Exploring the Enneagram: A Path to Self-Discovery

What is the Enneagram?


The Enneagram is a system that attempts to define and describe nine basic personality types, or aspects of human nature, and their complex interrelationships.  It focuses on finding patterns among the many behaviors and habits of people and their interpersonal interactions.  The Enneagram can be a powerful tool for self-actualization, understanding, and personal growth--a sort of “self-spirituality” to help us shed light on the questions of Who We Are and Why We Are Here.  

We all have certain habits and traits that work together as a “filter” through which we understand ourselves and the world around us.  Our self-expression, our defenses, our fears, our desires, how we learn, how we deal with our past and think about our future--all of these are colored greatly by our personality type.  

About the Enneagram:

The Enneagram can be described as “psycho-spiritual”, meaning it has relevance and appeal to people approaching it from either a scientific or a metaphysical perspective.  Some critics claim that the Enneagram is less specific/rigid than other personality awareness systems such as the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and therefore invalid.  However, the Enneagram does not attempt to put you into a box--rather, it is a tool that helps you to become aware of the box (or boxes!) that you’re already in, and thus, discover the way out.  

The Enneagram (say “ANY-a-gram”) of personality type is a synthesis of various spiritual traditions, including Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Buddhism, Sufi Islamic, and Jewish Kabbalah, over thousands of years.  

Oscar Ichazo was the first to synthesize the symbol with elements of the teachings about the types. He was the first to identify the core qualities of each of the nine types, and his work was expanded on by the psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo who also introduced the panel method for gathering information about the types. Naranjo’'s work, in turn, has been expanded on by Don Riso and Russ Hudson, who added many new elements to the early Enneagram system:  most notably, the lengthy systematic descriptions of the nine types, as well as the nine internal levels of development--defining the "inner logic" of each type.

The Enneagram symbol--a circle and triangle overlapping a “hexad”--was brought to the West by George Gurdjieff around 1900.  It speaks of unity and oneness, the “law of three” or trinity (an aspect of almost all the world’s major religions), and the “law of seven”, which has to do with dynamic growth and change, order and predictability (the Seven Chakras, the Western musical octave, the color spectrum, etc).

Introducing the Nine Basic Enneagram Types

The following is an extremely oversimplified description of the nine Types, but it’s a good starting point in understanding the Types’ basic tendencies.  However, don’t be alarmed if you seem to find yourself in several different Types at once.  This is normal, typical, and healthy!

Type One:  The principled, idealistic type.  These people are ethical, conscientious, always striving to improve things.  They have a strong internal sense of right and wrong, are organized, discerning, and wise.  They can also fear making mistakes, be critical and perfectionistic, impatient, and have issues with repressed anger.

Type Two:  Twos are caring, warm-hearted, and sincere.  They are self-sacrificing and often do things for others in order to be needed.  They are often sentimental and people-pleasing, and can have problems acknowledging their own needs.

Type Three:  The charming, success-oriented type.  These people are adaptable, self-assured, and competitive, and are often status-conscious and driven by a need for personal advancement.  Often concerned with image, and may have problems with workaholism and competition.

Type Four:  The romantic, introspective type.  Fours are self-aware, sensitive, reserved, and creative.  They often withhold themselves from others due to feeling vulnerable and defective, and can often feel exempt from ordinary ways of living.  They typically have issues with self-indulgence and self-pity.

Type Five:  Intense and cerebral, these people are able to concentrate on developing complex ideas and skills.  They are independent and insightful, but can become preoccupied with their thoughts and inner world.  Fives can become detached and have problems with isolation, eccentricity, and nihilism.

Type Six:  The committed, security-oriented type, sixes are the people who run on stress while complaining about it.  They are reliable and hardworking, yet extremely cautious, anxious and indecisive.  Sixes are typically bundles of contradictions, but they typically have problems with self-doubt and suspicion.

Type Seven:  The spontaneous, optimistic type.  Sevens are playful, productive, and versatile.  They are often scattered and can lack discipline.  They are sensation-seekers, but can exhaust themselves by staying distracted by being always on-the-go.  Sevens often have issues with impulsiveness and superficiality.

Type Eight:  The assertive, self-confident type.  Eights are protective, domineering, resourceful, and decisive, and feel that they must maintain control of their environment.  They can become confrontational and intimidating, and often have issues becoming emotionally close to others.  

Type Nine:  The easygoing, passive type.  Nines are accepting, trusting, and good-natured.  They are often self-effacing and supportive, but can also be too willing to go along with the desires of others to keep the peace.  They want to minimize conflicts, but can tend to be too complacent.  They typically have issues with passivity and stubbornness.

Obviously, no one type is better than any other, and we all have moments where we can and do act as every type in the Enneagram as a matter of course.  However, this is by no means an exhaustive list of the type characteristics!  There are tomes written on individual types, and it can take weeks if not months to accurately define your type.  For starters, please try out the QUEST (Quick Enneagram Sorting Test), included in class handouts, and the RHETI (Riso-Husdon Enneagram Type Indicator) available in several forms here:  http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/Tests_Battery.asp

Defining your type is not the end of your Enneagram exploration--it’s really just the beginning!

Enneagram Wings: The Full 18 Subtypes

The wings (or subtypes) help to individualize the nine generalized types of the Enneagram.  Each type can have wings of one or both types that are alongside of them.  For example, a nine can either have an eight wing or a one wing (or very occasionally, both).  This is written as 9w1 or 9w8.  A nine with a one wing will behave much differently than a nine with an eight wing.  

Any one core Type will have a range that falls on either side of itself--and individuals will naturally feel more comfortable on one side or the other. For example, the range of "Nine-ness" encompasses a Nine with a strong Eight-wing, a mild Eight-wing, a mild-One wing, or a strong One-wing.

The full Enneagram comprises 18 different subtypes. Starting from the top of the symbol:

9w1: the dreamer

1w9: the idealist

1w2: the advocate

2w1: the servant

2w3: the host/hostess

3w2: the charmer

3w4: the professional

4w3: the aristocrat

4w5: the bohemian

5w4: the iconoclast

5w6: the problem-solver

6w5: the defender

6w7: the buddy

7w6: the entertainer

7w8: the realist

8w7: the independent

8w9: the bear

9w8: the referee

Childhood Patterns: Exploring Basic Fears and Desires

Often, our personalities are more fluid and changeable as children, but as we continually experience certain situations and environments, a personality style gradually emerges as “home base”--our basic style of relating to the world.  From this, we also come to define our basic fear and basic desire--which are universal, but each type’s basic fear and desire will motivate his or her behavior much more than the others.  

We can also say that each personality type is formed around an unconscious childhood message--something pervasive and profound that we internalized as children.  These were likely created within us as infants, when certain qualities within us were not adequately mirrored or responded to by our parents or caretakers.  An unmet emotional need in infancy can result in a blockage or repression of that emotion later in life.  The feeling that something within us is missing, or wrong, gives rise to a deep anxiety.  This fear then creates the basic desire, which is an attempt to reconcile that fear.

Basic fears, desires, and unconscious childhood messages of each of the types:  

1:  “It’s not okay to make mistakes.”  

Fears being bad, corrupt, or evil.  Desires to have integrity (perfectionism).

2:  “It’s not okay to have your own needs.”  

Fears being unworthy of love.  Desires love (a need to be needed).

3: “It’s not okay to have your own feelings/identity.” 

Fears being inherently worthless.  Desires to be valuable (chases success).

4: “It’s not okay to be too happy.”  

Fears being without an identity.  Desires to be oneself (self-indulgence)

.

5: “It’s not okay to be comfortable in the world.”  

Fears incompetency.  Desires to learn and understand (uselessly specializes in knowledge).

6: “It’s not okay to trust yourself.”  

Fears a lack of guidance.  Desires security (attaches oneself to beliefs).

7: “It’s not okay to depend on anyone for anything.”  

Fears being deprived or trapped.  Desires happiness (escapism).

8:  “It’s not okay to be vulnerable.”  

Fears being controlled/harmed.  Desires to protect oneself (aggressiveness).

9: “It’s not okay to assert yourself.”  

Fears a loss of connection.  Desires peace (neglects problems).

Which ones resonate with you?

Instinctual Variants, Triads and More

The instinctual variants are a more advanced topic to explore once you are clear on which type you are.  These are based on which of our three basic instincts have been most distorted in childhood, and explain how we have evolved to cope with that distortion over time.  These are called the Self-Preservation variant, the Social variant, and the Sexual variant.  Self-Preservationists are preoccupied with getting and maintaining physical comfort; Socialists are preoccupied with being accepted and needed in their world; Sexualists are preoccupied with a constant search for intensity and connection with others.  These preoccupations can drive certain behaviors and create habits that may or may not serve one well.  There is an entire separate assessment to discover your instinctual variant on this website: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/

The Triads

All the types of the Enneagram are interconnected in profound ways, and the triads are one of the primary ways to look at these differences.  The triads divide the Enneagram into three groups that specify where our chief ego imbalance lies, and the defenses that we typically use to limit ourselves as a way to cope with the world.  They refer to the three basic components of the human psyche:  thinking, feeling, and instinct.  

• The Instinctive Triad is made up of types 8, 9 and 1.  
• The Feeling Triad contains types 2, 3, and 4.
• The Thinking Triad is comprised of types 5, 6, and 7.  

In each triad, the function in question is the one that the ego has formed around, and so it is therefore the part of the psyche that is least able to function freely.  

In the Instinctive Triad, these types tend to resist reality.  

They have problems with aggression and repression, and typically harbor a great deal of rage.

In the Feeling Triad, these types are overly attached to the assumed self of personality. 

 They believe that the stories and qualities that describe themselves are their true identity, and typically harbor a great deal of shame.

In the Thinking triad, these types are concerned with a lack of support and guidance.  

They are preoccupied with enhancing their security, and typically harbor a great deal of fear.  

Each triad is concerned with a particular aspect of reality, but each type within the triad focuses his or her energy and attention toward that aspect of reality differently.  For example, all eights, nines, and ones have issues with anger--but a type 8 will direct that anger outward, toward others, while a type 1 will direct his anger inward, repressing it.  Similarly, all fives, sixes, and sevens have trouble with feeling secure and safe--but a type 5 will typically withdraw from the world to achieve a feeling of security, while a type 7 will try everything as a substitute for security.  

Other ways to group the Enneagram types are with the Hornevian groups, which have to do with the three distinct social styles among the types; and the Harmonic groups, which have to do with the three main coping styles that the types exhibit when their needs are not met.  More information is available on these groupings online at http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/

Enneagram Levels of Development, and Types' Social Roles

Levels of Development:

The levels of development help to describe the degree that we identify with our personalities.  It can be very enlightening to read about the different behavior styles and habits of people of your type at different levels of development, because a high-functioning, balanced individual will behave drastically different than a troubled, reactive, out-of-power individual--even of the same type.  It can help to identify common red flags of behavior or feelings that indicate when you may need help to pull out of an unhealthy state.  Of course, moods affect your awareness somewhat, but there is a range of functional behavior at which we tend to stay, and this is what the levels are concerned with.

Wake-up calls--the sign that we are identifying too closely with our ego:

For each Type, as follows:

Type 1: Feeling a personal obligation to fix everything themselves

2: Believing that they must do everything for others to win them over

3: Driving themselves for status and attention

4: Holding on to and intensifying feelings with the imagination

5: Withdrawing from reality into and mental worlds

6: Becoming dependant on something outside the self for guidance

7: Feeling that something better is available elsewhere

8: Feeling that they must struggle to make things happen

9: Accommodating themselves to the desires of others

The Red Flag--The dominant fear surfacing (unhealthy/dangerous levels)

The One will start to fear that their ideals are actually all wrong.

The Two will fear that they are driving their loved ones away.

The Three will fear that they are a failure or fraud.

The Four will fear that they are ruining their life and wasting their opportunities.

The Five will fear that they are never going to find a place in the world/with others.

The Six will fear that their own actions actually harmed their security.

The Seven will fear that their actions are bringing them pain/unhappiness.

The Eight will fear that others are turning against them and will revolt.

The Nine will fear that they will be forced by reality to deal with their problems.

The Social Role--How we manipulate others:

The following can be used as "signposts", telling us when we are falling into old patterns and "doing our Type" instead of living freely and expansively. We can choose to change our behavior and move forward upon recognition of these self-serving behaviors.

Type 1: By insisting that others share their high standards

2: By soliciting others’ needs and desires, creating dependency

3: By adopting whatever image will charm others

4: By being temperamental towards others

5: By staying preoccupied and emotionally detached

6: By complaining, thus testing others’ commitment to them

7: By distracting others, and insisting that their demands are met

8: By dominating others, and demanding compliance

9: By “checking out” and passive-aggressively resisting others

Directions of Integration and Dysfunction

The lines of the Enneagram actually indicate the directions that each type will “travel” toward as they experience prolonged states of stress or growth.  These are called the Directions of Integration and Dysfunction, and these also provide remarkable insight into one’s type and the many ways in which we are unable to see the obvious patterns that our behavior and ego follow.  

Again, this is way beyond the scope of this discussion, but it’s something that you will be fascinated to read about at http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/  Even in daily interactions, you will be able to see how a stressed-out, frustrated 5 can “throw up her hands” and act like an out-of-power 7; or how a very supported, peaceful 9 can begin to show signs of healthy 3-ness.

In the above Enneagram, these directional arrows illustrate the Direction of Dysfunction, or Stress.  Find your core Type on the outside, and from there, follow the arrow to see which Type your core Type resembles when under extreme or prolonged periods of stress.  For example, a healthy Five may, under stress, move toward Seven--meaning he or she exhibits some of the same qualities that unhealthy Sevens do.

In this Enneagram, note that the arrows are pointing different directions than in the previous image. This illustrates the Directions of Integration, or Growth. Again, find your core Type, and then follow the arrow to discover which Type you share positive, growth-oriented qualities with. Consequently, a healthy Five, as he or she becomes more self-actualized and learns to let go of some of his or her ego-dramas, he or she will begin to resemble the qualities that are admirable in healthy Eights.