Gate 1 in Human Design: The Creative

Have you noticed how creativity looks completely different from person to person? Some people thrive when they start with a blank slate, generating new ideas from deep inside themselves. Others work best when they have a starting point – drawing from existing ideas and transforming them into something different. Gate 1 in Human Design: The Creative is one lens for understanding this.

Gate 1 in Human Design is all about how creativity manifests with you.

Visually and energetically, Gate 1 is located at the top of your Human Design G-Centre, and whether it’s active or inactive in your chart affects your creative process. Each of the five Human Design Types has an active or inactive Gate 1.

If your Gate 1 is active, creativity is something that wells up from inside. You naturally generate ideas, styles, and expressions from within. You are masterful at creating from scratch rather than using someone else’s framework.

An example of someone with an active Gate 1 is my friend who we’ll call Judy. Judy has decorated her home in a very distinctive 1950s aesthetic, including furniture, wallpapers, and appliances. Now, what is so very “Active Gate 1” about Judy is not that she’s styled her home in an 1950s aesthetic, but rather than she’s done it according to her own inner direction, without reference to magazines, podcasts, or online trends. It started with her.

If your Gate 1 is inactive, it doesn’t mean you aren’t creative – to the contrary, it means your creativity shows up differently. Instead of generating ideas from within, without external influence, your creative genius involves working with something already existing. This means that when you’re at your peak you’re leaning into drafts, templates, and outside inspiration. They spark your creativity, helping you bring your best work to life.

I relate to this because I have an inactive Gate 1. Writing first drafts (including for this blog) is always a painful process, but once I have something on paper the editing is fun (and highly creative).

Another personal example: when I was drafting agreements as a commercial lawyer, I preferred beginning with a collection of previous contracts as reference rather than starting from scratch. Using outside tools for inspiration is not a lack of creativity; rather, it’s a different way of accessing it.

A book I really relate to on this matter is “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon. If your Gate 1 is inactive, I highly recommend you check it out. It’s a fast, light, fun read, and along the way really validates the entire inactive Gate 1 experience. Indeed, there are gems of wisdom in it for those with an Active Gate 1 too.

Understanding your Gate 1 matters because when you are in tune with your creative style you are more effective at leveraging your creative process. And as creativity is at the root of so much, you will just all-around get more effective at life.

• If you have an active Human Design Gate 1, give yourself permission to create freely, drawing your inspiration from within.
• If your Gate 1 is inactive, embrace the fact that external inspiration can fuel your best work – and stop feeling like you should be creating from scratch.

If you don’t know whether your Gate 1 is active or inactive, you can find out by checking out your Human Design chart.

If you don’t know what your Human Design chart looks like, there are countless places you can check it out for free on the internet. Just Google “Free Human Design Chart”. You will need to fill out some information to get it: your birth date, birth time, and location of birth. Anything beyond that is not necessary to create a Human Design chart.

Once you have your chart, look for the diamond-shaped space in the middle of your chart – this is your “G-Centre” (and if the term “G-Centre” means nothing to you right now, don’t worry. If you find that Human Design resonates with you, you’ll learn about it). Gate 1 is indicated by the number “1” at the top of your G-Centre. If it’s coloured in, generally black or red, it means it’s active. If it’s not coloured in, that means it’s inactive.

Once you know whether you have an active or inactive Gate 1, start noticing how you prefer expressing your creativity.

• When drafting business or legal documents, do you start from scratch or refer to previous versions or templates?
• Do you cook ad lib, tossing whatever into the pot or bowl as you go along, or do you prefer following recipes step-by-step?
• When preparing a proposal, do you create entirely new materials tailored to the client, or do you adapt sections from past proposals that worked well for you in the past?
• When you journal, are you drawn to freeform writing or prompts?

The first option in each pair relates to an active Gate 1, while the second relates to an inactive Gate 1.

If your Human Design chart shows you to be an inactive Gate 1 but you are used to creating things from nothing (we’re often taught in our society that that’s the best version of creativity), consider experimenting with doing things in an inactive Gate 1 fashion. And the opposite as well – if you have an active Gate 1 but have been following others’ ideas because for whatever reason you figure they know better than you, consider experimenting with the active Gate 1 process. Play with allowing your creativity to well up from within, giving yourself permission to be a total creative expression of whom you truly are.

For me, Human Design is all about gaining deeper self-awareness – so we can lean into our strengths and make the most of our gifts.  

In a society that tells us how to be and that there are only a few appropriate ways to act, understanding how we are unique is an act of rebellion. And also fundamental to living the best lives we can, maximizing our potential, our opportunities, and the good we can do in this world.

You have three choices of Human Design consultations with me. One of the choices is for small teams, and the other two for individuals or couples. Regarding the two for individuals or couples, the the first is more comprehensive and also includes Bach Flower essences, and the second is pure Human Design.

Your option for small teams is Free Your Strengths for Small Teams. It is high-impact team building for small teams (6–12 people) who want to increase collaboration and results in just two sessions without wasting time on generic workshops. You can find more information about the program here.

And of course, in all cases, if you have any questions at all or wish to discuss the relevance of a program for you, please be in touch with me. It is extremely important to me that all of my products and services are as successful as possible, and part of that is making sure that they’re a good match for your goals and objectives.

~ Sat-Sung

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