Introduction to the Enneagram

The Enneagram of Personality (what most people just call the Enneagram) is a psycho-spiritual personal development tool. It is a map of your inner landscape, or even something like the owners manual for your personality. The Enneagram marks out nine basic styles of  the human personality, an expression that influenced Dante’s The Divine Comedy and Homer’s Odyssey. Each personality archetype is determined by its patterned and habitual over or under use of each of the “Three Brains” or centers of a human, intellectual center, emotional center, and instinctual or moving center. (These are sometimes interpreted as head center, heart center, and gut or body center.)

By naming how each Archetype thinks, feels, and acts in habitual and patterned reactivity, the Enneagram aids in nonjudgmental self-observation and in turn opens the door for true transformation. Each one of us leads with one specific type. In psychological terms this type is a set of effective coping mechanisms turned reactive, patterned behavior. Spiritually, our types show us both the path to our truest selves and the nine different ways we block against being receptive to what the Universe (God, Allah, Supreme Being, etc) has for us. As we come to know our patterns and the shadows they protect us from, we learn to see, accept, and love all of who we are, and are given a chance to live a life full of meaning and possibility.

As with all personality systems, understanding the Enneagram can help you understand the people in your life, but the most profound thing it does is give you a deeper understanding of yourself. It may be easy to recognize your behavior, but the Enneagram dives deeper than most personality systems into the unconscious motivations that drive our behaviors. Clearly seeing your own motivation makes it easier to shift and change the behaviors and patterns that are no longer serving you.

So, what’s the first step to understanding yourself through the Enneagram? While most people assume they can learn their number through a test, every reputable Enneagram teacher will tell you that the test are ineffective at best, and harmful at their worst. No one can tell you your Enneagram type, not even a test. So, it’s up to you to discover through personal self-observation and self reporting which Archetype most resonates with you. Most people discover their number by reading the simple descriptions available in most books and Enneagram websites. Some schools of Enneagram teaching like The Narrative Enneagram, though, have developed an interviewing system that provides a space for participants to learn more about themselves and discover their number by having themselves reflected back by a trained professional.

 

To get you started, here are some basic descriptions of each of the 9 types:

 

Type 1

1’s are driven by the need to be right or good. Their attention is focused on correcting errors and improving themselves, others, or situations. They deal mostly with anger that shows up in their lives as irritation and resentment. 1’s are idealists at heart and are willing to put in the work to make things exactly right. They can sometimes come off as harsh or critical to other people, but that is often only because they are dealing with their own overbearing inner critic.

 

Type 2

2’s are driven by the need to be helpful or even indispensable. They are warm and affectionate and are keenly aware of the needs of others. They deal mostly with shame and work to overcome it by becoming helpful and endearing themselves to others. Their attention is habitually focused on other people, and often this causes them to lose sight of themselves and their own needs.

 

Type 3

3’s are driven by a need to be successful and achieve the goals they’ve set for themselves. Their attention is focused on tasks, goals, and their own accomplishments. They most often deal with shame, although they have repressed this feeling in favor of earning their worth through success and achievement. 3’s know how to get the job done in the most efficient way possible and take little time to celebrate their own success. They are prone to burn out and, if they aren’t careful, they may cut corners to be the first to cross the finish line.

 

Type 4

4’s are driven by the need to be special or unique. Their attention is habitually drawn to what is missing in any given situation. They are deep and often moody, keenly aware of their own emotional state. They deal mostly with sadness and shame, and are comfortable sitting with their own melancholy. 4’s are creative and expressive, often talented artists, and they bring their own aesthetic into everything they do. They have trouble being present to what good things they have as they often lose themselves in nostalgia.

 

Type 5

5’s are driven by a need to know or understand. They are focused on gaining knowledge and information. 5’s prefer to sit on the sidelines and observe from a distance before engaging in new activities or situations. They deal mostly with fear and anxiety, mostly related to feeling incompetent or unprepared. 5’s have strong boundaries and are particularly averse to emotional intrusion. They are often extremely knowledgeable and come into relationships without an agenda. 5’s have trouble taking the information they’ve gathered and taking necessary action around it.

 

Type 6

6’s are driven by a need to be secure. Their focus is on outer authority and they can either submit themselves to it wholeheartedly or push against it in rebellion. They have questioning minds and often seek out second, third, and fourth opinions. They deal mostly with fear and anxiety, having lost touch with their own inner guidance. 6’s are loyal and devoted friends who are always prepared in a crisis. They have trouble with overthinking and can getting caught up in worst case scenario planning.

 

Type 7

7’s are driven by a need to avoid pain or discomfort. Their attention is focused on possibilities and positive future planning. They deal mostly with fear and anxiety, but they distract themselves from it through their many fun and enjoyable experiences. 7’s strongly dislike feeling trapped or limited in any way. They are fun and energetic and are masters of finding silver linings. They can miss out on meaningful experiences in life because of their drive to not feel pain either physically or emotionally.

 

Type 8

8’s are driving by a need to be strong. Their attention is habitually turned to their own personal empowerment and expressing their power. They deal most with anger and are often seen as aggressive or overbearing. They are deeply intolerant of injustice and are defenders of the underdogs. 8’s are powerful, charismatic, and natural leaders. They can be emotionally insensitive to others and are often out of touch with their own softer emotions.

 

Type 9

9’s are driven by a need to be peaceful and harmonious. Their attention is often diffused, and they can have trouble focusing on any one particular thing. They are brilliant mediators and have a gift for seeing and understanding both sides to any argument. They struggle most with anger, forgetting it for months or even years at a time only to have it resurface in an explosive way later. 9’s are kind, gentle, and easygoing. They often have trouble speaking up for their own needs and desires, keeping quiet in favor of “keeping the peace.”

 

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Here are some wonderful resources if you’re looking to dive into understanding yourself on a deeper level through the Enneagram.

Websites:

www.consciousenneagram.com – This is my Enneagram website where you can keep up to date with events and workshops I teach as well as explore a little more about each number and how to work with your personality.

www.enneagramworldwide.com – This is the website for The Narrative Enneagram. Founded 30 years ago by Helen Palmer and David Daniels, they are by far the most advanced organization furthering the understanding of the Enneagram. They are also an IEA accredited Enneagram school and train teachers all over the world.

Podcasts:

Conscious Construction – I host this weekly podcast all about the Enneagram. It’s a duel format with one week being a teaching episode for listeners to learn more about a specific type or topic around the Enneagram, and the next week being an interview with someone of that type where you can see the information lived out.

The Heart of the Enneagram – This is a podcast hosted by two other teachers in the Narrative Enneagram tradition. I love the depth and nuance they bring to the topic. Sandra and Chris know this information deeply and honor both their guests and the Enneagram in every episode.

 

Books:

The Modern Enneagram by Kacie Berghoef and Melanie Bell – This has become my favorite intro Enneagram book. It clearly and concisely describes the types and does a wonderful job of giving real-world examples of what each type looks like irl.

The Enneagram by Helen Palmer – Helen is for realz the O.G. Enneagram teacher and author. This is her first book on it and it remains one of the most important works in the Enneagram community.