Continuity from the Past vs. Fresh Growth: Integrating Polarities #5
October 14-19: Sun in Human Design Gate 32 opposite Earth in Gate 42
Welcome to Integrating Polarities, a series that focuses on practicing the art of wholeness - weaving opposites, moving beyond the binary, and bridging the divide.
Every 5–6 days, as the Sun enters a new gate in the Human Design Mandala, I’ll share a timely transmission you can read like an integrative horoscope for the days ahead.
To learn more about the background of this project, read the first transmission.
This Week’s Transits: The 🌞 is in the Gate of Continuity, The 🌍 is in the Gate of Growth
Tuesday, October 14 - Sunday, Oct 19
We continue along the Libra-Aries polarity with the last full gates of the scales and the ram. Next week the sun enters into Scorpio and the earth into Taurus, bringing a whole new set of polarities to consider.
I like to think of the Continuity/Growth axis as a tree, whose roots are continuously growing downward as the branches reach upward. In late Libra season, leaves are falling and more essential energy is being directed toward the roots, the part of the tree that endures through time. Across the sky, we’re reminded of late Aries season, the time of year when the most energy is being directed toward fresh, new buds.
Over the next few days, we are encouraged to consider where our energy is being directed- toward the continuity of what is already established, or toward fresh growth? Both are necessary, and in this season it can be helpful remember that the slow continuity of one cycle will eventually lead to the rapid sprouting of something brand new.
🌞 Sun in Gate 32: “Continuity”
I’Ching: “Duration” (Thunder over Wind)
Gene Keys: Failure → Preservation → Veneration
Zodiac: Libra
🌍 Earth in Gate 42: “Growth”
I’Ching: “Increase” (Wind over Thunder)
Gene Keys: Expectation → Detachment → Celebration
Zodiac: Aries
(Want to know which of these gates you have defined in your bodygraph? Download your Human Design Chart here to follow along with this series in a personal way.
If you have a gate defined, you will probably be more familiar with it’s energy, and it can be interesting to look at it’s polar opposite gate too!)
Integrating Gates 32 and 42: The Rhythm of Endurance and Growth
When the Sun moves through Gate 32, Continuity, and the Earth anchors in Gate 42, Growth, we are reminded of the polarity between what is meant to endure through time and what is ready to complete and begin anew.
These two hexagrams (Thunder over Wind and Wind over Thunder) mirror one another in the I’Ching, forming a perfect inversion. Together they describe a full cycle of movement and stillness, a pulse of continuity and increase that sustains the rhythm of evolution itself.
Gate 32, Duration (Thunder over Wind), speaks to the capacity to sense what will last. A crack of thunder stirs the air while the wind carries its vibration across the curve of the earth, evoking an image of persistence amidst change. In this gate, the intuition of the body feels into patterns that have integrity, stability, and lineage, things that will last. It asks us to preserve and continue on what feels alive, to recognize the threads that can withstand the storms.
The Gene Key journey of 32 moves from Failure to Preservation to Veneration, illuminating how preserving something like a tradition refines it with deep reverence. At the shadow level is the fear of failure, which can manifest as either inaction or a frantic push to succeed out of fear of missing opportunities. As a splenic gate, it carries a deep-seated anxiety about things not working out or not lasting. The key to evolution here is preserving and continuing on in the face of that fear. Slow and steady wins the race. The splenic intuition helps us know that when we trust what is worth maintaining, we begin to honor life itself as sacred continuity.
On the other side of the sky, the earth in Gate 42, Increase (Wind over Thunder), turns that pattern inside out. Now the wind moves above the thunder, distributing its power into fresh, new directions. Some things are not meant to be continued on forever. As an Aries gate, 42 knows that growth happens through movement, action, and letting something come to a point of completion.
The Gene Key evolution of 42 moves from Expectation to Detachment to Celebration. The gift of detachment reveals a path of releasing ourselves from what has come before for the sake of finding out something completely brand new. Here, life expands through our willingness to let each cycle fulfill itself completely without an expectation that the new cycle will be anything like the old one.
Together, these gates create a loop of continuity and expansion, like a breathing pattern that continues onward but refreshes itself with new oxygen in each inhale. Libra’s harmony in Gate 32 steadies what deserves to last through spacetime, and Aries’ vitality in Gate 42 brings in anything new that is ready to bloom. The wisdom of their integration is cyclical, not linear. What endures does so through constant adaptation, and what grows naturally feeds back into the enduring whole.
Over the coming days as we continue our descent into deep autumn, consider which things, people, and thought patterns in your life want to continue onward through the next cycle, and which elements need to be tied up with a nice bow and released. Not everything lasts forever. The culling process of this moment can be challenging and tinged with grief, so it can be helpful to remember that in doing so we’re creating space for something fresh, new, and beautiful to grow. And we’re also devoting more of our attention to the long game of the things that want to stay.
THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT (Oct 14-19):
Trust the quiet instinct of Gate 32. This is the sense that feels what will last and what will fade. Let your awareness track what has real continuity beneath the surface excitement of change. Don’t rush to preserve what’s dying or force what’s not ready to grow, just notice what endures, and commit yourself to that. The wisdom of this gate lives in patience and discernment, a subtle recalibration like many gates of Libra season. This week, let your body tell you what has staying power. Keep what feels alive, and release what doesn’t.
—AND ALSO—
Honor the momentum of Gate 42. This is the gate of growth and completion, where cycles come to fullness. Trust what’s ready to ripen, what fresh start wants to emerge, and give them your full attention. Don’t scatter energy chasing every sprout, but feed the ones that are starting to thrive. When something reaches its natural end, bless it and let it go. Growth requires both tending and closure. Let the cycle complete cleanly so new life can begin again.
Is Gate 32 or 42 defined in your chart? Let me know how it shows up for you in the comments:
The next gate the Sun will enter on Monday, Oct. 20 is Gate 50: The Gate of Values, aka the Cauldron. It is across the wheel from the Earth in Gate 3: The Gate of Ordering. This polarity highlights the sun’s transit from Libra to Scorpio, and the earth’s movement from Aries to Taurus. 50 vs. 3 builds on the theme of what values endure through time vs. what new orders can arises out of chaos.
Until then, I wish you the patience to put energy into the slow continuity of what matters, knowing it will create a strong foundation for new growth when the time is right.
Cyclically yours,
Alison
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Have a beautiful week ahead <3