What is the Enneagram?

Enneagram is pronounced ‘IN-E-UH-GRAM.’  We talk about the system by saying ‘the enneagram’, not ‘an enneagram.’

The word "Enneagram" comes from the Greek words "ennea" (nine) and "gramma" (something that's drawn or written).

This is not just another fad personality test - it is a 50+ years old personality-based model that helps us recognize and understand ourselves in deep, intuitive ways. The goal is to guide us toward personal growth and the ability to thrive without shame or judgment. It helps you observe yourself more clearly and appreciate how others may see situations differently than you do, particularly when under stress.

Where did it come from?

The symbol itself has ancient roots, connected to many cultures and spiritual traditions, but was formed in 1960s South America by Oscar Ichazo in his pursuit to study the inner self. A noted group of teachers, psychologists, and writers traveled to Ichazo's school to learn from him about self-actualization and helped spread the Enneagram wisdom. While this method of inner wisdom was originally popular in the US through Spiritual Direction, it is currently gaining secular popularity for its positive psychological impact on human growth and mental health.

One of the main themes of the Enneagram is to recognize that we experience psychic pain when we are disconnected from our core essence and higher self. Our goal is to be as connected to that core self as possible; that is where we experience the most confidence and love, build the healthiest relationships, and have the most positive impact on our communities. When we are disconnected from that core essence, we become reactive and ego-driven. Some Enneagram teachings highlight the connection to the Seven Deadly Sins (of which there were originally nine) as examples of how each type devolves into reactiveness and ego.

Why is it so helpful?

The Enneagram is a visual map of how our personalities are dynamic and can adjust based on life experiences, culture, and family life while always remaining the same core type. The Enneagram is a tool to help us better understand personalities and emotions. Doing so may offer more confidence to be themselves and have compassion for someone else's experiences. Using the Enneagram helps anyone observe themselves more clearly and appreciate how other people may see situations differently than they do, particularly when under stress. Having compassion, even for someone who sees things differently, helps build healthy and enjoyable relationships and communities.

Identifying one's Type will create deep self-awareness and personal responsibility. It will help them understand the motivations behind what they do and guide them in making decisions that create the life that they want to live. Understanding motivations and patterns without shame and judgment improves mental and physical health. Using the Enneagram in personal growth work allows anyone to be able to understand their emotions more clearly, show up in their relationships better, and even become better parents (ultimately reducing any generational trauma effects too).

Want a deep dive? Check out the Growth Guides

A personalized guide for each Enneagram type that will jumpstart your learning by telling you where to start and what to consider next

You are born with your number and it is the same throughout your life. We say “I am a Type 6” and do not say “I am a Type 6-2-7” or “When I’m mad, I’m a Type 9.”

The 9 Enneagram Types

Nine distinctive personalities are described in the diagram and each reflects the unique motivations behind your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Each personality type is described in much deeper ways than their superficial preferences like some other personality systems. The Enneagram reflects core fears and desires that create strengths as well as the problematic behaviors of each personality.

What makes each number dynamic is that they are connected to 4 other numbers at any time to round out your uniqueness and reflect your specific life stresses and successes. To use the Enneagram successfully, we must determine our type (not let someone else decide for us!) and then seek to understand what that type looks like on us in our unique experiences and our personal hopes and dreams.

Many Enneagram teachers and models give names to each of the types, like “Helper” or “Loyalist.” I have chosen not to do that in any of my products and discussions for two reasons: sometimes we all forget which title goes with which type (and I don’t want that pressure), and words can have incredible power and may not have a positive impact when someone is called something like the “Challenger.”

Read more here about how I help my clients learn and explore their Enneagram types.

  • Type 1

    Ones are driven towards excellence, responsibility, and a desire for things to be correct or good. They fear being wrong or bad or not being able to live according to their values. They will often express concern about doing work correctly and care about ways they could do even better.

  • Type 2

    Twos are primarily concerned with building and maintaining relationships because their core fear is being unlovable and therefore abandoned. They invest in relationships primarily by being helpful and focusing on meeting needs - everyone's except their own. They will likely focus on relationships as the source of their highs and lows and struggle to focus on themselves.

  • Type 3

    Threes are focused on achievement and being well regarded by others. Motivated by external validation and accomplishment, they are often seen as driven, high-achieving, or focused. They may struggle to acknowledge their own emotions and be overly focused on what others think.

  • Type 4

    Fours are connected to the emotional tone of their surroundings and often use creative expression to process their emotions. They may be confused by their own melancholy when they are disconnected from their passion, and at other times feel enlivened by the beauty of their experiences.

  • Type 5

    Fives are curators of their time and attention, often having many hobbies or deeply explored areas of interest. They prefer to have ample time alone to regain the energy they share with others. They are perceptive and deep thinking and are less reliant on others to meet their needs. They will have difficulty expressing emotions and recognizing the full impact of situations on themselves or others.

  • Type 6

    Sixes are driven to achieve a sense of safety (not necessarily physical) through control and precise planning. They highly value responsibility, predictability, and building relationships. As one of the more naturally anxious numbers, sixes benefit from working on self-awareness, managing their thoughts, and creating safety in the present moment.

  • Type 7

    Sevens love to liven things up and are often making people laugh or cheering them on. They are hard workers, deep thinkers, and focus on meeting their own needs. They benefit from building tolerance for uncomfortable or heavy emotions in order to ground themselves to the difficulties in life and recognize that others do in fact want to meet their needs too.

  • Type 8

    Eights are great protectors of their tribes and are often seen advocating for the underdog or a point of view. They are unafraid of disagreements and are decisive, making them natural leaders. They benefit from building awareness of their impact on others (particularly when they feel anger) and finding ways to enjoy rest.

  • Type 9

    Nines like to be easy-going and peace-making in their environments, reassuring others and open to new ideas. Since they are primarily focused on avoiding conflict, they often struggle with voicing their opinions and unique perspectives. They can be overlooked by others or be disengaged from their own life.

Wings

Wings are another way that the Enneagram shows us how our personalities can change. Wings are the Types directly on either side of our core Type. They represent personality traits that we may use at any time, whether in times of stress or additional growth (integration). It is common that we have a stronger connection to one Wing throughout our life, and later gain a stronger connection to both Wings. A Type 4 with a strong wing 5 would be referred to as ‘Type 4 Wing 5’ or ‘4w5.’

Stress and Security Lines

The two lines connected to each numbered point are called Stress and Growth lines (sometimes called disintegration and integration, or stress and harmony). They represent one of the ways we behave differently when we are faced with stress or a period of growth (i.e. integration). Stress can come from joyous or difficult events and is defined as tension in your body during a time of change or challenge. Growth begins when we can reflect and integrate new ideas or skills for the next chapter. It is often taught that we take on the healthiest traits of our Growth Type and the unhealthiest traits of our Stress Type, but many teachers (including myself) have observed that people take on a range of healthy and unhealthy traits in both directions.

Centers of Intelligence

One of the most significant triad groupings is called the Centers of Intelligence Triad. These groups of 3 describe important distinctions in how each Type primarily experiences the world. Either through their emotions (the Heart Triad in blue), their thinking (the Head Triad in yellow), or their intuition/gut (the Gut Triad in red). These Triads describe what matters to each person, what they want to get right, how they interpret their perceptions, and how they will try to avoid their fears. There are many more triads that are worth learning about: (name them here). If you want a quick summary of them all, grab my Quick Reference: All Types & Triads to help!