Gate 1 — The Creative — Vessel of the Creative Force

Full breakdown

The Creative as the ultimate force. The energetic potential for a boundless expression of inspiration.

The first and second hexagrams are, at their core, one and the same thing — the spirit of the first sits closest to the direction set by the second, because here there is no projection and no reflection, only a spontaneously expressed direction of self-expression, the "I". These are what's called the role gates — six in total, two in the Sacral center and four in the Self, three of them forming part of the Sphinx, and the tenth belonging to the Chalice.

Whenever you find a role gate in someone's design, you immediately understand that living out the essence of that role will be a dominant theme for that person. The role built into the first hexagram is to express uniqueness — put more plainly, simply to express mutation. Talking about expressing uniqueness and talking about mutation is talking about the same thing. This quality always marks the Individual.

Both the first and second hexagrams carry the same word above their lines — primary, fundamental. At root, these are the primary forces. Yin and Yang split on the wheel: six yin lines in Receptivity, six yang lines in the Creative. Receptivity is the foundation; the Creative is the primary force. The energetic potential for a boundless expression of inspiration — potential is the key word here, because a great deal will be asked of it. Expressing inspiration without limits is a concept that matters enormously to grasp. Mutation knows no boundaries. It follows no order and has no structure. It simply flares up — it just happens. Everything about the first and second hexagrams rests on the tantric movement of the G-center, and here the individual process pulses — this mutative pulse, on and off.

The single most important thing for anyone carrying Gate 1 to know is that they don't have to be the best. Being the best is a collective quality. The collective is preoccupied with being the best precisely because there is nothing new there — and when there's nothing new, everyone competes to see who can be best. But where there is something new, "best" doesn't exist. The Individual always carries something new, and in that capacity it cannot lead, cannot project, cannot witness, cannot reflect. It can only live out its own nature — nothing more. That's why, carrying this energy, the potential for expressing inspiration is unlimited — mutation overrides, or can override, every limitation.