We’re all aware of the importance of balance. But what does it truly mean? When our ego, our desires, our impulses drive us toward something, how do we know whether or not it’s really right for us? How do we strike that balance between doing what we want, and doing what’s beneficial for us and those around us? Your Human Design Chart holds the keys.

Last week, we explored Hexagram 5, and now we move on into Gateway 26, which is in the Willpower Center, or the Heart Center. And the Willpower Center is concerned with discovering what we really want out of life, what it is that really holds value for us.

As a kid, it was as simple as, “I want this, I want that.” You knew without thinking what it was that appealed to you. And then life takes charge, and all the sudden you find yourself being maneuvered. You lose track of what it is that you really sensed had that original value for you, and start moving according to other people’s agendas.

Gate 26 reconnects us with that ability to sense what it is we truly want in our heart of hearts. Whether it’s material wealth, spiritual expansion, stronger relationships, whatever it is, what do we really want?

It is called the Gateway of “Accumulation,” but it has also been called the “Taming Power of the Great,” “The Trickster,” and the Gateway of the “Great Ego.” And the whole thing with ego is the tension between working within the bounds of what life is presenting to us, or bending the rules a little bit and drawing benefit for oneself while diminishing the benefit for other people. The 26th Gateway is where we can find the balance that allows us to get what we really want and need, but do so in a way that is in alignment with life.

Let’s see how this works in the Human Design Chart line by line:

First Line: Pausing

The first line here is called, “Pausing: Waiting patiently for a right time to act.” As life is offering us all kinds of different things, the pause here sets the foundation to see what really resonates with your heart. To determine what is going to bring value into your life.

Sometimes you cannot move any further in life without attracting and collecting problems. Just as you get involved in one thing, you find it brings a whole bunch of other issues with it. And here we run into the ego, which brings with it the potential to act recklessly, to separate yourself from the stream of life events and force yourself into activities that cause disruptions.

So, the 26 really puts you on the spot and makes you confront whether a certain situation is truly for you or not, whether it’s valuable for you to be involved or not. And the advice here is to pause, let the situation breathe for a moment, and wait for the right time to act.

Second Line: Being Self-Restrained

The second line is called “Being Self-Restrained: Patience is a virtue that serves in the long term.” The second line always has this innocent way of getting involved with things. When it looks like there’s a lot going on somewhere, you might have a tendency to get caught up in the hype. You don’t want to miss out.

This is why the second line always has to trust itself and wait. Use self-restraint until you’re able to really sense what’s calling to you here. And from here you can build upon this foundation. You exercise your power by progressively accumulating experience and resources. It’s not just a one-shot deal. It’s about learning, growing, slowly recognizing what are the pieces in your world that bring you the greatest sense of value.

We’ve all been a little impatient and tried to force the pace of things a bit. Whether it’s some big purchase or big commitment, we’ve gone along with things that we later found weren’t right for us. So, the second line here is telling us to be a little patient in recognizing whether something really does hold great value for us, or whether we are being coerced or pushed or sold into something.

Third Line: Being Prepared

The third line is called “Being Prepared: Being clear in your motivations and how to exercise them well.” What is it that drives you? Do you have the willpower to get involved in something? Did you get a clear message from your Authority telling you to go for it?

What are the things you’re really seeking that life moves you towards? Is it great material wealth? Is it great spiritual wealth? or is it just a nice balance between these two things? Can the two be combined?

These are the questions and concepts to seriously consider before moving forward on something you feel drawn to, because the third line is very eager to be the first one in, to have the first experience. But again, it’s important to get that clear message, to consult your Authority and your Human Design Chart. Then, with that green light, your strength of will to align with your goals allows you to gather support to attain them. This will help you to overcome the self-doubt that often creeps in with third lines.

Fourth Line: Preventing

The fourth line here is called “Preventing: Keeping away from irrelevant and dishonorable forms of interaction.” We know that fourth lines have this tremendous influential ability, they can sell ice to Eskimos.

Anyone who has this ability to sell anything to anyone also has a responsibility to consider whether what they’re selling is bringing about a benefit to people’s lives, or merely their own. And for those of us that offer services in the world—we give readings, healings, trainings, etc.—we’ve got to ask ourselves in our heart of hearts, are we providing something of great potential benefit? And as such, are we selling this from the understanding that we’ve got something of great quality that’s going to up-level people’s lives?

So, the fourth line has to be really clear about keeping away from irrelevant and dishonorable forms of interactions. There is always the potential to implement techniques that support bending the rules to get your own way. There are so many strategies at your fingertips to convince people to go along with what you’re selling, fine print that conceals the disappointing reality of what people thought was a great deal. It’s a powerful thing, which is why it should be approached with great care.

Fifth Line: Harnessing

The fifth line is called “Harnessing: Utilizing your accumulated energies wisely.” Fifth lines always take a natural leadership role. People look to them to get guidance and practical input, because fifth lines can generally see how this whole thing works.

It’s very easy for fifth lines to point people in any direction. But utilizing your accumulated energies wisely means being aware of whether or not doing so is really serving that person. Are you pointing them toward something practical that they can engage in their life and derive great benefit?

Your willful energy requires careful managing, or it will continuously bring you confrontations. Now, confrontation can mean a face-to-face disagreement, argument, or worse. On the other hand, when you confront a situation, you also have the opportunity to look at it and see what’s needed to fix it. You meet it head on. And that’s the quality of the fifth and sixth lines here: being able to work through things to ease them out, to apply the least possible energy for the greatest possible outcomes.

Sixth Line: Being Poised

The sixth line is called “Being poised: Creative energy is released from a place of inner equilibrium.” Accumulating and utilizing energy wisely requires you to be balanced. This balance is internal. And this basically applies to all the lines, but the sixth line has to see there’s a great responsibility here. Yes, it’s very easy for you to make things happen, but there has to be that inner equilibrium, that inner balance.

Most people are chasing after things they don’t want in life, things that don’t have value for them, and the sixth line really has that gift of being able to recognize when what people are doing is not working for them, and it can give alternatives. It knows what’s needed to fix things.

Your willful actions are always going to be justified by their lasting appropriateness. It’s about knowing, was everybody served through my actions or did some people miss out? Did I take advantage? Am I providing value with the things that I expect people to pay me for?

The bottom line is the 26 has this great possibility to bring substantial benefit into people’s lives through offering them things that really bring them fulfillment, that really attune with their life, with their heart’s engagement and purpose in life, whether that be on a material level, whether that be on a spiritual level, or whether that be on both levels.

Hustling people is one approach. However, the greatest and most honorable art in providing benefit is to gently guide people to find their own clarity, so they then persuade themselves to go forward with whatever you are offering. That is the real art of Gate 26.

So, there we are, that’s the 26th Gateway in the Human Design Chart. We’ll check in again soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the Human Design Chart and discover how your own Design informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.