Discover the pitfalls of learning about the Enneagram and your Type

Can you have more than one Enneagram Type? The short answer is no. The Enneagram is a complex system that allows for a lot of range and variation in expressing your Type. However, you can only have ONE set of core motivations: one main fear, one core longing, and one core belief. Let me explain further. In previous posts , I've explained that a person's ego structure or Core Type is acquired at birth and developed by the surroundings into its current expression. Unlike some o

The Social Instinct (SO) is one of the three primary Instinctual Drives, alongside the Sexual and Self-Preservation instincts, and represents one part of the primal aspect of our human nature. It is connected to the reptilian part of our brain that constantly monitors ways to promote an individual's connection to others and ensures their belonging to a group ensure their survival. The Social Instinct highly emphasizes tribal belonging and connection due to the built in fear t

The One-to-One or Sexual Instinct (SX) is one of the three primary Instinctual Drives, alongside Social and Self-Preservation, and represents one part of the primal aspect of our human nature. It is connected to the reptilian part of our brain that constantly monitors ways to ensure attraction and connection with a special person and groups of people that will enable the procreation and survival of the individual. Beyond just attracting a mate, the Sexual Instinct aims to cre

Explanation of the Self-Preservation Instinctual Drive and how this looks depending on where it sits in and individual's Instinctual Stack.

Though often pushed to the back of our consciousness and buried under layers of ego, every human at their instinctual core is just trying to survive. At this instinctive level, there are three main areas of concern that help the individual survive in an uncertain world: Self-Preservation, Sexual, and Social. These make up the bestial side of us humans, a part of our lizard brain that watches for ways to keep the body safe, procreate, and live harmoniously with our fellow huma

Mistyping Series: Type Four vs. Type Nine

We've all done it. Started a casual conversation with someone that suddenly turned into an all out fight. What happened? If you TRULY...

Wings In the Enneagram, you are not confined to just the behavioral expressions or Core fears of your Type. Through your "Wings" or the Types directly adjacent you can also draw on and show the behaviors and fears of these Types. These Wings do not change your Core Type's motivations but flavor it with the behaviors and fears of the Types on either side of it. For example, a Type Two may have a One Wing or a Three Wing (or both), which will flavor the behaviors and fears

Is there a difference between Instinct and Subtype? Yes. This can be a super confusing topic, so it is not uncommon to use these terms interchangeably even after you've hung around the Enneagram world for awhile. What are the Instincts? Instincts are basic human drives that influence a person's way of engaging with the world. Some scientists believe that these Instincts reside in the reptilian part of the brain and is something we cannot control or influence once it has been

Object Relations: What is it? Object Relations is a psycho-analytic theory that describes the relationship or emotional energy felt by the subject toward a chosen object. These object relations tend to form from an early age into predictable patterns we express throughout in our relationships throughout our lives. These patterns become so predictable and prevalent that gaining some language around these can give us a better idea of how we are projecting our early years onto o

Enneagram Triads: What Are They? The Enneagram offers a unique system of categorizing the similarities shared between Types by grouping them into "Triads". These groupings of 3 different Types show the similarities shared between Types and offers nuance into their differences as well. Currently, there are four main types of Triads that are the most common in the Enneagram: the Instinctual, Conflict Coping, Interpersonal Relationship, and Object Relations. Many of these Triads