the inner path
ten
core wound
We know from genetic biology that the majority of our DNA seems to be unreadable, and therefore appears to serve no obvious purpose. This is known as ‘non-coding’ DNA or ‘junk’ DNA. This huge reservoir of information may well turn out to contain the history of our evolution. It is amazing what you can find out about a person when you rifle through their garbage! And such DNA may also contain the coded memories of the whole evolution of our species, and even the other streams of species that we have evolved from. If this is the case, then it would be true to say that we each contain the karmic hologenetic memories of our ancestors and their dreams and deeds. Such archetypal information lives deep within our unconscious, and it moves among our dreams.
In order for our awareness to penetrate the miasma of all this memory, we must each take the shaman’s journey into the sacred wound – into the memory and the collective pain of our whole species. So much of our human past has been rooted in violence and fear. For millennia we have struggled to overcome the reptilian programming of our ‘old’ brain. And there are those who have won through. Our DNA also contains the echoes of our future consciousness. There have always been people who have braved the Shadow and taken the Path of Love. Some are remembered, but many are forgotten. In our ancestral DNA, we can therefore draw upon the strength of those ancestors who transcended their suffering and who were able to transmute this non-coding DNA. Such people also live inside us as allies, and their hearts are our hearts as we face the hardships that life throws at us. -Richard Rudd
UNconscious mars
We are moving deep into the core of our being in this module. This one is an inner journey to the heart of our suffering, coming into resonance with our core or sacred wound in order to realize our path to individuation. This Gate has its prints all over the pain and challenges we face. While it is a path we walk alone, it also connects us to all of humanity as we are certianly not alone in our suffering. It is an invitation to expand our consciousness through, rather than trying to work around it.
The idea of the wounded healer, core wound or sacred wound most likely originated with Jung, but exists across cultures as a kind of Shamanic path, the idea that one must first face their own vulnerabilities or inner imitations in order to fully embrace their wisdom and own expansion. We also hear about our Chiron placement in relation to this. I encourage you to explore both.
All forms of healing, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual include each as part of the whole, as well as the Sacred Wound. All healing involves our heart and our spirit, it can tether us to past traumas we long thought we had moved beyond. It is always wholistic. And we want to be mindful that we walk the path of wounded healer rather than wounded victim. If you haven’t read it in awhile refer back to how to take care of yourself while doing this work and seek outside support if you need it.
In this module we are visiting the energy of our Unconscious Mars. You can scroll down to see where to locate it on your bodygraph and then find the gate description here and read the key in the Gene Keys book (if you have it).
In addition to the specific thematics we are looking at below, Mars in your Human Design represents energy dynamics, how we deal with life, where we might be most impulsive. Awareness is helpful b/c when you operate correctly, your Mars energy will mature over time. So look at the Gate with all of this in mind.
shadow
Obviously this is a big one. and this Shadow can also be a big obstacle to our potential, as this Gate is somewhat of a bridge to our Prosperity. This is a LAYERED Shadow that takes time and patience to unwind. Know that even in times when you can’t see the progress you are making, you are in fact making progress. Allow yourself to feel the vibration of your Shadow. AND, let this work, ALL Shadow work, be done in the light. We bring our awareness to our Shadows, we bring contemplation, but we are focused on the healer not the victim, we are focused on the spark of light in the dark, we are focused on our heart and on the high frequency. We do not hand out in the sludge.
These shadows reveal the inner work we will repeat over and over until we have fully integrated and accepted it. This comes from fully opening our heart to this challenge. Every time we recognize and become aware of a Shadow and we accept and embrace it, we unlock another gift within our DNA.
This isn’t something to be fixed and then move on. These are the challenges we face over and over in our life. The healing that isn’t linear but a spiral, we circle back around, heal on a deeper level, unlock another gift. The more we continue to open and accept, the deeper we go and the more shadows and gifts we are able to reach.
This is the embodiment of as below, so above; as within, so without. The internal unpacking is represented in our outer reality.
gift
As you work with your Shadow, it is important to hold its Gift (and Highest Vibration) in the same container, to lean in.
This Gift is tied to the manifestation of your life purpose (modules 1-4) because your genius comes from your Core, as a byproduct of your own transformation; inside reflects outside. This is actual living from the CORE of your being, expression and expansion from the CORE of your being.
The HIGHEST VIBRATION is essentially attained enlightenment. It is said that the act of seeking enlightenment is still a form of shadow. I touch briefly on the highest vibration b/c I think it’s a seed we plant toward spiritual realization. It’s not something we try to attain. When we reach for it, we are playing into Shadow.
Richard Rudd refers to this Siddhi as the “perfume of your essence as the light of consciousness”. And while this is an inside job, it is still inextricably linked to our Divine relationships.
Lines
The line for this energy is the number after the decimal point of the gate. So if the number in the eighth box down on the left red column says 44.2, then your Unconscious Mars is in gate 44, line 2. The corresponding line colors your inner narrative. The lines below may offer you some insight into the karmic, genetic and ancestral inheritance we carry in our very DNA, your connection to humanity’s core wounds. While your particular line has more primary influence, we face each of these in life. Contemplate this energy in relation to all of your other defined Gates + Lines, begin to see the patterns, threads and through lines rather than isolated extractions. You would read the line of your Gate here and the line associated with your Gate.
Line 1
Key characteristics: repression, unexpressed fear
Cultivate: deep breaths, an open heart, honesty with yourself, feel your feels rather than repress them, witness the fear in your life
Be mindful: of getting lost in distractions, escapism, internalizing your suffering, shutting down
Line 2
Key characteristics: denial
Cultivate: express healthy aggression, look to the Gift + Highest Vibration of your Gate for clues in dealing with your emotions, see your own denial as a pathway to profound healing, self awareness through contemplation, ease
Be mindful: of focusing outward rather than inward, projecting your suffering, of being a victim
Line 3
Key characteristics: shame
Cultivate: be willing to look at your wounding, feelings of worthiness, be willing to let those closest to you truly see you + love you, humor/be willing to laugh at yourself (not as deflection but thru connection, intimacy, self love + vulnerability)
Be mindful: of self-loathing, deflecting pain, busyness as avoidance
Line 4
Key characteristics: rejection
Cultivate: gentleness, melt your armor, keep your heart open + soft, face your fear of rejection - contemplate with your Gate, look to the Gift and Highest Vibration for clues to transmute this fear
Be mindful: of putting up armor for fear of abandonment, rejecting another before they can reject you (look at even the infinitesimal ways you may do this), meanness, tension in your heart/chest + face
Line 5
Key characteristics: guilt
Cultivate: get out of your mind and into your body, this is not something you can work through in your relationships mentally, feel the shadow of your Gate at your Core, feel the fear in your body - this fear that belongs to humanity + FORGIVE, over and over in your life… forgive, contemplate the Gift + Highest Vibration
Be mindful: holding the guilt of the world on your shoulders, getting wrapped up in power struggles, manipulating through guilt (look at whether you can even see this in yourself), resentment, limiting your own capacity for joy through not forgiving
Line 6
Key characteristics: separation
Cultivate: oneness, release the homogenized ideas placed on you by society… you are here to be different, sensitivity that is unique to you, self care, heart resonance, take your place in the center of this new paradigm we are moving into… into this great transformation of humanity
Be mindful: being cut off from Source, aloofness, the vibration you took on as a child which may be hiding your gifts here, isolation and fostering aloneness - it is you who can bring yourself back
*Regardless of what Line you carry in your definition, you will most likely find wisdom in each of these aspects. Think of them as petals on the same flower. They all vary but they are part of the whole. Each one can offer you perspective + insight into the qualities we want to lean into (and out of).
THE HOUSE
If you want to know the House of your Unconscious Design you can get a membership to Genetic Matrix. This is the software I use. Or you can grab a snapshot here of all of your Houses.
Prompts
Look at your relationships. What might they be here to teach you in relation to these energies?
Where might you be projecting your hurt onto another? Blaming others for the problem(s)? Where do you need to take responsibility?
Meditate on these energies. Sit and breathe. Let it roll around in your mind like a marble.
Get creative. Write a story or poem, collage, sing, choreograph, dance, cook, daydream, walk in nature, sit with the trees, start a convo, paint, create from this energetic space.
In what ways do you need to surrender?
Meditate on your core wounding. Can you physically locate it in your body? What does it feel like? What is its shape? Color? What happens when you bring awareness there? Breath?
Can you see how the Lines of the Core Wound feed on and off of each other?
ADDITIONAL support
Connect to the ‘One Point” or lower Dantian behind the the navel. Richard Rudd describes this place as “a wormhole leading right into the heart of universal consciousness + a whirlpool of silence”. It makes since as this is the life giving point of nourishment from conception, the umbilical nexus. Many spiritual practices speak to this space from different perspectives, as somehow the origin of life force + manifestation.
Practice simply connecting to this energy and the vast wisdom it has to share with you. You can also try this meditation below which actually comes from Feng Shui. You can use this meditation as a practice to cultivate energy in your body, to open channels, to strengthen your intuition, to enhance spiritual development, to calm, to HEAL. It is best practices first thing in the morning or before bed.
The mantras are:
Calming Heart Mantra: Gatay Gatay, Para Gatay, Para Sam Gatay, Bodhi Swaha
Six True Words: Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum.
The Solar Plexus + Sacral - a soft belly to cultivate expansion
Recognize that you have the capacity to heal yourself.
Creative projects as a path through our darkness.
Feelings can get more intense before unwinding as we bring our awareness and attention to them. Support + resource yourself, find resonant allies + practices when and where needed. Be patient and gentle with yourself as you move through, rise up, plunge down and rise again through your own emotional ripples + waves. Flow with them.
Dance + bring more play to your life!! Do what brings you joy.
Invite softness into every corner of your being.
PRACTICE
Visit Deconditioning Support
Read over this and your gates info multiple times, contemplate the information here and there. What does it mean to you? How does the Shadow show up in your life? The gifts? How can you hold space for the highest vibration?
Get clear on your Shadows here through the tools in Cultivate Awareness in the Shadow module.
Explore other potential Shadows in the center where this gate stems from in Shadow in Your Definition.
Bring them through Decondition + Rewire, EFT and/or through addiction meditation here.
What other energetics and support are specific to your gate? What chakra would this energy be associated with? What energetic body? Do you need support with Boundaries? Seek the other ways you can align and nourish.
Know that this is ongoing exploration that will serve you again and again. You’re not meant to figure it all out right now. Sit with it, ponder, marinate, ask questions, notice how it shows up in your life, put it down, come back to it, dig deeper, peel back another layer. These elements will continue to unfold if you allow them. Keep moving toward the gift and high vibrations of the energy.
Take good care of yourself. Take a break, take a nap, take a holiday, take a day in nature.
ADDITIONAL READING
Any stories around heroes, goddesses, cultures, myths, archetypes, etc.. that connect you to this journey of the wounded healer.
