Cross of Oppression

Full breakdown

Gates: 11 Ideas, 12 Caution, 22 Openness, 47 Realizing. Gate numbers: 47.4/12.1, 22.4/11.1.

Here Gates 45 and 26 — natural dominion and the power of ego — drop away, replaced by 12 and 11: our capacity to voice ideas. This is, in a way, a political Cross, ultimately built on ideas — and ideas can genuinely oppress people. That's simply in their nature, even when they're brilliant and occasionally produce something real.

A person with this Cross draws on the past and their understanding of it to voice a new idea about what could be done. The name isn't accidental — this Cross really can be oppressive on a day-to-day level, because these people can be quite domineering, walking through your life with their concepts, and because they're so fixed, that isn't easy to change.

Still, it isn't common, and it isn't the whole story — many carry this configuration gently.