Sage's Enneagram Resource Rentry

Sources:

Personality Database Wiki
Character and Neurosis by Claudio Naranjo
Ichazo's type descriptions from Davesenneagram
From Fixation to Freedom by Eli Jaxon Bear
Enneagram Triads on Cloverleaf

Table of Contents

This information is partly summarized from the linked sources

What Is Enneagram?

In a simple explanation, enneagram is a theory of neurosis, or, a psychology-based pseudoscience system. In Ichazo's enneagram theory, there are nine enneatypes. The enneatype is broken into the fixation and passion. According to Ichazo, the fixation is an imbalance of childhood instincts. This means that the enneagram fixation is an over-focus on a set of viewpoints not fully based in reality that develops from your childhood experiences. The passion, on the other hand, is the thing that keeps the fixation at work. It is an emotional state that represents the reason behind the fixation. Aside from fixation and passion, essentially the theory states that as children we see the world in a certain way, leading us to form coping mechanisms that work against the problem at hand and trap us in a loop where our ego thinks the solution to our fixation is something that actually reinforces the fixation even more.

The Nine Types

One

Fixation: Perfectionism / Resentment - Always angry with himself and others for not being perfect.
Passion: Anger - The ego will keep the person in resentful anger because he is not perfect, nor are the people around him.
Trap: Perfection - While demanding perfection of himself he also expects perfection in others. Of course he always hates himself for not being perfect, and is always disappointed in others.

When we first think of anger and a character enveloped by the expression of anger as a fundament of their psyche it is easy to create a mental image of a person with a short fuse, one who is in a state of rage all the time. This image has some accuracy to it, but can also be misleading. Anger in the E1 is not conscious, as all of the passions are unconscious, and instead its existence is more so suggested. These are characters who instead control their anger in order to uphold an image of being well-behaved and benevolent. The E1 does not see the self as broken and deficient, although they unconsciously emphasize that they are; instead they see perfection as a standard to embody impatiently. Perfection is not necessarily a process of development for the E1 character, it is more so established as a fact of the here and now, and they believe that they are in fact perfect while the outside is broken. This sense of brokenness that we have emphasized is actually only an unconscious idea about the self. This is a highly rationalized and justified character, being the most intellectual of the gut types, such that they believe they have achieved a state of virtuousness that enables everything they do. Even if the action is "wrong" or harmful in the eyes of others, the E1 has enough of a sense of superiority, lack of introspection, and anti-ontological disposition that allows them to act in the name of virtue without being plagued by overwhelming guilt.

Character and Real Life Examples: Terrence Fletcher, Martin Luther, John Locke, Pantalone, Byakuya Togami, Light Yagami, Sherlock Holmes, Confucius, Gordon Ramsay, Aristotle

Read Naranjo's E1 Book

Two

Fixation: Flattery / False Abundance - Needs an approving audience. Many entertainers belong to this group.
Passion: Pride - The Ego-Flattery is dependent upon the approval and applause of others, and he works hard to get them. The constant approval and flattery of others produce Ego Pride.
Trap: Freedom - Although dependent upon others for constant approval of himself and his actions, he is fighting that dependency in order to be free from social disapproval and approval.

What is meant by Pride is a sense of fantastical self-aggrandizement to make the self-image appear greater than it really is, simultaneously obscuring the E2's knowledge of their own limits and boundaries. This creates a sense of privilege and entitlement, it lacks a notion of boundaries, becoming limitless in its self-perception. It does this because of a fear pushed deep into the unconscious that suggests that without this grandiose image they are insignificant and unlovable. This inflation comes from too much self love, an eye only for the self, and it is in turn supported by a false-abundance of love. E2 is a particularly economical character and recognizes that everyone lives in an economy of love, everyone is looking to be loved, and the ones who have a lot of love to give are the winners. However, the E2 doesn't just "give" their love like they want to appear to be, they sell it, becoming expectant and entitled characters who are still blind to the fact that they rely on the love exchange in order to feel valuable. In short, they get more love by pretending to have it, and the more this continues the more they see themselves as the indisputable "winner," the most valuable and indispensable person above all. They are beggars disguised as kings. The E2 has so great a need for love that they become beggars for it, but because they falsify and appear as kings they project in others their own need for love.

Character and Real Life Examples: Søren Kierkegaard, Elizabeth Taylor, Columbina, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Marie Antoinette, Lucifer, Regina George, Cher Horowitz

Read Naranjo's E2 Book (Incomplete)

Three

Fixation: Vanity - Strives for degrees, positions of importance, power over others.
Passion: Deceit - One who wants to be known for his accomplishments, positions of influence, and efficiency finds it difficult to admit anything that might mar his public image, so he often is forced into deceit to protect his ego.
Trap: Efficiency - He has little patience with inefficiency in others, is looking for more effective and quicker methods of achieving his goals. Thus he may be rather inefficient himself.

Vanity, in regard to the E3s, has often been miscomprehended as a conscious and petty feeling of inflated pride in oneself and one's physical appearance. As their ruling passion, however, it goes deeper than that. It represents an unconscious self-abandonment, in a misguided attempt by the ego to achieve value and worth. In the E3 character, therefore, there is an ambitious ego demand to attain and maintain an objectively defined idealized image. This stems from a need to impress and be valued by the environment, and in response, there is a deep emphasis on their ability to always stay in control, efficient and on the grind. In the E3 character, of all the types, there is an implicit desire to value and be valued and an equally implicit incapacity to realize and recognize who they are without their achievements & accomplishments (whatever they may be) and without commodifying themselves. Threes were children who very early in life began to believe they could not be loved for themselves, but only for what they produced. Child prodigies, class leaders, overachievers, and head cheerleaders are often the product of this fixation. Deceit as a passion does not necessarily mean that Threes are liars, although they can be quite good at that. Rather, the deceit is in producing a role for the public. On a deep level, Threes know the role is not real, but they believe it anyway.

Character and Real Life Examples: Marilyn Monroe, Dorian Gray, Elle Woods, Princess Carolyn, Patrick Bateman, Taylor Swift, Klemens von Metternich, Kris Jenner, Blair Waldorf

Read Naranjo's E3 Book

Four

Fixation: Melancholy / False Deficiency - Never happy with the present, always looking toward a happy future.
Passion: Envy - The Ego-Melancholy person, hoping for the perfect mate or situation in order to feel really real and fulfilled, tends to think most others have achieved this and, of course, is envious of their seeming happiness and earthiness.
Trap: Authenticity - For this person, the really real mate will always be just around the comer of the next hour or day, or year. With such a mate, this person will then be fulfilled and so authentic.

The Enneatype 4 character has as their passion Envy, which looks at what others' have and creates a desirous feeling for them, and as their fixation, False-deficiency, which is an existential viewpoint that convinces them that they are inherently less than others, especially for not having what they have. In E4 this becomes an excessively pessimistic character who never seems to have things go right for them. Four never really feels at home, never really feels in relaxed harmony with the environment. They are aware of a black hole inside; they experience this hole as a wound and a loss, as if something is missing. This black hole is their proof that they are tragically marked, and that they are special. Fours will often drive away the person they love before he gets too close and uncovers the tragedy of this dark wound. Ego-Melancholy experiences a sense of being criticized in the childhood relationship, or having the child's core identity called into question and there arises a feeling of being flawed, with a Father figure. The ego leads to being envious of the lives of others who seem to be so free of flawed nature found within those who reside at the 4th fixation so naturally the question arises, “why must I have been denied a proper life?”

Character and Real Life Examples: Vincent van Gogh, Fiona Apple, Morrissey, Sylvia Plath, Jane Eyre, Amanda Young, Robert Smith, Angel, Hitori Gotou, Lydia Deetz

Read Naranjo's E4 Book

Five

Fixation: Stinginess - Desires anonymity and to view life from the sidelines.
Passion: Avarice - Anonymity and security are important to the Ego-Stinge in order that he can safely watch the world from the peephole of his hiding place. Not only is he avid for the means to maintain his corner, he also is greedy for knowledge of what is going on in life, so that he can feel alive.
Trap: Observer - For him life is fascinating to watch from a safe hidden place, but is much too terrifying to take part in.

The passion in Five is avarice, which most dictionaries define as greed for money. Although Fives may be stingy with money, for most Fives the greediness is not for great wealth, but may in fact be quite the opposite: to hold on avariciously to the few things in the world they claim as their own. People who see the world through the lens of the Five usually require very little, for they are truly minimalists. They think that if they do not have much, then the world will leave them alone. Fives are also very greedy when it comes to their privacy; isolation becomes their way of defending against the intrusion of the world. Fives unknowingly cover the essence of peace by trying to create peace through exclusion of the outside world. They deal with their fear by reducing life to manageable proportions. Avarice often manifests in Fives as greed for information. The holy idea of the Five is omniscience. When taken into the ego structure, the Five believes that information will be the protection against the black hole of nothingness. Like Fours, Fives are very aware of this black hole that resides at the root of all ego. The fear of falling in, to never return, is countered by the belief that enough information will protect them from the black hole of extinction. As has been observed of this type, they don't identify with their feelings, they overidentify with their thinking and their interests. And are inherently emotionally detached from themselves & their environment, and disconcertingly self-contained, therefore, are incapable of giving themselves, even with their intimates; and only share their interests with those they choose. These interests and their relationships go hand-in-hand.

Character and Real Life Examples: L, Albert Einstein, Friedrich Nietzsche, Frédéric Chopin, Beth Harmon, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Joe Goldberg, Lain Iwakura

Read Naranjo's E5 Book

Six

Fixation: Cowardice - Needs a strong leader to follow; one who can be protective.
Passion: Fear - There is a necessary instinctive fear of dangerous situations in order to safeguard our physical existence. We wouldn’t last long without it. But for the Ego-Coward, all of life is threatening. Enemies surround him, so he must always be on the alert and find someone stronger to protect him. Though such constant fear is painful, yet it is familiar and safe. To live without it would leave one too vulnerable to unexpected attack.
Trap: Security - Since such a person lives in fear—life is always threatening—he always seeks something or someone as protector against impending disaster. He will seek to build up a solid fortune or will become the devoted follower of a strong leader.

Usually, when the reader reads Fear as the ruling passion of the type 6, they interpret it as fear in the literal sense of the word, and restrict it to meaning "just a person who is always afraid" limiting its various manifestations. In doing this, they narrow the varied presentations of persons found at point 6 of the Enneagram. Fear goes a lot deeper than that, and as the ruling passion of the 6, it's mostly unconscious, therefore, it can manifest in the form of openly expressed anxiety, aggression, amiability, reservation, orientation to authority, being outspoken and reactive, being antagonistic etc etc. In type 6 we find deep value and appreciation for objectivity, rationality, community, intellectualism & studiousness, stability and productivity. Sixes live in the mental body as a way of avoiding fear. This is the home of psychology and cold logic. This is the place of chess players, philosophers, and internal dialogue. Descartes’ famous dictum, “I think, therefore I am,” epitomizes the Six fixation. Because they live in the mind, Sixes lose contact with the emotions and the body, which leads to uncertainty and doubt. The issue for Sixes is movement into action; there are usually a thousand head trips between the idea and acting it out. Sixes use loyalty to an organization as a way of avoiding false starts and stops. The military, the police, and team sports are natural homes for Sixes. Loyalty and duty to the organization will keep them functioning. While organizations and structure can keep the Six functioning, authority in general is viewed as incompetent. Despite this view, Sixes are afraid to push authority too hard. The fear is that if the structure is pushed too hard it will crumble and lead to chaos.

Character and Real Life Examples: Immanuel Kant, Plato, Willow Rosenberg, Macbeth, René Descartes, Rodion Raskolnikov, Chidi Anagonye, Luigi, Vladimir Putin, Sigmund Freud

Read Naranjo's E6 Book (Incomplete)

Seven

Fixation: Planning / Self Indulgence - Always planning what to do and what must happen; always disappointed at the outcome.
Passion: Gluttony - If a little of something is pleasant, then an unlimited amount should bring unheard-of pleasures, so the Ego Plan feels. This projection of present enjoyment into future ecstasy through more and more of the same is a recurring emotional reaction to the good, though each time it ends in uncomfortable satiation and physical distress.
Trap: Idealism - He is concerned with manipulating the present so that the future will be perfect and the fulfillment of his ideals. When the future becomes the present, he is disappointed and must begin working again toward his ideal.

Gluttony in its religious undertones may refer more to the literal meaning of eating without satiability, while the passion of gluttony more so refers to having a sweet tooth for all of life, wanting to fill it with good experiences in order to avoid pain at all cost. The glutton chooses only that which provides an element of pleasure and satisfaction and has a neglect for everything that may provide dissatisfaction, under-stimulation, and most importantly, suffering. In this denouncement of suffering and complete avoidance of it, the E7 forgets how to suffer and they end up cultivating an underlying anxiety which only grows more it is frustrated the more it is avoided. The glutton develops the fixation of self-indulgence, a means of making their gluttony acceptable to the people around them through intellect and strategy, using a verbal intelligence which is persuasive to both others and to themselves. Being able to change plans and directions at a moment’s notice gives them a feeling of being open to divine guidance. Sevens feel they are part of the divine plan. In order not to mess up the plan, they must always keep their options open.

Character and Real Life Examples: Harley Quinn, Saul Goodman, Rapunzel, Spencer Shay, Phineas Flynn, Leonardo da Vinci, Voltaire, Jim Carrey, Mark Twain

Read Naranjo's E7 Book

Eight

Fixation: Vengeance / Rebellion - Destructive of self and others out of a sense of injustice.
Passion: Lust / Excess - The person seeking justice and truth very often overdoes his vengeance in his great moral indignation at injustice. Just as he can punish too severely one who he thinks has wronged him, he can be even more punishing to himself when he feels he has failed in justice. Often he will do physical damage to himself.
Trap: Justice - Being aware of living in a very injust world, he is very sensitive to any unfair actions or thoughts directed at him. His immediate response is that of revenge.

The Eight's passion is lust not only in the sexual sense, but lust in the sense of desire for over-consumption of life and living. Lust is a search for an intensity in life that will drown out the noise of an empty existence, becoming characters who take from others as much as they need to take, building a thick psychological wall around them so that nothing passes through. This is their way of achieving artificial satisfaction, barreling through life with intensity and insensitivity. The lustful type desiring impulse release above all things was born into a world that desired to control impulses at the outset. While others may be more trustful of society and of the status quo, the E8 gives the deciding weight of its actions to its natural impulsive desires, like a child, and will go against whoever supposes to hinder them. Hence the fixation of rebellion arises, it is a rebellion fixated completely on protecting the right to live according to one's impulses and desires, and stems from having to fight for this right very early on in childhood. They do not allow themselves to be weak or vulnerable, it is shunned to the farthest limit in the unconsciousness, because this weakness would imply an incapability in getting what they want and in turn becomes a threat to their ego. The trap of Eight is justice. Because they were mistreated as children, Eights become champions of the underdog. They will stand up and fight the system in the name of justice. They are capable of overthrowing the government in the name of justice. While Eights often do good work for the cause of the underdog, the self-righteous strokes of this service feed the fixation, often putting them more deeply to sleep.

Character and Real Life Examples: Dmitri Karamazov, Merida, Henry VIII, Joseph Stalin, Diogenes, Tyler Durden, Sam Puckett, Vi

Nine

Fixation: Indolence - his person seeks love outside himself and makes no effort to find his essence and peace.
Passion: Sloth / Laziness - For the ego-indolent, the ego will persuade him to be very lazy in searching for his essence, though he may be hyperactive in finding ways to avoid working toward his essence.
Trap: Seeker - He is always seeking outside himself for the solution of his problems, running from guru to guru.

This is an ego structure pushing into the environment to get the complete affection and solutions he unconsciously refuses to offer himself. When the reader reads Sloth as the ruling passion of the 9, they often interpret it as a sense of physiological and instinctive laziness, but that's not the case with the 9. Most Nines are very physiologically active. Sloth, in this context, refers to an unconscious psychological self-forgetfulness. A psychological self-fragmentation and inertia that leaves the self fuzzy, indistinct and dispersed, that a person doesn't have a clearly defined ego boundary, and as one of the consequences, "falls asleep on the self" in the face of something truly desired. Also common in the conception of the 9s as peacemakers is an assumption that all 9s are conflict avoidant. While it is true that Sloth leads to a self-forgetfulness that engenders conflict avoidance, it's also true that it also creates a repository of rage seeking to be loosened. The type 9s, therefore, are one of the most aggressive types, but they are oblivious to the extent of their aggression. There is a disengagement from the self, in order to preserve their peace of mind & autonomy, and in order to stay in agreement with their environment. They unconsciously take on the environment's psychological weight, and find it difficult to shake themselves from it, which leads to an immeasurable depth of empathy, but also profound mood swings and a buildup of repressed rage. This rage, and all other emotional upheavals experienced somatically, are however, concealed behind a supposedly calm and vacuous exterior.

Character and Real Life Examples: Spike Spiegel, Isabelle, Madoka Kaname, Shinji Ikari, Sayori, Bob Ross, Snoop Dogg, Morgan Freeman, Ringo Starr

Read Naranjo's E9 Book

Subtypes / Instinctual Variants

Each enneatype has three subtypes based on its instinctual variant. The instinctual variants are an addition to the original theory that helps explain how the passion and fixation manifest based on the individual's instinct. The three instincts are self-preservation, social, and sexual or one-to-one. Each person has their main subtype and a secondary subtype, resulting in combinations such as SP/SO (SP being the main subtype and SO being the secondary one), for example. Using this system, a SP/SO 6, for example, would be someone whose main subtype of their enneagram (6) is SP6, and the subtype of e6 they relate to the next most is SO6 (SO6 over SX6).

SP (Self-Preservation)

The SP type’s utmost concern lies in how stable or unstable oneself is in the satisfaction of their needs and their survival. They always have a stark awareness of their entropy because of an idea of not-having or not-surviving, which is a notion of things ultimately dissolving into lesser states because of a lack of resources to sustain them. They are always protecting these resources and themselves, placing special attention to the sphere of attack and defense. They have a tendency to worry often over their well-being, and work to ensure these matters are well-taken care of at all times because of the idea that material security and safety is equal to personal fulfillment. The predominance of the SP instinct in one’s psyche implies that the sphere of security and health is the most unstable in the individual. This does not mean that they struggle with getting what they need, in fact, their obsessive focus on this aspect of life can make them quite skilled at getting what they need in different ways, but they neurotically believe in a notion of “not-having” or of insecurity which drives this self-destructive cycle of psychological hypochondria about everything.

SO (Social)

The SO type is one whose attention is often placed on large, global groups of people, the cultures within them, authorities that rule them, the roles and hierarchies of its people, and the values that govern them. They want to belong to a tribe, to secure their worth through the group with success, developing a love of admiration, and therefore typically become more attentive to an idealized self-image. Usually, with some exceptions, this entails some form of inflation of self-importance, and a more extroverted response to the environment. Most important is the desire to belong and be in contact with the world. The predominance of the SO instinct in one’s psyche implies that the sphere of relations and groups is the most unstable in the individual, because it is the most compensated for. This does not necessarily mean that it is the weakest, as people with this dominant instinct tend to fare better than others in social relations and have a keener eye for identifying and adapting to authorities and groups, as well as excluding people from these groups. Thus, the desire for belonging arises from a neurotic fear of not belonging.

SX (Sexual)

The SX instinct seeks to be in syntony with the world, not as someone seeking global connection like the SO, but as someone who is constantly emitting and receiving the strongest and most subtle signals in order to attract the ideal mate, and repel those who are undesirable. In this way they are controlling the vibrations of these signals, seeking to be “in-tune” with an other or to be on the same wavelength, or perhaps to contrast the wavelengths of those they want to repel. This leads them to want to understand the quality and status of relationships with specific individuals, applying a chemical quality to their inter-relational life in which they have specific “reactions” with other people in order to develop an affective relationship resulting in some form of unity or fusion. The predominance of the SX instinct in one’s psyche implies that the sphere of affectivity and chemical unity is the most unstable in the individual, because it is the most compensated for. That does not mean that they don’t know how to operate within the mechanism of their instinct, they tend to fare better than others at securing an affective and passionate relationship with an other, but the need to do so stems from a neurotic notion of being “out-of-sync.”

27 Enneagram subtypes
SP1 - Worry

The Anger of the SP1 is then transformed into worrying about not being perfect. They feel as if they have to be perfect to survive. This 1 is the most perfectionistic, as well as the 1 that hides their anger the most, often you will find this subtype turning their anger outward into warmth, he does not want to let his anger show through. They can feel dirty or that they have a lot to improve in themselves, which gives them an excess of extra pressure.

SO1 - Inadaptability

These people have difficulty of going along with social customs and behavior, as they believe their stance is superior than that of the public and expect others to match their perfect standards, they project their perfection onto the social sphere. Rather than going with the flow of what is happening, they try to impose what they think should be happening, they have rigid ideas about how both they and others should behave socially.

SX1 - Vehemence/Zeal

Here anger is expressed the most freely in the three subtypes of the 1, as they feel it’s their duty to reform others and make them more "perfect", a common social role of this subtype is that of a coach, the kind you pay to scream at you to get better.

SP2 - Me First

When Pride gets distorted by the self-preservation instinct, E2 becomes worried with his safety and conservation, manifesting flattery and pride as ways to guarantee advantage in the face of danger, resulting in a neurotic need to be, as Ichazo said, "the most important thing". If Pride is the passion to see yourself as higher than you are, than the conservation E2 is guided by the idea that they should be protected before all things.

SO2 - Ambition

Pride here takes form as feeling worthwhile when achieving a position they are after. They are the coldest and most intellectual 2, as to go out and conquer you need to know how to use your mind. They are also very efficient in working with people, being great with networking and interacting in the social sphere.

SX2 - Seduction

Passion of Pride manifests here in an extreme sensitivity about being desired or not, and sometimes as a Pride in the number of sexual conquests one has made. This subtype is the most intense of the 2 subtypes, they are obsessed with the desire to be wanted, believing that love is overcoming resistance.

SP3 - Security

When Vanity gets distorted by the self-preservation instinct, E3 becomes worried with his safety and conservation, manifesting vanity into believing he's productive, responsible, and "good" – it is deceitful not for the sake of prestige and status like SOC3, or for its ability to be attractive and desirable like SX3, but "to get what they think will give them the security they hunger for."

SO3 - Prestige

Social 3s are seduced by the images of the world and feel as if they have to replicate what society values themselves, their need for status and recognition fuels them as it lets them forget their lack of self worth.

SX3 - Masculinity/Femininity

People of this subtype find worth through the sexual instinct in being sexually attractive and desired by others, so they emphasize their physical characteristics. It is someone who wants to satisfy and please, achieving this desire through the cultivation of their image by appearing physically attractive and gentle.

SP4 - Tenacity

This kind of envy makes them harder to notice as 4s, the envy turned against oneself leads them to conserve their own suffering, to believe that they can endure and handle much more. Because of this, it is not uncommon for the SP4 to be very stoic, as they are used to swallowing pain. They have learned to tolerate pain and not dwell in it. Because of the SP need for survival, they demand a lot from themselves and have a passion for effort.

SO4 - Shame

A character which is mainly characterized by shame. This subtype feels distress for not living up to social ideals, they compare themselves to others around them and find themselves lacking. This constant feeling of shame weirdly manifests as in an attachment to suffering, often these people are shy and end up lamenting and blaming themselves.

SX4 - Competition/Hate

When Envy comes into contact with this instinct it produces a character competes with others in an attempt to gain approval or recognition. They then make others suffer as an unconscious way of trying to rid themselves of painful feelings of deficiency. They are the kind of people who’d rather be hated for who they are than be loved for someone who they are not.

SP5 - Refuge/Castle

The Self-Preservation twists the Avarice of a 5 into a greed for survival, a greed for refuge from the outside world. They want to endure survival by finding a safe place from which they can withdraw and observe the world. They are very sensitive when it comes to their privacy and personal space.

SO5 - Totem

This subtype is insanely picky with who they associate with, they consider ordinary life and people as boring, as they search for a higher meaning and higher understanding. Wanting to be a totem of knowledge for others, this subtype is heavily intellectual and oriented towards collecting knowledge.

SX5 - Confidence

This character wanders life as a withdrawn and distrustful person, withholding itself from social interaction in fear of being hurt. Yet, they idealize the idea of trust, they need someone to feel safe with, a refuge. Because of their distrusting nature, they hold back of their affection for fear of being rejected, only once a deep bond is created that they can let their guard down and truly show the real them.

SP6 - Affection/Warmth

The E6s Fear combined with the anxiety for survival of the SP instincts leads the SP6 to be anxious of everyone, and believe that the best way to avoid said anxiety is through warmth. Because they see others as a threat to their survival, they will try to befriend others and align themselves with them to ensure others won't lash out against them. Fear here takes place as a constant submission in order to gain protection.

SO6 - Duty

The adaptation instinct when coming into contact with the fearful passion of the 6 produces a character whose fear transforms into the need to obey laws for acceptance. They attempt to resolve their social insecurity and avoid their fear by adapting to a belief, a group, a leader or a personal moral code, these are the laws they choose to obey. These people, then, become highly dutiful, loyal and devoted.

SX6 - Strength

Sexual instinct combined with the passion of Fear gives a character with underlying attitude of self-doubt regarding their sexual attractiveness and their desirability or a self-doubt regarding their own strength. They can then end up exaggerating their strength or beauty, since they are afraid they must learn to protect themselves or be desired. Because of this, this character is often counterphobic, meaning they go against their fear. Though, they could also be compared to a barking dog, they bark a lot but rarely bite.

SP7 - Defender/Keeper of the Castle/Family

They are alert to any possibility that will ensure survival and satisfaction, hence the need to band with others who have similar interests. Their love for pleasure causes them to be the most impulsive and physical of the 7s, often impulsively going after what they want and often getting it.

SO7 - Sacrifice

While the theme of sacrifice is common in the SO7, not only does this "sacrifice" have more to do with sacrificing one's desires (renounce) rather than self-sacrificing for others, but even when it is related to self-sacrificiality, it doesn't come from a background of true selflessness, but rather so that they can be seen as extraordinary and saintly by others, feeding the narcissistic ideal-self in which they take refugee to escape painful underlying feelings of inferiority, unworthiness and rejection.

SX7 - Suggestibility

This character is constantly living in the world of possibilities, and because of their instinct they tend to merge with whatever ideas, plans, or people they come into contact with. Their focus shifts towards an attempt to live in an extraordinary state of exaltation, it is an idealization filled with hope and possibility. They express Gluttony through a need to imagine something better than ordinary reality.

SP8 - Survival

The SP8 has a drive for the type of life one deserves, their combination of lust with the SP instinct leads them to focus on getting what they need for survival. They are fixated on what they believe will bring them satisfaction of their needs, and they gobble up what they think they need, often at the expense of filling their real needs. Their insecurity about survival manifests in dominating and controlling behaviour, often getting the title of the least expressive and the most armed of the three Eight subtypes.

SO8 - Friendship/Solidarity

When lust meets the social instinct, it manifests as passionate and possessive nature of bonds with others, attempting to keep those they consider weaker happy. However, this isn't a necessarily sweet character, the SO8 often feels as if it's tasked to be the protector of the weak, they also idealize the idea of trust and friendship and once that bond is broken they might not ever forgive and turn to aggression. They are often compared to a person standing up to a higher force to protect those below.

SX8 - Possessiveness

It is often seen in this type that they are overtly domineering, rebellious and attention seeking, but this is an attempt to cover up their insecurity about being loved and desired. These people see relationships as conquests and want to hold power in said relationships. These people take possession of others through fascination and threat.

SP9 - Appetite

Often you can see this E9 immersing themselves in activities just to narcotize, activities such as eating, sleeping, playing games, sports, reading etc. Because of their sloth, they lose spirituality and a touch with their inner self, which can lead them acting irrationally, without clear defined actions other than just chasing physical stimulation.

SO9 - Participation

Sloth here manifests as a constant merging with the group, emulating socially acceptable forms of behavior and communication in hopes of gaining acceptance, making superficial contact with others. They lack a sense of ease in social situations, because of their sensitivity to whether they are really welcome or not. Often they replace bonds by acting as if the group values and wants, or values of anyone else, are their own, often accepting these social norms without questioning them. This can manifest as a compulsive doing for others.

SX9 - Union

The sexual Sloth here loses its instinctive character and becomes an ability to perceive the need of the other. Their own pleasure can be experienced if it is at the service of the loved person’s pleasure, with a feeling of abnegation where the self has no space. These people tend to merge easily with others, losing touch with themselves in the process.

Triads / Centers of Intelligence

Triads are another additional theory to Enneagram. It suggests that there are three groups within the nine types that have similarities. Centers of Intelligence are the most universally accepted theory for triads, but there are others that have more debate about the accuracy of their descriptions. The three Centers of Intelligence are Head (5, 6, 7), Heart (2, 3, 4), and Gut (8, 9, 1).

Head - Fear - Thinking

The Head Triad copes with their dominant emotion of fear in how they respond to how they think and analyze. 5s express their fear by withdrawing, 6s turn to the outside world for security but likely always feel anxious or confront it, and 7s distract themselves from it. The way this triad perceives life in terms of finding a safe place and a safe way forward. They process what they have observed primarily through their heads, and reality can become what they construct within their thoughts more than what is happening. Those in this triad live most from their true self when they have substantive clarity about life and grasp reality comprehensively and perceptively. They are steady and stable in their life and are easily trusted. They are skilled at taking in information, ordering it, strategizing, and anticipating possibilities and consequences.

Heart/Image - Vanity - Feeling

The Heart Triad copes with their dominant emotion of shame in how they respond to the moods and feelings of themselves and others. 2s attempt to control their shame, 3s deny it, and 4s (like 2s) try to control it. People in this triad perceive the world in terms of connections to be made. Life is a social network to enter and engage in. They process relational reality primarily through and with their feelings. When those within this triad live from their essence, they live from a place of authenticity, truth, self-giving compassion, and forgiveness—all of which emerge from deep inner-directedness.

Gut/Body - Indolence - Instinct

The Gut Triad copes with their dominant emotion of anger or rage in the way they respond to gut feelings or physical sensations. 8s express their anger outwardly, 9s deny and likely feel threatened by these emotions, and 1s repress and try to control it. People in this triad perceive life as a struggle to be won in their attempt to accomplish something. Doing this tends to hold their ground rather than adapt to the situation. They process their world not primarily by thinking or feeling but by responding from a place deep within. They tend to pay attention to their intuitive grasp of people, circumstances, and relational dynamics. When healthy, those within this triad are not easily swayed by the opinions of others or what is happening in their present circumstances. They are relaxed and open and respond deeply and totally to the present moment.

Trifix

According to Ichazo, in addition to your main Enneagram type, you would also relate to and struggle with the fixations of the other two Centers of Intelligence that your core type is not part of. For example, if you're a 4, that would be the Heart triad type in your trifix, and you would also have the fixations of one Gut type and one Head type, for example, 451. the latter two types would be fixations that you may not struggle as much with, but instead they show the way you express yourself in the manner of each Intelligence Center triad. For example, one may be a Head core and have a certain Gut fix but only relate to the Gut type at certain times when they're thinking about the way they express anger.

How to Type Yourself

How to type yourself compiled from Maitri on PDB
How to type yourself by Ex PDB User

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Pub: 23 Feb 2025 20:45 UTC

Edit: 23 Feb 2025 20:45 UTC

Views: 1263