Last time, we explored Hexagram 15, which was all about the love of humanity and life around us in all its forms. Now, the sun is moving into Gate 52 in the Human Design System, and it’s a Gateway which we call “Mountain.”

To us, in our short lifespans on this Earth, Mountains are these great majestic objects that sit perfectly still on the horizon. But the thing about a mountain is, it’s not completely still. It hasn’t always been there. Slowly, slowly, slowly, it has risen from beneath the surface, stretching up and out over eons of time. So, a mountain is incredibly stable, but it’s not completely static. It holds a great deal of energy, a great deal of possibility within it.

So, when we look at this concept of the mountain in the I-Ching, we’re seeing an opportunity to find stability. To be as stable as possible in our experience in life. Inner stillness and quietness allow you to gain perspective over all of life’s circumstances. It’s about going inside, meditating, focusing on your inner health. We might be shaken up by what’s happening in the outside world around us, but what is it that’s really happening on the inside? That’s always the most important thing. The crazier things appear to get on the outside, the more important it is to find out what’s going on inside.

If you have the 52 in your Chart, you’re sitting on the mountain top. You have the best view, the best possibility of seeing everything that’s going on around you. And you’ll wonder why everybody seems to be in such a rush to go tumbling around in life, getting involved with everything.

Sure, there will come a time for you to find your way off the mountaintop, but only to get involved in things that relate to you directly. For now, it’s enough to sit tight and be still. And that’s the essential thing about the 52: can we find that inner stillness when the world around us is going absolutely crazy?

Let’s take a look at Gate 52 in the Human Design System line by line:

First Line: Pause Before Acting

The first line is called “Pause before acting: Inner stillness is sufficient unto itself.” You find that calm inside yourself. In Gate 15, I talked about knowing when you’re in love with your life, knowing when you’re totally in tune with whatever it is that’s going on around you. It’s the same thing with the 52. When you find that inner stillness, absolutely nothing can ruffle you.

Your firmness to always act appropriately, or your anxiety to act anyhow, affects everything in life. If you have that inner stillness, you can be involved in the craziest things going on around you, but you have that calm, that quiet inside yourself. At ease in life, you are able to pause for personal reflection before doing anything. It’s your life. You’re here to live it on your terms.

On the other side of this, you allow that anxiety to take hold. Any time you are in stress, you’re no longer living on your terms. You’re living your life according to somebody else’s timing, somebody else’s input, somebody else’s obligations or expectations. The pressure you feel often comes from something somebody else told you at some stage, something they considered important. The reality is, it’s probably something they’ve screwed up themselves in the first place. And that’s why, with the Human Design System, it’s key that you check in with your own Type and Authority before you take on any kind of obligation.

Second Line: Be Still and Know

Second lines always have this very natural quality about them, they’re unsophisticated in a sense. Here, the second line is called, “Be still and know: Releasing fears and concerns around your apparent inaction.” It’s not always easy to be still in a world that demands us to be in constant motion, constantly doing, constantly “producing.” So, this is a reminder to be still and know inside yourself that you are being true to your own way. No one else’s

When attracted by outside influences, it is important to remain true to your own way. That is absolutely the most essential thing for any second line, maintaining that natural connection to things. It’s very easy for you to get swept up in all manner of events that do not serve you.

You pause for clarity in which you see your outer reality as a reflection of your inner being. We’ve been persuaded into believing that life is something that happens to us, rather than knowing that we are this life. And with the 52, you have the opportunity to pause and get clarity on whether what you are doing actually concerns you on an inner level, or if you’re just reacting to whatever it is that’s happening on the outside.

Third Line: Being Resigned

Third lines always want to try out something new. They’ll get involved in anything and learn through experience when things don’t work out. And here the line is called, “Being Resigned: Inner composure in times when nothing needs to happen.”

There’s a difference between engaging with something and reacting to it. Reacting comes out of an obligation, some kind of dogma, some kind of conditioning. Engaging, or not, in your own way is pure and natural. And the third line is telling us that stillness is what’s needed here. Things will resolve themselves, but finding that inner composure is what will lead to those solutions.

You resist acting to accumulate necessary resources or become pressured and resentful. And this comes back to that feeling of expectation, that pressure that you “should” be doing something, something “must” be taking place, something “needs” to be done. But, through stillness you can access your own intelligence to see what it is that actually needs to happen next. Your meditative nature allows you to pause to recoup your energy and review your purpose.

Fourth Line: Keeping Still

The fourth line is called, “Keeping Still: Avoiding strong urges to act just to combat restlessness.” If nothing needs to happen, nothing needs to happen, let it be. That’s the bottom line.

You avoid restless action through self-mastery or tend to be frustrated when inactive. Again, while the mountain appears to be completely still, it actually contains a great deal of energy. And that’s what this fourth line, and entire Gateway, is all about: recouping and storing that energy for when it’s truly time to release it. Until then, stay still.

But how do we do that when there are so many things pulling our attention, begging for our energy? You embrace self-mastery and personal freedom through meditation and gentle restraint. It is not about avoidance. It’s not about unnecessary hesitation. It’s about being realistic. It’s about really considering: “Are my moves really going to be effective if I get up and do something now?”

Doubting your purpose during times of inaction, you tend to try to make yourself busy. If you don’t maintain that stillness, you end up getting involved just for the sake of doing something. Anything. And you end up getting involved in things that really don’t bring you any sense of fulfillment. You end up wasting your energy, rather than focusing it on things that are truly meaningful for you.

Fifth Line: Being Watchful

Fifth lines are the natural leaders, the guides. They have the vision. They can see the potentials and possibilities. But there’s always the challenge of making things practical, bringing things down to Earth. And here, the fifth line is called “Being Watchful: Words and actions are not necessarily the same thing.” You can give very good guidance. You can easily point things out for others. But the question is: Does anything actually need to happen as a result, or is it enough to be inspired by what is being said?

You are careful giving guidance, or you get muddled between what you say and what gets done. Again, this is about recognizing when to get involved, and when to stay put. You can paint wonderful pictures about what could be done, and how things could be better, but when you start getting involved with rescuing everybody and fixing everything that comes your way, you get muddled. You’re no longer living your own life.

Outspoken comments bring transformation, but also regrets when you’re a misunderstood. Sometimes people just don’t get it. You’re trying to be helpful, trying to point the way for people, and they have trouble recognizing your intentions. You overstretch yourself on their behalf, and this can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings.

Sixth Line: Meaning

The sixth line is called “Meaning: Finding clarity in your inner stillness.” We’re all questing for meaning in our own different ways. And we can only really get to that meaning when we are literally stopped in our tracks. When we’re content to sit on top of the mountain and find that stillness, suddenly everything is revealed.

Your calm appreciation comes through an inner stability unaffected by outside pressures. When you’re centered and absolutely clear, nothing can knock you off track in your life. And the 52nd Gateway gives us that possibility to have this moment of absolute stillness and calm, to really find our meaning and clarity.

The world is going crazy, and it’s getting crazier by the minute. But can you find that calm inside yourself? As all this wild stuff is going on around you, it’s fine to watch it, to appreciate it, but do you have to take action? Do you have to get caught up in the madness of it all, or can you find your stillness, your placement in this life?  

Inner development brings the tranquility that allows you to meld into the mysteries of life. People have written thousands upon thousands of books about the meaning of life. But I work on the basis that life is a mystery. And that mystery should be embraced. Yes, we can open all kinds of doorways with Human Design, but we can’t always tell what’s on the other side. Life is really a mystery in the end, and having that stillness inside really can open doorways to embracing that mystery.

All of these possibilities reside within this 52nd Gateway. We have this amazing opportunity, when there is so much volatility in the world in so many different areas, to find that inner calm and find that inner intelligence. Because when you find that inner intelligence, you’ll find there is always a way through.

So, there we are, that’s Human Design Gateway 52. I leave you at the mountain top for now. Wishing you to find that stillness. Be the one who can find the quiet when everybody else is going bananas. We’ll check in again soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about how your Human Design informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.