Enneagram - 9 Types

So the Enneagram is an amazing personality system and set of self-discovery tools. See, you're not just stuck as one particular type - there's growth work and ways you can go beyond the limitations of your specific type. I'll briefly describe each of the 9 enneagram types, and see if any jump off the page at you.

HEART TRIAD (or SHAME TRIAD) 2 - helpful caregiver: these are very caring, selfless, supportive, encouraging, accomodating people. They have the ego fixation of flattery. Their basic fear is being unloved and their basic desire is to feel loved, wanted, needed, appreciated etc. Their vice/passion is pride and their virtue is humility. When they're under stress, they will take on qualities, traits, characteristics of an unhealthy 8. However, when they're secure and integrated, they will seem more like a 4.

3 - succesful achiever: for these people, they need to succeed and achieve greatness. They have the ego fixation of vanity. Their basic fear is worthlessness and their basic desire is to feel valuable. Their vice/passion is deceit and their virtue is truthfulness. When they're stressed, they will take on qualities, traits and characteristics of an unhealthy 9. However, when they're secure and integrated, they will seem more like a 6.

4 - unique individualist: for these people, they need to be unique, authentic and individual. They have the ego fixation of melancholy. Their basic fear is having no identity or significance. Their basic desire is to be uniquely themselves. Their vice/passion is envy. Their virtue is equanimity (emotional balance). When they're stresssed, they will take on qualities, traits and characteristics of an unhealthy 2. However, when they're secure and integrated, they will seem more like a 1.

HEAD TRIAD (or FEAR TRIAD)

5 - deep thinker / researcher / investigator: for these people they have an insatiable hunger and thirst for knowledge and wisdom. They have the ego fixation of stinginess/retention. Their basic fear is helplessness, incapability or incompetence. Their basic desire is mastery and understanding. Their vice/passion is avarice (hoarding what they have / with-holding). Their virtue is detachment / non-attachment. When they're stressed, they take on qualities, traits and characteristics of an unhealthy 7. However, when they're secure, they seem more like an 8.

6 - loyal skeptic: they are loyal to their friends, family, community etc and want people to be loyal to them also. They're very paranoid, suspicious, skeptical and cynical. They have the ego fixation of worry/concern. They have the basic fear of being without support or guidance. They have the basic desire of having support and guidance. Their vice/passion is fear. Their virtue is courage. When they're under stress, they take on qualities, traits and characters of an unhealthy 3. However, when they're secure and integrated, they seem more like a 9.

7 - enthusiast / epicure: they are very spontaneous, adventurous, excitement, positivity and they're also never satisfied or fulfilled. They're always chasing the next thrills, the next experiences etc. They have the ego fixation of planning/anticipation. Their basic fear is being unfulfilled, traped or deprived. Their basic desire is to be satisfied and content. Their vice/passion is gluttony. Their virtue is sobriety. When they're under stress, they take on the qualities, traits and characteristics of an unhealthy 1. However, when they're secure and integrated, they seem more like a 5.

BODY/GUT TRIAD (or the ANGER TRIAD)

8 - the challenger or protector: these ones are very assertive, aggressive, strength, power, dominance, leadership etc. They have th ego fixation of vengeance and retribution. Their basic fear is being controlled, harmed or violated. Their basic desire is to gain influence and be self-sufficient. Their vice/passion is lust. Their virtue is innocence. When they're under stress, they take on the traits, qualities and characters of an unhealthy 5. However, when they're secure and integrated, they seem more like a 2.

9 - peacemaker or mediator: they want everything to be peaceful and harmonious. They avoid conflicts at all costs, even to the point of expressing or asserting their own wants, needs and desires. They have the ego fixation of indolence or laziness. Their basic fear is loss, fragmentation or seperation. Their basic desire is wholeness or peace of mind. Their vice/passion is sloth. Their virtue is action. When they're under stress, they take on the traits, qualities and characteristics of an unhealthy 6. However, when they're secure and integrated, they seem more like a 3.

1 - reformer or perfectionist: these people value integrity, morals, ethics, principles, justice, doing the right thing, and avoiding corruption. Their ego fixation is resentment. Their basic fear is corruptness, imbalance and being bad. Their basic desire is goodness, integrity and balance. Their vice/passion is anger. Their virtue is serenity. When they're under stress, they take on the traits, qualities and characteristics of an unhealthy 4. However, when they're secure and integrated, they seem more like a 7.

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So I have a fairly good system to very quickly and efficiently discovering your main enneagram type. There are also wings to your main enneagram type. Let's say in my example of being a 5. There are the two wings of the 4 and the 6. I use them both quite a fair bit. However, 4 is my preferred wing or the more dominant wing. So what it means is my type would be called 5w4 (or 5 wing 4). And then to go even further, we can also break each type down into three subtypes, which are self-preservation, sexual (1 on 1 communication style) and social (the whole group or tribe).

So in the case of the enneagram type 5 - the three subtypes would be Castle Defender (self-preservation), Secret Agent/Confidante (sexual) and Professor (social). The Castle Defender subtype would mean that I'm only accumulating and acuiring knowledge/wisdom for my own personal survival. The Secret Agent/Confidant subtype means sharing my knowledge/wisdom one-on-one with a preferred 1-to-1 style of communication. The Professor subtype would be sharing my knowledge with a whole group of people, a whole audience, such as a uniersity professor.

And then to go even further, a woman named Katherine Fauvre has developed an extension of the ennagram system where she talks about tritypes, which means the strongest of each triad would be what your tritype consists of. In my case for example, it would be 584, meaning that there are three ego defenses happening in rapid succession. If the 5 qualities or traits don't get my needs met, the 8 kicks in and then the 4 kicks in. For a better understanding of the tritype system, I'd recommend getting in touch with her personality. She developed that system herself, which does making a lot of sense.

This is another good resource here with regards to different groupings of traids: https://www.enneagrammer.com/triads

So, in closing, the Enneagram is an amazing personality of self-discovery that explains our basic fears, desires, ego fixations, coping strategies, defense mechanisms etc. It's like Bruce Lee said years ago - "there are no limitations, only plateaus, and we must go beyond them:. One you discover your enneagram type, then the journey begins of self-growth and personal development.

I hope this article was insightful for you as an inroduction to the enneagram personality system.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and/or would like to discover your enneagram type today.