A Brief Overview
Rooted in the pioneering work of George Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo, the Enneagram is a powerful tool for self-discovery. It illuminates nine archetypal patterns, revealing their underlying fears and desires, and how each type tends to see, think, feel, and behave as a result. Derived from the Latin 'ennea' (nine) and 'gramma' (drawing), the Enneagram is a tool for developing better awareness, enabling us to have more rewarding personal and professional relationships, build stronger teams, and become a more effective leader. Beyond this, the enneagram is an invitation to explore your inner landscape, curiously interrogate your self-limiting beliefs, and journey towards your most authentic self.
Centers of Intelligence
The enneagram is mapped around three distinct centers of intelligence, each shaping how we take in information, make decisions, and show up to life:
Body Types: 8s, 9s, & 1s
The Body Center (Types 8, 9, 1) is rooted in sensation, driven by a sense of justice and fairness, with an internal compass that guides them - they operate from a gut “knowing” what to do, what is right or wrong, good or bad.The primary emotion sitting right below the surface for Body Types is anger. Since they are concerned with issues of fairness and justice, much of this experience of anger is a posture of standing against whatever they see as unfair or unjust. Wired for action, each body type is in a relentless pursuit of autonomy and control.
Heart Types: 2s, 3s, & 4s
The Heart Center (Types 2, 3, 4) navigates life through emotion, prioritizing connection and image. Beneath their outward presentation lies a deep well of sadness, a longing for validation that fuels their relational strategies. Each heart type is in a relentless pursuit to alleviate the sadness of not having been able to internalize unconditional affirmation of their inherent value as young people.
Social (SO)
People dominant in this instinct are concerned with their standing in the group. There is safety in numbers and status directly affects the Social-dominant's feeling of well-being. This instinct is orientated around power and influence, so they exchange information from the motivation of wanting to know who they can or can’t rely on. They build networks and work to connect others.
They are concerned with group cohesiveness and are skillful politicians. They easily identify and understand social hierarchies. There may be an internal tension between pursuing social acceptance and image management -expressing only what will make you like them, hiding what won’t, and constantly wrestling with how much of themselves they can truly reveal.
There can be an observable contradiction between connecting with others and judging them, as they can adopt a posture of superiority and try to “win” standing in the group.
Head Types: 5s, 6s, &7s
The Head Center (Types 5, 6, 7) seeks understanding through logic and analysis, inhabiting the realm of thought and imagination. The primary emotion sitting right below the surface for Head Types is fear. They use the head to try to make sense of things and they feel more fear than other types over what they cannot predict. Each head type is in a relentless pursuit of certainty, which is unattainable.
Ideally, the 3 intelligence centers work in harmony, offering us a balanced perspective. But we rarely operate in this ideal state. Each Enneagram type leans primarily on one center and under-utilizes the other two centers. This imbalance creates a disconnect, hindering our ability to see our situations clearly, make informed decisions, manage stress, and have a fuller and more rewarding lived experience. Part of the growth work the enneagram offers involves re-integrating all 3 intelligence centers.
Survival Instincts
In addition to 3 centers of intelligence, another important part of building self-knowledge and self-awareness through the lens of the enneagram, is to understand that we all have instinctual biases. These biases directly influence how we show up and what we pay attention to. Instincts are common to all animals, of course, and are meant to switch on and off as needed, and only when needed - we don’t “think” or “feel” them into functioning, they just happen (i.e. we hear a loud sound behind us and our bodies move before we turn around to evaluate . They are body-based survival strategies that are a product of biological evolution.
In most animals these instincts function as intended. However, as humans, our instincts become distorted as an outcome of experiencing abundance and/or lacking as young people. The result is that we end up with a dominant instinctual drive (an instinct that is switched ‘on’ even if we don't need it on). The energy that is directed to this dominant instinctual drive being stuck in the ‘on’ position, steals energy from the other two primary survival instincts, creating an “instinctual sequence”: We wind up with a dominant Instinctual Drive, supported by a secondary Instinctual Drive, and a repressed Instinctual Drive (an Instinct that doesn’t turn “on” even when we DO need it to).
Our Dominant Instinct is, in part, the result of us perceiving that this survival need wouldn’t easily be met, so energy is directed here to ensure this need is always met. In the same way, the repressed instinct is, in part, the result of us perceiving that this survival need also wouldn’t be met, but we unconsciously decide that we’ll just learn to live without it.
The dominant instinct creates an alchemy with the emotional vice of our dominant enneagram type and creates a “subtype” (described below). Variations in subtype are why people who lead with the same enneagram type may show up very differently from one another.
Self Preservation (SP)
People dominant in this instinct are concerned with physical survival needs. Largely centering around matters of physical security, comfort, well-being & material resources, they possess an instinctual drive to prioritize anything that feels essential to their daily bodily well-being and survival - from perhaps thinking about what to have for dinner while they’re eating breakfast, to meticulously checking the expiration dates on items in the grocery store, to arriving at the airport 3 hours before their flight.
But beyond one’s personal safety and well-being, people dominant in this instinct may also be concerned about the physical well-being of the people they care about, as knowing if their loved ones are alright makes them feel safe and secure in their own bodies. Self-Preservation dominants are more conscious of risks than others, so they tend to be a little more anxious. They are more attuned to their physical environment, always evaluating if they will be comfortable or not.
They are generally more tuned-in to physical health maintenance, like scheduling and keeping doctor’s appointments or, perhaps, ensuring they have ordered their vitamins and supplements. They are also more likely to focus on maintaining traditions (which also make them feel safe in their bodies).
There may be an internal tension and observable contradiction between cautious and indulgent behaviors - they may want to build up their retirement account, but also want a new sofa. They can adopt a “me-first” posture (e.g. I want to share as long as I have enough for me).
Sexual (SX)
People dominant in this instinct are concerned with one-to-one relationships. They focus on survival through intimate bonds, which fuels a habit of drawing attention to the particular messages they want to convey which will be attractive to others. They focus on seducing and conquering, and often adopt a posture of rivalry and competition.
This is the most intense of the 3 instincts and they use their energy for attracting and impressing potential friends or romantic partners. They tend to have lower inhibitions than others and orient around charming, making an impact, and leaving a legacy. They tend to put themselves on display even when it feels exhausting, as they don’t know any other way to be.
There may be an internal tension and observable contradiction between the need for building a strong, impenetrable bond with someone and the need for experiencing something brand new. They prefer one-to-one meetings and may consider many group meetings a waste of time (particularly where the Social Instinct is repressed).
They have a tendency to be so expressive that they often don’t allow enough space for others to talk, sometimes leaving people to feel more like an audience member than an equal participant in the conversation.