The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram,(from the Greek words [, meaning “nine”) and (, meaning something “written” or “drawn”) is a pseudoscientific model of the human psyche primarily understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types.
The historical origins of the ideas underlying the Enneagram of Personality remain a subject of debate. Contemporary approaches heavily derive from the teachings of Bolivian psycho-spiritual teacher Oscar Ichazo in the 1950s and Chilean psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo in the 1970s. Naranjo's theories were also shaped by earlier personality teachings developed by George Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way tradition during the first half of the 20th century.
As a typology, the Enneagram outlines nine distinct personality types (sometimes also referred to as "enneatypes"). These types are mapped onto the points of a geometric figure known as an enneagram, in which illustrates the principal connections between them. Various schools of thought exist among Enneagram educators, leading to many different interpretations of the system.
The Enneagram of Personality is widely marketed in both business management and spirituality contexts across various media, including seminars, conferences, books, magazines, and DVDs. In the corporate world, it is often used as a tool for gaining insight into workplace interpersonal dynamics. In spiritual settings, it is commonly presented as a pathway to higher states of enlightenment and essence. Proponents across both fields assert that the Enneagram facilitates self-awareness, self-understanding, and overall self-development.
Formal psychometric analysis of the Enneagram has been limited, and the existing peer-reviewed research is generally not accepted by the relevant academic communities. Although the Enneagram incorporates certain concepts that parallel established theories of personality,"The Enneagram: A Primer for Psychiatry Residents", The American Journal of Psychiatry Residents' Journal, March 6, 2020, 15(3). pp. 2–5. experts in personality assessment widely dismiss the system as pseudoscience.
History
The origins and historical development of the Enneagram of Personality remain a subject of debate. Concepts similar to the Enneagram can be traced back to the writings of Evagrius Ponticus, a Christian mystic who lived in 4th-century Alexandria, Egypt. Evagrius identified eight logismoi (“deadly thoughts”) alongside a foundational concept he termed “love of self.” He wrote, “The first thought of all is that of love of self [philautia]; after this, [come] the eight.” In addition to these eight deadly thoughts, Evagrius outlined corresponding “virtues” that stand in opposition to them.
G. I. Gurdjieff (d. 1949) is credited as the first to use the term enneagram and remains the sole known source for its geometric figure. However, he did not develop the nine personality types associated with the modern Enneagram of Personality. Instead, Gurdjieff utilized the symbol for various other purposes, including the sacred dances known as the Gurdjieff movements.
Oscar Ichazo (1931–2020) is recognized as the principal source of the contemporary Enneagram of Personality, which heavily derives from his teachings on ego-fixations, holy ideas, passions, and virtues. The Bolivian-born Ichazo began leading self-development programs in the 1950s. His methodology, termed "Protoanalysis," incorporated the enneagram figure alongside several other symbols and concepts. Ichazo founded the Arica Institute—which was originally based in Chile before relocating to the United States in the 1970s—and coined the term “Enneagram of Personality” (initially referring to it as the “Enneagon of Personality”).
Claudio Naranjo (1932–2019) studied the Enneagram of Personality under Ichazo in 1970 before developing and teaching his own interpretation of the system in the United States, primarily at the Esalen Institute and to students in Berkeley, California. Two of Naranjo's students, who were Jesuit priests, subsequently adapted the Enneagram for Christian spirituality programs at Loyola University in Chicago. Ichazo fiercely objected to the teachings of Naranjo and others, viewing their adaptations as misinterpretations and misuses of the original Enneagram.
Naranjo's teachings gained widespread popularity in the United States and abroad beginning in the 1970s. During the 1980s and 1990s, numerous authors published books on the Enneagram of Personality, notably Don Richard Riso (1987), (1988), Eli Jaxon-Bear (1989), Elizabeth Wagele (1994), and Richard Rohr (1995). In 1994, the First International Enneagram Conference was held at Stanford University with approximately 1,400 attendees. It was co-sponsored by the university's psychiatry department, where psychiatrist, Enneagram author, and conference co-director was a faculty member.
An analysis of Google search trends over a 16-year period reveals a significant spike in searches for the word “enneagram” starting in 2017. Furthermore, the proliferation of Enneagram-focused social media accounts and podcasts indicates a surge in popularity among millennials. Observers have suggested that this modern revival of the Enneagram parallels a renewed interest in astrology.
Figure The enneagram figure consists of three primary components: a circle, an inner triangle connecting points 3, 6, and 9, and an irregular hexagonal “periodic figure” following the specific sequence 1-4-2-8-5-7. According to esoteric spiritual traditions,Palmer, The Enneagram, p. 36. the circle symbolizes unity, the inner triangle symbolizes the “law of three,” and the irregular hexagram represents the “law of seven.” This connection to the number seven stems from the repeating decimal 1-4-2-8-5-7-1, which is generated by dividing one by seven in base-10 arithmetic. Together, these three elements form the standard enneagram figure.Wagele, Enneagram Made Easy, pp. 1–11.
Nine types The table below offers an outline of the principal characteristics of the nine types along with their basic relationships. This table expands upon Oscar Ichazo's ego fixations, holy ideas, passions, and virtues primarily using material from Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types (revised edition) by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson as well as Charles Tart's Transpersonal Psychologies. Other theorists may disagree on some aspects. The types are normally referred to by their numbers, but sometimes their "characteristic roles" (which refers to distinctive archetypal characteristics) are used instead. Various labels for each type are commonly used by different authors and teachers. The "stress" and "security" points (sometimes referred to as the "disintegration" and "integration" points) are the types connected by the lines of the enneagram figure and are believed to influence a person in an adverse or relaxed circumstance. According to this hypothesis, someone with a primary One type, for example, may begin to think, feel, and act more like someone with a Four type when stressed or a Seven type when relaxed. Type Characteristic role Ego fixation Holy idea Trap Basic fear Basic desire Temptation Vice / Passion Virtue Stress/ Disintegration Security/ Integration 1 Reformer, Perfectionist Resentment Perfection Perfection Corruptness, imbalance, being bad Goodness, integrity, balance Hypocrisy, hypercriticism Anger Serenity 4 7 2 Helper, Giver Flattery Freedom, Will Freedom Being unlovable To feel worthy of love Deny own needs, manipulation Pride Humility 8 4 3 Achiever, Performer Vanity Hope, Law Efficiency Worthlessness To feel valuable Pushing self to always be "the best" Deceit Truthfulness 9 6 4 Individualist, Romantic Melancholy Origin Authenticity Having no identity or significance To be uniquely themselves To overuse imagination in search of self Envy Equanimity (Emotional Balance) 2 1 5 Investigator, Observer Stinginess Omniscience, Transparency Observer Helplessness, incapability, incompetence Mastery, understanding Replacing direct experience with concepts Avarice Detachment 7 8 6 Loyalist, Loyal Skeptic Cowardice Faith Security Being without support or guidance To have support and guidance Indecision, doubt, seeking reassurance Fear Courage 3 9 7 Enthusiast, Epicure Planning Plan, Work, Wisdom Idealism Being unfulfilled, trapped, deprived To be satisfied and content Thinking fulfillment is somewhere else Gluttony Sobriety 1 5 8 Challenger, Protector Vengeance Truth Justice Being controlled, harmed, violated To gain influence and be self-sufficient Thinking they are completely self-sufficient Lust Innocence 5 2 9 Peacemaker, Mediator Indolence Love Seeker Loss, fragmentation, separation Wholeness, peace of mind Avoiding conflicts, avoiding self-assertion Sloth Action 6 3
Three triads of type patterns The nine Enneagram personality type patterns are grouped into various triads of three types in which each of the types have multiple common personality issues. The most well-known of these triad groupings is also associated with the three "centers of intelligence" as taught by G. I. Gurdjieff. These three centers are traditionally known as the intellectual, emotional, and instinctual centers. Although each person is understood to always have all three centers active in their personality structure, certain personality issues are more associated with one of the centers depending on a person's dominant type pattern. In Enneagram of Personality teachings each of these centers has a more particular or stronger association with one of the triads of personality types as follows:
The intellectual center is particularly associated with types 5, 6, and 7. People with one of these dominant type patterns are largely motivated by "thinking" issues related to fear. The emotional center is particularly associated with types 2, 3, and 4. People with one of these dominant type patterns are largely motivated by "feeling" and "image" issues related to shame. The instinctual center is particularly associated with types 8, 9, and 1. People with one of these dominant type patterns are largely motivated by "gut" issues related to anger.
An individual's tritype is a three digit number where each digit corresponds to individual's dominant type in each of the three centers of intelligence.
Wings Most, but not all, Enneagram of Personality enthusiasts teach that a person's basic type is modified, at least to some extent, by the personality dynamics of the two adjacent types as indicated on the enneagram figure. These two types are called "wings". A person with the Three personality type, for example, is understood to have points Two and Four as their wing types. The circle of the enneagram figure may indicate that the types or points exist on a spectrum rather than as distinct types or points unrelated to those adjacent to them. A person may be understood, therefore, to have a core type and one or two wing types which influence but do not change the core type.Riso, Wisdom of the Enneagram, p. 19.Wagner, Wagner Enneagram Personality Style Scales, p. 2.6. Empirical research into the wing concept by Anthony Edwards did not support the hypothesis."Clipping the Wings Off the Enneagram: A Study of People's Perceptions of A Ninefold Personality Typology", Social Behavior and Personality, 19 (1) 11-20, 1991. Related to, but not the same, as the wing concept is Ichazo's viewpoint involving the active, attractive, and function forces. According to him, the type is made from a starting point, referred to as the active force. In turn, the type is also led with an attractive force. This ends with the "function", where the result is the formation of a type in between the two.. Naranjo said about the wings that a person "can easily see" their primary type as being between its adjacent wings.
Connecting lines