Human Design Gate Cheat Sheet
Ah, the Human Design gates! If you’re new to reading your chart, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the themes of your defined, undefined, and open centers first and then learning what planets activate the gates in these centers and THEN getting into the significance of the gates and their corresponding zodiac sign. Granted, if you’re a 1/3 profile, have a bunch of right variables, or are just plain ole’ curious, please feel free to learn in whatever order feels good for you! It’s a lot of information to process so give yourself time for it to all sink in.
That being said, if you’re ready to jump into this exciting layer, welcome welcome! The Human Design gates represent the Hexagrams of the I Ching. If you’ve just pulled your chart on mybodygraph.com or another online platform, you may only see the numbers that represent the hexagrams. If you are able to see the extended Rave Mandala chart, you can see the Hexagrams and which zodiac sign they fall in – and you’ll notice the “quantum” layer of Human Design aka the fact that they are not organized from one to sixty-four but jump around the circle.
Unconscious and Conscious Human Design Gates
You have two types of gates in your chart, unconscious placements (representing the position of the planets 3 months prior to your birth) and conscious placements (the position of the planets at the time of your birth). Typically, the unconscious gates show up as red lines on the bodygraph while the conscious are depicted in black. The conscious gates are part of your personality design and will likely be more readily felt in your life. When it comes to the unconscious, these gates may be a bit more mysterious and that is just fine. They are unconscious placements for a reason and only begin to come into your conscious awareness around the age of 44, after the Uranus Opposition. I like to be aware of the unconscious gates to help explain why certain patterns or emotional triggers/motives show up.
Putting it all Together
You can think of the gates as filters of your experience. Let’s take gate 41, the gate of fantasy, for example. This gate is ruled by Aquarius and is all about the desire to dream big and have new experiences. Aquarius is innovative and community-oriented, coloring this gate with the feeling that every out-of-the-box experience you have can be inspiring and helpful to others. Now let’s say, this is your Mercury placement which indicates this energy is related to your communication style and thoughts. This gate is located in the root center, a pressure center that manages stress/adrenaline and modulates our need to act or rest. Themes of the root deal with ambition, creating joy, having new experiences, starting things, and the overall pressure to try new things.
Tying it together … if you have your conscious Mercury placement in gate 41, you may feel a nagging pressure to explore, try new things, or have new experiences. With Mercury’s influence, you may find success in telling the stories of your experiences or spending time thinking about the new things you’d like to try or see. As a root gate, however, this won’t be a constant drive but rather something that builds over time until you suddenly get the pulse to act on it. Understanding the significance of all these layers can help you identify the source of your experience and take steps to honor or communicate your desires or needs.
Now that you have a taste for what it’s like to work with the gates, here’s a quick cheat sheet with the names of the gates, the signs they fall into, and centers. Happy layering!
Human Design Gate, Astrology, and Center Cheat Sheet
Creative self-expression | Scorpio | Identity
Direction | Taurus | Identity
Ordering | Aries/Taurus| Sacral
Answers | Leo | Ajna
Patterns/Rituals | Sagittarius | Sacral
Friction/Intimacy | Virgo | Solar Plexus
Self in interaction | Leo | Identity
Contribution | Taurus/Gemini | Throat
Focus | Sagittarius | Sacral
Love of self | Sagittarius/Capricorn | Identity
Ideas |Sagittarius | Ajna
Caution | Gemini | Throat
Listener | Aquarius | Identity
Power Skills | Scorpio/ Sagittarius | Sacral
Extremes | Gemini/Cancer | Identity
Skills |Gemini | Throat
Opinions | Aries | Ajna
Correction | Libra | Spleen
Wanting | Aquarius | Root
Awareness in the now | Gemini | Throat
The Treasurer | Aries | Heart
Openness | Pisces | Solar Plexus
Assimilation | Taurus | Throat
Rationalization | Taurus | Ajna
Love of Spirit |Aries/Pisces | Identity
The Trickster | Sagittarius | Heart
Responsibility | Taurus | Sacral
Struggle | Scorpio | Spleen
Perseverance | Leo/Virgo | Sacral
Recognition of feelings | Aquarius/Pisces | Solar Plexus
Democracy/Leadership | Leo | Throat
Continuity | Libra | Spleen
Privacy | Leo | Throat
Power | Sagittarius | Sacral
Change | Gemini | Throat
Crisis | Pisces | Solar Plexus
Friendship | Pisces | Solar Plexus
The Fighter | Cancer | Root
Provocation | Cancer | Root
Loneliness | Virgo | Heart
Decrease/Fantasy | Aquarius | Root
Finishing Things | Aries | Sacral
Insight | Scorpio | Ajna
Alertness/Energy |Scorpio | Spleen
The Royal | Gemini | Throat
Love of the body | Libra/Virgo | Identity
Realization | Virgo | Ajna
Depth | Libra | Spleen
Principles | Aquarius | Solar Plexus
Values | Libra/Scorpio | Spleen
Shock | Aries | Heart
Stillness | Cancer | Root
Starting Things | Cancer | Root
Drive | Capricorn | Root
Abundance of Spirit | Pisces | Solar Plexus
Storyteller | Cancer/Leo | Throat
Intuition | Libra | Spleen
Joy | Capricorn | Root
Sexuality | Virgo | Sacral
Acceptance | Capricorn/Aquarius | Root
Mystery | Capricorn | Head
Details | Cancer | Throat
Doubt | Pisces | Head
Confusion | Virgo | Head