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The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram (from the Greek words ἐννέα [ennéa, meaning "nine"] and γράμμα [grámma, meaning something "written" or "drawn"^[1]]), is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. Although the origins and history of many of the ideas and theories associated with the Enneagram of Personality are a matter of dispute, contemporary Enneagram claims are principally derived from the teachings of Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo. Naranjo's theories were partly influenced by some earlier teachings of George Gurdjieff. As a typology the Enneagram defines nine personality types (sometimes called "enneatypes"), which are represented by the points of a geometric figure called an enneagram,^[2] which indicate connections between the types. There are different schools of thought among Enneagram teachers, therefore their ideas are not always in agreement.^[2]

The Enneagram of Personality has been widely promoted in both business management and spirituality contexts through seminars, conferences, books, magazines, and DVDs.^[3][4] In business contexts it is generally used as a typology to gain insights into workplace interpersonal-dynamics; in spirituality it is more commonly presented as a path to higher states of being, essence, and enlightenment. Both contexts say it can aid in self-awareness, self-understanding and self-development.^[3]

There has been limited formal psychometric analysis of the Enneagram and the peer-reviewed research that has been done has not been widely accepted within the relevant academic communities.^[5]

History

The origins and historical development of the Enneagram of Personality are matters of dispute. Wiltse and Palmer^[6] have suggested that similar ideas to the Enneagram of Personality are found in the work of Evagrius Ponticus, a Christian mystic who lived in 4th century Alexandria. Evagrius identified eight logismoi ("deadly thoughts") plus an overarching thought he called "love of self". Evagrius wrote, "The first thought of all is that of love of self (philautia); after this, [come] the eight."^[7] In addition to identifying eight deadly thoughts, Evagrius also identified eight "remedies" to these thoughts.^[6]

G. I. Gurdjieff is credited with making the enneagram figure commonly known^[8] (see Fourth Way enneagram). He did not, however, develop the nine personality types associated with the Enneagram. Oscar Ichazo is generally recognized as the principal source^[8] of the contemporary Enneagram of Personality which is largely derived from some of Ichazo's teachings, such as those on ego-fixations, holy ideas, passions and virtues. The Bolivian-born Ichazo began teaching programs of self-development in the 1950s. His teaching, which he calls "Protoanalysis", uses the enneagram figure among many other symbols and ideas. Ichazo founded the Arica Institute which was originally based in Chile before moving to the United States^[2] and coined the term "Enneagram of Personality".^[3]

Claudio Naranjo is a Chilean-born psychiatrist who first learned about the Enneagram of Personality from Ichazo at a course in Arica, Chile. He then began developing and teaching his own understanding of the Enneagram in the United States in the early 1970s, influencing others including some Jesuit priests who adapted the Enneagram for use in Christian spirituality. Ichazo disowned Naranjo and the other teachers on what he felt were misinterpretations and uses of the Enneagram. Among Naranjo's early students there are also differing understandings of Enneagram theory.^[2] Numerous other authors, including Helen Palmer, Don Richard Riso, Richard Rohr and Elizabeth Wagele, also began publishing widely read books on the Enneagram of Personality in the 1980s and 1990s.

Enneagram figure

Enneagram figure

The enneagram figure is usually composed of three parts; a circle, an inner triangle (connecting 3-6-9) and an irregular hexagonal "periodic figure" (connecting 1-4-2-8-5-7). According to esoteric spiritual traditions,^[9] the circle symbolizes unity, the inner triangle symbolizes the "law of three" and the hexagon represents the "law of seven" (because 1-4-2-8-5-7-1 is the repeating decimal created by dividing one by seven in base 10 arithmetic).^[10] These three elements constitute the usual enneagram figure.^[11]

Nine types

The table below offers some 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^[12] primarily using material from Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types (revised edition) by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson.^[13] 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.^[14] 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, that are believed by some to influence a person in more adverse or relaxed circumstances. According to this theory, someone classed as a One type, for example, may begin to think, feel and act more like a Four type when stressed, or more like a Seven type when relaxed.

Wings

Most, but not all, Enneagram of Personality theorists teach 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 often called "wings". A person of 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.^[15][16]

Connecting lines

For some Enneagram theorists the lines connecting the points add further meaning to the information provided by the descriptions of the types. Sometimes called the "security" and "stress" points, or points of "integration" and "disintegration", some theorists believe these connected points also contribute to a person's overall personality. From this viewpoint, therefore, at least four other points affect a person's overall personality; the two points connected by the lines to the core type and the two wing points.^[17][18] The earlier teachings about the connecting lines are now rejected or modified by many Enneagram teachers, including Claudio Naranjo who developed them.^{[citation needed]}

Instinctual subtypes

Each of the personality types is usually understood as having three "instinctual subtypes". These subtypes are believed to be formed according to which one of three instinctual energies of a person is dominantly developed and expressed. The instinctual energies are usually called "self-preservation", "sexual" (also called "intimacy" or "one-to-one") and "social". On the instinctual level, people may internally stress and externally express the need to protect themselves (self-preservation), to connect with important others or partners (sexual), or to get along or succeed in groups (social).^[19] From this perspective, there are twenty-seven distinct personality patterns, because people of each of the nine types also express themselves as one of the three subtypes.^[20] An alternative approach to the subtypes looks at them as three domains or clusters of instincts that result in increased probability of survival (the "preserving" domain), increased skill in navigating the social environment (the "navigating" domain) and increased likelihood of reproductive success (the "transmitting" domain).^[21] From this understanding the subtypes reflect individual differences in the presence of these three separate clusters of instincts.

It is believed people function in all three forms of instinctual energies but one may dominate. According to some theorists, another instinct may also be well-developed and the third often less developed.^[22]

Reception

While Enneagram teachings have attained some degree of popularity, they have also received criticism including accusations of being pseudoscience, subject to interpretation and difficult to test or validate scientifically.^[23] They have also been criticized as "an assessment method of no demonstrated reliability or validity".^[24] The scientific skeptic Robert Todd Carroll included the Enneagram in a list of pseudoscientific theories that "can't be tested because they are so vague and malleable that anything relevant can be shoehorned to fit the theory".^[25]

The Enneagram has also received criticism from some religious perspectives. In 2000, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine produced a draft report on the origins of the Enneagram to aid bishops in their evaluation of its use in their dioceses. The report identified aspects of the intersection between the Enneagram and Roman Catholicism which, in their opinion, warranted scrutiny and seen as potential areas of concern, stating, "While the enneagram system shares little with traditional Christian doctrine or spirituality, it also shares little with the methods and criteria of modern science... The burden of proof is on proponents of the enneagram to furnish scientific evidence for their claims."^[26] Partly in response to some Jesuits and members of other religious orders teaching a Christian understanding of the Enneagram of Personality, a 2003 Vatican document called Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life. A Christian Reflection on the 'New Age' said that the Enneagram "when used as a means of spiritual growth introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the Christian faith."^[27][28]

See also

• A. H. Almaas


• Personality psychology


• Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator

References

Further reading

• 
  Almaas, A. H. (2000). Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas. Shambhala. ISBN 0-936713-14-3.
  


• 
  Goldberg, Michael J. (1999). 9 Ways of Working. Marlowe & Company. ISBN 1-56924-688-2.
  


• 
  Ichazo, Oscar (1982). Interviews with Oscar Ichazo. Arica Press. ISBN 0-916554-02-3.
  


• 
  Maitri, Sandra (2005). The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues: Finding the Way Home. Tarcher. ISBN 1-58542-406-4.
  


• 
  Naranjo, Claudio (1997). Transformation Through Insight: Enneatypes in Life. Hohm Press. ISBN 0-934252-73-4.
  


• 
  Naranjo, Claudio (1994). Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View. Gateways/IDHHB, Inc. ISBN 0-89556-066-6.
  


• 
  Palmer, Helen (1991). The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and Others in Your Life. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-250683-8.
  

• 
  Palmer, Helen (1996). The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding your Intimate and Business Relationships. HarperOne. ISBN 0-06-250721-4.
  


• 
  Riso, Don Richard; Hudson, Russ (1999). Wisdom of the Enneagram. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-37820-1.
  


• 
  Wagele, Elizabeth; Ingrid Stabb (2010). The Career Within You. HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-171861-8.
  


• 
  Riso, Don Richard; Hudson, Russ (2000). Understanding the Enneagram; the practical guide to personality types. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-00415-7.
  


• 
  Fauvre, Katherine Chernick (1995). Enneagram Instinctual Subtypes. Enneagram Explorations. ISBN 978-1-930054-00-4.
  


• 
  Fauvre, Katherine Chernick, David W. Fauvre (2010). The 27 Tritypes Revealed: Discover Your Life Purpose and Blind Spot. Enneagram Explorations. ISBN 978-1-930054-18-9.
  


• 
  Daniels, David (2000). The Essential Enneagram. HarperOne. ISBN 0-06-251676-0.
  


• 
  Jaxon-Bear, Eli (2006). From Fixation to Freedom: The Enneagram of Liberation. Leela Foundation. ISBN 978-1-893840-26-3.
  


• 
  Gilbert, Eleonora (2015). Conversations on the Enneagram. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 978-1-909454-34-7.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Enneagram (Personality).

• International Enneagram Association website