Gate 51 and the gall of the Spiritual Warrior
Gate 51 is a nexus of powerful, intense energy meant to jolt us awake. Those with this design tend to shock others by their actions or words. They themselves also experience shocking, often chaotic life events.
This might sound awful, but those born this way can weather such disorder, and they will emerge more integrated and spiritually aware because of it. What’s more, they arouse others to find their own inner light and sense of the divine.
The Arousal, in fact, is the I Ching name of Gate 51. Recall that the gates in Human Design correspond to the I Ching hexagrams, which are actually one trigram atop another. The Arousal makes particular sense when we see that its hexagram is Thunder over Thunder. What can shock and rouse us more than a bolt of lightning?
A Divine Wake Up Call
Certain tumultuous life events leave us no choice but to surrender completely to what is. Surrendering becomes the only tolerable option, because denying reality is exponentially more painful. When we do this something magic happens, and we discover who we really are and what we are capable of. This is the medicine of Gate 51.
Those with this gate can come across as competitive, and they often move through life as initiators regardless of energy type. This competition is not about being the best, though. They are eager to be first, even feel it as a need. They often rush forward, bold, daring and ahead of the group. They have a constant urge to leap into the void, to go beyond the normal and known.
Human Design Circuitry
Gate 51 is in the Individual (Centering) Circuit and is part of the Heart/Ego Center. The Individual is here to empower others by modeling self-empowerment; their way is not the way of the Collective or the Tribe. In this case, they empower us by arousing the sense that we are spiritual beings, and that more is possible than we ever dreamed.
It’s telling that The Gate of Shock is the only gate in the Ego Center that is not part of the Tribal Circuit. In fact, it turns away from the needs of the Tribe precisely because these needs are material or mundane in nature. This gate craves what it seeks in its harmonic, Gate 25 – the universal, unconditional love of the spirit variety, located in the G Center.
A Warrior’s Initiation
Not surprisingly, Channel 25-51 is one of three mystical channels in the body graph, evoking the Spiritual Warrior archetype. They are of the Tribe but not confined by it, stepping out beyond its borders and limited ways.
Yet once these individuals are initiated by their profound experiences and breakthroughs, they will always return to the Tribe with their wisdom and light. And in this way, they initiate others who are themselves ready to be courageous warriors of love.
As with the entire Individual circuit, those with Gate 51 are prone to melancholy. Their desire for sublime experiences far beyond the mundane can drive them to thrill-seeking but dangerous behaviors or the use of intoxicants to escape monotony and boredom. After all there’s a fine line between courage and foolhardiness.
Another pitfall is that this energy can destabilize others with its capacity to shock. Gate 51 is here to awaken others, but only when the time is right.
In the Zodiac
It is logical that The Gate of Shock is in the zodiacal sign of Aries, whose essence is all about initiating and being first as an individual. It’s helpful to consider that its polarity is Gate 28 in Libra, a sign whose focus is on relating to the Other. Gate 28 (The Gentle) is receptive. It is about taking another in and truly listening.
Heart and Gall
Lastly, the biological correlation to the gates of the Heart/Ego shouldn’t be ignored, because they concern our actual heart muscle. If you have any definition here, you must take care of your heart health, in all matters spiritual and mundane.
And could it be a coincidence that the gallbladder is also associated with Gate 51? Because the sheer audacity of its energy is just that, gall.
