Gate 16: The Gate of Skills

This line stands for false enthusiasm. In its exalted expression, the talent finds its outlet in daydreams that, at first, stay in the realm of imagination. In its weakened expression, fantasies are easily passed off as facts, and plans tend to be announced loudly rather than carried out. So the theme here is enthusiasm that runs ahead of reality and cannot hold up against it as long as it goes untested.

This is about having the sharpness to burst bubbles. In its exalted expression, whatever is being claimed gets coolly examined with an independent mind, no matter how skillfully it is presented. In its weakened expression, objectivity turns into cynicism, and that cynicism itself becomes a source of enthusiasm. The line stands for a critical eye that questions illusions and does not blindly go along.

This line describes an enthusiasm that arises from within itself and sustains itself. In its exalted expression, an independent sense of timing and rhythm keeps it alive, so it doesn't collapse in on itself. In its weakened expression, overestimating yourself can turn into frustration, and then you need others to rekindle the enthusiasm and confirm your own skill.

The focus here is on genuine, sincere support and recognition of others. In its exalted expression, the talents of others are recognized and encouraged when someone is passionate about larger goals and serves them. In its weakened expression, other people's talents are neither supported nor appreciated. This shows whether enthusiasm lifts up the talents of others or overlooks them.

This line stands for the refusal to share enthusiasm. In its exalted expression, enthusiasm is refused at first and then awakened after all, which leads to a greater, more lasting enthusiasm. Behind this there can be low self-confidence that depends on encouragement from others. In its weakened expression, shared enthusiasm seems to slow down your own development, and there is a lack of faith that encouragement from others is worth anything.

This is about being susceptible to propaganda. In its exalted expression, misleading enthusiasm may be experienced, then examined and rejected, and through this your judgment of how others express themselves can grow. In its weakened expression, instead of rejection there is a painful withdrawal that clouds your view of social structures over the long term, and the way others express themselves is misjudged.

Every variant of this cross rests on building community through an agreement, one that draws on detailed work, skills and the pursuit of depth. It is also a worldwide theme that has accompanied humanity since 1610. It has shaped life into institutions: schools, health care, cities, companies.

For you, with the Sun in Gate 16, talent matters most of all. The cross holds to gifted solutions that serve the tribe, and the agreement with the community continues to bind it. It understands enthusiasm as identification: without enthusiasm there would be no correction and no experiment, and out of it comes the strength to really build something, meaning to find the pattern and the right way. At its core it seeks depth, in the form of solutions, corrections and trials that benefit the whole community.

There is an irony in this: this very cross often lacks opportunity, because logic lacks the energy. The cross is attached to an experiment yet has a hard time putting it into practice, and that can be emotionally draining.

The angle is personal: encounters enrich your own path, but they don't fundamentally steer you away from it. You grow into this theme when you follow your Strategy and Authority. It is not a prediction.

The Juxtaposition Cross of Experimentation is rare and follows a fixed path of its own. The influence of the tribe falls away, and mental pressure takes its place.

For you, with the Sun in Gate 16, the theme revolves around a fixation on seeing an experiment realized. At the same time, doubt runs through it, together with the question of why it isn’t working, and that can trigger fear. The image for this is a person who carries the same proposal around for fifty years. What everyday life would call compulsive is, here, a fixation that is built into you.

Above all, it can irritate the Collective, which in the end decides what gets accepted. Your bond to the undertaking can hardly be broken.

This angle sits between the personal and the transpersonal and builds a bridge between them. It is like a train on fixed rails, and people who travel with you over a longer stretch can ride along on your track. You grow into the theme when you follow your Strategy and Authority. This is not a prediction of events.

This Left Angle Cross is powerful and very logical. For you, with the Sun in Gate 16, the theme is to win others over to a plan, a trial or a program so that they identify with it, and in this way to draw in the energy that logic lacks on its own.

Where many are competing for the same research funding, this cross, especially with the 5th Line, carries a seductive power to win the award. Because so much of this rests on projection, such ventures can also fail. A present-day example would be someone who gets people to buy a stock. It does not necessarily make them rich; it simply shows how well he wins them over, with the promise the thing itself holds.

The Head pressure from the Design Gates 63 and 64 troubles this cross itself, yet it has an inspiring effect on others. There are people who get swept up and want to sign on right away.

The angle is transpersonal: your theme matures through contact with others, and they can noticeably change your path. You can grow into it by following your Strategy and Authority. It is not a destiny.