Last week, we explored Hexagram 14, where we learned what it means to be truly wealthy and prosperous. Now, the Sun is moving into Gate 34 in the Human Design Chart, the Gateway we call, “Power.”

One of the most important things for all humans to understand is that we are powerful beings. And as such, we have to know how to use power appropriately. Gateway 34 opens up this whole arena for us to examine how we use our power in the world. Do we resort to being powerless, or are we overexerting our power? 

How we use our power comes from an inner balance. It comes from being in touch with whatever any situation needs in the moment. Do you squash an ant just because it’s walking across your path, or do you make a move to step over it? Do you get in your car and race through traffic full speed ahead, or do you take care to make sure you don’t put yourself and others in danger?

When power is misused, it’s often because it’s being used in reaction. And when we react, what we’re doing is playing in somebody else’s conceptual framework. We’re relying on old concepts, things we’ve been taught out of habit, tradition, custom, etc. We are acting outside of our own true nature. The intelligence of this 34th Gateway is that it’s concerned with response rather than reaction. When we respond, we’re not drawing from the past, we’re in the moment. We’re responding to what is actually needed in this particular situation, in this particular moment in time, in our own particular way, and we use our power accordingly.

Let’s see how this plays out in the Human Design Chart line by line:

First Line: Being Presumptive

The first line sets the foundation of the whole Hexagram. So, what is power all about? Why do we need to use power? Because we’re human beings. We have a life to play through. We have all kinds of things to accomplish in this lifetime. And we need to wield our power in order to do that. But it doesn’t always go as smoothly as we’d like. That’s why the first line here is called “Being Presumptive: Haphazard, sometimes clumsy use of power.”

Using power well comes from your inner strength. And there’s a learning curve to this. What kind of pressure do you use? What kind of force is needed? If you push a little bit too hard, you’ll get reactions. People will come back at you, and you’ll realize that maybe you can reduce your push next time. There can be a fine line in finding that balance, finding the right amount of energy needed in any situation.

You have the discipline to control how you use your power by examining your motives. Are you reacting, or are you responding? When you are using your power, are you coming from a place of inner balance? If you are able to tune into your motives, and wield your power from your own truth according to what is needed in the moment, you will find it easier and easier to control where that energy goes.

Second Line: Being Temperate

The second line is always the most natural of the lines. But this also comes with the potential for being in denial about how powerful you are. And here, the second line is called “Being Temperate: Resistance lessens when you apply power carefully.”

In times of success, you either increase or lose your respect for others. We’re all playing in a power field on some level. Who’s the top dog? Who’s the next one down? What’s the pecking order? But the 34 is in the Individual Circuitry, which says there is no pecking order, there’s just you living your life as a sovereign being while hopefully others do the same. And this is why it’s so important to use your power carefully. When you use power indiscriminately, you start building a pecking order.

You have the energy to continue in your efforts, especially when success is sure. However, seeking admiration for your achievements saps your inner strength. It’s nice getting a pat on the back every now and again. It’s nice to know that people approve of what you’re doing. But take it with a pinch of salt. You’re here to live your truth, and the fact of the matter is that some people are going to approve, some people are going to disapprove. So, if you’re always looking for that pat on the back, you’ll see your quality of life and your ability to use your power authentically start to decline.

Third Line: Estimating

The third line is called “Estimating: Using power in accordance with prevailing conditions.” Third lines are the experimenters, the pioneers. And as such, they have to be very alert. When you’re treading where nobody has been before, it’s difficult to know how much power is needed.

You use your power discretely or become overly zealous and attract complications. All of us have known times when we’ve put too much energy into something, and we ran into problems as a result. Again, it comes back to this learning curve. And with third lines, almost everything is a learning curve. Third lines learn by trying things out, seeing what works and what doesn’t. You might go into something with the pedal to the floor, only to find out it didn’t require that much energy. So next time, you recalibrate and try again.

By fabricating roles for how you use your power, you find yourself reacting brusquely to everybody and everything that shows up in your life. There can be a tendency to start making up whatever it is you’re playing in, instead of staying in the reality of the situation, which can lead to all sorts of confusion. Third lines always have issues around commitment. And this can extend to the commitments around how and when you use your power. What’s actually needed in your current moment, in your current reality?

Fourth Line: Inner Strength

Fourth lines are capable of being very influential. They want to bring people together. But there is also an aspect of wanting and looking for people’s approval. Here the line is called, “Inner Strength: Maintaining inner balance assures achievement.”

Trusting or doubting your inner clarity results in the success or failure of any effort. All of us have to come to an appreciation of our own inner strength at some point. Otherwise, life just batters us around. Inner strength is something that has to come from within. You power through any situation by aligning with your inner clarity and confidence. In terms of your Human Design Chart, it means checking in with your Type and Authority, and using your power from a place of clarity, a place that’s grounded in your truth, despite what you expect other people might say or think about it.

The potential for the abuse of power comes by ignoring your personal integrity. When you defer to what you think people want, what they expect, and deviate from your own truth, you start playing somebody else’s game. You start playing to the crowd rather than expressing what it is that comes through you naturally. You have the power to facilitate and help people grow in their lives by being empowered through your influence. But when you stray from your own clarity, that power becomes distorted.

Fifth Line: Accepting

The fifth line is the leadership line, the teacher line. And here the line is called, “Accepting: Nothing to prove in your easy use of power.” You’re at home with power. You’re naturally attuned to power. It’s something that comes through you. There’s not an issue around it. You’re a powerful being and people can see this. People will always project this onto you.

Seeing how your power affects others, you either embrace this or are uncomfortable with it. How many of us have really been encouraged to be powerful in our lives? We might pay some lip service to that effect from time to time. But mostly what we’re taught throughout our lives is to go along with the crowd, to toe the line, and to not make too much of a fuss. And Gate 34 is really telling us: “You’ve got power. Use it well. Get comfortable with it. Get comfortable being uncomfortable if it’s something you haven’t quite come to terms with yet.”

The strength and persistence to use power appropriately and when necessary. Again, we come back to the idea of inner balance. You use your power from a place of clarity, not just because everyone’s clamoring for it. It doesn’t come from the projections and expectations of what others think you can and should do for them. It comes from you, it’s integrated, it’s clear, it’s straightforward, and it’s applied deliberately and with authority.

 Sixth Line: Being Careful

The sixth line can see the whole Hexagram clearly. It can see power, it can see the effects of power, and it either wants to get involved or back away from it. And here, the line is called, “Being Careful: Being wise to reassess the use or display of power.”

When we look around us, we see people who wield power (politicians, dictators, priests, captains of industry, etc.) and we wonder, what exactly are they doing? Are they actually responsible states-people looking out for the wellbeing of the people, country, church, constitution, or consumer? Or are they somehow just maneuvering things? Playing a party line, seeking favor, playing politics, saying whatever they suppose people want or need to hear? And here, the sixth line sees the whole game, the whole political game, and it is called to reassess the use and display of power.

Your discriminate or indiscriminate use of power means outcomes are harmonious or not. How do we use power appropriately? Do you barge through everything? Do you use your power to push everyone aside? Or do you see that this is something that’s going to affect everything around you? When we use power appropriately, and we see it brings great benefit not only to ourselves but to everybody else, this is what brings about a harmonious environment. When we use our power to invade another country, or start shooting at people, or bombing people, or totally misusing our privileges and faculties, then it is indiscriminate and deliberately destructive. Destruction is so easy. Creativity is our great opportunity.

We are called here to consistently move energy towards achieving what is empowering, appropriate, and essential to the needs of the moment. And at the same time, seek to avoid what might be considered aggressive and egoistic.

The most important thing to recognize is, as a human being, you are naturally a powerful being. The circumstances and situations around you cannot alter that. You have the power to be yourself. You have the power to be true to yourself in this life, and that’s what Gate 34 is all about. 

The power, the great strengths, raw power, sacral power, generator power, is only great when its display or use comes from an inner balance, and by living true to oneself. Then, you’ll find yourself being more and more true to Existence and the world around you, and you find your place in the world as a true sovereign being.

So, there we are, that’s 34th Gateway. We’ll check in again soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the Human Design Chart and discover how your own Design informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.