Line 1, The Foundation Line

Each hexagram is comprised of 6 lines (from which it derives its name since hex means 6). The lines may be solid or broken:

        Solid:     Broken:

With 6 positions available from top to bottom and since each position can contain either a solid or a broken line there are a total of 64 possible combinations – the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching.

A hexagram is constructed from the bottom up so the 1st line refers to the bottom line and the top line refers to the 6th line. This is important to remember. Line 1 is at the bottom and Line 6 is at the top. In a sense we can say that there are 6 different perspectives available of a hexagram.

In Human Design an emphasis is placed on genetic continuity, on the idea that the world is not simply a state of chaos but that it has some order – that’s why the keynote for a circuit can be applied to all of the channels and gates in the circuit. The same holds true here. There are keynotes to Line 1 and the keynotes can be applied to every Line 1 in all 64 hexagrams, whether the line is solid or broken.

The 1st line, in every hexagram carries the keynote of foundation. Regardless of which hexagram you are looking at the bottom line (1st line) has the quality of a foundation. No matter how plain or fancy the house, they all need a foundation. If you look at a set of blueprints for a house, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what the house is like. In a similar fashion, when you understand the 1st line, you understand the basis of any hexagram. When you see a hexagram with the first line you can know that it is focused on foundations – it needs to study the matter. For example, Gate 48 (by the way, gate = hexagram) is the gate of Depth, so if you see 48.1 in a chart you know it is about studying depth.

Self Study Exercise: Look at all the gates in your design that have the first line activated and then look in The Complete Rave I Ching at the keynotes of those first lines. What does this tell you about how the first line works? Share your thoughts in the Forum. (Don't feel you need to know this in depth since we will go over this in a later module on gates. It is just an interesting exercise).