Enneagram: The Nine-Point Circle of Personality #AtoZChallenge

Posted on by Astrid

Hi everyone. I’m late writing my letter E post in the #AtoZChallenge, because I didn’t have time to prewrite it. Yesterday, I was at my and my spouse’s house to say goodbye to our cat, who had to be put down today. When I came back to the institution, I didn’t feel well enough to write my post for today, hence why I’m writing it this evening. My letter E post is about the Enneagram.

What is the Enneagram? The Enneagram of personality is a system of nine different interconnected personality types. Its origin and history are disputed, with many people claiming it has ancient roots. Modern ideas about it, however, mostly come from Bolivian psycho-spiritual teacher Oscar Ichazo in the 1950s and Chilean psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo in the 1970s.

The basis of the idea are the nine points on a geometric figure called enneagram. There is some so-called “sacred geometry” behind the ways the points are connected. For example, the points 3, 6 and 9 are connected and so are the other six points. It has something to do with the fact that one divided by seven is a repetitive number sequence with no three, six or nine in it. I don’t know the details though.

For clarity’s sake, the Enneagram is not science-based, but that doesn’t keep people in the fields of leadership and spirituality from using it.

Like I said, there are nine types on the Enneagram. These can be divided into different categories. For example, there are the centers of intelligence, which are heart (types 2, 3 and 4), head (types 5, 6 and 7) and body (types 8, 9 and 1). There are also instinctual subtypes of each Enneagram type, namely social (SO), sexual/one-to-one (SX), and self-preserving (SP). Everyone uses all three instincts, but one is more dominant than the others.

The nine Enneagram types are mainly defined by a person’s core motivations, or what drives people to act in a certain way. The types are:


  • Type 1: the perfectionist/reformer. Their core desire is to be good/right and they strive to be correct, appropriate, virtuous and ethical.

  • Type 2: the helper/giver. Type Twos want to be appreciated and seen as helpful people.

  • Type 3: the performer/achiever. Type Threes want to be valued and successful.

  • Type 4: the romantic individualist. Fours’ main desire is to be authentic and to find their own place in the world.

  • Type 5: the observer/investigator. Fives mainly want to be competent and capable.

  • Type 6: the loyalist. Sixes mainly want to be secure, safe and supported.

  • Type 7: the enthusiast. Sevens mainly want to be happy, unrestrained and satisfied

  • Type 8: the protector/challenger. Eights’ main focus is on being independent and protecting themselves

  • Type 9: the peacemaker. Nines are mainly focused on being at peace and maintaining harmony.

Like I’ve often said, I’m most likely a type Four. More specifically, I’m probably an SX4.

24 thoughts on “Enneagram: The Nine-Point Circle of Personality #AtoZChallenge”

    1. Thanks for commenting. Types 6 and 9 are connected like I said, so if you’re one as your main type, you’ll also be the other in some way when stressed or conversely when feeling particularly well.

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  5. It is interesting how popular some of these systems get even without actual scientific basis. Which is not a problem in general, but I have known people who worked HR and used them, which becomes somewhat questionable…

    So sorry about your cat! 😦

    <a href=”http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com“>The Multicolored Diary</a>

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    1. Thanks for sympathizing about our cat.

      Yes, it’s quite problematic when the Enneagram and other non-scientific systems get used in professional settings like for selecting candidates for a job. I mean, I love the system for my own introspection but I’m not making any judgments of others based on it.

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    1. Thanks so much for sympathizing.

      Of course, on a surface level, most people relate to each type. That’s the problem with typologies in which you’re either one or the other as compared to things like the five-factor model, which is a sliding scale.

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  8. The loss of a pet is serious business. I’m so sorry for your loss.

    I’m not familiar with the practice or use of Enneagram. It’s interesting to be sure and something that could make for a great story hook in a mystery or fantasy.

    Visiting some neighboring writers in the A-to-Z community.

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    1. Thanks a bunch for sympathizing re our cat.

      Re the Enneagram, I didn’t think of it as a tool for a story plot but now that you mentioned it, I have some ideas floating through my head.

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    1. Thanks for your nice comment. I remember first learning about the Enneagram in college. Not in a psychology class (I was a psych major), of course, but in some kind of self-development class. I’m glad you liked my post.

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    1. Thanks for your kind comment. There are different descriptors for each type, like type 1 being called the perfectionist or the reformer. Like you say, many people descrbe type 4 as just the individualist, while others use romantic, artist, romantic individualist, etc.

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