The Enneagram of Personality
The Enneagram is a personality typing system that categorizes human personality into nine distinct types, each with its own set of characteristics, motivations, fears, and ways of interacting with the world.
The Enneagram is a multifaceted personality typing system that delineates human personality into nine primary types. This system is distinguished not merely by its categorization but by its dynamic nature, offering insights into the psychological motivations, inherent fears, and desires that underpin each type’s behavior. Each of the nine Enneagram types is identified by a number (1 through 9) and often described by a characteristic name that encapsulates the essence of that type’s approach to life and relationships.
Detailed Overview of the Nine Enneagram Types
- Type Two: The Empathetic Caring – Twos are warm, caring, and giving individuals, motivated by a need to be loved and needed. They excel at supporting others but may struggle with acknowledging their own needs, leading to feelings of resentment or becoming overly involved in others’ lives.
- Type Three: The Focused Ambitious – Threes are success-oriented, excelling in adapting and achieving their goals. They are driven, ambitious, and highly concerned with their image and what others think of them, sometimes at the expense of their own authentic feelings and identity.
- Type Four: The Emotional Individualistic – Fours are deeply creative and expressive, often feeling unique and different. They seek identity, meaning, and authenticity but may indulge in melancholy, longing, and envy.
- Type Five: The Knowledgeable Inquisitive – Fives are analytical, curious, and introverted, valuing knowledge and understanding above all. They prefer to observe and understand the world around them but may become detached from their emotions and overly private.
- Type Six: The Cautious Responsible – Sixes are committed, security-oriented, and responsible, but can also be anxious and suspicious. Their loyalty and thoughtfulness make them excellent team players, though they struggle with fear and indecision.
- Type Seven: The Innovative Expressive – Sevens are energetic, lively, and optimistic, always looking for new experiences and adventures. They seek pleasure and avoid pain, but may become scattered, distracted, and overwhelmed by their multiple pursuits.
- Type Eight: The Challenging Protective – Eights are self-confident, strong, and assertive, protecting themselves and those in their circle. They can be confrontational and intimidating, driven by a need to control their environment and resist vulnerability.
- Type Nine: The Accepting Receptive – Nines are easygoing, reassuring, and agreeable, seeking harmony and peace in their surroundings. They are supportive and stabilizing forces but may become complacent and minimize their own desires to avoid conflict.
- Type One: The Principled Improver – Ones are driven by a powerful sense of right and wrong, striving for integrity, order, and perfection in all aspects of their lives. They are conscientious, responsible, and improvement-oriented, but can also be critical and perfectionistic.
Simplifying the Enneagram by focusing on just one type and its wings can make the system more accessible, but it’s important to note that this approach only provides a snapshot of the model’s full depth.
Metaformology: Addition of a 10th Type Called Type 0
Metaformology introduces a new Type 0 to the nine types of the Enneagram of Personality. Type 0 is illustrated in the diagram above and is defined as follows:
Type Zero: The Spiritual Formator – Zeros are characterized by their determinism and may be motivated by a strong desire for self-determination across all three centers of intelligence. However, they can also be balanced and influenced by other determinisms.
The Concept of Wings, TriType®, and TriFix®
Wings
- What They Are: Wings are the two personality types adjacent to your main Enneagram type on the Enneagram diagram. They add additional layers to your primary personality type.
- Purpose: They influence and modify your main type, bringing in traits from the adjacent types to create a more nuanced personality profile.
Enneagram coach Katherine Fauvre emphasizes the significance of wings for the Enneagram by explaining that people have both wings, which emerge as a result of the tension between them. She clarifies that one wing is expressed outwardly, while the other is expressed inwardly, with both wings being omnipresent. This understanding is derived from the author’s research studies on the Enneagram, highlighting that wings play a crucial role in shaping an individual’s type.
She highlights that while individuals may outwardly exhibit characteristics of one of their wings more prominently, the influence of the other wing is still present internally, shaping their thoughts, feelings, and sometimes less visible behaviors. This dual influence underscores the complexity of the Enneagram in describing personality, suggesting that both wings are omnipresent and contribute to the full spectrum of an individual’s personality, even if one is more externally visible than the other.
TriType®
- What It Is: A concept that suggests you have a combination of three Enneagram types, one from each of the three centers of intelligence (Heart, Head, and Body), forming a unique trio that describes your personality in a more comprehensive way.
- Purpose: To provide a deeper understanding of an individual’s behavior and motivations by acknowledging significant traits from multiple areas of intelligence.
Tritype®, developed by Katherine Fauvre, is based on her research and represents the full types: the fixation of the head type (567), the passion of the heart type (234), and the conviction of the gut type (891). Tritype® identifies the dominant Enneagram Type an individual uses in each center of intelligence and how these types merge to create a more specific focus of attention. It includes the idealized images, core fears, defense strategies, and coping mechanisms of each of the three types in an individual’s Tritype®
The concept of the Enneagram tri-type enhances the traditional Enneagram model by acknowledging that individuals may embody a triad of dominant types, rather than a single one, deeply influencing their personality. This advanced theory was crafted to more accurately represent the complexities and subtleties of human behavior, which may not be fully captured by a single Enneagram type.
The tri-type system suggests that each person has one dominant type within each of the Enneagram’s three centers of intelligence: the Head, Heart, and Body centers. This configuration offers a more nuanced and layered perspective on personality.
Tri-Fix
- What It Is: Similar to TriType®, it involves identifying three Enneagram types that influence your personality. It focuses on how these types interact and balance each other.
- Purpose: To offer insight into the dynamic aspects of personality by examining how three chosen types work together, impacting behavior and emotional responses.
Trifix®, on the other hand, is a concept developed by Oscar Ichazo (the forefather of the Enneagram) that focuses on the use of the three mental “fixations” only. Trifix® is based on the idea that individuals have not just one, but three Enneagram Types used in a specific oscillating, repeating, and hierarchal stacking order
These concepts aim to provide a richer, more complex view of personality beyond the basic Enneagram types, acknowledging the multifaceted nature of human character.
Conclusion
In our exploration, we’ve delved into the depths of the Enneagram, a nuanced personality typing system that identifies nine distinct types, each marked by unique motivations, fears, and interaction styles. We examined the dynamic nature of the Enneagram, highlighting its capacity to reveal the psychological underpinnings of behavior and the significant roles of wings, TriType®, and TriFix® in providing a layered understanding of personality.
Wings serve as complementary influences, adding depth to our primary Enneagram type by incorporating traits from adjacent types. The concept of TriType® broadens this perspective further, suggesting a combination of three types across the Enneagram’s centers of intelligence—Heart, Head, and Body—that together form a more comprehensive picture of an individual’s personality. Similarly, TriFix® focuses on the interplay of three types to offer insights into the complex dynamics of our character.
By integrating these concepts, we gain a richer understanding of the multifaceted nature of human personality. Each model—whether it be wings, TriType®, or TriFix®—invites us to explore the intricate web of factors that influence our behaviors, motivations, and emotional responses.
We encourage you to delve deeper into your Enneagram type and consider these expanded models. By doing so, you can uncover valuable insights into your unique personality blueprint, fostering a greater understanding of yourself and others. Whether it’s identifying with one of the nine types or exploring the nuanced influences of wings, TriType®, or TriFix®, each step is a journey towards self-discovery and personal growth. Embrace the complexity of your character and use these insights as a guide to navigate the rich landscape of human personality.
