Virtues view of the Enneagram by Jonathan M Marden
The contents of these Enneagram website pages are the result spanning 20+ years of analysis and research of the Enneagram, a tool to help people become more self-aware. The various Enneagram terms, words, and descriptions written within this site are careful selection choices made by me based on my understandings of the model taught to me by a Christian organisation back in 2000. Please note my acknowledgments of other people's internet available work that have inspired me in my own studies. Every effort has been made to avoid any copyright infringement.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: To ensure descriptor word integrity and uniqueness, I accessed synonym functionality using "www/Thesaurus.com/" and "www.PowerThesaurus.org".
Also my sincere thanks to the various people and organisations whose publicly (internet) accessible work and ideas have inspired and added to my own understanding and thinking that has gone into this work.
In particular, I wish to acknowledge the following...'
1) Copyrighted "Tritype®" work by K.Chernick Fauvre (ref: www.katherinefauvre.com/tritype)
2) Dr David Kiersey's Temperament Sorter (ref: Keirsey Temperament Sorter (via wikipedia))
3) Myers-Briggs Thinking Styles (MTBI® Function Dominance)
4) LV Berens - 16 Personality Types (ref: https://lindaberens.com)
5) Riso-Hudson's 'Harmonic Emotional State', 'Hornevian Social Style', 'Object Relations'
6) Susan Rhodes' “Basic Life Orientation” grouping
7) Dr David Daniel's “Harmony” grouping
8) ER.Meyer's (PHD) "Relational Psychology of Enneatypes" (ref: ninepointsmagazine.org)
9) Ned Herrmann's 4 quadrant / whole brain model (via wikipedia)
10) Dr Fergus Duniho's triad oriented 28 question multi choice test written circa 2000
The traditional Enneagram has two perspectives....
Perspective (A)
Determining your “Primary Motivational Type” from one of the nine numbers as represented across the following centre of cleverness groups....
Heart-Feeling (2, 3, 4) Head-Thinking (5, 6, 7) Gut-Instinct (8, 9, 1)
Perspective (B)
Using the arrow lines (in red) that point toward "Positive Health and Well Being"
– i.e. (3 to 6 to 9 to 3); (1 to 7 to 5 to 8 to 2 to 4 to 1)
The arrows in the diagram above denote the direction toward well-being and positive health functioning. In other words if a person practises the behaviours of the enneagram type as shown at the end of their "arrow" that leads from their primary motivational type, this will help to improve their level of self-awareness and self-actualization. Conversely un-health functioning is in reverse directions. For instance - a person who identifies as a Enneagram '2' - caring / loving who then acts like an 8 - defender / warrior can become a manipulator, using obligation to bully and control. But to be a “healthier” '2' - a caring / loving motivated person should try to undertake more creative and distinctly expressive practises like a '4' (unique).
Please Note: The “Lines of Health” in some contemporary Enneagram diagrams are in a reverse direction than that shown in the above 'Clock Face' diagram. Some Enneagrammers prefer to show the directional arrows based on “Lines of Stress” rather than the “Lines of Positive Health” being described here. However, the intention of this discussion is to emphasize positive well-being opportunities that a holistic and triadic view of the Enneagram can bring.
OVERVIEW - The Enneagram has an interesting background with a variety of origins and histories of ideas and theories, some still in dispute today. The divergent contributors include Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo. Later, within the United States, Helen Palmer, Riso and Hudson, and others, all assisted with its ongoing development.
The modern Enneagram is now seen as an assessment tool or a type of psychological model intended to help bring insight and awareness of others and of oneself. Whilst many of the other "4 Types" psychological / personality tools, including the Myers-Briggs model, for instance, can all help a person identify their preferences for particular styles of communication, thinking and information processing etc; while the Enneagram, instead tries to help a person to identify their preferences toward a particular intrinsic or internalised motivational style.
The Enneagram is based on the concept that all human beings have three centres of cleverness - head (thinking), heart (feeling), and gut / body (instinct).
Within each cleverness centre, the model then uses numbers (not numerical but only as symbols) to further define internalised motivational elements. This model also includes directional arrows that denote behavioural improvement opportunities that can give rise to increased personal insight and an ability to function better and more healthily within one’s life. In other words, a person can be said to be ‘healthy’ in Enneagram terms which means that a person's level of self-awareness and self-actualization are high.
NB: The three regions of the Enneagram model are more commonly referred to as the three centres of intelligence. However, I personally prefer to call these three regions as the “centres of cleverness”. This is because the use of the word ‘cleverness’ gives the opportunity to better designate the use of the word “intelligence” to the domain of ‘head thinking’. Also on a more personal note, the other reason the expression ‘centres of cleverness’ is preferred is because in general English language use, the word ‘intelligence’ can imply some degree of recognised or formalised education, whereas ‘cleverness’ can exist irrespective of any formalised education – for instance it can be innate as in ‘cunning’.
Using the Enneagram:
There are now a plethora of websites (both free and ‘pay-per-view’) available online that outline different interpretations and applications of the Enneagram. However, there are two very important premises that are fundamental to its use:
(A) All humans can and do function daily across all of the Enneagram’s nine motivational types but only one is considered a person’s primary default or permanent home base. It is generally accepted that a person’s primary motivational type, as defined by the Enneagram model, comes from the subconscious level, forged from earliest childhood awareness and upbringing i.e. is not genetic, though some argue that there may be some defining inborn traits that factor into a person’s intrinsic motivational make-up.
(B) A person deciding which particular motivational type is their home base or persistent primary motivation is a decision that is best made by that person, presuming they have understood all the aspects of the motivational types as described in the Enneagram’s “clock-face”. There are various self-help tests and Enneagram teachers available, who may suggest or indicate a person’s possible / probable primary motivational type but only by discovering about each of the motivation types can a person truly decide which of the 9 primary motivations is the better description that applies to them.
My understanding of the model's psychology is based on the following summarised perspectives:
Enneagram Child's earliest perception was they were NOT... Child perceived they were... The adult then seeks self worth through...
2) endearingly loved nor caringly wanted too needy and demanding warmth, caring and giving toward others
3) adoringly prized nor genuinely liked a failure and incompetent successfully setting and winning goals
4) appealingly bonded with nor tenderly admired inferior and contemptable individual expressiveness and originality
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5) thoughtfully affirmed nor openly acknowledged inattentive and ignorant astutely being well informed and observant
6) devotedly sheltered nor convincingly kept safe inadequate and unreliable ensuring responsibility to do the right thing
7) gladly celebrated nor playfully enjoyed too sad and inconsolable cheerful eagerness for all that life has to offer
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8) courageously defended nor strongly valued too weak and feeble taking the lead and being in charge
9) respectfully accepted nor harmoniously included disruptive and a nuisance easily relaxing in the harmonies of life
1) favourably approved nor consistently well treated imperfect and not up to measure pursuing the perfect way to do what is right