Gate 53 · Beginnings

What it is like

You start easily and feel the pressure for something new to finally get going, and that is your gift. There are often more things started than can be finished, and others tend to wrap up the ending.

When someone close has it

This person brings the energy of starting and the wish for something to finally begin. Agree together who will see it through, so the drive doesn't stall halfway.

A question for today

What am I starting now, and who will help me finish it?

The six lines of gate 53

1. Line 1 · Water's Edge

   This line begins at the shore, carefully, with a first step onto new ground. Before starting something you want to know how it works, and you look for knowledge that gives you support. First attempts can be unsteady, and people around are quick to comment on them. When solid ground is missing, it is easy to take those voices as a verdict and put the beginning off.

2. Line 2 · Feast on Stone

   Here starting comes naturally and brings joy. You stand on something stable and know at once what to do with the first day of a new project, and you can enjoy what is already there. You do best when nobody is watching your starts. Sometimes others see easy enthusiasm in you and call you to new beginnings before the previous one has had time to settle.

3. Line 3 · Dry Plateau

   This line learns beginning through what falls apart. You start, go too far, leave a thing halfway, and only from such attempts do you know which beginning has strength in it. Tradition describes it as going out onto a dry plateau with no simple way back. When starts bear no fruit, it is easy to decide nothing comes of it, though the same courage to set out is still yours.

4. Line 4 · Flat Branch

   Here beginnings are born through the people you know. You most like to start new things with friends or for them, and they give you a place to rest, like a flat branch for a bird with nowhere to perch. In a good circle one idea of yours can set several of theirs in motion. Without that support it is easy to hang halfway, on a branch that does not hold.

5. Line 5 · Summit After Years

   This line makes others see in you someone who can begin what nobody dares to. They expect a practical first move from you that gets things going. Tradition says such a start can stay fruitless for a long time, and yet in the end nothing stops it. When expectations grow, it is easy to promise more than one beginning can carry and to pay for other people's impatience.

6. Line 6 · Ceremonial Feathers

   Here you look at beginnings from high above, like a bird over the clouds. You no longer need to start everything, because people learn from your life what a good start looks like. What you leave behind serves others like feathers made into an ornament for an important occasion. When the distance lengthens, it is easy to look down on other people's enthusiasm and forget the taste of the first step.

The centre of this gate

• Root

Channels through gate 53

• 42–53 · Maturation