Enneagram basics
The enneagram system is illustrated by a circle with nine points, representing each personality type.
Please note the numbers for each of the types have no intrinsic meaning: No one type is better than another. You can also never change your type; you only become more or less healthy within that type. However, their behavior, acting out those motivations, may vary. The enneagram accounts for those differences, and the nine basic types can be influenced by three different factors:
- The basic type will be influenced by the number on either side of it on the circle, called wings. For example, a One would have a 9-wing or a 2-wing; a Two would have a 1-wing or a 3-wing, etc.
- The basic type is further influenced by the two numbers it is connected to by the lines in the circle, called connecting points. For example, a One has connections to both 4 and 7; a Two has connections to both 4 and 8; and so on.
- There are three subtypes that apply to each basic type: self-preservation, meaning the person is primarily concerned with life skills and physical well-being; intimate, meaning the person is primarily concerned with one-to-one relating; and social, meaning the person is primarily concerned with their place in a group or community setting.
The nine types are divided into three "trios" that share core problems in dealing with the world:
- 2-3-4 center: These three types confuse seeming with being. They play roles and project an image that is the opposite of inner insecurity. When projecting an image, they lose how they really feel. Because of the problems and assets they have in the realm of emotions, they are often called the heart center.
- 5-6-7 center: These three are the fear-based type and have problems with taking or completing action. Their anxieties center around feelings of powerlessness. They are often called the head center, because their assets and problems deal primarily with thinking.
- 8-9-1 center: These three have problems with self-forgetting and anger. They feel the universe is indifferent to them, and their own priorities don't count. They are out of touch with the self, and go physical and instinctual - hence they are called the gut center.
