The official name for Human Design Gate 33 is The Gate of Privacy. But I call it The Contemplative Witness because its primary action is to know that everything that has ever happened holds the seed of collective healing and transformation.
About Human Design Gate 33 – Gene Key 33
Archetype Name: The Contemplative Witness
In Action: to contemplate and share lessons from the past
Keywords: contemplation, privacy, memories, and being wise
Download All 64 Human Design Gates Cheatsheet (for free!)
Official Gate Name: Privacy
Human Design Definition: Active withdrawal and the transformation of a weak position into a strength.
Core Theme: Sharing lessons of the past.
Bodygraph Center: Throat center and connects to the G center via human design gate 13.
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 33
All energy in the Human Design chart exists on a spectrum of potential.
On the “positive” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 33 is the energy for making ample space for reflection. Gate 33 believes that there is beauty in all things, including painful memories from the past. If you are only willing to see it, and will allow it, experiences and memories of the past can be alchemized into wisdom.
On the “negative” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 33 is the energy for isolation or hiding from the world, especially when the wisdom of harmful collective events has not revealed itself yet. It can act out of fear or anger in an attempt to force wisdom onto others or throw the past into the faces of 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 33 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 33 is to learn how to hold space for the discomfort that comes from waiting for the wisdom of the past to reveal itself.
My personal contemplation of Human Design Gate 33 (Gene Key 33)
We live in a world that includes trauma from the past. And, in all honesty, I think that most of everyone, myself included, could use some Gate 33 vibes.
The past can be such an incredible source of suffering.
We also live in a culture that pushes “getting over it”, moving on, and candy-coated forgiveness.
But when there is trauma, that kind of approach to “healing” can actually further perpetuate trauma. Because healing trauma happens in the body; it isn’t just a mental decision and then we are done.
Like I’ve said in so many other contexts, the aim isn’t to transcend the mind, it is to bring it into the process of what the body and soul reveal as the next steps.
And what most of us actually need is safe space to breathe, reflect, and process.
We must rebuild trust with our body, nervous system, and authentic emotions.
We need to feel seen, heard, and understood in our vulnerability. We need support and people who are willing to hold healing space, rather than to try to jump in and “fix” things.
The channel 13/33 can be so beautifully brilliant at that.
I am thankful to have people in my life that can hold that kind of space. And my intention is to hold that kind of space inside the Human Design Map portal, too.
What I’ve come to understand is that integrating lessons from the past isn’t about moving on. It’s about moving through. It is about being present with yourself as you peel the layers and let go of tiny little pieces at a time.
And forgiveness can’t be forced; it isn’t even a destination.
Forgiveness is a process that unfolds, moment by moment, as you work through the cauldron of unprocessed emotions from the past.
It is bawling your eyes out, red-faced, and snot-dripping cleansing.
It takes courage. And compassion. And an immense capacity to feel all of the things.
My deepest prayer is that, as we evolve as a society, this understanding of healing the past will become mainstream awareness.
I can see it happening. In some circles, it’s even cool to talk about trauma and healing wounds from the past.
In the meantime, I’ll be over here healing my shit and doing what I can to hold space for others healing theirs (here).
You can’t rush your healing
Darkness has its teaching
Love is never leaving
You can’t rush your healing
Trevor Hall, You Can’t Rush Your Healing, Kala
Now it’s your turn to contemplate Gate 33
When you stand in the truth that the gifts of gate 33 are always available to you (whether it’s defined in your chart or not)…
Do you regularly make space to process and reflect on the lessons from the past? Why or why not?
What is your relationship with forgiveness?
Do you rush to move on, get over it, and forgive? How is that working for you?
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 33.
And, if you have gate 33 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.