The official name for Human Design Gate 8 is The Gate of Contribution. But I call it The Rebel with a Cause because its primary action is to make a contribution in the world by being one’s authentic self.
About Human Design Gate 8 – Gene Key 8
Archetypal Name: The Rebel with a Cause
In Action: make a contribution by being radically authentic
Keywords: contribution, authenticity, and self-expression
Download All 64 Human Design Gates Cheatsheet (for free!)
Official Gate Name: Contribution
Human Design Definition: The basic worth realized in contributing individual efforts to group goals.
Core Theme: Unique self expression.
Bodygraph Center: Throat center and connects to the G center via human design gate 1.
Tropical Sign: Taurus/Gemini
(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 8
All energy in the Human Design chart exists on a spectrum of potential.
On the “positive” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 8 is the energy for authenticity and self expression. Gate 8 makes the most difference in the world by staying true to itself and empowering others to do the same.
On the “negative” end of the spectrum, Human Design Gate 8 is the energy for worrying about how individual expressions will impact relationships. It can feel purposeless under the weight of external conditioning and pressure.
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 8 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 8 is to question EVERYTHING you’ve been taught about life, success, and, most importantly, Love. Decide for yourself if your beliefs serve your Creative Contribution.
My Personal Experience with Human Design Gate 8 (Gene Key 8)
Gate 8 is defined in my Unconscious Jupiter. And, true to the nature of the unconscious side of the chart, Gate 8 has been a really powerful gateway into shadow for me.
On the conscious side, Jupiter is our path to expanding into abundance, prosperity, miracles, and healing. And on the unconscious side, it reveals the primary shadows and “blocks” that stop the flow.
(Jupiter’s placements are also important in the big picture of prosperity and can be very important for business owners to understand. Inside the map portal, I have a guide that covers this from that perspective.)
My conscious Jupiter is in Human Design Gate 20, which is all about being present in the now, contemplation, and expressing its knowledge when it arises.
In other words, I create abundance, healing, and miracles in my life by being in the present moment, making space for contemplation, and sharing my intuitive knowledge when it arrives.
With Gate 8 in my unconscious Jupiter, my biggest “block” to stepping into that source of abundance, is misdirected rebellion and inauthenticity.
The more I can transform rebellion into authenticity, the more present I am in my life. The more present I am, sharing what I know when I know it, the more abundance I create.
For me, this has really come into focus in the last few years.
I can’t say for sure what the exact catalyst was, but I do know that I’ve reached a point in my life where being inauthentic creates so much bitterness for me that I just can’t do it anymore. I want my contribution to this world to be as authentic as humanly possible.
But, I lived most of my life as a people pleaser.
And, in the bitterness of that, I’d rebel against anything and everything. If there was a rule, I was going to break it. I became a rebel without a cause.
What I have come to understand is that rebellion for rebellion’s sake isn’t actually rebellion; it’s cowardice.
It doesn’t lead to more authenticity; it leads to less.
And it wastes a metric fuck ton of energy.
When I waste energy on false rebellions, there is very little energy left for discovering what is actually authentic, what my cause really is, and where that rebel energy can be channeled into something truly worthwhile.
And, it fills my present moment with defensiveness, victim consciousness, and existential anguish.
In those triggered states, I don’t actually have access to the inner wisdom that allows my Gate 20 to be present and speak its truth in the now.
This awareness was a bitter pill to swallow. No pun intended.
I am glad to be aware of how the “low” frequency of Gate 8 manifests in my life. Having that awareness is the first step in being able to transform it into something new.
(I spell out the “low” frequency of all the gates in your incarnation cross in the Human Design Map plus, give you the tools for transforming them.)
I can’t say, with any kind of integrity, that I am never rebellious for rebellion’s sake. It really is like an onion.
But, I have deepened my practice of noticing when I am pissed off and wanting to rebel. I use it as a way to get curious. I can notice how it pulls me out of the present moment and has me searching the past or for someone to blame.
That isn’t to say that all anger is misguided. Anger, just like every other emotion, has wisdom, too. It gives us the energy to restore our boundaries.
Sometimes that wisdom, though, is to redirect my focus to what is actually true for me, what is genuinely authentic, and how stepping into that is more fruitful than lashing out.
That practice brings me back into the now. Back into the present. Back into what is real – rather than what is perceived. Back into the contribution that only I can make.
If you want to understand more about the unique contribution that you are here to make, be sure to get your Human Design Map and I’ll spell it out for you.
Affirmations for Human Design Gate 8
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 8:
I stay true to my individual expression.
I have a unique style that cannot be replicated because it comes from the inside.
I make a contribution by being my authentic self.
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 8
When you stand in the truth that the gifts of gate 8 are always available to you (whether it’s defined in your chart or not)…
What is your relationship with being authentic?
Do you believe that the greatest contribution you could ever make is being yourself?
Do you ever rebel for rebellion’s sake? Why is that? How might you channel that energy into something that is worth rebelling against?
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 8.
And, if you have gate 8 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.