The official name for Human Design Gate 11 is The Gate of Ideas. But I call it The Idea Factory because its primary action is to revel in the process of pondering life’s greatest questions without attachment to finding answers.
About Human Design Gate 11 – Gene Key 11
Archetype Name: The Idea Factory
In Action: use imagination to the fullest capacity
Keywords: inner contemplation, imagination, and visualization
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Official Gate Name: Ideas
Human Design Definition: A Harmonic condition in the individual or society that permits assessment before renewed action.
Core Theme: Fear of darkness.
Bodygraph Center: Ajna center and connects to the Throat center via human design gate 56.
Tropical Sign: Sagittarius
(Want a deep dive into the gates of your incarnation cross? The Human Design Map + Portal is for you.)
The Energy Spectrum of Human Design Gate 11
All energy in the Human Design chart exists on a spectrum of potential.
On the “positive” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 11 is the energy for inner contemplation through visualization. Gate 11 initiates itself and others into self-reflection with it’s ideas. But also knows that ideas are only as powerful as the timing in which they are delivered.
On the “negative” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 11 is the energy for having an overactive imagination that leads to anxiety and fear. It also has a tendency to burn out from trying to act on every idea.
If you don’t like the results that the “negative” side of the spectrum is creating in your life, you can raise the frequency of Gate 11 with a number of boundaries, practices, and tools.
(I cover the practices for the gates of your incarnation cross in The Human Design Map.)
The most important thing to raise the frequency of gate 11 is to create plenty of time and space for active imagination and contemplation.
My personal contemplation of Human Design Gate 11 (Gene Key 11)
Gate 11 is especially interesting to me.
It is undefined in my chart, but I have Gate 56 hanging in my defined throat.
And, I have a small split between my ajna and throat; gates 17, 23, or 11 will bridge that split.
That means that gate 11 is a highly electromagnetic gate for me and, as with any undefined places in our charts, is a place where I’ve been gathering wisdom my whole life.
But, more important is that I have a defined head and ajna. I have often found myself in the shadows, wrestling with the concept of Truth — especially spiritual Truth. I’ve sought “the Truth” for as long as I can remember.
Recognizing that Truth is subjective brings me the most peace of mind. No one knows how we got here, why we came, and what happens when we die.
The only thing we ever really have is our inner wisdom and sense of resonance, and choosing to trust leads us to our growth edge.
We can choose to believe in our inner Truth. Or we can choose to believe in our conditioning.
While it can hurt to realize it initially, it’s all a choice.
Your thoughts, beliefs, ideas, opinions, and yes, even your “Truth” is 100% optional. The sentences in your mind aren’t set in stone – they are malleable like clay.
And when we are caught up in our stories (gate 56), especially the “negative” ones, it clouds our ability to make peace with other people having a different Truth. And this can destroy our relationships.
(Inside the Human Design Map Portal, I have a guide on using Human Design to understand relationships. Get your access here.)
I thought that belonging was dependent on shared beliefs and values. I used to believe that to “get along” with people, we had to think and believe the same things. And that if we disagreed, then it was a recipe for trouble in the relationship.
Anytime there was even a semblance of disagreement, I would whip up far-out scenarios in my imagination. I would visualize the worst possible outcome and weave doom and gloom stories.
That frequency of gates 11 and 56 could only ever lead to the demise of relationships.
What I’ve come to understand, though, is that differences that are NOT the problem. It is the attachment to “Truth” that is the real troublemaker.
When we are attached to something, we depend on it to create our feelings and emotions. And when that thing isn’t there, we spiral into hopelessness, despair, fear, and shame.
When we need other people to agree with us, we depend on their agreement to feel safe, secure, whole, or worthy.
That attachment is the actual recipe for trouble. It is a 100% faulty foundation for relationships. If your feelings depend on how other people think, feel, and align with your beliefs and ideals, you are truly up shit’s creek.
Attachment cannot build growth and expansion. That foundation will fall every single time.
Our best source of hope is to build our foundation on our inner wisdom and resonance and, most importantly, non-attachment to how our Truth lands with others.
Life will invite you, time and time again, to make peace with not really knowing. And, in doing so, we make space for a new vision beyond our wildest imagination.
“Spillin’ out like water
Like a mountain gave a daughter
Surrender never felt so good
I grew it strong like a sacred wood
And now the roots are running deeper
All illusion getting weaker
You see, the wisdom it don’t come from reading
It comes from believing
What I know, is that I don’t know
And now I dance and I sing and I live full
I give it all to the call of the unknown
Aho”
Trevor Hall, What I Know (on Spotify OR live in concert on youtube)
The growth edge is in exploring the attachments and letting them go, piece by piece, and building a foundation of belief and faith simply because you trust yourself.
In that space, the mind becomes a fun playground of imagination, curiosity, and awe rather than a boulder weighing you down.
Magic.
Now it’s your turn to contemplate Gate 11
When you stand in the truth that the gifts of gate 11 are available to you, whether you have it in your chart or not…
Right now, in this moment, what is your Truth?
When you think about the possibility of your Truth being wrong, what feelings come up for you?
In what ways do you need others to agree with you?
In what ways are you attached to your beliefs, thoughts, and ideas?
What feelings underlie your attachments to your Truth?
How can you create those feelings for yourself without being dependent on external sources?
My hope is that you will make some space to really reflect on these questions and let your Truth rise to the surface. And in that, you will find healing, strength, and power to live your Truth.
I encourage you to take some time with these questions. Take them out into your world and let their answers reveal themselves to you. Intend for deeper levels of clarity about gate 11.
And, if you have gate 11 in your Human Design Incarnation Cross, be sure to check out The Human Design Map + Deconditioning Toolbox where I go super deep into each gate of your cross.