Last time, we explored the Life Themes with the Sun in Gateway 16, the Gateway of “Selectivity”. Now, we move on into Gateway 35, the Gateway of “Progress”. Gate 35 is in the Throat Center, which means it’s one of the 11 voices, or different ways of expressing ourselves through speech, that we have available to us. And this particular voice is saying “I’m moving on or not. Things are happening for me or not.” For me, the big question for anyone with Gate 35 in their chart is this: “Am I having a life experience here, or am I just shuffling through life to get to the end, and goodness knows what it’s all about?”
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the Human Design Life Themes associated with Gateway 35:
The Personal Life Theme: Consciousness
With the Conscious Sun in Gate 35, we find ourselves in the Personal Life Theme of “Consciousness”. Everything has consciousness, whether you’re talking about a rock, a fish, a bird, a human being, or whatever. In the human realm, there’s a certain degree to which we can interact. There are certain things we can engage with and tune into that other life forms on this plant simply can’t access. And this particular Life Theme tunes us into a whole arena of different levels of consciousness.
The Conscious Earth is in the Gate 5, the Gateway of “Waiting”, or “Timing”. The whole Universe is tied in with the fifth Gateway, because everything has its timing; the seasons, the migrations, the flowering, the cycles of life, etc. So the fifth gateway is saying, “Watch the seasons.” And there are many, many different seasons in life. Every day is a new season full of new possibilities.
Gate 35 – Progress – Advancing, through experience, in an unceasing drive to explore every aspect of human nature.
Gate 5 – Waiting – All aspects of life are subject to the rhythm and timing of the Universe.
Gate 63 – Doubts – Critical Perception; Constantly refreshing your view in a world where there is always change.
Gate 64 – Diverse Possibilities – In expansion there is no absolute correctness and yet there is always a pressure to find balance.
On the Unconscious side, we have the Sun in Gate 63, known as the Gateway of “Doubts”, and the Earth in Gate 64, the Gateway of “Diverse Possibilities”. This lifetime is a completely open smorgasbord of possibilities. And we’re asking ourselves, “What’s the reality behind these things? Can we actually recognize the consciousness of the world around us? That everything is made up of light particles, everything is connected?”.
So, people with this Life Theme are always in a state of expanding their consciousness. They’re always reaching out, looking to see if we’re being fulfilled in this lifetime, if we’re in touch with the natural rhythms of life. And since they have Gates 64 and 63 in their Charts, they’re also able to expand other people’s horizons. They’re able to fill in the blanks in other people’s stories and offer another perspective, maybe a better way to approach things that’s more likely to bring them fulfillment.
Notable people with this Life Theme: Russell Brand, Anderson Cooper, Angelina Jolie
The Fixed Life Theme: Experiencing
The Sun moves on into the fourth line of Gates 35 and 5, and we enter the Fixed Life Theme of “Experiencing”. In the words of Jimi Hendrix, “are you experienced?” Do you shuffle through life, or do you fully engage with the experience? Are you present and available to the immediacy of life?
Gate 35 – Progress – Advancing, through experience, in an unceasing drive to explore every aspect of human nature.
Gate 5 – Waiting – All aspects of life are subject to the rhythm and timing of the Universe.
Gate 22 – Grace – The emotional energy of grace enriches life through beauty, benevolence, and nobility.
Gate 47 – Realization – The process of constantly filtering the contents of your mind to reach the “Aha! moment”.
Gate 35 with the fourth line is pushing to go out and experience life, and similarly, Gate 5 with the fourth line is saying, “Yeah, I’m open to anything in it’s right timing.” In the meantime, the Unconscious Sun has gone into Gate 22, the Gateway of “Grace”, allowing us to be both gracious and graceful in life. And the Unconscious Earth has gone into Gate 47. Gate 47 craves clarity; it wants to know if any of this make sense? It’s looking for that realization that clarifies what this experience is all about, what this life is all about. So there can be a real thrust with this Life Theme, an urgency to get out and have the experience of life, to engage with the adventure.
The Interpersonal Life Theme: Separation
The Sun then moves into the fifth and sixth lines of Gates 35 and 5, and we find ourselves in the Interpersonal Life Theme of “Separation”. Now, you might wonder how we made this huge shift from “Consciousness” to “Separation”. Many people with this Life Theme still have the natural inbuilt brilliance to explore life, to seek adventure, and to fully engage with the experience. However, they really don’t like people riding their coattails. They don’t want to have to be constantly maneuvering everyone else’s life situations for them. They like to keep their distance, a little bit of space.
Many people with this Life Theme bring some tremendous brilliance with them. They are adventurous through Gate 35, and they’re deeply attuned to life through the 5th Gateway, the natural timing and rhythm of life. Yet they have to be really careful not to be rescuing or leading everyone around them and becoming burdened by the weight of others’ expectations. Whether or not to get involved in somebody’s situation has to come from a clear inner resolve. Hence the Life Theme of “Separation”—Inevitably there’s going to be a separation from everyone else’s expectations of what you can do for them. This Life Theme has to set itself up so that while it can accord to natural rhythms of life, it’s not just going to go along with things simply because that’s what everyone else wants.
Other notable people with this Life Theme: Prince, Bjorn Borg, Anna Kournikova, Muammar al-gaddafi
That’s the essence of the Life Themes associated with the 35th 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 35, 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.




