Last time, we explored the Life Themes with the Sun in Gateway 24, the Gateway of “Returning”. Now, we move on into Gateway 2, the Gateway known as “Receptivity”. Gate 2 allows things to come to us; it allows us to receive. It’s also the Gateway of natural guidance, a doorway to a personal knowing. But where does this guidance, this inner knowing, come from? We don’t know. But the thing is, it doesn’t really matter. As long as we’re receptive to it, a natural connection exists to this unseen and sometimes inexplicable inner guidance.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the Human Design Life Themes associated with Gateway 2:
The Personal Life Theme: The Sphinx
With the Conscious Sun in Gate 2, we find ourselves in the Personal Life Theme of “The Sphinx”. So, Gate 2 is the Gateway of being open to receiving guidance from the universe. On the Earth side, we have Gate 1, the Gateway of “Creativity”, which says, “what are we going to do with this guidance? Let’s be creative about it. Let’s put out something totally new”.
Gate 2 – Receptivity – A natural connection to unseen and sometimes inexplicable inner guidance.
Gate 1 – Creativity – Self-expression aligns with the natural expansion of the Universe.
Gate 13 – The Listener – Pursuing common goals to expand all varieties of human experience.
Gate 7 – Uniformity – Finding common intent and promoting shared future interests.
Now, the Unconscious Sun has gone into Gate 13 here. Gate 13 is “The Listener”. And people with the 13th Gateway in their Design have the ability to tune into what’s going on with other people. It’s a vehicle for engaging and finding direction from the people we meet, the experiences we have, and the stories we hear along the way. On the Unconscious Earth side, we’ve gone into Gate 7, the Gateway of “Uniformity”, which is a Gateway of working together, implementation through cooperation, and getting aligned with the future progression of things.
So, why the Sphynx? The Sphinx of Giza, this ancient mysterious carving, is said to be pointing toward the Sirian star system. With that in mind, we can understand that this Life Theme sets the course for us. It asks us to consider what it is we’re aiming towards.
People with this Life Theme are very good at pointing out the way for other people. It’s almost like they’re beacons, lighthouses to guide wayward travelers in life. So, whenever we feel a little off balance or a little bit out of sorts, it’s always handy to hang out with somebody with this Life Theme.
Notable people with this Life Theme: George Clooney, Tony Blair, Sigmund Freud, Johannes Brahms, Karl Marx, Eva Peron, Gary Cooper
The Fixed Life Theme: The Driver
The Sun moves on into the fourth line of Gates 2 and 1, and we enter the Fixed Life Theme of “The Driver”. And, as the name indicates, it’s driving towards something. It’s aiming towards a particular destination. It could be said for all of us—and those with the knowledge of Human Design will certainly understand this—that we are being driven through life. We think we’re in charge. We think we’re in control. Sure, we have control over our diet, and our outfits, and where we choose to live sometimes. But these are options, decorations even. Generally speaking, we’re just following a path, and we can’t necessarily know or control how it’s going to turn out, but we can raise our awareness.
Gate 2 – Receptivity – A natural connection to unseen and sometimes inexplicable inner guidance.
Gate 1 – Creativity – Self-expression aligns with the natural expansion of the Universe.
Gate 49 – Revolution – Abolishing the “old” and supporting a “new” which is aligned with certain principles.
Gate 4 – Mental Solutions – The pursuit of the right solutions and the right timing for them.
The Unconscious Sun has moved on into Gate 49, the Gateway known as “Revolution”, but which I prefer to call “The Rebel”. Our consciousness on this planet is changing. We’re moving beyond revolution, which just goes round and round without substantially changing anything. The rebel is not a follower. The rebel is a really empowered being. They don’t need to subscribe to the formulas and dogmas and ideologies. The rebel recognizes and stands firm in their own principles.
The Unconscious Earth has gone into Gate 4, the Gateway of “Mental Solutions”. It’s also called “Youthful Folly”, because it’s folly to think that we can sort life out simply by thinking our way through it, by constantly trying to come up with a solution for everything. But, the solution for life is to live it, to engage with it, and be receptive to the guidance the Universe is giving us.
The Interpersonal Life Theme: Defiance
The Sun then moves into the fifth and sixth lines of Gates 2 and 1, and we find ourselves in the Interpersonal Life Theme of “Defiance”. It’s a beautiful word, defiance. It disengages with the status quo. The influence of Gate 1 means that people with this life theme have an extraordinary creativity flowing through them. The Rebel, Gate 49, stands in his/her own truth. At the same time, Gate 4 will enable them to come up with all kinds of solutions that defy the commonplace ways of doing things.
My experience with people with this Life Theme is that they may go along with things for a little while. But the moment they’re free to move on their own, they take off in a completely different direction and fulfill whatever it is that wants to come through them. You can count on them to be contrary. They’re going to defy the commonplace. They’re going to take things into a new level of creativity.
Other notable people with this Life Theme: Don Rickles, Billy Joel, Traci Lords, Albert Finney
That’s the essence of the Life Themes associated with the 2nd 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 2, 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.