what is the enneagram?

    The word personality comes from the Greek word persona which means "mask." I love the meaning this has. We tend to hide behind our personalities, making them into "masks" behind which we hide our true selves. The enneagram is different than any other personality type in that it not only explains the way you are and why you do the things you do, but it also brings light to your weaknesses in order to be better able to get back to the True Self that God created and intended for you to be. It teaches that there are nine personality types, each of which we have characteristics of, but one that we naturally gravitate towards more than the others in order to cope and feel safe. "The contemporary Enneagram of Personality- illustrates the nine ways we get lost, but also the nine ways we can come home to our True Self. Put another way, it exposes nine ways we lie to ourselves about who we think we are, nine ways we can come clean about those illusions, and nine ways we can find our way back to God" (The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz). 

    The Enneagram takes its name from the Greek words for nine (ennea), and figure (gram) because it is a nine-pointed figure that shows all nine different, but interconnected personalities. Each type takes on some of the good qualities of the number from which an arrow is pointing to it when they are "healthy," and takes on some of the negative qualities of the number to which its arrow is pointing when they are "stressed." For example, I am a type nine, so when I'm considered to be healthy, I take on some of the good qualities of a type three, and when I am stressed, I take on the negative qualities of a type six. 

    Before I go through each type, I want to briefly touch on one of the groupings within the figure. The Intelligence Center reveal our primary mode of perceiving the world and the Holy Spirit through either our head, heart, or body. There are three types in each center. The Head triad- types five, six, and seven-  listen and discern through their thoughts. They are generally more intellectual and believe that competency is the cure for instability. The Heart triad- types two, three, and four- listen and discern through their feelings. They are social and feel their way through life by leaning into their emotional intelligence. And the Body or Gut triad- types eight, nine, and one- listen and discern through their instincts. Body people experience life through their intuitive instincts and tactile engagement with their senses, and they are generally more impassioned than emotional. Each triad also has a primary emotion which is most accessible to them: anxiety or distress for the Head Center, fear or shame for the Heart Center, and frustration or anger for the Body Center. Each type within the triad will deal with those emotions in different ways, though, which I will explain more in the description of each type. 

    In this post I will list some of the main ideas within the enneagram from the book The Sacred Enneagram for each type, and then a short description of each personality. But before I do that, I will explain each of the main ideas that I will list for each type. 

• Holy Idea-  display the fruit of a mind at peace
• Virtue- the by-products of a heart at rest and a mind at peace
• Basic Desire- the intention of the virtue
• Basic Fear- the insecurities of the virtue
• Fixation- the mental tactics used to convince an uncentered mind that its passion is legitimate
• Passion- how each type manages its loss of presence

///// One- The Perfectionist

• Holy Idea: Holy Perfection
• Virtue: serenity
• Basic Desire: to be good, to have integrity
• Basic Fear: being bad, imbalanced, defective, or corrupt
• Fixation: resentment
• Passion: anger
• Direction in Health: type seven
• Direction in Stress: type four

      Ethical, dedicated, and reliable, ones are motivated by a desire to live the right way, improve the world, and avoid fault and blame. They are drawn to errors and mistakes, have high expectations of themselves and others, can be judgmental, prioritize their behavior and emotions, believe their way is the only right way, and are terrified of making mistakes. Ones are in the Gut Triad, so they are driven by anger. They internalize it, and get angry at themselves for not living up to the expectations they have for lives.

      

///// Two- The Helper

• Holy Idea: Holy Will, Holy Freedom
• Virtue: humility
• Basic Desire: to feel love
• Basic Fear: being unloved
• Fixation: flattery
• Passion: pride
• Direction in Health: type four
• Direction in Stress: type eight 

       Warm, caring, and giving, twos are motivated by a need to be loved and needed, and to avoid acknowledging their own needs. They make others feel safe and comfortable, base their self-worth on the gratitude and appreciation of others, have the ability to sense and fulfill the needs of others, and are constantly looking for signs that other people appreciate them. Twos are in the Heart Triad, so they are driven by their feelings. They are very aware of the feelings of others, and are very good at tending to those feelings, but they tend to forget about their own feelings because of their constant focus on others. 

///// Three- The Achiever

• Holy Idea: Holy Harmony, Holy Law, Holy Hope
• Virtue: truthfulness, authenticity
• Basic Desire: to feel valuable
• Basic Fear: being worthless
• Fixation: vanity
• Passion: deceit
• Direction in Health: type six
• Direction in Stress: type nine

       Success-oriented, image-conscious, and wired for productivity, threes are motivated by a need to be, or appear to be, successful and to avoid failure. They are optimistic and resilient, have huge dreams, aren't very good at interpreting their own feelings or the feelings of others, are focused on success and may even pretend like they're succeeding even if they aren't, and can become restless when not doing something. Threes are in the Heart Triad, so they are driven by their feelings. They struggle to recognize their own feelings, and aren't good at picking up on the feelings of those around them either. 

///// Four- The Individualist

• Holy Idea: Holy Origin
• Virtue: equanimity, emotional balance
• Basic Desire: to be themselves
• Basic Fear: having no identity or significance
• Fixation: melancholy
• Passion: envy
• Direction in Health: type one
• Direction in Stress: type two

       Creative, sensitive, and moody, fours are motivated by a need to be understood, experience their over-sized feelings, and avoid being ordinary. They desire to be special and unique, wrestle with dissatisfaction, form the basis of their identities from their feelings, and can rarely stabilize their sense of self. Fours are in the Heart Triad, so they are driven by their feelings. They concentrate inward on their own feelings, which tend to be very strong and sometimes overwhelming. 

///// Five- The Observer

• Holy Idea: Holy Omniscience, Holy Transparency
• Virture: detachment
• Basic Desire: to be capable and competent
• Basic Fear: being helpless, incompetent, and incapable
• Fixation: stinginess
• Passion: avarice
• Direction in Health: type eight
• Direction in Stress: type seven

       Analytical, detached, and private, fives are motivated by a need to gain knowledge, conserve energy, and avoid relying on others. They prefer to observe than to get involved, love privacy and alone time, compartmentalize different areas of their lives, don't show or communicate their feelings very often, and crave knowledge because it gives them a sense of control and a defense against their feelings of inadequacy. Fives are in the Head Triad, so they are driven by fear. They externalize it, and fear being seen as incapable to others or having to rely on others. 

///// Six- The Loyalist

• Holy Idea: Holy Strength, Holy Faith
• Virtue: courage
• Basic Desire: to have support and guidance
• Basic Fear: being without support and guidance
• Fixation: cowardice
• Passion: fear
• Direction in Health: type nine
• Direction in Stress: type three

       Committed, practical, and worst-case-scenario thinkers, sixes are motivated by fear and a need for security. They appreciate order, plans, and rules, value community, are wary and skeptical of people until they prove to be trustworthy, are full of doubts and questions, and are very loyal to the people they love. Sixes are in the Head Triad, so they are driven by fear. They internalize it, so they are always thinking about the worst-case scenario, and are worried about how things could go wrong. 

///// Seven- The Enthusiast

• Holy Idea: Holy Wisdom, Holy Work, Holy Plan
• Virtue: sobriety
• Basic Desire: to be satisfied
• Basic Fear: being trapped in pain and deprivation
• Fixation: planning
• Passion: gluttony
• Direction in Health: type five
• Direction in Stress: type one

       Fun, spontaneous, and adventurous, sevens are motivated by a need to be happy, to plan stimulating experiences, and to avoid pain. They are bright and quick learners, are very good at justifying and rationalizing, don't want to be tied down, avoid making long-term, option-limiting commitments, and always live for the next adventure. Sevens are in the Head Triad, so they are driven by fear. They forget about it, and throw themselves into exhilarating adventures so they don't have to think about their fears or feel their negative emotions. 

///// Eight- The Challenger

• Holy Idea: Holy Truth
• Virtue: innocence
• Basic Desire: to protect themselves
• Basic Fear: being harmed, controlled, and violated
• Fixation: vengeance
• Passion: lust
• Direction in Health: type two
• Direction in Stress: type five

       Commanding, intense, and confrontational, eights are motivated by a need to be strong, and avoid feeling weak or vulnerable. They are fiercely independent, assume others are untrustworthy until proven otherwise, connect with others through conflict, tend to believe that their opinions are the facts and are irrefutable, are seen as intimidating by others, and will do anything to avoid being seen as weak. Eights are in the Gut Triad, so they are driven by  anger. They externalize it and take their anger out on others. This is why they are seen as intimidating and confrontational to others, but to them conflict is connection. 

///// Nine- The Peacemaker

• Holy Idea: Holy Love
• Virtue: action
• Basic Desire: peace of mind and wholeness
• Basic Fear: loss, separation, and fragmentation
• Fixation: indolence
• Passion: sloth
• Direction in Health: type three
• Direction in Stress: type six

       Pleasant, laid-back, and accommodating, nines are motivated by a need to keep the peace, merge with others, and avoid conflict. They have difficulty making decisions, are easily distracted, can be passive-aggressive and stubborn, are empathetic and can see multiple points of view, merge with the feelings and opinions of others, are pros at relaxing, and are very calm and laid-back. Nines are in the Gut Triad, so they are driven by anger. They feel anger, but try their best to forget about it so as to not cause any conflict. This seems great until all of the forgotten anger eventually comes out all at once. 

    There is still so much more to know about the enneagram, like what wings are, each type in stress and health like I mentioned earlier, subtypes, and common mistypes. I plan to make a post designated to each of these things in the coming weeks because there is so much information that goes along with them. I love the enneagram for multiple reasons. It allows you to learn yourself and why you do the things you do, helps you become aware of how you connect and listen to God's voice, and gives you insight on the people you love so you can understand them more and love them better. 

With Love,