Gates in Human Design

The 64 gates of the bodygraph are the same 64 I Ching hexagrams, arranged around the zodiac wheel. The chart calculator will show which gates are active in your chart.

Gates and hexagrams

There are 64 gates, as many as there are hexagrams in the I Ching, and the gate number matches the hexagram number. In Human Design the hexagrams are arranged around the zodiac wheel: each gate spans 5°37′30″, and the wheel starts with gate 41 at 2° Aquarius. Each gate has six lines of 56′15″, and the profile is made up of the lines of the Sun. A gate is active if one of the 13 points stands in it at the moment of birth or of the Design.

The table lists the gates by number, with the center each one sits in and a short interpretation. Each number links to the gate’s own page: its six lines, channels, position on the wheel and the dates when the Sun passes through it. For the meaning of the hexagrams themselves, see the I Ching section.

All 64 gates

№	Gates	Center	Theme in the system
1	Self-Expression	G Center	A G Center gate tied to the need to express your uniqueness through creativity. It gives a distinct outlook and style; the trap is waiting for recognition instead of simply doing your own thing.
2	Direction of the Self	G Center	A G Center gate tied to an inner sense of direction in life. It is thought to set the course for others as well; at the same time, putting that course into practice often takes other people's support and resources.
3	Ordering	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to the energy to start something new and bring order to the chaos of change. It gives the ability to bring in the new; the trap is confusion and anxiety in times of uncertainty.
4	Formulization	Ajna	An Ajna gate tied to the search for logical answers and formulas. It gives the ability to come up with an explanation quickly; it is worth remembering that an answer remains a hypothesis until experience has tested it.
5	Fixed Rhythms	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to personal rhythms and a familiar daily routine. It gives stability and the ability to wait for your moment; the trap is strong irritation when the rhythm is disrupted from outside.
6	Friction	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate that regulates emotional openness and boundaries in intimacy. Friction decides whom to let closer; conflicts here are considered part of growth, not a breakdown.
7	Role of the Self	G Center	A G Center gate tied to the role of a leader who guides the group toward the future. In the system, such influence works through recognition by other people, not through seizing power.
8	Contribution	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to the desire to make your own special contribution to a common cause. It gives the ability to set an example of your own authenticity; the trap is striving to be original at any cost.
9	Focus	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to the energy of concentrating on details. It gives the ability to hold attention on one task for a long time; the trap is getting bogged down in trifles and losing sight of the big picture.
10	Behavior of the Self	G Center	A G Center gate tied to self-love and the ability to stay yourself in any circumstances. It gives natural, genuine behavior; the trap is living by other people's models rather than by your own nature.
11	Ideas	Ajna	An Ajna gate tied to a flow of ideas and images. It gives a rich imagination and material for stories and teaching; the ideas here are thought to be more for sharing than for necessarily putting into practice.
12	Caution	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to expressing subtle feelings and moods. It gives eloquence when the mood is right; at other times, restraint and waiting are appropriate.
13	The Listener	G Center	A G Center gate tied to the ability to listen to other people's stories and keep them. People find it easy to open up to such a person; in the system, this experience adds up over time to an understanding of general patterns.
14	Power Skills	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to the energy for work and for accumulating resources. It gives the power to support the direction you have a response to; the trap is spending yourself on work without an inner response.
15	Extremes	G Center	A G Center gate tied to love of humanity and a wide range of life rhythms. It gives acceptance of different people and ways of life; your own rhythm may be irregular, and this is considered normal.
16	Skills	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to enthusiasm and honing skills through repetition. It gives a drive toward mastery; the trap is taking things on with zeal but without enough practice.
17	Opinions	Ajna	An Ajna gate tied to forming opinions and logical patterns about the future. It gives the ability to organize a thought and show a pattern; the trap is pushing your point of view when no one asked for it.
18	Correction	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to the ability to spot imperfection and suggest corrections. It gives a critical eye that is useful for improving systems; the trap is constant dissatisfaction with yourself and others.
19	Wanting	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to sensitivity to basic needs — for food, warmth, belonging. It gives the ability to notice what others lack; the trap is depending on being needed.
20	The Now	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to being present in the moment. It gives the ability to act and speak here and now; the trap is fussing and acting without understanding why.
21	The Hunter/Huntress	Heart (Ego)	A Heart (Ego) gate tied to the need to control your own territory — money, work, resources. It gives the ability to manage material things; the trap is wanting to control what is none of your business.
22	Openness	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate tied to emotional openness and charm. It gives grace in social contact when the mood allows; at other times it is fine to calmly decline contact.
23	Assimilation	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to the ability to put individual knowing into simple words. It gives the ability to simplify the complex; the trap is being misunderstood when speaking without an invitation.
24	Rationalization	Ajna	An Ajna gate tied to returning to the same thought until it becomes clear. It gives deep reflection; the trap is endlessly turning thoughts over and trying to explain everything rationally.
25	Spirit of the Self	G Center	A G Center gate tied to unconditional love and innocence. It gives trust in life and the ability to accept all living things; in the system, this love matures through trials.
26	The Egoist	Heart (Ego)	A Heart (Ego) gate tied to the ability to persuade and sell. It gives a talent for presenting an idea to advantage and saving effort; the trap is embellishment and manipulation for the sake of results.
27	Caring	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to the energy of caring for others — nourishing, protecting, supporting. It gives generosity and attention to the vulnerable; the trap is forgetting yourself for the sake of everyone else.
28	The Game Player	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to the search for the meaning of life and the willingness to take risks for it. It gives persistence in fighting for what matters; the trap is fighting for what isn't worth the effort.
29	Perseverance	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to saying yes and the ability to see things through. It gives endurance; in the system, it is worth agreeing only to what you have a response to, otherwise it is easy to get stuck in other people's commitments.
30	Recognition of Feelings	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate tied to strong desires and a hunger for new experience. It gives a vivid experience of feelings; the trap is expecting everything to turn out exactly as imagined.
31	Influence	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to leadership and influence over a group. It gives the ability to lead a group if others recognize it; in the system, this is a voice that needs to be chosen.
32	Continuity	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to the fear of failure and a sense of what is worth preserving. It gives the ability to recognize what is lasting and promising; the trap is clinging to the old out of fear of change.
33	Privacy	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to retreat and reflection on what has been lived. It gives the ability to keep experience and, at the right moment, tell its lesson; it is important to give yourself time alone.
34	Power	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to a powerful individual energy for action. It gives a great capacity for work and independence; the trap is constant busyness without direction or response.
35	Change	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to a hunger for new experience and progress. It gives versatility and the ability to talk about what you have lived through; the trap is boredom and chasing experiences for their own sake.
36	Crisis	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate tied to emotional crises and inexperience. It gives the possibility of reaching depth through new experiences; the trap is rushing into experience without waiting for emotional clarity.
37	Friendship	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate tied to warmth, family and agreements. It gives the ability to create community and support; in the system, relationships here rest on mutual obligations and loyalty.
38	The Fighter	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to the pressure to fight for what has meaning. It gives persistence and resilience in the face of difficulties; the trap is stubbornness and fighting for the sake of fighting.
39	Provocation	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to the pressure to provoke yourself and others. It gives the ability to stir people up and bring them out of stagnation; the trap is provoking at the wrong time and causing nothing but irritation.
40	Aloneness	Heart (Ego)	A Heart (Ego) gate tied to the balance between working for others and resting. It gives a readiness to provide for loved ones; in the system, it is important to get recognition for your work and time to be alone.
41	Contraction	Root Center	A Root Center gate where, in the system, a new cycle of experience begins. It is tied to fantasies and dreams of what that cycle could be like; the trap is expecting reality to match the dream.
42	Growth	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to completing cycles and bringing a process to its end. It gives the ability to finish what was started and draw a lesson from it; the trap is abandoning things halfway.
43	Insight	Ajna	An Ajna gate tied to sudden individual insights. It gives a fresh, unusual view of things; the trap is sharing it too early, without an invitation, and being misunderstood.
44	Alertness	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to an instinct for people and a memory of past experience. It gives the ability to recognize who is right for the job; the trap is projecting old fears onto new people.
45	The Gatherer	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to managing resources and community. It gives the role of the one who gathers people and distributes the goods; the trap is bossiness and wanting to run everything.
46	Determination of the Self	G Center	A G Center gate tied to love of the body and a knack for being in the right place at the right time. It gives luck through full engagement; the trap is neglecting the body and its signals.
47	Realization	Ajna	An Ajna gate tied to making sense of past experience. It gives the ability to find meaning in a confusing situation; the trap is pressure and anxiety when the answer doesn't come right away.
48	Depth	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to depth of knowledge and talent. It gives the potential for thorough understanding; the trap is fearing that your knowledge isn't enough and endlessly putting off getting started.
49	Principles	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate tied to principles and reconsidering relationships. It gives the ability to stand up for what matters and change what is outdated; the trap is abruptly rejecting people before your feelings have settled.
50	Values	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to responsibility for shared values and rules. It gives a sense of duty and care for the good of the group; the trap is believing your own values are the only right ones.
51	Shock	Heart (Ego)	A Heart (Ego) gate tied to competition and courage. It gives the ability to meet the unexpected and shake others up; the trap is striving to be first at any cost.
52	Stillness	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to the energy of focused calm. It gives the ability to stay put and concentrate; the trap is restlessness and stagnation when no focus has been found.
53	Beginnings	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to the pressure to start new cycles. It gives energy for launching change and development; the trap is starting many things and finishing none.
54	Ambition	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to ambition and the drive to rise higher — materially or spiritually. It gives motivation to grow; the trap is ambitions that don't win the recognition of others.
55	Spirit	Solar Plexus	A Solar Plexus gate tied to waves of mood — from melancholy to a sense of the fullness of life. It gives emotional depth and creative potential; the trap is looking for an outside cause for every swing.
56	Stimulation	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to a passion for storytelling and the search for new impressions. It gives the ability to convey an idea or a story in a captivating way; the trap is embellishing the facts for effect.
57	Intuitive Clarity	Spleen	A Spleen gate tied to subtle intuition in the present moment. It gives a keen sense of what is safe and appropriate in what is happening; the trap is anxiety about the future and distrust of the first impulse.
58	Vitality	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to the joy of life and the desire to make things better. It gives energy for perfecting systems and skills; the trap is dissatisfaction when nothing seems good enough.
59	Sexuality	Sacral Center	A Sacral Center gate tied to the energy of getting close and breaking down barriers between people. It gives the capacity for intimacy and reproduction; the trap is getting close without a response or a desire of your own.
60	Acceptance	Root Center	A Root Center gate tied to accepting limitations. It gives the ability to work within what there is and wait for the right moment for change; the trap is fighting against circumstances.
61	Mystery	Head Center	A Head Center gate tied to the pressure to know the unknown and find inner truth. It gives inspiration and a pull toward big questions; the trap is tormenting yourself with questions that have no answer.
62	Details	Throat Center	A Throat Center gate tied to expressing facts and details. It gives precise wording and the ability to explain point by point; the trap is drowning in details and losing the meaning.
63	Doubt	Head Center	A Head Center gate tied to doubt and logical questions about the future. It gives a critical mind and a drive to check everything; the trap is turning doubt on yourself rather than on ideas.
64	Confusion	Head Center	A Head Center gate tied to a flow of images from past experience. It gives a rich visual memory; the trap is trying to sort out the confusion at once instead of letting it clear up.

Order on the wheel

Around the wheel the gates don't follow their numbers: 41 → 19 → 13 → 49 → 30 → 55 → 37 → 63 → 22 → 36 → 25 → 17 → 21 → 51 → 42 → 3 → …. The Sun passes through one gate in about six days, so the Sun's gate in a chart corresponds to roughly one week of the birth year. The transits page shows where the planets are now.

An Honest Look at the Method

Human Design was created in 1987 by one man, Ra Uru Hu, and its claims have never been scientifically tested. We describe the rules of the system as they are and write the interpretations in our own words, not as knowledge about you.

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Frequently asked questions

How is a gate different from an I Ching hexagram?

The number and the original image are the same, but in Human Design the gates have their own short names and interpretations tied to a center of the bodygraph. For I Ching divination, the hexagram itself is used.

How many gates are active in a chart?

A chart has 26 activations, 13 points each in the Personality and the Design, but some of them fall into the same gates, so usually 18–24 gates are active.