Gate 18: The insatiable taste for things done correctly
Do you squeeze the toothpaste tube from a random place in the middle, or is it important to squeeze it neatly from the bottom? When you take the sheets out of the drier, do you ball them up and stuff them in the linen closet, or do you fold them into tidy squares?
Chances are, if you fall in the neat and tidy category, you’ve got the frequency of Gate 18, the Gate of Correction. You have an uncanny instinct to sense when things are dysfunctional, outdated, broken, or unhealthy. And not only can you spot flaws in a process, you also know what needs to be done to remedy the situation.
In the I Ching, this hexagram is called Work on What has Been Spoilt. For humanity to safely move forth into the future, we must be healthy and efficient, so we have built into our DNA an ancient sensor for things that will no longer work for our good. This sensor is constantly scanning things to find discrepancies in their pattern, because this would mean that something is off or no longer working the way it used to.
In the Bodygraph
Gate 18 is found in the Spleen, our primordial awareness center on the Understanding side of the Collective Circuit. The Gate of Correction points down to the Root Center, to Gate 58 forming the Channel of Insatiability. The 58 is the Gate of Vitality, and those with its impulse to find faults in a system actually experience an insatiable joy in their process. I imagine Mary Poppins having the children clean up the nursery with spoonfuls of sugar and magic.
Stream of Taste
This stream is associated with taste, both literally and more broadly. As my teacher Amy Lee has said, “Judgment is a matter of taste that gets applied to the Collective.” People who have this design are naturally very attractive, because of their sense of vitality and enthusiasm. However, when the nit-picking and fault-finding are applied to other people in your life, or to yourself, it tends to backfire. The Collective Circuit is only intended to serve and benefit society at large.
Furthermore, the Channel of Insatiability is a projected channel with no access to Sacral energy. When your wisdom is recognized and you are invited to share your astute observations, you will feel a sense of success and accomplishment. But if you insist and push, you will deplete your own resources, possibly annoy other people, and feel bitter at the end of the day.
Demanding Change
The frequency of the 58-18 can also be rebellious, in the sense that it challenges institutions. All splenic gates are associated with a survival fear; Gate 18 carries the fear of authority. Those with this design can be clamorous and vocal, advocating systemic overhauls in government, corporations, and schools.
The semantics of the Human Design system is intriguing. Consider the definition of Gate 18: The vigilance and determination to uphold and defend basic and fundamental human rights. Our basic health and survival is a human right, and it is thanks to the vigilance, taste and judgment of Gate 18 that the Collective may venture safely forth into a fruitful future.
So though it might seem glib, the person who keeps humanity’s toothpaste tubes rolled up tight upholds our health and safety in ways far more profound. Their perfectionism, being fueled by such joyous zest, truly is insatiable.
