Last time, we explored the Human Design Life Themes with the Sun in Gateway 45, the Gateway of “Gathering Together”. Now, we move on into Gateway 12, the Gateway of “Standstill”. Gate 12 is the last of the Individual Gateways in the Throat Center. All of the Gates in the Throat Center are voices, and this particular voice is the voice that says “Stop”. All kinds of things are happening all around us, we’re going through life full speed ahead, and Gateway 12 says, “hold up. Let’s have another look at this. Let’s reappraise things. What are we really up to here?” This Gateway has a very particular quality of being able to see down the road. It can sense something’s changing, and it needs to express it.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the Human Design Life Themes associated with Gateway 12:
The Personal Life Theme: The Garden of Eden
With the Conscious Sun in Gate 12, we find ourselves in the Personal Life Theme of “The Garden of Eden”. The Earth is in Gate 11, the Gateway of “Harmony” and “Peace”. It has the ability to recognize which ideas have the potential to bring about peace and harmony in this crazy world.
Gate 12 – Standstill – Being cautious and remaining inactive until the moment is right.
Gate 11 – Harmony – As harmony emanates out into the world, small ideas can yield big returns.
Gate 36 – Crisis Resolution – The potential to feel a sense of crisis before moving into a new experience.
Gate 6 – Conflict Resolution – By monitoring changing emotions, you recognize the needs of any moment.
Now, the Unconscious Sun is in Gate 36, the Gateway of “Crisis Resolution”, and the Unconscious Earth is in Gate 6, the Gateway of “Conflict Resolution”—and indeed the story of the Garden of Eden itself can be seen a story of conflict/crisis resolution: In the Garden of Eden everything was perfect and harmonious until it all started coming unglued. As a result, humankind was thrown out of the Garden, and we’ve been trying to get back in ever since.
In my experience, people with this Life Theme come into this world from a very bright, high frequency place, and around the age of four or five, they suddenly realize they’re not in the Garden anymore. People around them are not living in integrity, they’re being told things that are just patently untrue, and people are not interacting with each other in a clear and loving way. So, they suddenly realize that they’re out of the Garden and they panic a bit as they scramble for ways to get back in. They go in search of things that make them feel they can resolve this crisis, this chaos in their life—sex, material possessions, drugs, etc. And sometimes it works…. for a while.
People with this Life Theme either keep chasing after things in the outside world in the hopes of finding some peace and fulfillment, or they realize that they are not in search of the Garden after all, but that they are the Garden. If they don’t make the shift to inner awareness, they find themselves in a kind of permanent chaotic crisis dragging everyone into it with them. This whole Life Theme is about living in peace and harmony with the world. But the crucial thing is that the world exists within and projects outwards, not the other way around.
Notable people with this Life Theme: Paul McCartney, Donald Trump, Steffi Graf, Eddie Cibrian
The Fixed Life Theme: Caution
The Sun moves on into the fourth line of Gates 12 and 11, and we enter the Fixed Life Theme of “Caution”. People who have Gate 12 with the fourth line in their chart have the sight. They can see down the road and know what’s coming next.
Gate 12 – Standstill – Being cautious and remaining inactive until the moment is right.
Gate 11 – Harmony – As harmony emanates out into the world, small ideas can yield big returns.
Gate 25 – Innocence – Our natural state of inherent trust, honesty and presence.
Gate 46 – Serendipity – Growth comes from being in the right place at the right time with the right attitude.
Children with this particular engagement often have the vision early on in life. They can just tell when the way we’re going is not working so very well and needs to be rearranged or reworked altogether (whether or not anyone else wants to hear about it is another story).
In the meantime, the Unconscious Sun has moved on into Gate 25, the Gateway of “Innocence”, and the Unconscious Earth has gone into Gate 46 the Gateway I call “Serendipity”, which is all about being in the right place at the right time with the right attitude. So, this Life Theme of Caution says, “Do we need to plow on full speed ahead all the time?”
The Interpersonal Life Theme: Education
The Sun then moves into the fifth and sixth lines of Gates 12 and 11, and we find ourselves in the Interpersonal Life Theme of “Education”. If you’ve studied your Latin, you might know that “Education” comes from the word Educare, which means to ‘draw out’. So, education in its true sense is the art of enticing a student to recognize their innate gifts and use them. Everybody on this planet comes with unique gifts and talents.
You know in your life when you’ve undergone an education. And we’re not talking about the classroom, where you’re told to remember facts and figures and regurgitate them over and over. We’re talking about the real education that life offers. You’ve been around people or in situations that have inspired you and raised your whole quality of life, your whole sense of wonder and being. The foods, the drinks, the places, the geographies, the languages, the behavior patterns, the artworks, the music—this is where we get our education. All of these things can enhance our own inherent gifts.
Other notable people with this Life Theme: Salman Rushdie, Paula Abdul, Aung San Suu Kyi, Vaclav Klaus
That’s the essence of the Life Themes associated with the 12th 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 12, 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.