The Human Design System & The Book of Lines: Gate 50, Values, Lines 1-6

 

Where do our values come from? How do we differentiate between the values that will bring us down and those that will serve us and our communities in the best possible way? The Human Design System has something to say on the subject.

 

The sun has moved out of gateway number 57 and into gate 50, which is a very different gateway. It’s in the defense circuitry, which is part of what we call the tribal circuitry. And the key word for tribal circuitry is “support.” The values here are all about maintaining and supporting the wellbeing of the tribe, the family, the community.

 

 
In the Chinese I-Ching, the word for the 50th gateway is “Ding,” which is a word that describes a three-legged pot with two handles and a lid. And if you ever go to a temple in China or Japan, you’ll find one of these pots.

 

 

 

So, what’s it doing at a temple? Well, in times of plenty, everyone goes to the temple and puts their incense sticks in the pot and gives thanks. But in times of hardship or famine or war, those in the temple will dump out all the ash, clean the pot, and fill it up with food and cook for the community. So, the symbolism here is that this cooking pot stays there through thick and thin, providing support for the community in one form or another, in good times and bad.

 

So, let’s see how this theme of support plays out in the Human Design System, line by line:

 

First Line: Starting Afresh

 

Here, the line is called “Starting afresh: eliminating old qualities before honoring new ones.” In times of hardship, you throw out the incense, ash and everything. You clean out the pot and cook something new for the community around you. And in better times, we’ll clean the pot again, fill it up with sand, and get the incense going. We’ll start afresh with what’s needed in the moment.

 

 So, the first line is about being clear that adopted values may no longer be appropriate in your life and community. Sometimes you’ve got to throw out the old ideas, the old traditions.

 

It’s about finding out how we are going to prosper as a community. And this might be a community of just two people, (you and your significant other, for instance). If the values you’ve adopted from past experiences and influences are no longer working, they’ve got to be dropped to benefit the community.

 

Second Line: Standing Firm

Second lines are natural in their way. They discover things by apparent chance sometimes. And here, the line is called “Standing firm: Avoiding tempting distractions from your natural way.”

 

Being firm in your values or giving into outside pressures, you always accept the consequences. So, the second line can be very easygoing. Sometimes you have to borrow other people’s ideas. Sometimes you have to look at what’s really needed in this situation. And what’s key here is to avoid distractions as much as possible. Because when confronted by others’ values, there can be a tendency to be self-defensive and easily compromise. Stand firm, recognize what is right and wrong for you and your community in this moment.

 

Third Line: Give and Take

In the Human Design System, third lines are considered the pioneers. And in this case, the third line is telling you to trust in your values. You have your own values, be very clear about that, and trust them. Honoring your own values, you receive the support you need…. but you may regret being assisted.

 

There’s the possibility of commitment issues for all third lines. It says, “Am I gonna have to pay back for the assistance I get here? Is it best just to avoid it all?” So, it’s important to be aware that when you require support, you establish the values needed to receive it.

 

You are likely to overthink in your attempt to balance your values with your need for acceptance. Asking other people for support can make you feel helpless. But that is part of what this gateway is all about: support, and communal support. And that always comes with a bit of a give and take.

 

Fourth Line: Qualifying

The fourth line is always about bringing people together. It has this quality of being very influential.

 

Going back to the image of the cooking pot for a moment: in lines one, two and three, we see that everything is in the pot and it’s cooking away, mixing well and doing its thing. But when we get to the fourth line, there’s this area where the food doesn’t always get cooked in quite the same way. The fourth line can be slightly isolated. There’s a potential for the soup not to get completely cooked, or the values not to be completely fulfilled. And the line is called “Qualifying: presence is needed in upholding right values in sorry circumstances.”

 

Pretty much everyone I’ve come across with the 50th gate with the fourth line has been dealing with a situation in the world, or in their lives, where they are surrounded by people that don’t have such great values or have compromised values in some way. So, the question for the fourth line is “do I give in to the poor values or do I seek to be influential in raising the values?” On the one hand, the lower values are easier to play with because they’re less challenging. But in a sense, your whole effort in life is to try and raise the values of everything around you.

 

Fifth Line: Enhancing

Fifth lines always have this potential for leadership, for giving guidance to everybody else. Here, the line is called “Enhancing, maintaining alertness” and it’s all about what we might call our internal radar system.

 

It’s like tuning into the reality of the moment, being alert to what’s really going on and recognizing which values serve best. So, fifth lines can always have this view into other realms, other possibilities. But it always comes down to finding the most practical possibility, the one that’s truly needed in this moment in time.

 

Sixth Line: Invigorating

The sixth line here is called “Invigorating: consistently supporting the values that serve one and all.” Sixth lines always have that potential overview of everything. That ability to see what is really needed in a situation, and how to bring about the greatest benefit.

 

Sixth lines always have to be really clear about whether to get involved in something or not. They can see the values that will enhance and invigorate and ask themselves, “How do we bring the light up to a higher level? How do we bring about maintenance in people’s lives? How do we give people the sense they’re being looked out for?” So, the sixth line really provides this extraordinary level of high value input.

 

You might have an occasionally moody nature, and there is a tendency to allow your clarity to become obscured by trifles. But, when you’re feeling clear inside yourself, when you’re looking out for yourself and the environment around you, and holding a high sense of values, you set an example with clarity and wisdom. And the world becomes a very, very beautiful place.

 

So, there we are, the 50th gateway, the ding, the cooking pot, and the values that we have in our support of the community and the world around us. We’ll check in again soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the Human Design System, and to discover how your own Design informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.