Last time, we explored the Life Themes with the Sun in Gateway 51, the Gateway of “Arousing Shock”. Now, we move on into Gateway 42, the Gateway known as “Growth and Increase”. And Growth can happen very quickly. We get a sudden sense that we want to engage with a certain experience in life and we go for it. And no matter how it turns out, we grow from the experience. The trick is to not be too attached to any particular outcome. There’s always a risk that we jump into something new only to find out that we’re caught in a loop, because we had a particular idea of how our growth was going to take place, and when it doesn’t happen, we go chasing it elsewhere and so on and so on. So, the question is, are we just able to be enjoying the ride wherever it takes us?
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the Human Design Life Themes associated with Gateway 42:
The Personal Life Theme: The Maya
With the Conscious Sun in Gate 42, we find ourselves in the Personal Life Theme of “The Maya”. In this instance, the word “Maya” refers to the illusion of the perceptible world. It’s never quite sure if this is all real or not. So, it’s essentially engaged in an ongoing balancing act. People with this Life Theme might put all their energy and trust into something, and it turns out to be nothing. Or they disregard something as complete nonsense and then it suddenly becomes totally evident and important to them. So, as I see it, the keys with this Life Theme are to have a sense of humor when things turn out differently from the way you expected, and to not take life so seriously.
Gate 42 – Increase – Growing your inner and outer resources expands all experiences for yourself and others.
Gate 32 – Duration – Adapting to the latest circumstances in a world of constant change.
Gate 61 – Inner Truth – Authenticity guides us to what we know to be true.
Gate 62 – Expressed Details – Expressing and defining details that are of value to the present and future.
The Earth is in Gate 32, which is in the Spleen Center, and it’s got its finger on the pulse. It’s always checking whether or not we’re on the right track. It has an internal fear of failure, a fear that things aren’t going to work out, so it’s always alert, always watchful.
On the Unconscious side, the Sun has gone into Gate 61, the Gateway of “Inner Truth”, which has the ability to penetrate into things and get a complete snapshot of whatever’s going on. Truth is universal, but the experience of truth is a very personal thing. So, people with this Life Theme are always wanting to justify things. They’re always verifying what is real to them and what is resonating with them. The Unconscious Earth is in Gate 62, the voice which expresses the details of how things are, and how things appear to be, in a very logical way.
So, again, I always say that this Life Theme gives us the opportunity to play in life, to not take life too seriously, to not grab onto things as though they’re going to save us. It can point us toward the realization that there’s a play going on here. All the world’s a stage, and we are absolutely in it.
Notable people with this Life Theme: Andy Garcia, Claire Danes, Steven Seagal, Saoirse Ronan
The Fixed Life Theme: Completion
The Sun moves on into the fourth line of Gates 42 and 32, and we enter the Fixed Life Theme of “Completion”. It’s an interesting word, completion. It implies that there’s a goal here. When we’re talking about growth and increase, there comes a point in time where enough is enough.
Gate 42 – Increase – Growing your inner and outer resources expands all experiences for yourself and others.
Gate 32 – Duration – Adapting to the latest circumstances in a world of constant change.
Gate 60 – Limitations – Accepting restrictions allows for the possibility of flow and transcendence.
Gate 56 – The Wanderer – The movement and views of the inner world are reflected by those of the outer world.
The Unconscious Sun has gone into Gate 60, the Gateway of “Limitations” and the Unconscious Earth has gone into Gate 56, the Gateway of beliefs and expressions known as “The Wanderer”. It’s a Gateway of stimulation, and so there’s quite a shift in the energy here in terms of moving on from growth and increase. It’s a shift toward wrapping things up and stepping out of our attachment to certain outcomes. So people with this particular Life Theme have the ability to just be done. Been there, done that. Next!
The Interpersonal Life Theme: Limitation
The Sun then moves into the fifth and sixth lines of Gates 42 and 32, and we find ourselves in the Interpersonal Life Theme of “Limitation”. There’s a limit to how much growth and increase and expansion we can have. So this Life Theme is really saying, “If we’re involved in bringing about growth and increase, then let’s be very clear on our limits”. Are we aiming towards a fulfilling life, or are we getting carried away with things? Are we allowing growth and increase to just keep on going and going without any particular sense of what the reality is, what the endpoint is?
Again, the Earth in Gate 32 has its finger on the pulse, asking “Is this realistic? Does this have meaning?” Meanwhile the 60th Gateway is looking for the boundaries. It’s looking to get a sense of how far to go with whatever the experience is. So, on the face of things, Gate 42 looks like it’s unlimited in where it can take us. The growth just goes on and on endlessly. But then these other factors get involved, and we see there really is a sense of limitation around what it is that can be achieved.
Other notable people with this Life Theme: Emma Watson, Gerry Rafferty, Julie Christie, Claudia Cardinale
That’s the essence of the Life Themes associated with the 42nd 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 42, 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.