Last time, we explored the Human Design Life Themes with the Sun in Gateway 25, the Gateway of “Innocence”. Now, we move on into Gateway 17, the Gateway known as “Following”. It’s an interesting name because “following” can mean all sorts of things. But in this case, we’re using it in terms of following a logical progression of how one thought follows another, or something that is considered a fact is followed by another. How do we apply logic in the world? It can be worked in all kinds of different ways. All sorts of books, philosophies, and schools of thought are made up using this concept of logic. It’s the basis of science and reason. It’s how we decide on what’s factual, on what’s fixed in time and space.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the Human Design Life Themes associated with Gateway 17:
The Personal Life Theme: Service
With the Conscious Sun in Gate 17, we find ourselves in the Personal Life Theme of “Service”. So, Gate 17 is a logical Gateway, and so is Gate 18, the Gateway of “Improving, which is where the Conscious Earth sits. And the act of improving something also functions in a logical way (i.e. “This doesn’t work very well, we’re going to take the logical steps to make it work better”).
Gate 17 – Following – Theories, debate, and discussion temper all thoughts into a base for concepts and ideals to move toward a potential future wellbeing for all.
Gate 18 – Improving – All traditions and customs need constant review to find if they are presently wholesome and healthy
Gate 58 – Joyous Vitality – Embracing the great power and delight of expressing joy and celebrating life.
Gate 52 – Mountain – Stillness, patience, and presence provide perspective on all life’s circumstances.
The Unconscious Sun is in Gateway 58, the Gateway of Joy and “Joyous Vitality”, which also happens to be in the Logic Circuitry. And those of you who are familiar with human design will recognize Gates 18 and 58 make up a Channel, which is the Channel of “Judgment”. And what is judgement? We look at something, we consider its function and decide on how to improve it. So, it’s also very much a logical thing.
On the Unconscious Earth side, we have Gate 52, the Gateway of “Mountain”, which offers stillness and calm. It’s also a logical Gateway. So, all four Gateways in this Life Theme of “Service” are in the Logic Circuitry. And what is “Service” when you think about it? It’s a process of bringing benefit to the world around you. It follows a logical process of recognizing a need, an area which requires service, and figuring out the best way to provide that service. While the Sun is in this Life Theme, we are reminded to bring improvement to our world. So, people with this Life Theme are here to bring about benefit for everybody around them as much as possible. And they do this without expecting anything in return.
Notable people with this Life Theme: Mariah Carey, Diana Ross, Quentin Tarantino, King Louis XVII
The Fixed Life Theme: Opinions
The Sun moves on into the fourth line of Gates 17 and 18, and we enter the Fixed Life Theme of “Opinions”. Gate 17 with the fourth line has opinions about influencing other people’s lives, while Gate 18 is less sure of itself. It does a balancing act between whether or not it knows how to bring about improvements in the world. It doesn’t necessarily always trust itself. And we have to understand that logical Gateways are not individual, they’re collective. They take a wider view. They’re basically part of the broader knowledge base for the world.
Gate 17 – Following – Theories, debate, and discussion temper all thoughts into a base for concepts and ideals to move toward a potential future wellbeing for all.
Gate 18 – Improving – All traditions and customs need constant review to find if they are presently wholesome and healthy
Gate 38 – Opposition – The individual stands for authenticity against unfairness and untruth.
Gate 39 – Provocation – finding your way through obstacles opens you up to personal growth.
The Unconscious Sun now has gone into Gateway 38, the Gateway of “Opposition”. And in this case opposition is about those things in life that don’t work, or that aren’t fair. Gate 38 is utterly opposed to unfairness. The Unconscious Earth is in Gate 39, which is the Gateway of “Provocation”. And provocation is about bringing something new into reality. Sometimes, for a new creative concept to emerge and take hold, it needs to be provoked into existence. So, people with this Life Theme of Opinions can be very set on how they bring about improvement, setting a high standard for everyone. It has to go a certain way, and it absolutely has to bring benefit to the world.
Notable people with this Life Theme: Elle MacPherson
The Interpersonal Life Theme: Upheaval
The Sun then moves into the fifth and sixth lines of Gates 17 and 18, and we find ourselves in the Interpersonal Life Theme of “Upheaval”. Again, with Gate 17 in the fifth and sixth lines, we can end up with very philosophical mental process going on. And Gate 18 with the fifth and sixth lines is looking at how to come out of the conditioning we all go through, especially in our early years, and recognize what makes for a really substantial life.
The Unconscious Sun in Gate 38 is opposed to situations, schemes and laws that are stuck and don’t serve anybody at all. And the same thing with Gate 39; It’s going to push and push and push until we get some kind of change here. So, with the Life Theme of Upheaval, everything’s up for grabs. And while the Sun passes through here, Expect to have some rearrangements in your life.
So, people with this Life Theme are agents of change. They have recognition of things that aren’t working. They know what needs improvement. And they have the logical processes needed to bring about that necessary change—and do it in a way that benefits everyone.
Notable people with this Life Theme: Warren Beatty, Sam Walton, Vangelis, Lucy Lawless
That’s the essence of the Life Themes associated with the 17th Gateway. If you want to learn more about Life Themes, you’ll find them all in the Book of Destinies, part of the Human Design Trilogy which is available in all good bookstores and audiobook platforms.
If you want to find out more about Gate 17, we encourage you to dive into our blog series on the Book of Lines.
And if you’d like to learn more about how your Human Design informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.