Gate 2 — Receptivity — The Direction-Giver

Full breakdown

Receptivity as the primal ground that predetermines every response. The source of action.

We're approaching the Sphinx — the nature and essence of the G-center, the concept of the Self. Keep in mind that the magnetic monopole sits in the G-center. It has two main functions: holding us together in the illusion of our separateness — we call this love — and connecting us to our geometry, moving us along our trajectory through space. That second function is the Sphinx, the essence of life's direction.

Every gate in the Sphinx configuration belongs to the G-center: gate 2 itself, plus the three role gates that face the Throat. It's important to know that among all the Sphinx gates, only one gives direction — one alone. Gate 2. The essence of humanity's direction is evolution based on mutation. It doesn't matter how logic establishes the truth, validity, and weight of a pattern — any pattern can be broken by mutation, because mutation is the way of life itself. The heart of the matter is that gate 2 converts mutation into direction.

The other three gates represent the driver's perspective. There's one driver, and he sits in gate 2 — but the perspectives differ. So we have a driver who, while the car keeps driving, stares intently out the front windshield at the road ahead — literally looking into the future. That's the logical driver of gate 7, and his perspective is built by that gate. Another driver always checks the rearview mirror as he drives. He always needs to see what's behind him and where he came from. That's the abstract perspective — gate 13 looks backward through the rearview mirror. There's yet another perspective that belongs to a driver who, while the car is moving down the road, looks at his own hands or at the dashboard. This driver is, relatively speaking, of the present moment, and this perspective is built by gate 1. Remember: all of this is the same car, driving the whole time down the same road in the same direction. That's essential to understand. Direction doesn't change depending on perspective. Perspective is simply present within the movement. So when you're looking at direction in someone's chart, don't confuse direction with the Sphinx's role gates. They represent perspective. Direction is always set by gate 2 — the driver.

There's a very important comment above the lines here. Receptivity is the most yin of all the hexagrams. Receptivity as the primal ground that predetermines every response. The source of action. Everything we're going to do as a whole, and everywhere we're heading in this life as a totality, is all grounded in Receptivity — all of it is rooted in this gate. This is the primal ground. All direction comes from here. All evolutionary action stems from here. Keep in mind that the driver always needs access to other things — we're not talking about how this shows up in any particular design, we're talking about the nature of this gate in general. The driver can run seriously short of fuel if he doesn't have gate 14. The nature of this gate is such that direction holds the beginning of everything within it. This is its core. This is the driver.