Last week, we explored Hexagram 34, where we learned how to unlock and harness the power within. Now, the Sun is moving into Human Design Gate 9, the Gateway we call, “Applied Details.”

Gateway 9 is in a part of the chart in what we call the “Logic Circuitry,” which means it draws together details that are essential in moving us toward an assured future. 

The world, and certainly the western world, is very much attached to logic. We use it to prove things, to guide scientific exploration, to create rule systems, judicial systems, democracy, etc. And attention to detail is a crucial part of these processes. In the Gateway of Applied Details, attentiveness comes to the fore. Not much gets past us here. And if you have Gate 9 in your Design, you’ll find that you notice things that other people overlook altogether.

You notice the details, but you might also find that you need all the details. For example, you’re listening to somebody telling a story, and suddenly you stop the storyteller and say, “Hang on a minute, this doesn’t quite fit together here. I need more information.” For you, it’s impossible to go on without the details. There can be an urgency to it: “If I don’t get these details, it’s not going to work out for me. I can’t tell where it’s coming from and where it’s going.” There can be an attentiveness and inherent fascination to examine anything and everything, whether it brings ultimate satisfaction or not, to the point sometimes of being obsessive. And this is something we have to be careful about.

Let’s see how this works as we go through Human Design Gate 9 line by line:

First Line: Recommencing

New details keep coming in all the time. That’s why the first line here is called “Recommencing: Continually reengaging with life from a sense of surety.” It’s the surety that sooner or later the details are going to be in place; that at some point, we’re going to be ready to move forward. We’re going to launch ourselves into an assured future.

You either embrace life’s essential details or get frustrated by treating them as problems. The beauty of Human Design is that we all have our Type, and we have our Authority, which is our own personal decision-making process. Sooner or later, we are going to have to make a decision for ourselves in our lives. Something’s going to happen. The details will be in place and we’re going to be guided towards making a decision. So, the first line is telling us to get comfortable with this. Sooner or later, everything’s going to be in place. If we don’t embrace this eventuality, we open ourselves up to becoming overwhelmed by it all.

You can push past problems, lose your focus and end up being distracted. You can have a tendency to be in too much of a hurry. Not all the details are in place. You’re not getting that clarity to move forward, but you just move forward anyhow. And sure enough, you’ll become distracted and lose the focus that’s needed for an assured outcome (as much as any outcome can be assured).

Second Line: Inclusion

The second line is called “Inclusion: The energy to include and be included.” Second lines always have this natural way of getting into things. You stumble on things by chance. There’s always this potential because of your natural approach to life. 

However, second lines can take on a certain level of doubt. You might feel you’re too unsophisticated, like you need input from somewhere else. You need somebody else to partner with you to make it all work properly. It’s the energy to include and be included. Your compulsion to collaborate will enhance or distract you from attaining your goals.

You can collaborate successfully with others in recognizing fundamental details. What are the foundational details to be able to move forward on things successfully? You can get that focus; that realization of how to engage in the collaboration here, and who it is that really can contribute in a way that brings about success. However, if you’re not careful about who you bring in, you’ll call on others to play a part in your life and sometimes regret their presence and input. You might feel obliged to ask for input, help and assistance, and then you find out halfway through whatever you’re doing that they’re not actually adding anything to the endeavor. They’re perhaps even spoiling it altogether.

Third Line: Overlooking

The third line is called “Overlooking: Missing the one small but essential detail. Stay focused!” Third lines are the experimenters, the pioneers. They’re always looking for the next new thing to try out. Because of this, they often have issues around commitment.

You’re always questioning: “Is this something that really relates to me? Is this a series of details that I need to pay attention to?” And if you’re not fully committed, you can overlook and miss that one small but essential element.

The bottom line here is if you’re going to be in something, stay focused with it. Stay focused with whatever it is that’s going on in the moment. Being distracted, you can lose your focus for relevant details or end up fixating over trivia. I think all of us at some point in our lives have found ourselves fixating on things that are completely irrelevant. We just allow ourselves to get sidetracked, doggedly proceeding when we might be better off regrouping and reviewing. There’s always that possibility to just step back and ask yourself, “Am I obsessing over something that’s irrelevant, or am I focusing on what it is that’s really relevant here?” (e.g. do you habitually spend time on your phone rather than actually relating to your life?)

The word obsession is quite relevant with the 9th Human Design Gate. It all comes down to details, details, details. How much is needed? What’s essential? And when you’re focusing on the obsession rather than the actual relevant details, things can go haywire.

Fourth Line: Being Dependable

Fourth lines are capable of being very influential. People look to the fourth line to get the whole picture. You want to bring people together in a very heartfelt way. But the moment you get double-crossed or run into disagreements about what it is you’re putting forward, you start questioning yourself. And here the line is called, “Being Dependable: Staying present and focused despite distractions.”

So, in this case, being dependable means being dependable in oneself. It means looking at things thoroughly and being clear about what it is you’re putting forward. Staying true to your intent or passing over important details determines your influence in life. If you overlook and disregard certain details you become less and less effective, and you start losing trust in what it is that wants to come naturally through you. 

You need determination to act on the relevant details in all phases of a process. There will be moments where you feel rushed, where you feel pressured, and maybe you start to doubt yourself. That’s why determination is key. Stay with it. Stay focused. If you habitually push past essential details, you’ll eventually succumb to outside pressures.

Fifth Line: Unquestioning

The fifth line is the line of leadership. You are the guides, the teachers. And here the line is called, “Unquestioning: Accomplishment comes through trust and adherence to details.” As the natural guides and leaders, there’s always a projection field around fifth lines. People expect you to perform for them, to solve their problems, to fix their issues and point them in the right direction.

You have this amazing gift of being able to tune into what’s relevant. But there is also have the risk of getting totally distracted and caught up in trying to satisfy the needs, expectations and demands of those around you.

Accepting life’s bounty or doubting your needs are being met affects your capacity to be fulfilled. We live in an abundant universe, but when we limit our access to life, there’s no way we’re going to feel like life is supporting us. We’re going to feel like our needs are not getting met. And the fifth line is really key in recognizing and accepting the bounty of life. Life gives us everything. It gives us an extraordinary body to have this life experience in the world around us.

What are we here for in the end? What is life all about? Are we here to get a bunch of lessons, or grow in our consciousness, or experience love and happiness? Or ultimately, does this all come down to being fulfilled? And fulfilment is an inside job. It’s up to us to see to it for ourselves. So, if we start doubting that we’re not getting enough, then maybe there’s room for a course correction, an attitude shift. It’s important we realize we are responsible for our own lives.

 Sixth Line: Being Grateful

The sixth line has the overview of the whole Hexagram. And here, the line is called, “Being Grateful: The joy and intelligence to celebrate at every opportunity.”

To me, one of the most magical words I ever came across in this life is “Grateful.” This life is amazing. And while we can find all kinds of reasons to complain about it, the bottom line is to recognize what an extraordinary gift we have been given. And if we don’t see it as a gift, maybe we need to shift our standpoint.

By degree, all pressing issues are handled, giving you the space of celebration and relaxation. This is the nature of the sixth line. All the bits and pieces come together. We’ve got our clarity and our Type, Authority, Profile and Life Theme in accord, and we’re moving forward. And there’s a great satisfaction that comes with that. We’re moving forward, we’ve finished a big part of the puzzle! It’s cause for celebration. 

One of the things we tend to forget is that everything in life is worth celebrating. Trees are waving around the breeze, the birds are singing, the clouds are going overhead, everything’s celebrating. The raindrops are falling. Dogs can’t help but wag their tails, even if they’re barking. They’re still celebrating. 

So, celebrate whenever you get the chance. And especially for any job well done. Celebrate the end of the day. What an amazing day. Maybe everything went haywire, but you can still laugh about it. You can have a celebration. Tomorrow’s another chance.

Nobody can necessarily tell what the future’s going to be, but you can still set out on the right foot. You can still point things in a direction that’s going to align your life with the fulfillment of a job well done. Life is an inside job. It appears like there are a lot of things happening on the outside, but internal satisfaction, gratefulness, it’s all an inside job. And we have the tools now to recognize how to access this.

So, there we are, that’s the 9th Human Design Gate. We’ll check in again soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about Human Design and discover how your own Chart informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.