First Lines bring the Gate the most solid qualities possible. People with these Lines look for firm foundations in everything, something they can lean on in their actions. You need to learn to recognize and feel a sense of security. You need something that lets you be confident and decisive. Without it, you will feel weak and exposed. First Lines need trust to lie at the foundation of any undertaking. Otherwise, the feeling of weakness can suppress certain qualities or traits of character.

So it is no surprise that First Lines embody those qualities of the Gate that are not visible at first glance. They are hidden and unsure whether they should step out into the daylight. At the same time, they can reveal a certain innate discipline and fully define one aspect of your life. They can make certain traits of your character look firm and decisive. First Lines give you a capacity for deep self-examination. There is a certain element of selfishness in this. “And it is all about me.” But it is also a need for independent work and the ability to take responsibility for its results.

First Lines can also trigger purely physical reactions. This is especially true in situations that call for interaction with people or projects. It can show up as awkwardness, nervousness, a lack of restraint. You may start to sweat or feel an inner trembling. So always pay attention to the physical reactions that come up when you interact with people in both professional and personal settings. Above all, First Lines carry within them the need to get to the bottom of a situation or to examine each individual trait.

All Second lines bring qualities of natural ease and carefreeness to a gate. There is a great deal of self-awareness in them and very little self-reflection. Someone with these lines will constantly be looking for reflections and secondary cues. Otherwise you simply can’t gauge how much your cooperation and your contribution to the shared cause have been valued and noticed. Whatever a Second line expresses, it cannot do so without feedback. It needs a reaction from another person. That’s why the central theme of this line is “you and me.” It is a line of one-on-one connection. It is constantly scanning the space of interactions in search of feedback. From what it finds, it shapes your sense of self-perception. It brings softness to any interaction or partnership. It can also put you in the position of the one being led and lead you into submissiveness.

Paradoxically, the Second line can make a given trait more independent, withdrawn, and inaccessible. It’s as if it doesn’t want to be interrupted. It doesn’t want anyone to disturb its concentration. If, heaven forbid, you get interrupted or distracted, the Second line’s reaction can be like a grenade going off. Shyness in the Second line lives side by side with unbridled passion. But if you’ve been able to acknowledge and harness that passion, the Second line will give you the energy of innovation and the joy of natural ease.

The Third Line endows the gate with certain traits of innovation. It emphasizes your talents. Yet there is something subtly evasive in its aspect. Its influence is hesitant. Its impartiality looks more like indifference. The Third Line is movement, change, and endless unpredictability. There is a strong element of versatility in it, sometimes shading into opportunism. Unfortunately, this leaves every assertion uncertain and every fact shaky.

Wherever you meet a person dominated by the Third Line, remember: they have a unique knack for expanding horizons and blazing new trails. This gift holds true under any circumstances. Every Third Line has studied hard and holds a diploma from the “Higher College of Weathering the Blows of Fate.” With a Third Line, you’ll know everything there is to know about how to make mistakes and how to dig yourself out of them. Any innovation comes with difficulties. And those difficulties are far easier to weather when you’re armed with a frontline that never loses its composure. Change doesn’t scare you, and you’re game for any experiment. Difficulties become lessons, and successes fuel growth. That’s why every Third Line carries a certain “let’s try it and see what comes of it” quality. It brings zest to life, it gives us risk, emotional excitement, and… the chaos of having no system.

Fourth lines give the gates an element of heartfelt selflessness. They are responsible for the “One for all, and all for one” mode of behavior. Their honorable mission is to carry compassion into the world. They know everything about where “I” ends and “We” begins. And yet there is a certain vulnerability in the fourth line. It is the fear of running into rejection. The fear of being unappreciated and unrecognized.

Fourth lines favor friendly ties, acquaintances, and cooperation. They attract opportunities. Their approach, however, clearly lacks flexibility. They are too unyielding. They are certain that they alone know the right way, and that the path they point to is the only one. The fourth line dearly loves to explain the way. The path it steers you toward is the path of the common good. The difficulty is that the fourth line may have a peculiar notion of what the common good is and how it ought to be achieved. It isn’t inclined to be flexible, and that is fraught with problems. Such behavior provokes resistance in people and a desire to argue. And you don’t like being told no. You’re afraid of it. The moment the fourth line realizes it isn’t valued enough, the moment it feels a challenge thrown its way, it immediately strives to curl up into a point and stay out of sight. In a rejected state, it gives off an icy detachment, and the arms that were just opened for an embrace fold across the chest in resentment. This can look like cruelty and meanness. In reality, it is nothing more than an act of self-defense.

The Fifth Line defines the influence of the teacher and the mentor. This is the line of guides and tour guides. The success of one’s leadership and the quality of one’s management depend on it. It adds an element of instructiveness, inspiration, and a somewhat combative flavor to any Gate. It makes a person in whom Fifth Lines predominate alluring and captivating, lending them persuasiveness and a flair for performance. In truth, all of this is a little off the mark. The delivery can certainly be impressive. But behind that convincing exterior, doubt often hides. Uncertainty about what is going on all around. I say this because I know all too well how Fifth Lines can drift for years inside a soap bubble, cut off from the world by the transparent film of a membrane.

These lines are tied to building reputations and to the expectation of a great future. Success celebrates its victory. It lets out battle cries, proudly squares its shoulders, and pounds its fists against its chest. Failure plunges you into despair, strikes a painful blow to your pride, and wrings out tears of self-pity. In reality, the Fifth Line is not aimed inward at you; it prefers to put feelings on display. It guards your true vulnerability and the complexity of your nature; it hides your real difficulties and problems. And if you have many of them, brace yourself for a struggle between honestly accepting this world and feeling lost within it.

The sixth line adds an element of compassion and humanity to a gate. It is the highest level of fine-tuning. The first line relies on a solid foundation in its work. The sixth sits atop a mountain, making use of its position as the ideal observer. Its field of vision is commanding. It watches what unfolds, painting itself a broad panorama of events. That is why the core aspects of sixth lines lean toward authoritarian working methods.

If sixth lines are dominant in you, you create an atmosphere of independent authority, objectivity, and all-seeing wisdom around yourself. The difficulty is that you find it hard to stay interested in anything for long. Your position is lofty, your head hidden in the clouds. You look down on the world. You know everything, understand everything, foresee everything — and you are bored.

Sixth lines are inclined to foresee the future. They notice every omen and want those around them to believe their predictions. You can put on rose-colored glasses and come across to people as a dreamer detached from reality. But at the same time, the sixth line gives you the strength to turn your dreams into reality. This quality lets you approach any situation from the position of an expert and take that situation under control. Unlike the third line, the sixth is not merely capable of taking on responsibility. It is capable of not shirking that responsibility.