Enneagram

The Enneagram is an ancient spiritual and psychological growth system with deep connections to the great Wisdom Traditions, including the studies and practices of the fourth-century Desert Christians, and other monotheistic (one-God) mystical religions. When the Enneagram intersected with modern psychology of personality in the mid twentieth century, scholars found amazingly precise overlaps in these two systems that were separated in time, and the Enneagram of Personality was born – a powerful, therapeutic tool, reintegrating science with spirituality. (See our Resources page for books on the Enneagram of Personality and its history.) The Enneagram's mathematical formulas seem to reverberate with the timeless rhythms of God's truth. It is a very useful construct, mapping the archetypal patterns of human nature. While we all have all Nine patterns within us, it is accurate to say that each of us has a "dominant" pattern or enneatype. All the types are equal; all have positive and negative qualities; and all have their own version of blocking Presence and veiling essence.

Most personality systems simply categorize people by traits. While the Enneagram brilliantly identifies the full spectrum of human personality traits, it also invites people to live beyond traits, to mature into a broader repertoire of genuine strengths, and to learn to apply those strengths wisely to the various situations life presents. When we do the psychological and spiritual work of the Enneagram, we can live beyond fear, habit, and image-management; our lives are no longer driven by accident and distraction. We start to live our destiny.

The Nine Enneagram Types

Type One: The Reformer
	The principled, idealistic type. Ones are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic. They typically have problems with resentment and impatience. At their Best: wise, discerning, realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic.
Type Two: The Helper
	The caring, interpersonal type. Twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. They are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. They typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs. At their Best: unselfish and altruistic, they have unconditional love for others.
Type Three: The Achiever
	The adaptable, success-oriented type. Threes are self-assured, attractive, and charming. Ambitious, competent, and energetic, they can also be status-conscious and highly driven for advancement. They are diplomatic and poised, but can also be overly concerned with their image and what others think of them. They typically have problems with workaholism and competitiveness. At their Best: self-accepting, authentic, everything they seem to be–role models who inspire others.
Type Four: The Individualist
	The introspective, romantic type. Fours are self-aware, sensitive, and reserved. They are emotionally honest, creative, and personal, but can also be moody and self-conscious. Withholding themselves from others due to feeling vulnerable and defective, they can also feel disdainful and exempt from ordinary ways of living. They typically have problems with melancholy, self-indulgence, and self-pity. At their Best: inspired and highly creative, they are able to renew themselves and transform their experiences.
Type Five: The Investigator
	The perceptive, cerebral type. Fives are alert, insightful, and curious. They are able to concentrate and focus on developing complex ideas and skills. Independent, innovative, and inventive, they can also become preoccupied with their thoughts and imaginary constructs. They become detached, yet high-strung and intense. They typically have problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation. At their Best: visionary pioneers, often ahead of their time, and able to see the world in an entirely new way.
Type Six: The Loyalist
	The committed, security-oriented type. Sixes are reliable, hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy. Excellent "troubleshooters," they foresee problems and foster cooperation, but can also become defensive, evasive, and anxious–running on stress while complaining about it. They can be cautious and indecisive, but also reactive, defiant and rebellious. They typically have problems with self-doubt and suspicion. At their Best: internally stable and self-reliant, courageously championing themselves and others.
Type Seven: The Enthusiast
	The busy, productive type. Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous. Playful, high-spirited, and practical, they can also misapply their many talents, becoming over-extended, scattered, and undisciplined. They constantly seek new and exciting experiences, but can become distracted and exhausted by staying on the go. They typically have problems with impatience and impulsiveness. At their Best: they focus their talents on worthwhile goals, becoming appreciative, joyous, and satisfied.
Type Eight: The Challenger
	The powerful, aggressive type. Eights are self-confident, strong, and assertive. Protective, resourceful, straight-talking, and decisive, but can also be ego-centric and domineering. Eights feel they must control their environment, especially people, sometimes becoming confrontational and intimidating. Eights typically have problems with their tempers and with allowing themselves to be vulnerable. At their Best: self-mastering, they use their strength to improve others' lives, becoming heroic, magnanimous, and inspiring.
Type Nine: The Peacemaker
	The easy-going, self-effacing type. Nines are accepting, trusting, and stable. They are usually creative, optimistic, and supportive, but can also be too willing to go along with others to keep the peace. They want everything to go smoothly and be without conflict, but they can also tend to be complacent, simplifying problems and minimizing anything upsetting. They typically have problems with inertia and stubbornness. At their Best: indomitable and all-embracing, they are able to bring people together and heal conflicts.
Copyright 2001 The Enneagram Institute All Rights Reserved

Levels of Development

Don Riso and Russ Hudson discovered and developed the critical second dimension of the Enneagram of Personality, the Levels of Development. These Levels are a description of the Healthy-to-Unhealthy continuum that exists inside each of the Enneagram personality types. As Riso and Hudson put it:

"You have probably noticed that people change constantly—sometimes they are clearer, more free, grounded, and emotionally available, while at other times they are more anxious, resistant, reactive, emotionally volatile and less free. Understanding the Levels makes it clear that when they change states within their personality, they are shifting within the spectrum of motivations, traits, and defenses that make up their personality type."

"...To understand an individual accurately, it is necessary to perceive where the person lies along the continuum of Levels of his or her type at a given time. In other words, one must assess whether a person is in their healthy, average, or unhealthy range of functioning. This is important because, for example, two people of the same personality type and wing will differ significantly if one is healthy and the other unhealthy." (Reproduced with permission from the Enneagram Institute, All Rights Reserved, the Enneagram Institute Website, 2005, www.enneagraminstitute.com)

The Riso/Hudson Levels of Development:

The Structure of the Continuum of Levels
Level 1	HEALTHY	The Level of Liberation
Level 2		The Level of Psychological Capacity
Level 3		The Level of Social Value
Level 4	AVERAGE	The Level of Imbalance/ Social Role
Level 5		The Level of Interpersonal Control
Level 6		The Level of Overcompensation
Level 7	UNHEALTHY	The Level of Violation
Level 8		The Level of Obsession and Compulsion
Level 9		The Level of Pathological Destructiveness

Used with permission from the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Institute, All Rights Reserved 2005

Wings, Directions of Integration and Disintegration

Each type has a Wing (or Wings), a Direction of Integration, and a Direction of Disintegration. The Enneagram symbol is a profound mathematical formula with meaningful connections between all of its points. Usually an individual will notice that one of the two types adjacent to his /her main enneatype on the circle adds a certain flavor to his/her personality. This adjacent type is the Wing. (Interestingly, some people experience effects from both Wings.) Additionally, the inner arrows of the Enneagram indicate what each type will do under different conditions. Riso and Hudson identified these as the Direction of Integration and the Direction of Disintegration. If there is secure internal and external support for growth, the personality will tend to move toward characteristics of the enneatype that is its Direction of Integration. This is the 8-2-4-1-7-5-8 pattern, and the 9-3-6-9 pattern. If there is more internal and external stress, the personality will tend to move toward the characteristics of the enneatype that is its Direction of Disintegration. This is the 8-5-7-1-4-2-8 pattern, and the 9-6-3-9 pattern. (For more in-depth information on the dimensions of the Enneagram of Personality, please see the recommended books and websites on our Resources page.

Discover Your Enneagram Type – Take the Sample RHETI!

The 36 questions in this Enneagram test are only a small portion of the full, independently scientifically validated 144-question RHETI – Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Inventory . It usually takes about 10 minutes to complete. Short personality quizzes such as this cannot guarantee that your basic personality type will be indicated, although your type will most likely be in the top three scores in this personality test. We recommend that you read the summary descriptions of the Enneagram Types to further narrow down which is your basic personality type.

To accurately assess your Enneagram type and to better understand all of the 9 types, we recommend that you take the complete version of the RHETI Enneagram Test so that you will have access to as much information about yourself and each of the types as possible.