 55 and 30 as a part of their chart. To do so would mean to activate the Not-Self, yet the struggle is that these Gates form pairs with our fixed Gates, so our Gates naturally strive to form this connection when it simply isn't fixed. It's like the rough description of Defined versus Open centres that Human Design covers in the introductory pages of its websites. The difference here, however, is that it's FAR more specific than that. We can rely on our fixed Gates, yet we cannot rely on a channel to a Gate that is not fixed because the energy that is coming from an unfixed Gate is one that is being reflected from someone else who DOES have whatever Gate it is fixed. The challenge is in recognising this Not-Self by knowing who in our lives has these Gates fixed, or at least in knowing what Gates we have Fixed so that we can learn to focus on ourselves and not the energetic Gates of those around us. This ultimately seems to be the pathway away from our Not-Selves and towards our Signatures, which are dependent upon one's Type.

I still have much research to do and will continue to post updates as I progress in my studies. I can't say that everything I posted is entirely accurate, but it is my spin on what I've read, and I feel I addressed the parts I'm most confused about so that those reading are aware of what parts are most accurate and what are full of questions and uncertainties. This has been an amazing journey of self-discovery, and I can't wait to see what revelations continue to unravel.