Gate 16: How does mastery blossom?
Isn’t it mesmerizing to watch someone do something they’re really good at? It doesn’t matter if it’s break dancing, juggling golf balls, or telling jokes. It doesn’t matter if we (the observer) have any interest in the thing itself, because what excites us is simply witnessing the raw joy and enthusiasm of the person in action.
This energy is literally contagious, reminding us that we all have somewhere within us such a thing that inspires us to do it again and again, for no other reason than sheer pleasure. This is the domain of the Gate of Skills or Enthusiasm, another Gemini gate located in the Throat Center.
Gate 16 points down to Gate 48 in the Splenic Center to form the Channel of Talent, an important artery in the Understanding Circuit. Keep in mind that this is part of Collective circuitry, and that it’s the “cool” side of the bodygraph, without access to a motor or any emotion.
From a mechanical point of view, the Understanding Circuit is concerned first and foremost with patterns, and seeks to repeat a given pattern again and again (mentally or physically) to test its correctness and ferret out any flaws.
Every gate in the Throat Center has a voice, and the voice here says “I experiment.” I would add, to make my own mysterious contribution.
Gate 16 indeed seeks to make a contribution to the Collective. But again, it is not the skill itself, it is the enthusiasm for it that inspires the rest of us. Its signature is practice by repetition. Imagine a violin player, singer, or craftsman who hone their art over time until they merge with it, like a baseball player forever synonymous, say, with their ability to pitch.
If you have the complete Channel of Talent, you will relate with wanting to do something over and over again for no other reason than joy. Maybe you don’t think of it as having a talent or a skill, but this does not matter.
The Human Design definition illuminates the artistic contribution that this gate makes: it literally “enriches life,” implying that material survival alone is not the end of the game. The Gate of Skills taps into a “harmonic channeling of energy.” This is another way to say being in the flow, or being hooked up to divine inspiration. The Universe fully supports our joy!
It’s important to remember that this channel has no access to a motor, making its manifestation conditional on either the transit field or being in aura with another. Its contribution needs to be recognized or invited, and will tend to be verbal otherwise.
Gate 16 is very magnetic and its power has been likened to that of a salesman. For example, consider that the arts and sciences, which both rely on the pattern repetition of the Gate of Skills, always need monetary funding. Gate 16, and especially the 16-48, also known as the Wavelength, excels at garnering financial backing for their practice. They are good at getting others on their “wavelength,” at convincing them the value of their skill.
It’s always fascinating to compare Human Design to other ancient wisdom. For example, the medieval polymath Heinrich Agrippa implied that those marked by the first decan of Gemini serve others in their wisdom of the numbers and arts “in which there is no profit.”
The origin of the word amateur is someone who does what they do for the love of it. With practice and dedication however, they become a master or maestro, another word for teacher. But what happens if your family or your society deems your practice a waste of time? Or what if it brings no promise of material gain? These conditioning factors can kill your inherent gifts and make you self-critical.
When you aren’t feeling enthusiastic, you might feel apathy. Or if you don’t have the harmonic 48 (the Gate of Depth), engagement with your talent might be superficial. Like a dilettante, you might get enthused about one thing after another. You might even consider yourself a “master” after a very short time. This is also a signature Gemini quality, that of flitting from one shiny thing to the next.
If you have the Gate of Skills defined in your chart, don’t let other people tell you what you “should” do with your talents. After all, you may have many of them, but not that give you the joy and enthusiasm that is so central here.
This is not about comparing one talent to another. Whether you can beat everybody at Scrabble or you can name every actor in all the latest movies, the gift that you offer the rest of us is simply seeing you in action, when you come alive and shine!
