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Enneagram Primer
Understanding the Enneagram is like swallowing the red pill that allows you to escape the Matrix.
Once you've soaked in the details of the nine personality types, you'll almost expect to wake up with Morpheus standing over you, saying, "Welcome ... to the real world."
The Enneagram is not about labeling; it's not about what type you are -- what personality traits you're stuck with.
The Enneagram is about escaping the fear-controlled boundaries we've set for ourselves. It's about letting go of our habitual defenses, and understanding that we don't need them to survive.
The Enneagram is about seeing the world as it really is -- removing our biased, preconceived notions, and opening our eyes to the real truth. The Enneagram is about breaking the cycle that keeps us from achieving our greatest desire.
It's about understanding how our greatest fear keeps us from happiness. When enough of us take Morpheus' red pill ... the world might truly change.
But, right now, I'm not talking to the world; I'm talking to you. Are you ready to find out far the rabbit hole runs? If not, then here's your visual steak- some corporate website -- The Traveler
Quick notes regarding this Primer: Every personality type has levels of unhealthiness and levels of enlightenment. Everyone is dynamic, and never the same. All types not only grown or suffer within their own personality types, but can integrate or disintegrate into other types. In addition, some people have a "wing", which is a core personality heavily influenced by one next to it on the Enneagram. This page will be frequently updated with more details regarding all of the types, levels, and wings.
The One, also called The Reformer, is principled, orderly, perfectionistic, and self-righteous.
Key motivations: Want to be correct; to have balance and integrity. To improve others. To be beyond criticism.
Healthy Ones: Strong personal convictions, an intense sense of what is right and wrong, possessing personal and moral values. Highly principled, with a strive to be fair, objective, and ethical. This sense of responsibility and personal integrity, and having a higher purpose often make them teachers and witnesses to the Truth. Well known "Healthy Ones" - Jesus and Buddha.
Average Ones: Dissatisfied with reality, they are high-minded idealists, feeling it is up to them to reform or improve everything. Very critical. Afraid of making mistakes; everything must be consistent with their ideals. Organized and orderly, yet impersonal, rigid, emotionally constricted, and keep their feelings and impulses in check. "Anal compulsive", punctual, and workaholic traits displayed. Picky, judgmental, critical of self and others, opinionated about everything. Correcting people and badgering them to "do the right thing" as they see it, of course. Impatient. Not satisfied with anything unless it is done according to their methods. Angry and scolding.
Unhealthy Ones: Intolerant, inflexible. They alone "know the Truth". Everyone else is wrong. Severe judgments against others, while rationalizing their actions. Obsessive about imperfections and wrongdoing of others. Act in contradictory ways; hypercritical, taking actions that go against what they preach. Become cruel in order to rid themselves of whatever they believe is disturbing them. Severe depression, nervous breakdowns, and suicide attempts likely.
The Two, also called The Helper, is caring, generous, possessive, and manipulative.
Key motivations: Want to be loved, to express their feelings towards others. To be needed and appreciated. To vindicate claims about themselves.
Healthy Twos: Compassionate, with empathy, feeling with and for others. Caring and concerned about their needs. Outgoing, passionate. Offer friendship and kindness. Thoughtful, warm hearted, giving. Able to see the good on others. Dedicated and supportive of people. Nurturing and giving. Radiantly joyous. Well known "Healthy Twos" - Mother Teresa and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Average Twos: "People pleasers" with the intention to get closer to others. Overly friendly, emotionally demonstrative, seductive, flattering. Talkative, especially about love and relationships. Intrusive, and overly intimate. Hovering, meddling, and controlling in the name of love. Want others to depend on them. Give, but expect in return. Mixed signals. Possessive. Overly caring, wearing everyone out. Increasingly self-important. Seek specific forms of repayment. Overate their efforts. Feel indispensable.
Unhealthy Twos: Manipulative and self-serving, instilling guilt by making others feel indebted to them. Abuse food and medication to get sympathy. Undermine people by making belittling and disparaging remarks. Self-deceptive about their true motives, and how selfish and aggressive their behavior is. Feel entitled to get anything they want from others by acting domineering and coercive. Leads to chronic health problems and fall apart to burden others.
The Three, also called The Achiever, is adaptable, ambitious, image-concious, and hostile.
Key motivations: Want to feel valuable. To be affirmed. To have attention and distinguish themselves. To impress and to be admired.
Healthy Threes: Self-assured and energetic. High self-esteem. They believe in themselves and their own value. Adaptable, well-adjusted, attractive, and popular. Realistic. Ambitious to improve themselves. To "be all they can be". Outstanding. The human ideal, embodiment of ideal qualities. High-spirited, goal-orientated, persistent. Effective and industrious. Authentic. Genuine. Modest. Benevolent. Childlike innocent. Inner-directed. Well-known "Healthy Threes" -Christopher Reeve, Tony Robbins, New York Yankees franchise.
Average Threes: Highly concerned with performance, doing the job well, being superior, and rising above others in status. Compare themselves with others in search of success. Driven for career advancement, and being a "winner". Value social climbing. Highly concerned about the way they are perceived. Present themselves according to expectations of others, and what they need to do in order to be successful. Efficient and pragmatic, yet lose touch with their own feelings beneath a smooth facade. Problems with intimacy. Desire to impress others with their superiority. Constantly promote themselves, making them sound better than what they really are. Delusions of grandiosity. Seductive and exhibitionistic. Arrogant and resentful against those who are jealous of their success.
Unhealthy Threes: Fearing failure and humiliation, they misrepresent themselves, changing the truth. Modify the reality of their accomplishments. Unprincipled. Will do "whatever it takes" to preserve the illusions of their success. Envious of the success of others. Exploitative, opportunistic, yet so deceptive so their wrongdoing and mistakes will not be exposed. Liar. Extreme hostility. Delusional. Betrayer and sabotage. Murderer. Obsessive to destroy what they cannot triumph over.
The Four, also called The Individualist, is intuitive, expressive, self-absorbed, and depressive.
Key motivations: To be themselves; to express themselves with something beautiful. To find the ideal partner. To withdraw and protect their feelings. To take care of their emotional needs before attending to anything else.
Healthy Fours: Self-aware, introspective, aware of all feelings and impulses. Sensitive, gentle, compassionate. Highly personal, individualistic, genuine. Humane, honest. Ironic view of life -Serious and funny; strong and vulnerable. Creative. Inspired. Self-renewing. Redemptive. Transforming all experiences into something valuable. Well known "Healthy Fours"- Bob Dylan and Edgar Allan Poe.
Average Fours: Artistic, romantic view of life. Create a beautiful environment to cultivate and prolong personal feelings. Heighten reality through fantasy and imagination. Long and desire for an idealized partner. To stay in touch with feelings, create moods, being shy, hypersensitive, self-absorbed. Play "hard to get", and still feel like outsiders. Feel that they are different than others, therefore are exempt from living as everyone else until their emotional needs are met. Dreamers. Sensual. Self-pity. Impractical. Waiting for a rescuer.
Unhealthy Fours: When the dreams fail, they become angry at themselves. Depressed and alienated. Blocked and emotionally paralyzed. Ashamed. Fatigued. Remain withdrawn to sort out feelings. Tormented by delusional self-contempt. Skewed notion of reality. Self-hating. Morbid. Suffering. Blaming. Drives everyone away. Wanting to escape, drugs and alcohol are means to do this. Emotional breakdown and suicide likely.
The Five, also called The Investigator, is perceptive, original, detached, and eccentric.
Key motivations: Want to be capable and competent. To master a body of knowledge or skill. To explore reality. To remain undisturbed by others. To reduce their needs.
Healthy Fives: Observe everything with extraordinary insight. Mentally alert. Curious. Nothing escapes their notice. A searching intelligence. Foresight. Can predict with precision. Able to concentrate and focus. Skillful mastery of whatever gained their attention. Excited by knowledge. Innovative and inventive. Highly independent and whimsical. Visionary. Open-minded. Take things at their whole, in their true context. Discover new ways of perceiving things. Well known "Healthy Fives" -Albert Einstein, Vincent Van Gough.
Average Fives: Begin planning things before taking action. Working things out in their minds. Preparing. Practicing. Gathering data. Develop techniques. Research and study, building theories. Increasingly detached as they become involved with complicated ideas or imaginary worlds. Become preoccupied with their visions rather than reality. Fascinated by offbeat subjects, even those involving disturbing elements. Detached from the practical world, almost like a "disembodied brain". High strung. Aggressive against anything that disturbs their fantasies and inner world. Intentionally have extreme and radical views. Cynical and argumentative.
Unhealthy Fives: Reclusive and isolated from reality. Eccentric. There is no hope. Unstable and fearful of aggressions and confrontations. Reject all social attachments and engagements. Obsessed and frightened by their ideas. Phobic. Skewed reality. Seek oblivion. Psychosis may lead to suicide or insanity.
The Six, also called The Loyalist, is engaging, committed, defensive, and paranoid.
Key motivations: Want to have security, to feel supported. To have the approval of others. To defend their beliefs. To test the attitudes of others.
Healthy Sixes: Able to engage others and identify with them. Affectionate. Honest. Trust is important. Bonds with others. Forms connections and relationships. Dedicated to individuals and movements in which they deeply believe. Community builders. Responsible, reliable, trustworthy. Good foresight with strong organization ability. Hardworking and sacrificial. Cooperative spirit. Creative stability and security. Trusting of self and others. Symbiotic (equal) relationships. Belief in self, positive, courageous. Rich self-expressions. Well known "Healthy Sixes" - Robert Kennedy and Tom Hanks.
Average Sixes: Invest their time into whatever they deem to be safe and stable. Look to make alliances. Look to authority for continuity and security. Make many commitments to others, hoping they well reciprocate. Constantly anticipating problems. Seek clear guidelines from others, and feel secure when systems and procedures are clearly defined. Resist having more demands put on them. React to others passive-aggressively. Become evasive, indecisive, cautious, procrastinating. Strong self-doubt and suspicious about others' motivations. Highly reactive. Complaining. Anxious. Mixed signals. Internal confusion causes them to react unpredictably. Sarcastic. Blaming. Fearful. Mean.
Unhealthy Sixes: Clinically dependent and clinging. Inferiority complex. Feel helpless and incompetent, seeking strong authority figures or belief systems to resolve all problems. Submissive and masochistic. Feeling persecuted. Lash out irrationally. Hysterical. Self-destructive, suicidal, or may end up on "skid row".
The Seven, also called The Enthusiast, is motivating, accomplished, uninhibited, and manic.
Key motivations: Want to be happy and satisfied. To have a wide range of experiences. To keep their options open. To escape anxiety by enjoying life and amusing themselves.
Healthy Sevens: Highly excitable, enthusiastic about sensations and experiences. Extroverted. Everything is invigorating. Eager, lively, spontaneous, cheerful. Jack-of-all trades. Practical, productive, cross-fertilizing different interests. Awed by simple wonders in life. Joyous. Boundless goodness. Well known "Healthy Sevens" - John F. Kennedy and Mozart.
Average Sevens: Amuse themselves with new things and experiences. Keeps up with latest trends. Street wise. Hyperactive. Story tellers. Exhibitionists. Wisecrackers. Flamboyant. Performing. Fear being bored. Try to keep up the perpetual motion. Self-centered and greedy. Never satisfied. Additive. Hardened. Insensitive. Crude. Demanding. Pushy.
Unhealthy Sevens: Offensive and abusive. Impulsive and infantile. Addictions take their toll. Depraved. Act out impulses. Erratic mood swings. Manic. Escapist. Burn themselves out acting out the impulses. Often give up on themselves and life, fall to depression and despair. Leads to self-destructive behavior or impulsive suicide.
The Eight, also called The Challenger, is self-confident, decisive, dominating, and combative.
Key motivations: Want to be self-reliant. To resist their weaknesses. To have an impact in society. To stay in control and assert themselves. To prevail over others.
Healthy Eights: Self-assertive, strong. Resourceful. Authoritative. Proactive. Commanding. A natural leader. A champion. Honorable. Mastering the self. Courageous. Will put themselves in serious jeopardy to achieve their vision. May achieve true heroism or historical greatness. Merciful and forbearing. Passionate inner drive. "Can do" attitude. Well known "Healthy Eights" - Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Average Eights: Enterprising. Self-sufficient. Rugged individualists. Wheeler-dealers. Risk-takers. Hardworking. Deny their own emotional needs. Begin to dominate their environment, including others. Want to feel others are behind them, supporting their efforts. The "boss" whose word is law. Boastful, forceful, expansive. Proud. Egocentric. Desire to impose will over others. Not treating others as equals or with respect. Combative. Intimidating. Confrontational. Creating adversarial relationships. Threats to keep others obedient.
Unhealthy Eights: Defying attempt at others to control them, they become ruthless and dictatorial. "Might makes right". Outlaw, con artist, criminal, or renegade. Immoral. Violent. Develop delusional ideas about power, such as invincibility, and ability to win. Overextend themselves. Never surrender. Vengeful, barbaric, murderous.
The Nine, also called The Peacemaker, is gentle, reassuring, complacent, and neglectful.
Healthy Nines: Deeply receptive, emotionally stable, serene, simple, patient, good Natured, extremely nice, imaginative, creative, attuned to nonverbal communication, optimistic. Has a calming influence. Good mediator. Brings people together. Awakened. Supportive. Healing qualities. Well-known "Healthy Nines" - Abe Lincoln and Carl Jung.
Average Nines: Too agreeable, which leads to going along with things to avoid conflict. Idealizing others. Have "philosophies on life" which allow them to calm their anxieties. Submerge themselves in fulfilling functions for others. Unresponsive. Sweep problems under the rug. Passive, unengaged, unreflective. Thinking becomes hazy. Tuned out. Oblivious to reality. Unwillingness to stay focused. "Peace at any price". Stubborn. Waits for magical solutions.
Unhealthy Nines: Repressed, underdeveloped. Depressed. Dissociates self from all conflicts. Blocks out awareness. Numb. Shattered self. Zombie-like. Depersonalized. Dangerously irresponsible.
Integration
Personalities have a natural flow to become healthy. Someone who is healthy will naturally integrate to the healthy aspects of another personality type in the Enneagram.
Follow the numbers and lines in the drawing below, and see if you can see the levels.
Levels of integration -
