Happy Human Design New Year! 41 Gate of Contraction is what jumpstarts our new solar cycle every year. Known as the gate of fantasy; this is about daydreaming about new experiences + potential scenarios. There’s an impulse to do, hunger to feel something new. (This post has been updated from the 2023 version)

From Root to Solar Plexus

Starting in the Root—the center for momentum, life fuel, adrenaline, stress & pressure. 41 Gate of Contraction is the incessant pressure to experience new feelings.

Moving towards the Solar Plexus—the emotional awareness and motor center, where 30 Gate of Feelings is the awareness of the potential of those feelings.

Together they form the 41-30 Channel of Recognition

There’s an impulse, a contraction, a hunger to feel something new. This can feel like restlessness, knowing you’re in need of some sort of change but no awareness on what kind of change to focus on.

It’s the fuel to jump onto a new ideal, to start a new dream, a path etc. Essentially the energy of fantasy before it turns into desire.

Yet the 41 without gate 30, located in the Solar Plexus—the emotional awareness center— you might not always know which experiences to channel this pressure into.

But fret not, it’s not a bad thing! You’re not here to act on every impulse. Let yourself be guided by other parts of your design. How can your S&A help you hold this pressure + discern when there is enough energy, the right timing to act?

Shadow Expressions

This is such an essential part of the human experience; the contraction before release, the spark to embark on a new adventure. This itch for change leads to new experiences growth. But this isn’t about necessarily fulfilling the fantasy rather what doors will appear as a result.

We’re not meant to stay the same after all. Without this pull to go out of our comfort zone, we wouldn’t encounter new opportunities and challenges to evolve and heal.

In the shadow expressions, the 41 may repress their fantasies after being disappointed over and over again or on the opposite they act out of every impulse and burn themselves out. Obsessively attaching to their fantasies, to a specific outcome and closing themselves off.

Expressed in

“The Shadow of Fantasy prevents you from feeling complete because the mind doesn’t rest in the now, but swings between dreaming of the future and rehashing the past. However, the greatest problem with this Shadow is that it prevents you from actually fulfilling your dreams. You become addicted to the hope that the dream brings to your mind, rather than actually launching off in the direction of the dream. This is a major reason why people live off the fantasies provided by their culture — the movies or alternative realities created through technology and the internet which have become humanity’s latest great fantasy addiction.”—Richard Rudd

I can see this energy behind many communication approaches like traditional marketing techniques, focusing on pain points and the fantasy of their problems going away as an end result of purchasing said product / service / voting for a specific political campaign / following x religious practices etc.

Getting sold the quick solution, illusion and promise without the support to get there. Leveraging our hopes to manipulate.

Collective Understanding & Projected / Manifested

As part of the Collective Sensing Circuit, this is the energy of reflecting on the past in order to remember and start new experiences from that wisdom. Starting with the 41 which fuels our imagination through fantasy.

As a collective energy, this is not so much about personal growth and individualization, while it could lead to that as a side effect, it’s more focused on the evolution and ideals of the collective.

Where are you envisioning your future, who is involved? Who resonates with that dream and can could with you?

The 41 by itself is projected. So recognition & invitation before sharing with others will ensure it’s better received.

If you have the whole Stream of Feelings, which includes both the 41-30 Channel of Recognition + 35-36 Channel of Transitoriness, then it all becomes manifested. Informing before taking action will help remove resistance and bring in the right people to build with.

“Genetically speaking, the 41st hexagram is the initiating codon in our DNA. When the sun moves into Gate 41 in January of each year, we begin a new solar cycle (a new year) and initiate a physiological process in humanity that keeps us evolving together. All of the possibilities of human experience are stored within this gate, and the entire experiential process is driven by its Root-fueled desire for new experiences and the expectation of being satiated in the end. This hunger can only be satisfied temporarily. The Abstract (Sensing) process is focused on accomplishment, on the completion of a cycle, and is driven by a desire or expectation that ‘doing’ something will overcome boredom. This is the beginning of the human experiential way. Our cultural evolution, the progression from the ignorance and innocence of inexperience to the wisdom of lessons learned from experience, culminate in Channel 36-35.”—Ra Uru Hu & Lynda Bunnell

Lesson from Gate of Contraction

“Each new experience that you enter into through your Strategy and Authority holds a promise that a new feeling awaits your discovery. By letting go of your expectations, you can move freely through each encounter and avoid becoming pessimistic about future ones.”— Ra Uru Hu & Lynda Bunnell

One of the biggest lesson of the 41 is that it’s not about fulfilling those fantasies but about the emotional depth, the lessons, the journey of the experience itself. It’s about releasing expectations attached to your dreams.

Because it’s less about making your dreams come true but more about allowing your dreams to inspire you into new heights and ignite something in others.

This is a collective energy after all 😉 So let yourself be inspired, to dream, what new experiences are you feeling pulled to explore? In fact, how can you make space for new experiences and play this year?

Wisdom of Gate 41

“Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”— Norman Vincent Peale

The wisdom of Gate 41 can be channeled through many expressions such as art, poetry, visualization—very similar to the energy of starting fresh on a new year: new dreams, new goals and adventures.

Learning about the nature of this energy can help us hold it better, along with your strategy and authority you’ll be able to discern when/what experiences are meant for you to explore.

How can you hone onto the energy of anticipation without attaching to your expectations? How can you open up to co-creating and being supported by the universe?

Some things to contemplate:

• Do you have this gate hanging? Is it in a defined or undefined Root?
• What line and planet is it activated?
• How does this pressure build up feel in your body?
• Do you feel the urge to have to get into action everytime? What can help you ground into this spark without acting on it right away? How can your your strategy & authority support you?

To dream without expectations, a journalling/meditation prompt

• Without thinking about the how/when, what is something you’ve been feeling pulled to pursue and explore?
• When you envision accomplishing that adventure/dream/desire, how does this feel in your body?
• What parts of you is this dream calling forward to be expressed?
• What possibilities would this open up?

Cast a spell, call it forward, set your intention for what you want.

Now, release the expectations, the pressure, the timing of when/how it should happen. How can you let the universe co-create with you? How can you stay open to whatever this path takes you through?

Do you trust that what’s meant for you will find you?

Share your Reflections

Do you have this gate or know someone who does? Share your reflections below! And if you’re looking for some New Year Affirmations, check out this post

Exploring Further

If you’re looking for some support in synthesizing all the elements in your chart, you can check out my current offerings here.