Last time, we explored the Life Themes with the Sun in Gateway 5, the Gateway known as “Waiting”. Now, we move on into Gateway 26. In the traditional Chinese description, it’s known as the Gateway of the “Taming Power of the Great”. It could also be considered the Gateway of “Sales” because it’s all about what holds value for people, and how to convey that value into other people’s lives. I call it the Gateway of “Accumulation”, because essentially what we’re looking at here is the accumulation of resources, those things that are going to further people’s lives.

Gate 26 is in the Willpower Center, and the number of people who have this center defined—meaning they’re consistently attuned to what holds value for them in life—is about 30%. Which means 70% of people don’t have a consistent sense of what holds value for them, so necessarily they go chasing after all kinds of things that really don’t bring them any fulfillment whatsoever. So, Gate 26 is placed in the chart in a position where it can offer these things to others. Again, it’s the gateway of sales. It can convince people that they really need to have this or that thing in their lives and is subject to a varying a degree of integrity and fairness.

So, with that in mind, let’s have a look at the Human Design Life Themes associated with Gateway 26:

The Personal Life Theme: Rulership

The Conscious Sun is now in Gate 26, and we find ourselves in the Personal Life Theme of “Rulership”. And it becomes quite clear quite quickly that people with this Life Theme tend to rule the world around them, they have a natural ability to connect into resources, money, etc. The Earth is in Gate 45, the Gateway of “The King or Queen”, or “The Voice of the Tribe”. And in the tribe, everybody has to be on board. If there are any dissenters, they have to go somewhere else.

• Gate 26 – Accumulation – Harnessing willpower and committing to great accomplishments and substantial rewards.

• Gate 45 – The King or Queen – Gathering together that which best supports a strong community.

• Gate 47 – Realization – The process of constantly filtering the contents of your mind to reach the “Aha! moment”.

• Gate 22 – Grace – The emotional energy of grace enriches life through beauty, benevolence, and nobility.

Now, the Unconscious Sun has moved into Gate 47, the Gateway of “Realization”, or “Making sense out of life”. Gate 47 has a historical perspective in that it looks at what’s taken place in the past and sees how it corresponds to what we’re doing now (if at all).

The Unconscious Earth is in Gate 22, the Gateway of “Grace”.  People with Gate 22 in their Design carry a certain degree of grace with them. They look graceful and they have the potential to be gracious as well. Of course, there’s an opposite side to grace: disgrace. And there’s something about rulership that can potentially bring this out. When we look back in time (and even in modern times) at people who have been in charge, have they always been gracious? Do they even have a connection to what it means to be gracious?  Is their rulership taking place through a sense of grace? Are they offering things that are worthwhile for the community, as the responsible one, the one who can see what it is that holds potential value for people? And we’re not just talking about money, property, and possessions. It’s about recognizing that rulership carries with it a tremendous responsibility.

Notable people with this Life Theme: Osho, Taylor Swift, Sir Philip Sidney

The Fixed Life Theme: Procuring (The Trickster)

The Sun moves on into the fourth line of Gate 26, and the thing about the fourth line is it has to be very clear that when it offers something out into the world, it does so with integrity. It doesn’t get involved in nefarious dealings. So, with this fourth line influence, we move into the Fixed Life Theme of “Procuring”. 

• Gate 26 – Accumulation – Harnessing willpower and committing to great accomplishments and substantial rewards.

• Gate 45 – The King or Queen – Gathering together that which best supports a strong community.

• Gate 6 – Conflict Resolution – By monitoring changing emotions, you recognize the needs of any particular moment.

• Gate 36 – Crisis Resolution – The potential to feel a sense of crisis before moving into a new experience.

Now, the Unconscious Sun has moved into Gate 6, the Gateway of “Conflict Resolution”. It’s also the Gateway of “Friction”. Every creative process in life requires some friction—the creative process itself is an act of creating something new, sometimes at the expense of something old.

The Unconscious Earth has gone into Gate 36, the Gateway of “Crisis Resolution”. When you’re faced with something you’ve never dealt with before, how do you resolve it? Do you hide on the sidelines and worry about it, or do you take that first step forward and get involved? Because the word “crisis”, when you trace it back to the original Greek, means something akin to “coming to a decision”, and the decision is whether or not to step forward. But if you do step forward, are you doing so in integrity?

We’ve also called this Life Theme “The Trickster”, because people with this life theme can very easily manipulate or take advantage of other people’s situations. I’m not saying everybody does, and sometimes this trickster element can reveal itself in things that are done in fun and with a generous spirit.

The Interpersonal Life Theme: Confrontation

The Sun then moves into the fifth and sixth lines of Gates 26 and 45, which opens up the Interpersonal Life Theme of “Confrontation”.  Again, we have the Unconscious Sun in Gate 6, “Conflict Resolution”, and the Unconscious Earth in Gate 36, “Crisis Resolution”. So, we know that people with this Life Theme, and all Interpersonal Life Themes, can be very capable of resolving issues for people. So much so that fifth lines get caught up in rescuing people if they’re not careful.

 So, it’s the Life Theme of “Confrontation”, which is a word that can be taken at least two different ways. There’s the type of confrontation where you’re absolutely in somebody’s face. There can be a real ego energy in here, a push to get your way no matter what. On the other hand, confrontation can involve taking a more objective view, recognizing the potential for conflict in a given situation. You see that people aren’t getting their needs met. They’re not being represented. They’re not feeling honored in their lives. The confrontation can look at all of this and say, “I can fix it. I can make this whole thing work”. And in my experience, people with this Life Theme are in this balance between having these fierce interactions, and having this more objective, laid-back approach to handling issues when they arise.

Notable people with this Life Theme: Dilma Rousseff, Michael Owen, Patty Duke

That’s the essence of the Life Themes associated with the 26th 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 26, 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.