The Wounds We Carry
Ahh life on earth, full of wounds and trauma. From the moment we enter this planet we are ‘separated’ from our mother in the most traumatic way possible–birth! Not that I’ve given birth or witnessed a live birth, but I’ve heard it is quite traumatic. It is this core wound you carry from 0-9 months that shapes the lens in which you cope with trauma. At least according to the Human Design & Gene Keys system, which for this blog, will serve as the ‘Gospel’ so to speak at how to view Sacred/Core Wounds and Completing Your Childhood.
I offer the word ‘Completing’ vs. ‘Healing’ to remind you that nothing in the past truly needs to be healed–it is over and the time for healing from an open wound has passed. And yet, something is still not complete, which is what keeps causing these patterns of pain and personal abuse we inflict upon ourselves. It is also a reminder that the pain you are feeling is not a personal pain, but a collective pain you carry on behalf of humanity. It turns out nothing really is personal, only the lens in which we view things, and the stories we tell ourselves about them.
My Purpose in relationships is liberation! And nothing lights my soul up more than liberating you from the Sacred Wounds that hold humanity back from their full expression. You, like everyone else, will experience OWL of these core wounds throughout your life, but the one written in the planets for you (Mars, to be exact) will be a primary theme you carry with you throughout your life. Great news, it is also your GREATEST GIFT!
Completing your childhood through the Gene Keys Venus Love Sequence can feel quite a bit like healing. For me, it felt like coming home to a place that had OWL the answers I was seeking. My core wound is line 5–Guilt. The guilt of my mother being cut open to give birth to me. The guilt I referred to as “Only Child Guilt,” the guilt I ultimately felt on my mother’s death bed–the umbilical hernia my birth caused was one of the many complications my mom suffered later in life…I know this wound of guilt so well, OWL let you in on a little secret for the next time you feel guilt—guilt is just you making it about you! Did you not read the above where I talked about everyone sharing these collective wounds?! Forgiveness of yourself and others is so, so easy to do once you realize that holding onto guilt is just making it about you!
As you read through the 6 Sacred Wounds of Humanity taken from excerpts in Richard Rudd’s book, “Love: A Guide to Your Venus Sequence,” notice your breath and body as it takes in this information. If you happen to OWLready have your Human Design chart available, look at the Design Side (Red) and count down to the 8th symbol (Mars) and notice the Gene Key number and Line (.1 for example). This is where your Core Wound ‘lives.’ If you have your Gene Keys Chart, it will be in your Sphere of Vocation. Your shadow (bottom word) will be the expression of your Sacred Wound Line–so will your gift (middle word) and siddhi (top word).
The 6 Sacred Wounds Of Humanity
Line 1 - Wound of Repression (Theme Song)
HONESTY is naturally the cure for Repression. Repression, at the collective level, refers to hidden, unexpressed fear, i.e. the fear of death. The human tendency in reaction to suffering is shallow breathing, closing off the heart and body from whatever it is humans wish to repress in the moment. If you have a 1st line wound, you may tend to internalize your suffering. If you have a 1st line wound, you will find it challenging to express your innermost feelings to others. You can feel shut off and in your own world, feeling as if something is wrong with you.
The way to unlock this Shadow is through deep self-honesty. Allowing yourself to feel the vibration in your body of this shadow–-not to fall victim to it or be disturbed by it–in fact, the only disturbance to you at all comes from repressing it. All you are required to do with it, is to bear witness to it. Your style is to internalize things, so you need not share with anyone if you do not wish. So long as you do not lie to yourself, overtime you will transform this wound into your greatest gift–Honesty. In this case of a 1st Line Wound, the truth truly does set you free, and the truth is everything is perfect and yet there is much work to do.
Line 2 - Denial (Theme Song)
EASE is naturally the cure for denial. Unlike the 1st line of repression, the second line does not know how to keep things inside. Sooner or later they burst out. Denial is always looking outwards. It cannot afford to look inwards, so it projects its suffering out into the world and usually onto others. If you have a Core Wound of Denial, your life will be littered with reasons to look inwards to yourself, to take the leap and reach into the source of your suffering–you. In the words of Don Miguel, If you are suffering, be sure to enjoy it. For it is you that has caused it.
Look at the Gene Key of your core wound and see how in denial you may be about its influence over your behavior. The 2nd line wound has a unique opportunity for profound healing (and completing!). All you have to do is see your own denial. Once you have seen it, you will feel an instant sense of liberation–your greatest gift is ease. Your relationships transform seemingly overnight as you see through your denial. The anger that occasionally wells up can be expressed in so many other creative ways. In the case of a 2nd Line Wound, livin’ is easy when you’re no longer denying that to be true.
My life’s work is the 17th Gene Key, here to heal the wound of denial. The song I’ve chosen using my 61st gift of Imagination is healing for OWL of the lines. I’ve included it below. I invite you to let the lyrics wash over your body and let your heart speak to you.
Line 3 - Shame (Theme Song)
HUMOR is naturally the cure for Shame. What occurs after the release of repression and denial can only be described as a flooding of Shame. We might begin to think: how could we be so blind? Shame is born out of self-loathing. We do not like to look inwardly and see how deeply wounded we are, so we try to run and escape our shame. How funny when you think about it, attempting to run away from the very thing that makes you human! So many great comedians are born into this core wound of shame. But this antidote of humor isn’t the self-deprecating kind of laughter. Yours is the humor that comes from a deep intimacy with your own being.
If you have a 3rd line wound, you will use life as an excuse to deflect the pain you feel. Shame at a deep level makes you believe you are unworthy. The 3rd line will not shout at you like the 2nd line, but rather run away, making it difficult for you to ever truly be vulnerable. You must slow down long enough to get in touch with your feelings, AND you must also embrace that you need not understand those feelings. In the case of a 3rd Line Wound, it’s humorous to admit your many faults and gifts with compassionate understanding and a deep belly laugh from the soul that says, ‘ain’t that the truth’ and also ‘isn’t the truth of whoo we OWL are hoo-sterical!
Line 4 - Rejection (Theme Song)
GENTLENESS is naturally the cure for Rejection. The 4th line carries the weight of rejection and abandonment around like armor. Because we fear rejection, most of you have experienced some kind of heartbreak. Rejection is a universal fear, and when you carry it with you as a core wound, you begin to reject another before they reject you. This can be as subtle as tone or body language, often manifesting as meanness, and you probably are not even aware of it. All rejection stems from a lack of self love.
If you have a 4th line wound, you fear that you can be hurt by another, whereas in reality it is you who are responsible for keeping your heart open. Consider your Core Wound Shadow as it relates to your fear of abandonment. It is intimately linked to your willingness to face your fear of being rejected by another. Notice your breathing and any tightness you hold around your chest. As your heart softens, an unimaginable joy wells up in our chest. This softening is your specialty. Your greatest gift is gentleness. You are here to learn how to be gentle with yourself when you feel hurt, and therefore how to be gentle with others when they feel hurt or threatened. The more adept you become at melting this armor, the easier you will find your relationships. In the case of the 4th line, gently loving yourself is your key to unlocking your greatest gift. I have a 4th line SQ, so I know how tough rejection is, which is why I’ve included this bonus song for you here.
Line 5 - Guilt (Theme Song)
FORGIVENESS is naturally the cure for guilt. Just ask Jesus! How 5th line of Jesus (and myself) and OWL of you carrying this 5th line wound of Guilt. Deemed one of the most complicated core wounds in terms of its Shadow patterns, the great irony of this wound is how guilty the 5th lines feel when things are not so simple and practical as they seem. I imagine Jesus thought to himself, how easy it is to forgive! And yet so complex for humanity. Unlike the 3rd line Shame which tries to escape, guilt filters your wound through the lens of power.
If you have a 5th line, your Shadow of Guilt will not allow people to have a peaceful relationship for long. Your guilt will pressure you to take on the responsibility for how others want you to be (or not to be), leading you to compromise your truth (or not), either way, the guilt and feeling bad about yourself will persist. Such patterns in relationships breed deep resentments that tend to fester and also lead to power struggles. The 5th line guilt learns to manipulate others through guilt often without realizing it. Back to the Jesus analogy, it is clear to see how simple forgiveness is, and how the shadow of guilt pulls people like the Christens right back into a power struggle.
In the case of the 5th line, it is unlikely you will ever work out your relationships at a mental level. The complexity of the 5th line pattern will always confuse you. However, there is a simple way out for you–forgiveness at the cellular level. Over and over in your life you will be presented with the opportunity to forgive others for deeds that you may consider unforgivable. You must learn to see that all humans are driven by these unconscious core wound patterns. This does not validate certain Shadow behavior, but it does allow us room to forgive. As you learn to forgive others, you are really forgiving aspects of your greater self.
To love is to know. When Jesus said, ‘love thy neighbor as thyself,’ He was referring to ‘know thy neighbor as thyself.’ Our neighbor is not separate from us, our neighbor is us. And then we know Love. In the case of the 5th line, holding onto resentments only limits your own capacity for love and joy; this is the most practical teaching you will ever come across in your life!
6th Line - Separation (Theme Song)
CARE is naturally the cure for Separation. The 6th line wound epitomizes the dilemma of our current human awareness. Our current awareness is mostly localized in the brain and identifies itself with the body and its related functions, separating us from the unbroken consciousness that is one with everything. The 6th line wound of separation is the most recent aspect of the Sacred Wound to develop, just as the 1st line of regression was the earliest expression.
In the case of the 6th lines, you stand aloof from all the other lines, as though cut off from your true source. In order to heal, you have to become aware of your aloof sense of separation, and this is quite the process. The 6th line is hyper-sensitive as a child, and they are therefore easily misunderstood. If you have a 6th line wound then your journey of healing will involve the reawakening of these early gifts. The reawakening of the 6th line takes time. There is no fast-track method. You need to see that you are not a victim of the system or of anyone else’s mistakes. You alone can bring yourself back. You alone must learn to include yourself once again in the world. In the case of the 6th line, you are on a long and fulfilling journey of self-care–your heart must be rekindled so that you can once again care about the world and the people around you–and above all you will see that you have so much to give. The song my 61st Gene Key imagined for you is Express Yourself by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band—I can’t think of a better act of self care that expressing whooo you are!
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