The official name for Human Design Gate 31 is The Gate of Leading. I call it The Natural Leader because its primary action is to be a highly influential force of nature and express the possibilities and potentials of a brighter future.
About Human Design Gate 31 – Gene Key 31
Archetype Name: The Natural Leader
In Action: to reverently lead others into a fair and just vision
Keywords: leadership, collective vision, influence, equanimity
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Official Gate Name: Leading
Human Design Definition: The law of friction, whether active or passive, that engenders transference and thus influence.
Core Theme: Influential leadership.
Bodygraph Center: Throat center and connects to the G center via human design gate 7.
Tropical Sign: Leo
(Want all of the correspondences and keynotes for the gates of your incarnation cross? The Human Design Map is for you.)
The Energy Spectrum of Human Design Gate 31
All energy in the Human Design chart exists on a spectrum of potential.
On the “positive” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 31 is the energy for influential leadership. Gate 31 knows deep in its bones that empowered people empower others. Disempowered people disempower others. With this as its baseline, it is able to be a highly influential force of nature by expressing the possibilities and potentials for a brighter future for everyone.
On the “negative” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 31 is the energy for being afraid to step into the role of leader or believing that you are unworthy of being a leader. It can easily use its influence and authority to manipulate others for its own personal gain. Or try to force its vision on others.
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 31 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 31 is to lead with integrity by knowing your leadership niche. Your Human Design will offer clues in this, especially your conscious sun and your Gene Keys prosperity sequence (unconscious mars, conscious Jupiter, unconscious Jupiter).
My Personal Experience with Human Design Gate 31 (Gene Key 31)
I have the full channel of the Alpha 31/7 defined in my chart.
Gate 31 is defined in my unconscious Saturn.
And, in an interesting twist of fate, Human Design Gate 7 is defined in my conscious Saturn.
How fun?!?!
Eh. Not so much.
At the time of this revisiting this contemplation, I am 46 years old which means that my first Saturn Return is long past. I am actually closer to my second Saturn Return than I am to my first.
And I am just in the last couple of years starting to own this part of my design.
I love talking about my other channels (48/16, 57/20, 61/24) but 31/7 brings up a lot of shit for me.
I have known my whole life that I am often seen as a leader. And perhaps it has been my 5/2 profile and innocence motivation talking but I’ve not wanted any part of it. I have pushed “being a leader” away for as long as I can remember.
In early 2022 something crucial shifted for me, though.
I was taking a class for Human Design Projectors, and the energy around leadership kept coming up. In the class, I felt incredibly vulnerable and seen in a way that I had never before.
I cannot even describe what it was like to have 13 Projectors looking deeply into my soul all at once.
And in that space, I was called on to be a leader on numerous occasions. I was asked to speak about this or that topic and, with each invitation, I had zero doubt that I had some magic to bring to the conversation.
In hindsight, I can see that this was how I felt when I started writing the very first map I ever made.
But, in that class, I felt my natural leadership come alive, as it was happening, instead of in hindsight.
It felt so different.
Yes, it was an insanely vulnerable feeling. I felt exposed and raw.
But there was also a quality of integrity and synchronicity. Beautiful timing and just oh so right.
The vibration of the 31/7 was so deeply activated within me that I could no longer push it away. I had to see it. It wasn’t just theoretical anymore.
It was alive, in my body.
Still to this day, I get messages from other Projectors that were in that group telling me how important my sharing was in the class.
And it stuck with me too, because I finally made peace with the 31/7.
The key for me was in the recognition (no pun intended!) of leading from a space of deep integrity. Of that inner knowing that I was the one.
In the past, I’ve often been nominated to lead things that didn’t land right with me.
My spleen would scream no and, again maybe my 5/2 was playing a big part here, but I believed that my job was to do whatever people expected of me. And if that meant leading in ways that didn’t feel right for me but helped others, I would just do it anyway.
What I understand now is that stepping into the role of the leader has to be a two-way street. (Just like the projector recognition and invitation!)
When I am trying to lead shit that doesn’t need or want my leadership, it doesn’t end well. And vice versa, when others want me to lead and my body says no, for whatever reason, it also doesn’t end well.
Since the sacred container of that class, I have been able to step into the role of leader on many occasions that have been that beautiful two-way street.
It is how I often feel in my client interactions inside the Human Design Map portal. And in situations where my expertise and insight perfectly matches the path ahead.
I even had a dream about someone I care about. And, from the dream, I knew that I needed to take the lead on a real life situation we were going through.
It was perfectly clear. So, I did.
The results were stunning. I lead the situation into deeper harmony and alignment for everyone.
And, because it’s Saturn, I know I’m not done here. I’ll be revisiting both the 31 and the 7 for many years to come.
But I have developed an awareness of what this energy looks and feels like on “both sides” of the spectrum. I know what it’s like to try to lead when I’m not invited, I know what it’s like to lead even when I don’t want to, and, now, by the mystery of Grace, I also know what it’s like to lead when it’s win-win.
And, let me tell you. When it comes to self-exploration and deeper integration of our purpose and contribution, understanding that full spectrum really is half the battle.
Affirmations for Human Design Gate 31
Using your Human Design to create affirmations is a powerful way to activate the full potential of your chart. Here are some affirmations for Gate 31:
I am a force of nature.
I empower myself and others.
My leadership is valuable.
Inside your Human Design Map, you’ll get a full list of empowering beliefs for your type + strategy, authority, profile, and all four gates of your incarnation cross and show you how to go from affirmation to full-on embodiment. In the meantime, be sure to also check out my post on how to make Human Design affirmations work.
Now it’s your turn to contemplate Gate 31
When you stand in the truth that the gifts of the 31 are always available to you, (whether it’s defined in your chart or not)…
What is your relationship with leadership? Do you like to lead? Why or why not?
What experiences have you had with disempowered leaders? What about empowered ones?
What qualities of leadership do you have and how do you foster them?
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 31.
And, if you have gate 31 in your Human Design Incarnation Cross, be sure to check out the Human Design Map where I go super deep into each gate of your cross.