From the President Mario Sikora

From the President Mario Sikora 

© International Enneagram Association (2012), All Rights Reserved 

Jan-Mar, 2012 

As the year winds down it is natural to take stock of what has passed and 

think about what is to come. I d like to share with the IEA membership a 

little bit about what happened in 2011 and what is in store for 2012 

For starters, we had a very successful international conference in Ft 

Lauderdale. In addition to hosting a variety of great speakers, the feeling 

of community was palpable. One of the founders of the IEA commented 

that the sense of collaboration and sharing was finally approaching what 

was envisioned at the beginning of the IEA in the mid-1990s. Excitement 

is already building about the 2012 conference in Long Beach, CA. A 

number of format changes are in store that we hope will make the 

conference more varied and interactive. Zen teacher Cheri Huber will be 

the keynote speaker and the endnote speaker will be social neuroscience 

researcher Dario Nardi; both will talk about how the Enneagram 

influences their practice of their disciplines. 

There were other gatherings as well, including conferences in Colombia, Hong Kong, and Mexico. 

Regional conferences for 2012 are planned in Madrid (February) and Santiago (October). Many people 

are not aware that the Enneagram has deep roots in Chile, so having a Latin American conference in that 

country s capital has historic significance and IEA Chile is already hard at work to make it a success. 

Our affiliates continue to expand and thrive. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend affiliate 

functions in Spain, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina this year and hope to get to others in 2012. New 

affiliates were formed in Belarus, France, and Sweden, and there are discussions occurring in three or 

four other countries at the moment. The 3 rd annual General Assembly of Affiliates was held prior to the 

Ft Lauderdale conference, and preparations are already underway for the 4 th . That meeting will be held 

just prior to the 2012 conference and while active participation is limited to affiliate delegates, all IEA 

members are invited to attend all or part of the day-long event. 

In other news, the IEA is improving its accreditation program. The accreditation program is an important 

step toward the IEA s vision of a world where the Enneagram is widely understood and constructively 

used. The accreditation program is not an attempt to regulate Enneagram theory, it is a communal 

effort to adhere to standards of training and ethical practice. It is an opportunity for Enneagram 

practitioners to become a self-regulating group committed to increased professionalism in the field. 

Further details on the accreditation program will be arriving soon. 

Finally, there is a governance issue that I have the pleasure of announcing: the IEA board has named 

Maria Jose Munita to be president-elect. Maria Jose, the current IEA vice-president, will assume the 

office of president in January 2013. In January 2012, CJ Fitzsimons will begin serving as IEA vicepresident 

and Lynda Roberts will assume the role of IEA secretary. Gail Barber will continue as the IEA s 

treasurer. 

It was a great year for the IEA and we believe that 2012 will be even better. On behalf of the whole IEA 

board, I wish you all the blessings of the season and a healthy and happy new year.

De parte del Presidente de la IEA Mario Sikora 

Como los vientos del año y con una caída que es natural, y con el fin de hacer un 

balance de lo que ha pasado y pensar en lo que está por venir, me gustaría 

compartir con los miembros de la IEA un poco sobre lo que ocurrió en 2011 y lo que 

está por venir para el 2012 

Para comenzar, tuvimos una conferencia internacional de gran éxito en Ft. 

Lauderdale. Además de albergar una variedad de grandes ponentes, el sentimiento 

de la comunidad era palpable. Uno de los fundadores de la IEA comentó que el 

sentido de la colaboración y el intercambio consistió finalmente en acercarse a lo 

que se previó al inicio de la IEA en la década de 1990. La excitación. ilusión y el 

espíritu de emprendimiento ya se está construyendo para el próximo congreso de la 2012 en Long 

Beach, California. Una serie de cambios en el formato están en el almacén , y esperamos que el 

congreso sea más variado e interactivo. La profesora Zen Cheri Huber será la que abra la conferencia 

como Keynote y el investigador sobre neurociencia social Dario Nardi, cerrará con la Endnote el 

congreso. Ambos hablarán sobre cómo el Eneagrama influye en la práctica de sus disciplinas. 

Hubo otros congresos locales en Colombia, Hong Kong y México. Las conferencias locales para el 2012 

están previstas en Madrid (febrero) y las regionales en Santiago de Chile (octubre). Muchas personas no 

son conscientes de que el Eneagrama tiene profundas raíces en Chile, así que tener una conferencia 

latinoamericana en la capital de ese país tiene un significado histórico y Chile IEA ya está trabajando 

duro para que sea un éxito. 

Nuestras afiliadas siguen creciendo y prosperando. Yo mismo tuve la suerte de poder asistir a las 

reuniones de afiliadas en España, Colombia, Chile y Argentina este año y esperamos llegar a las demás 

en 2012. Las nuevas afiliadas se formaron en Bielorusia, Francia y Suecia, y hay movimientos en tres o 

cuatro de otros países más en estos momentos. 

La tercera Asamblea General anual de afiliadas se llevó a cabo antes de la conferencia de Fort 

Lauderdale, y los preparativos ya están en marcha para la cuarta reunión de afiliadas (GAA). Esa reunión 

se celebrará justo antes de la conferencia de 2012, y en la participación activa se invita a los delegados 

de afiliadas, y aparte, todos los miembros de la IEA están invitados a asistir a todo o a parte del evento 

que será de un día de duración. 

En otras noticias, quiero señalar que la IEA está mejorando su programa de acreditación. El programa de 

acreditación es un paso importante hacia la visión de la IEA sobre un mundo donde el Eneagrama sea 

ampliamente comprendido y utilizado de manera constructiva. El programa de acreditación no es un 

intento de regular la teoría del Eneagrama, es un esfuerzo colectivo para cumplir las normas de la 

formación y la práctica ética del mismo. Es una oportunidad para los profesionales de Eneagrama para 

convertirse en un grupo de auto-regulación de un mayor compromiso profesional en este campo. Más 

detalles sobre el programa de acreditación llegarán bien pronto. 

Por último, hay un asunto que tengo el placer de anunciar: la junta directiva de la IEA ha nombrado a 

María José Munita para ser presidente electo para el año 2012. María José, actual vicepresidenta de la 

IEA, asumirá el cargo de presidente en enero de 2013. En enero de 2012, CJ Fitzsimons comenzará a 

servir como vicepresidente de la IEA y Lynda Roberts asumirá el papel de la secretaria. Gail Barber 

continuará como tesorera de la IEA. 

Fue un gran año para la IEA y creemos que el 2012 será aún mejor. En nombre de toda la junta directiva 

de la IEA, les deseo todas las bendiciones para un nuevo año feliz y saludable. 

2 

© International Enneagram Association (2012), All Rights Reserved

Founding an Affiliate 

Sweden forms a new Enneagram association 

Susanne Povelsen (with Theo Alexander Gerken) 

Jan-Mar, 2012 

On a bright and sunny winter day in November, I, Susanne Povelsen, went to Sweden to attend a 

meeting of a group of people who wanted to establish an IEA Affiliate. A couple of months earlier I 

had been contacted by one of the initiators, Tina Tornell, who wanted me to come and tell about the 

experiences of forming an affiliate in Denmark, as well as giving information about the global IEA 

organization. Being a board member both in IEA Denmark and the global IEA, I gladly accepted the 

invitation and looked forward to hand over some useful information and to assist on the new 

establishment of an IEA affiliate. 

About 30 people had shown up in a meeting room in the center of Gothenburg to attend this 

inaugural meeting. Sweden is geographically a long country and the population of Enneagram 

enthusiasts is, of course, spread across the whole country. Gothenburg is in the south of the country 

and was chosen because it is easily accessible for most people. 

During the meeting I gave a presentation on the organization of IEA, including the work and services, 

ethical guidelines, and accreditation, amongst other things. 

The group was divided into five sub-groups who sat down to discuss what they would like the 

Swedish affiliate to provide, and also any potential obstacles to the process. After a presentation 

from each of the groups a nice list of ideas, wishes and contributions appeared; a really good starting 

point for an affiliate. 

Then I shared the experiences that we have had in the Danish affiliate that has existed for 6 years. 

This was valuable information, both in terms of getting the association started in a positive way, and 

also in terms of being prepared to pay attention to some of the difficulties that may arise. 

The atmosphere was very positive and the group of people enthusiastic and focused. After a short 

coffee break with great chocolate cake, the group was now ready to take a formal vote for 

establishing the affiliate and selecting board members. 

One of the young participants (also a journalist student), Theo Alexander Gerken interviewed the 

initiator of the Swedish affiliate, Tina Tornell, who runs a company called Enneagramcoach with her 

business partner, Ann Timm. The main purpose of the company is to spread Enneagram knowledge 

in the business and organizational field. Tina and Ann do the team work and teaching together. Their 

main line of work is team development and among their clients at present are banks, day care 

centers, IT-companies and the municipality of Stockholm. 

We always work with individuals on a one-on-one basis as well as with the whole group in 

workshops about the Enneagram, says Tina. The Enneagram has not been that widely spread in 

Sweden, so although the company has existed for a couple of years now there is still a lot of time 

spent on marketing both the services of the company and the Enneagram in Sweden. It is a full time 

job. We also offer 2-hour introductions to the Enneagram often with a special theme included, such 

as decision making . 



Tina Tornell helped taking initiative to get the Swedish Enneagram Association started. We got 

things started by inviting all the people we had heard of who were interested in the Enneagram to 

Stockholm in May 2011; that is where it was decided to create the Swedish Association. 

Isn't it hard to found an organization from scratch? 

Not hard at all when you have a strong interest and a lot of other people who are supportive and 

also want to contribute. It was no problem getting people for the board for example. 

Did you use any knowledge acquired from your previous job as an civil economist? 

I don´t think my education had anything to do with it; probably my best help is my Social Instinct 

which makes me feel it is just fun to do something like this. I really enjoy sharing and creating things 

together with others! Also being a Seven brings out the natural enthusiasm and energy for getting 

something started. 

Who helped you, and did you all contribute equally, or was there a driving force? 

From when we started meeting in May, there have been many people contributing, but foremost 

the work group we set up. The interest the association has gained from all the people who have said 

they want to join It has also been very encouraging. I have had many encouraging e-mails! 

Will you have website and do you have a budget to work with? 

One of the first tasks for the board is setting up a website and we are working on the contents and 

which supplier to use. One of the board members came up with the great idea that we should invite 

people to become founding members which meant that they chipped in some start-up money for the 

association. This made it possible to have a sufficient budget for starting a good website. 

How many members do you have, and how many put down that extra 150 dollars to be a 

"founding" members? 

Over 50 people e-mailed us that they wanted to become members during the set-up process of the 

organization. On top of that I believe that all of them have people they know who would like to join. I 

hope we will be 100 members by 2013. And it was fantastic that 32 people wanted to be founding 

members. 

Did you get inspiration for your work eg. looking at other affiliates around the world? 

We had a lot of help and inspiration from Susanne Povelsen of the Danish association, IEA Denmark. 

We would recommend that others seek out experienced people to help them to get started. 

What are your thoughts about the organization, and what do you want to accomplish? 

The main idea is to spread the Enneagram more widely in Sweden and to be a place where people 

who are interested in the Enneagram can meet, share and learn. We also want to make sure that the 

Enneagram is used in an ethical way in Sweden. I expect that those who join us are mainly people 

who are genuinely interested in the Enneagram and also feel that they will benefit from being a 

member, benefits that would be difficult to get elsewhere. 

2 



Many people have the Enneagram as a pure interest, and others make money working with the 

Enneagram. In Sweden it seems like approximately 50-60% of the members of the new Swedish 

Enneagram Association are people who to some extend try to make a living working with the 

Enneagram, e.g. as coaches. The rest of the members are there because the Enneagram is of great 

interest for them on a personal level. 

The meeting was rounded up with a glass of champagne to celebrate and I was happy to be able to 

hand over the IEA Toolkit, which is very helpful material and guidelines for starting up an affiliate. 

Congratulations to Sweden! 

Susanne Povelsen 

3 



Jan-Mar, 2012 

A Reality: The First International Enneagram Congress in Mexico! 

The Enneagram in Your Everyday Life , Nov. 12 & 13 2011 

Marcela Talancón 

Right from the start, Expo Bancomer in Sta Fe, Mexico City, is flooded with the shared energy, flowing 

smoothly from person to person; all brought to life by the splendid organization of the creative and 

hard-working organising committee. 

Seeing more than 100 people gathered by the same passion in one place is truly exciting. People from 

various countries gathered here in Mexico for the first time in order to witness the great teachers share 

their knowledge and efforts, as well as sharing their own knowledge and experience concerning one 

subject, sharing and stimulating the teaching of the Enneagram. 

The event begins with an extraordinary speech delivered by the key note speaker, Gaby Vargas, 

Connect , where, with a masterful flow, she shared her vision about each of us connecting with a 

divine essence, an inner light that we all carry within that is often dimmed by our own personality. Gaby 

shows us the way that we can all connect with our personality, raising our awareness in order to dwell in 

self-observation to connect with that, which matters most. It is what makes us go back home to the 

peace and serenity we all search for. 

Break time is upon us. So it is time to rejoice in reuniting with old friends, time to discuss what we have 

listened to, and time to enjoy the company of people with a shared passion.



Ginger Lapid-Bogda, corporate consultant and Enneagram expert, shares her knowledge about using the 

Enneagram in a work environment with dynamic exercises that help put the work group in motion as 

well as set the body, mind and emotion into working as one. 

Peter O Hanrahan, with over 30 years teaching in the Narrative Tradition, creates a group of panels, who 

speak through their own type and share their experiences, telling us how they organise their focus 

around the type of personalities within the Enneagram. 

We start Sunday morning with Eduardo Rosas and a great presentation on how the spiritual life is 

important in order for us to reach our essence, making us aware that we can change the world by 

changing ourselves. 

And last, but not least, in a very engaging conference, Isabel Salama, is here from Spain with a 

completely different approach; she is helping patients using animals with her knowledge of the 

Enneagram. Her presentation is animated with images where the evolution of the bond between 

humans and animals is clearly documented. 

Mexico is filled with people eager to learn about the Enneagram. The congress comes to an end with a 

great feeling of collaboration and with every participant eagerly waiting 2012. 

2 




Before the Congress started our annual meeting took place and we would like to welcome the new 

board members of the IEA in Mexico: 

Adelaida Harrison: President 

Andrea Vargas: Accreditations 

Rafael Ruiz: Research and New Projects 

Jorge Mendoza: Web Page 

Rita Flores: Treasurer 

Claudia Paniagua: Structure and planning 

Mónica Tinoco: Monthly meetings and Events 

Marcela Talancón: Newsletter and Nine Points 

As well as all the new members of our community. 

3 


© International Enneagram Association (2012), All Rights Reserve 

Jan-Mar, 2012 

Third International Enneagram Conference of IEA Spain 

The Association of professionals, researchers and popularizers of the science known as the 

Enneagram, AENEGRAMA, organizes its Third International Congress in Madrid on 25 and February 

26, 2012, with the slogan "What is the Enneagram?" 

The goal of the Congress is once again to call upon all interested in using the Enneagram, regardless 

of their approach, school or origin, to share their different approaches. We have invited speakers to 

present something that represents what the Enneagram to them, their understanding and their 

application in different fields. 

As previously announced, the Congress will be held over two days and will host lectures given 

by internationally renowned personalities in the field of Enneagram. 

Previously we have chosen our speakers beforehand, but for the first time this 

year Aeneagrama sent out an invitation to all of our accredited affiliates asking them if they wanted 

to present papers at our Third Conference. 

Details of the programme including the title of each presentation and a brief description of the 

content with a biographical sketch of each of the speakers. 

The speakers at the conference are: 

Pastora Mompeán Franco 

Victoriano Martí Gil 

Concha Moreno y Pedro Espadas 

Julieta Balart 

Leandro Fernandez Macho 

Isabel Salama Falabella 

Carlos Velasco 

Antonio Quitana y Santiago de Gregorio 

The list of international guest speakers: 

Mario Sikora 

Thomas Condon 

CJ Fitzsimons 

Viviana Trucco 

Delbar Niroushak 

As Spanish speakers have been invited 

Lluis Serra 

Alberto Muñoz de Sus. 

See the program in Spanish using this link: 

http://www.isabelsalama.com/Programa%20Congreso%202012%20%281%29-3.docx

First Latinamerican Conference 

Santiago, Chile, October 2012 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

We are proud to announce that this year Chile will host the First Latinamerican Enneagram Conference 

in Santiago. The location was chosen by the regional representatives who attended the General 

Assembly of Affiliates (GAA) in Fort Lauderdale, because of the importance of our country in the origin 

of the Enneagram of Personality. It was in Arica, in the northern part of Chile, where Oscar Ichazo 

started teaching it, and it was Claudio Naranjo, a chilean psychiatrist, who expanded it and took it to the 

US. 

At the conference, which will take place from October 26th to 28th 2012, there will be presenters 

mainly from Latinamerica, Spain and United States. Some who have already confirmed their 

participation are Russ Hudson, Mario Sikora and Isabel Salama. 

We want to make this an opportunity to honor the roots of the Enneagram and also the new applcations 

and different approaches which is why the name of the conference will be La Riqueza de la Diversidad 

or The Richness of Diversity . 

The Conference will take place in spring, when we have lovely weather and all those who come to the 

conference will be able to take advantage of the beautiful places that our country, nestled in the foot of 

the majestic Andes, offers. 

We hope to see you here in October! 

M. Eliana Zlatar Zamora 

IEA Chile Board Member

Act Now 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

Plan now to join friends and colleagues old and new at the 2012 IEA Conference in Long Beach, 

California, USA, July 27 29. 

In addition to an outstanding line-up of presenters (to be revealed in the next edition of Nine Points), I 

can announce several new and user-friendly features. 

Pre-Conference Day, July 26 

David Daniels, MD and Russ Hudson s day will include facilitated break out groups, question and answer 

sessions and an opportunity for discussion with Russ and David. 

Welcome Reception 

The reception this year will be held on the historic, luxurious Queen Mary, the travel home for royalty 

for decades before transatlantic flights. The rich, the famous and the adventuresome sailed, ate, drank 

and danced their way between Europe and the USA. During the Second World War, the Queen Mary 

was put into service, transporting troops and supplies across the Atlantic. Now she is anchored across 

the bay from our conference centre, the Long Beach Westin. This is the perfect and elegant location to 

begin our Enneagram gathering, to greet those we haven t seen for a year, and to meet and welcome 

those new to our community. Hors d oevures will be provided. Dress up or come casual, but don t miss 

the boat! 

Creative Café 

Back on land, there will be plenty of time to visit the Creative Café where you can experiment with your 

artistic expression, meet friends for coffee and conversation, and relax and enjoy. Pick up a paintbrush, 

pastels, or cut and paste and add to our Back to the Future mural. 

How To 

This is a new track to the conference designed, run and facilitated by the IEA Board. Our aim is to help to 

put into practice your newly acquired skills and knowledge so that you can go away from the conference 

with the confidence to apply the Enneagram to your field of work. We are still at the design stage of this 

exciting new innovation so keep an eye out in Nine Points for further details over the next few months. 

Sessions 

Many new presenters will offer their ideas and research covering a wide range of topics; over the next 

few months, they will be sharing more details about their presentations to help you to plan the 

conference experience best suited to your wants and needs.

Act Now 

Our old presenters will be bringing fresh ideas to the table as well; all based on their long-term, solid 

experience with the Enneagram. For those of you who are new to the Enneagram, this is the perfect 

opportunity to sample the work of the teachers whose work you have read or about whom you have 

heard; they ll be at Long Beach, will you? 

Airfares are at their lowest now, so book your flight, register early and reserve your hotel room. Long 

Beach and its environs have so much to offer, so why not plan on staying before or after the 

conference? Or bring along family and friends? 

Finally, the more people who attend our conferences the better the experience for all of us, so please 

encourage your colleagues and friends to come along too; all are welcome. Let s make this the best 

conference ever. 

See you there 

Kathryn Grant 

2012 Conference Chair 

2 


The Board 2012 

News from Your Board 

Jan-Mar, 2012 

As we enter another new year, I d like to tell you about some of the changes that we have 

made on the IEA Board for 2012: 

President: Mario Sikora 

Vice-President: CJ Fitzsimons 

Secretary: Lynda Roberts 

Treasurer: Gail Barber 

I am sure that those of you who know them will agree that we have a great team and that 

the IEA is in really safe hands for another year. Many of you will also have noticed that there 

is a name missing from this group. 

President Elect 2012 & President 2013/2014 

It is my personal privilege and pleasure to announce that the IEA 

Board has elected our President for the years 2013 and 2014. 

María José Munita will act as our President Elect during 2012 and 

then take on the mantle of President for the next two years. 

Mario will step down as President but remain on the Board until 

the end of 2014. 

I ve been talking with María José about her new role and her 

feelings about the future. 

MJ was first introduced the Enneagram by her parents when she was 18 and so has spent 

over half of her life immersed in the model. She has a background in marketing and worked 

with Shell and banks in Chile before she attended her first Enneagram workshop with her 

husband. 

The experience totally transformed her life. As she came to understand more about herself 

and others she realized that her passion was to work with people as a coach and that the 

Enneagram was the perfect tool to do that. Shortly afterwards she gave up her job to study 

the Enneagram and Coaching and over a period of two years she attended most of Riso s 

and Hudson s programs.

News from Your Board 

Her next transformation came in 2009 when she attended her first IEA conference. She 

started to expand her Enneagram studies by working with Ginger Lapid-Bogda and Mario 

Sikora, and reading widely around the subject, as she realized how rich and diverse our field 

is. 

2009 was a really important year for MJ in other ways too; in a record period of time from 

May to July, she was part of the team that created IEA Chile. She attended the GAA meeting 

that year as her country s representative and was elected to the Board by the Affiliates. She 

has the distinction of being the first person ever to be elected to the IEA Board. She went on 

to organize the 2 nd and 3 rd GAAs (General Assembly of Affiliates, that also includes the US 

Chapters) and became the International Affairs Chair. She is committed to putting forward 

the views of the Affiliates as we further internationalize our organization; she also sees her 

current job as pushing them to contribute more to the IEA. 

Although it is early days to ask MJ how she wants her presidency to develop, she did tell me 

that she is proud to be a member of the current board which is moving forward in leaps and 

bounds in making the organization more professional. 

These are challenging times; the IEA is growing and becoming a truly international 

organization, the membership has evolved and its needs are changing. This means that we 

need to adapt to it, and she is confident that we are currently going in the right direction. 

By the end of this year many systems will finally be in place and this will make it easier to 

deliver our mission. She wants to contribute to making the IEA an organization that is valued 

by its members, continuously becomes more professional, and fosters a growing vibrant 

community. 

2 


The Value of the Enneagram for Young Adults 

Jess Marasse 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

The Enneagram has been an extremely useful tool in bringing people together to 

understand themselves and each other. When I first learned about the Enneagram, I 

fell in love with it almost instantly, from it s overall framework to all of it s 

specificities, it provides the most in depth look at the human psyche that I have ever 

encountered. Being the Type Seven enthusiast that I am, I felt the need to share it 

with my friends and get them as excited about it is I was. I cannot even begin to 

describe the joy I get from witnessing a friend discovering his or her Type and being 

able to truly see themselves. It brings about a new level of connection and 

relationship as well as opening up a whole new conversation, one that we all have 

been just itching to have but could not find the right way of articulating. Who doesn t want to dive 

further into the human condition and understanding? 

In studying the Enneagram I have had the privilege of meeting other young adults who are just as 

fascinated with it as me. I have also been able to get some more friends interested in it and excited by it. 

The idea for this article was to get a broader picture of how the Enneagram has affected my friends and 

acquaintances. I was able to ask my peers two questions and below is a synthesis of their responses. 

The responses I received were both touching and revealing in terms of impact and self-disclosure. It was 

interesting to identify the different Enneagram Types, how they shone through in their responses. Of 

those who were interviewed there were two Fours, three Ones and one Eight, and all are in their early 

twenties. We are all in the midst of a transitional period of our lives. I was able to identify some patterns 

in each of the Type s responses, which was fascinating to me. The Type Eight seemed to emphasize the 

practicalities of the Enneagram in human interaction as well as in conflict. This highlighted his value of 

learning how to better relate to others while appreciating the need for differing views. The One s tended 

to focus on self realization and improvement, and breathing into a state of acceptance and serenity. 

The Type Four s were able to gain perspective on their feelings and a sense of relief in learning that they 

were not alone. They emphasized feelings of compassion for others, and how in learning more about 

their strengths, they could help others realize their own. 

Q1: In what ways did learning about the Enneagram affect you? 

All of the responses emphasized self-understanding, compassion for others and improved depth of 

relationships. Many expressed feelings of relief and a sense of coming home in learning about their 

Type. The Type Eight of the group, who expressed some initial skepticism about the Enneagram, realized 

that there must be some truth behind this after figuring out his Type and learning more about it.


One response in particular captured my attention because of how it went beyond personal experience 

and described the broader context behind the Enneagram and it s purpose. Being of the Type One, there 

would be better way for me articulate her thoughts than a direct quote: 

It gave me insight into the human condition. More specifically, learning about the Enneagram showed 

me that we are not just a collection of random thoughts, emotions, and reactions interacting with the 

world around us. There is a pattern. The way we feel when something happens and the way we want to 

react makes sense. In fact, each of us tends toward certain patterns of response more than others and 

this provides more of a specific framework in which to understand how we function in day to day life. 

The emphasis on compassion for others came through in almost everyone s response; recognizing how 

the Enneagram helped them in understanding others, why we are all unique and how each of us feels. 

People mentioned a certain curiosity in navigating the Enneagram and mapping out their loved ones into 

each Type, as well as getting a better idea of how others see them. One of the Type Fours found the 

experience of learning about her self had a huge impact on her life, allowing her to stop living in sadness 

and confusion and to snap back into reality. 

Q2: Do you find the Enneagram to be of use for you? 

The most common uses of the Enneagram were: 

Understanding and getting along with others; 

Acquiring self awareness; 

Finding a way to amplify their strengths in their future relationships and careers. 

A Type One emphasized the Enneagram s use in helping her with social interactions and situations, while 

the Eight emphasized its use in arguments and coming to more reasonable understandings with others. 

Self-awareness came through for several people as being the most useful aspect of the Enneagram. 

Another Type One felt encouraged by the Enneagram to be more self-aware and made a conscious 

decision to put effort into stopping the automatic inclination to seek out other people s faults, while 

figuring out how to change of perfect them, and to instead come from a place of understanding and 

curiosity as to why people might react differently than she would in any given situation. For her, the 

Enneagram was very helpful in allowing her to pause in times of upset, to recognize her feelings and the 

situation, and to avoid jumping to conclusions. The emphasis on self-awareness and enhanced 

understanding of our own minds was felt to be of extreme use for everyone in getting to know 

themselves better and planning for the future. There was also a sense of self-acceptance and finding 

compassion for others. Learning that not everyone is like me and that we don t all share the same 

opinions and conflict styles is extremely useful for getting along with one another. 

Lastly, my peers found the Enneagram to be of great use in planning for their future in terms of 

improving relationships with others and deciding on their career paths. This could be done through 

finding ways to amplify their strengths in helping others. One Four was able to realize a change in her 

career path, and was motivated to start her own blog. The emphasis on motivation for change and selfrealization 

was prominent. In seeing one s weaknesses, there was a great sense of motivation in working 

2 



with them in order to heighten their strengths. Learning about the Enneagram resulted in a sense of 

confidence for all Types, allowing them to feel better equipped to pursue the future which is one of the 

greatest gifts we can receive at this point in our lives. 

Overall, the responses I received from my friends further instilled in me how valuable the Enneagram is 

for all of us. It gave me a great sense of appreciation for its many gifts, and for what it still has to teach 

us about life. 

Jessica Marasse lives in Ottawa, Ontario and is a psychology student at the University of Ottawa. She 

was introduced to the enneagram by her mother, Heather Marasse and has since developed a passion 

for it. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, food and travel, and music and dance. 

3 


Defense Systems of the Nine Types 

Peter O'Hanrahan 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

People are wonderful; people are difficult. The Enneagram helps us make sense of both these 

statements. Learning about the nine personality types opens up our ability to tolerate, appreciate and 

love people who are different from us. There's a lot to like about each type; human diversity really is 

wonderful. On the other hand the people in our lives can seem so difficult, frustrating and stuck in their 

patterns. Surely we become difficult and stuck ourselves. What makes the difference? The answer, or a 

big part of the answer, is in the defense systems of the nine types. It's the defenses, which lock us into 

our fixations and habits. They separate us from others, they separate us from our true selves, and they 

separate us from unity or Spirit. 

Yet we need some defenses in this world, at least short of being enlightened. How can we manage our 

defenses to become more flexible, more connected to others and more available to our full potential? 

The good news is that the Enneagram provides an instruction manual of sorts. If we know our type, we 

know what we need to work on. We don't easily disarm our defenses, but a commitment to personal 

growth makes a huge difference. At first we are not able to change things as we might wish, but we send 

a signal to the authentic part of ourselves and also to others: we know we are more than our type 

structure. Our defenses are here, but we are not completely controlled by them. 

The defenses are part and parcel of our type structure. Although we are not limited to just one defense 

mechanism - we can use any of them - one of them is more closely associated with our type. In fact, the 

defense mechanism appropriates the strength of our type and diverts this capacity to keep us safe, or at 

least to keep our ego intact. 

While we say that the Enneagram describes nine personality types, it's actually more correct to say nine 

character structures. Personality is the outer reflection of character structure. It's more changeable in 

different situations; character structure remains more constant although it can develop over the course 

of our lives. 

Character structure is a more complex psychological term; it gives rise to personality, but it refers more 

to how people are organized on the inside. It has to do with the building blocks of our psyche, the 

complex patterns and relationships between our many parts that enable us to function as coherent 

human beings. It includes our sense of identity, as we know ourselves, when we say, "This is me, this is 

not me." Structure has the ring of consistency or permanence, but to call it our psychological house" 

might make it seem more concrete than it is. It s rigid in some ways, flexible in others. 

What we understand as personality (and character structure) is a relatively new arrival on the scene of 

human culture. For most of human history people did not have the kind of personal boundaries that are 

necessary for an individual sense of self, at least not in the way we expect today. Instead they lived in a 

more blended state with nature, their deities and their village community. Human beings were not 

separate from the greater forces around them. Even the mythic Greek heroes on their quests were not 

fully individuated but rather subject to the control and caprice of the gods. The modern mental ego as


we know it has taken a long time to separate from merged consciousness. Perhaps this is why Harold 

Bloom titled his book: "Shakespeare - the Invention of the Human." (OK, some exaggeration here). His 

point is that Shakespeare was the first to write about a new stage of consciousness - characters with an 

inner life and a personal arc of development. In Shakespeare's work at the start of the 17th century we 

find one of the first differentiations of personalities, the type structures we know from the Enneagram. 

As more complex personality has evolved, so also have the defenses. And our defenses are a key aspect 

of what holds us together - for better and worse. As we begin the important work of dismantling our 

defenses we need to find new ways to hold ourselves. In psychological terms, we need a good "holding 

environment" with sufficient structure and support that we don t simply fall apart. Do we have enough 

self-acceptance or will we open the door to self-attack from aggressive and un-integrated parts of our 

psyche? Do we know how to mobilize internal resources such as positive self-dialogue? In what ways 

can we count on friends and family for help? What daily practices will be necessary to support a more 

undefended state? How can we quiet the mind, relax our emotional habit, become grounded in our 

bodies? All of these questions become urgent as we take up the ambitious work of changing our type 

structure and defense system. 

It seems inevitable that dropping our defenses is a painful and scary process since it brings up everything 

that we have been avoiding feeling or knowing. It takes time to learn how to live in a more vulnerable 

state. Yet there is a huge payoff if we can stay the course. We have more access to our true selves and 

we have the capacity for more love in our relationships. It's vital that we appreciate ourselves for this 

courageous work all along the way. 

The Enneagram provides us with a map for each person's developmental journey. Knowing our type 

structure and our defenses - the idealization, avoidance and defense mechanism - allows us to 

distinguish between the necessary and positive aspects of our personality and our automatic patterns of 

reactivity. We need to apply good methods and practices. Fortunately we have the benefit of ideas and 

techniques developed by modern psychology as well as the wisdom of spiritual teachings, now available 

to us in ways that were not to previous generations. It's our job to put it all together. 

Three Parts - Idealization, Avoidance and Defense Mechanism 

Our defenses are organized into a cohesive system by three specific functions: the idealization pattern, 

the avoidance pattern and the defense mechanism. They work together in a three-way arrangement to 

keep the structure of the personality in place. They are also the cornerstones of each person's fixation 

and it's hard to think clearly or feel our true feelings when these parts are active. If we want to work on 

our personality we have to confront them time and time again. Although their purpose is to keep us safe 

and hold us together, they stand in the way of our personal growth. 

The idealization pattern is about who we think we must be in order to have value and self worth. For 

example, Threes say "I am successful," Sixes say "I am loyal," and Nines say "I am harmonious." It's not 

that these are bad things to want for ourselves, but rather that we invest our identity and our value as 

human beings in them. In this way the defense system takes something real and genuine about us, a 

particular quality or aspiration, and turns it into a tyranny. To the extent that we are attached to our 

idealization, we're not allowed to simply be ourselves. There is constant pressure to live up to this 

expectation; everything is judged and measured to some degree against this scale. If we fail in our 

efforts, it will bring up anxiety and feelings of unworthiness. Our inner critic jumps on our case. There 

must be something very wrong with us. On the other hand if we succeed in keeping up the idealization 

2 



we become separated from ourselves; whatever doesn't fit this self-image gets put under the surface of 

awareness. Now the idealization becomes an illusion. We think we have achieved our goal of being a 

certain way, but we are unable to see or feel things that don't fit this image. We can see this separation 

in other people when their actions do not reflect their stated intentions. Sometimes we can even notice 

it in our own behavior. 

Each type's idealization has a specific shadow side. There is a particular feeling state or experience that 

we want to avoid, something that doesn't fit into our picture of who we are or how we should be. To put 

this even more strongly, this is something that is very hard to accept - it's scary and threatening at a 

deep level. 

The avoidance pattern operates in symmetry with the idealization - they're opposites and they reinforce 

each other. The idealization is supposed to protect us from what we want to avoid, but there's a catch. 

What we avoid doesn't really go away but rather sits inside us out of view, where it exerts a big 

influence on our behavior. And eventually, it works to exacerbate the very situation we want to avoid. 

For example, if Ones need to be "right" all the time there is a danger that they will try to keep their 

"wrong" feelings and impulses out of sight. Anger is one of these feelings, and we all are familiar with 

how Type Ones can be angry or resentful without realizing it themselves. Nines want to stay harmonious 

and avoid conflict, but conflict has a way of building up when it's not dealt with directly. Nines become 

absent or stubbornly resistant, or sometimes they blow up when the pressure gets to be too much. (Not 

very harmonious!) Twos feel good about themselves to the degree that they can say, "I am helpful" and 

avoid their personal needs. But to people around them, the neediness of Twos for attention and 

approval can be excruciatingly obvious, the more so when they aren't owning it themselves. It's not their 

needs that are the problem; it's the way they come out indirectly. 

If as an Eight I "succeed" in staying strong and avoid my own vulnerability I will become emotionally 

isolated from others (proving the point that I can only rely on myself). And by ignoring signals from my 

heart and body I will take on too much, push myself to the point of exhaustion and bring on the very 

weakness or failure that I have tried to avoid. 

The third element of this system is the defense mechanism, which supports the dichotomy between the 

idealization and the avoidance and keeps everything locked in place. The defense mechanism is the 

"enforcer." Like some kind of fierce guardian at the temple gates, it jumps into action whenever the type 

structure is threatened, either by unacceptable feelings and impulses from inside oneself, or by 

something threatening from other people or the environment. For the most part, the defense 

mechanism operates automatically and unconsciously. We simply aren't aware of what's going on. It not 

only operates in response to specific threats to our personality, but it also can be seen as a chronic 

influence underlying the activities of our daily life. For example: at any given moment, Fives may 

"isolate" themselves and withdraw from a situation or person if they feel pressured or coerced. Yet we 

can also see Fives isolating themselves as a general habit. Isolation from people, or isolation from their 

own emotional life, is a pervasive issue. 

We can find all nine of these defense mechanisms described in the literature of modern psychology 

(plus a few more), but they are not always assigned to a specific personality type. At different times, or 

in different conditions, we might find any one of them operating inside ourselves. But the Enneagram 

says that one of them is central for each of us - the defense mechanism uses the strength of our type 

3 



and diverts it. Threes use identification or role-playing precisely because they are so adaptable and good 

at promoting an image. Sevens rely on rationalization because they are so quick thinking and agile in 

their minds. 

Knowing the three elements of the defense system gives us a big advantage in working with ourselves 

and other people. It helps us observe and remember. We can intervene with ourselves when we notice 

them coming up, and we have a better understanding of how to respond to others. It's usually not the 

other person's personality type that's the problem. What really gets in the way of connection, 

cooperation or intimacy, is their (and our) defense system. These unconscious patterns are what create 

so much of the conflict and frustration in relationships. 

What is necessary is that we accept and move towards the painful and scary experience that we usually 

try to avoid, whether this is anger, personal needs, failure, ordinariness, emptiness, rejection, suffering, 

vulnerability, or conflict. At first this means a big confrontation with our idealization or self-image. We're 

not entirely who we thought we were. Maybe we are lacking in value, not good enough, etc. But over 

time, with lots of self-acceptance and support, we can reclaim the genuine quality within the 

idealization. Our self worth becomes more stable, our inner essence become more available to us, on a 

practical level we become more skillful in relationships, making decisions and living a healthier life. 

Of course the defense mechanism will try to stop us from doing this. It's the nature of this mechanism 

that it operates without our making a conscious decision. It's automatic and habitual, and hard to spot in 

the moment. We often don't know until later that we have been taken over by it, when we reflect on 

our behavior or hear feedback. What we can do is practice noticing: when does that familiar reaction 

arise, what does it feel like inside, what can we sense in our body, our breathing? And what can we do 

about it? What methods, practices and support can we bring to bear? 

Here is a brief description of the nine defense systems. They may be hard to understand in a couple of 

sentences, but it's useful to have an overview. The first phrase involves the defense mechanism, as in 

"Ones use reaction formation" followed by the avoidance pattern and the idealization. Of course saying 

that we "use" a defense mechanism implies conscious intent, which is rarely the case. It's much more of 

an automatic pattern and it's very hard for us to see it in ourselves. 

1) Ones use reaction formation to avoid anger (i.e. direct anger) and stay in control of their feelings and 

instincts in order to maintain a self-image of being right. Reaction formation is feeling one thing and 

then expressing the opposite or at least something unrelated, such as feeling resentful but acting nice, 

feeling a need to rest but working harder. The relentless demand of the inner critic to be good and do 

good at all times replaces personal needs and shuts down feelings. 

2) Twos use repression of personal needs and feelings to avoid being needy and to maintain a selfimage 

of being helpful. Repression is putting one's "unacceptable" feelings and impulses out of 

awareness by converting them into a more acceptable kind of emotional energy. Self-esteem depends 

on winning the approval of others. This can take the form of being overly nice, flattering people, and a 

superficial friendliness. Or it can show up as an attitude of entitlement. Their genuine need for 

connection takes the form of "you need me." 

3) Threes use identification to avoid failure and maintain a self-image of being successful. Identification 

is stepping into a role so completely that Threes lose contact with who they are inside. The pressure to 

4 



keep up a winning image prevents access to personal feelings and needs. Attention goes to the external 

environment: the tasks to be done and the expectations of other people. Threes find it very difficult to 

drop the role, or drop the image, since they get so much positive reinforcement in a society that values 

achievement and success. 

4) Fours use introjection to avoid ordinariness and maintain a self-image of being authentic. Positive 

introjection is an attempt to overcome the feeling of deficiency by seeking value from an idealized 

experience, work or relationship and internalizing this through the emotional center. This also leads to 

negative introjection: Fours tend blame themselves for whatever goes wrong in personal relationships. 

Their experience of loss or abandonment can take form inside as a self-rejecting voice (a negative 

introject), which leads to pervasive feelings of unworthiness. 

5) Fives use isolation to avoid the experience of inner emptiness and maintain a self-image of being 

knowledgeable. Isolation can be physical withdrawal from others, but it also means withdrawing on the 

inside from one's emotions and staying up in the head. Acquiring knowledge becomes a way to create 

safety and self worth, but an over-emphasis on the intellect prevents Fives from connecting with the life 

force in their bodies and the support available in relationship with others. 

6) Sixes use projection to avoid rejection and to maintain a self-image of being loyal. Projection is a way 

of attributing to others what one can't accept in oneself, both positive and negative. Positive feelings are 

projected onto a romantic relationship or an external authority figure in order to assure safety and 

justify loyalty. Negative feelings are projected onto others to justify internal feelings of fear and distrust. 

Sixes support their projections by finding and amplifying the information, which fits their premise. 

7) Sevens use rationalization to avoid suffering and to maintain a self-image of being OK. 

Rationalization is a way of staying in the head, explaining away or justifying things in order to distance 

from painful feelings and refuse to take responsibility for their behavior. Everything can be re-framed 

towards the positive. Their ability to think of new options and possibilities allows Sevens to leave the 

present moment with its limitations and live in a seemingly unlimited future. 

8) Eights use denial to avoid vulnerability and to maintain a self-image of being strong. Denial means to 

power up in the body center and forcefully re-direct energy and attention through willfulness and 

control. Vulnerable feelings are automatically put away and not experienced. Emotional energy is 

reduced, while instinctual energy is increased. Receptivity necessarily involves some vulnerability, so 

Eights seek to impact the world and other people rather than be receptive to them. 

9) Nines use narcotization to avoid conflict and to maintain a self-image of being comfortable or 

harmonious. Narcotization is using food and drink, entertainment, or simply repetitive patterns of 

thinking and doing to "put oneself to sleep". Even productive activities can keep Nines narcotized if they 

become too habitual. Avoiding conflict with others keeps Nines from being fully present in relationships. 

Avoiding internal conflict leads to inertia and self-forgetting. 

It's useful to see how the defense mechanisms are all based in the lead center of the personality type, 

either mental, emotional, or body. For example, both repression (Two) and denial (Eight) can lead to 

5 



similar results in that both types become out of touch with deeper feelings and needs. But there is an 

important difference in how they get there. Repression is a function of the emotional center. When 

Twos repress their unacceptable feelings and instincts, they convert them into other forms of emotional 

energy. They may over-empathize with other people's feelings or they discharge their emotions through 

"hysterical" (meaning disconnected) tone and affect. Emotional energy is conserved (and re-directed) 

while contact with the body is diminished. Eights, in contrast, bear down on their feelings of 

vulnerability or sadness with their angry forcefulness and "obsessive" control. Denial uses the energy of 

the body center to override and close down unacceptable emotions. Emotional energy is diminished. 

In another example: Sixes project their unacknowledged feelings and impulses onto other people. This is 

primarily a function of the mind, looking for evidence for their position, holding an idea or mental 

construct about someone else while avoiding their own emotions and instincts. They see things that are 

really there but blow them out of proportion. By contrast, the introjection of the Fours relies on using 

the emotional center and the empathy function to internalize positive feelings from an idealized 

experience or relationship. This amplifies their emotional energy, which can overwhelm the mind and 

reduce their ability to think and sort things out properly. 

Peter O'Hanrahan began studying the Enneagram in 1978 in Berkeley, California, 

and has applied it both in his personal life and professional practice as a 

counselor and body therapist. An early member of the IEA, he teaches 

workshops on the basic Enneagram, subtypes, somatics, and leadership in 

Europe, China and the US. Since 2001 he has been an associate trainer for the 

Palmer/Daniels Enneagram Professional Training Program (EPTP). His website 

and additional articles can be seen at EnneagramWork.com. 

6 


Parables and Non-dual Thought 

Clarence Thomson 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

Perhaps the most often quoted story in the world is the story of Adam and Eve. 

One mystery surrounding the story is about the forbidden fruit. Everyone knows 

Eve offered Adam an Apple but why the apple is enshrined in our culture as the 

fruit in question may be important. The text actually says it is the tree of the 

knowledge of good and evil, at least eating from the tree gives one knowledge 

of good and evil. Apparently we couldn t handle that information, so we 

inserted an apple. Better visual. 

Certainty about what is good and what is evil has plagued religions, cultures and 

consciences ever since. We fill our prisons with bad people so those on the 

outside can feel good. Straights know gays are bad, whites are legendary in the pursuit of superiority 

over darker colors, men and women, define good and evil in charming and vicious ways. These 

polarities, these good vs. evil conflicts, exemplify what is frequently called dualistic thinking. 

Spiritual writers try to break down this certitude that my color/tribe/orientation/gender/religion/ 

football team is good and yours is therefore if not evil, certainly inferior. I include football team because 

sports create fanatical (literally, fan is short for fanatic) allegiance because of a primitive allegiance to 

the good and revulsion for evil. We all harbor a secret wish that everyone would be issued jerseys at 

birth so we could more easily tell who is good and who is bad. Not only Santa needs to know. 

Parables are literary forms that destroy dualistic thinking. They are not moral exhortation or even 

judgments. Parables force us to be what every therapeutic and spiritual tradition encourages: nonjudgmental 

non-dual thinking. Parables are a different literary genre from stories, even though they 

appear similar. Stories transport you to an alternate universe think Harry Potter. They can be escapist 

(my local librarian says 90% of her traffic is for fiction). They can be many genres and have a great deal 

of value besides the innocent pleasure of exploring possibility without consequence. 

Parables are of somewhat sterner stuff. Enneagram students know that each Enneagram style creates a 

particular model of the universe out of which we operate and show up in the world. Eights know life is 

a battleground while Sevens enjoy the pleasant conviction that this is a recreational universe. Fours are 

sure they are just visitors slightly miscast in a melodrama. Parables have as their literary purpose the 

destruction of a worldview, either of an individual or a culture. They do not create an alternate scenario, 

they don t irrigate virtue; they just tell us we are wrong. Parables insist on mystery but do not offer clues 

on how to explore the mystery. 

Allow me several examples. The first one everyone sort of knows. If a shepherd has a hundred sheep 

and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the 99 and go in search of the one? (Matthew 18:12) In 

context, the parable is a response to his disciples arguing about who is going to be saved. The parable is 

a refutation not of one side or view or the other, but of the argument. If you have good and evil, then it 

is important to know which is which, but in non-dual, nonjudgmental thinking, the discussion is 

meaningless. Everyone is of infinite value, so the shepherd goes after you. If one treats this as advice on

Parables and Non-Dual Thought 

how to be a shepherd, it quickly becomes absurd. If you are teaching a class and one student is late and 

you go looking for him, when you return, all is chaos. 

One of the most helpful parables to relate non-dual thinking to Enneagram styles is the parable of the 

wheat and the tares. 

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while 

everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So 

when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the 

householder came and said to him, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did 

these weeds come from? He answered, An enemy has done this. The slaves said to him, Then do you 

want us to go and gather them? But he replied, No; for in gathering weeds you would uproot the wheat 

along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the 

reapers, collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my 

barn. (Matthew 13:24-30) 

A common dualist understanding would divide the world into good and evil. Present 

company/church/nation etc. is nicely represented by the good seed and bad people are the bad seed. 

They are the weeds and will burn in hell. (Technical note: weeds were always burned for fuel, they were 

not entirely worthless). 

But the genius of the parable is that we are the field and we have good and evil alike within us. We are 

not to try to pull out all our weeds. In Enneagram terms, we are not given the task of not being our 

Enneagram style. Being our number is neither good nor bad and if we were, by dint of therapy, drugs 

and muscular virtue, to root out all traces of our Enneagram style, we would destroy ourselves. 

The parable s intent is to weaken or destroy our dualistic thinking process that would divide good and 

evil, good and bad people, and good and bad within us. Non-dualist thinking is just opposite of 

moralizing, exhorting to virtue and promising rewards and threats for our good and bad behavior. 

One fine parable that breaks down our expectations and judgments about what is good and what is evil 

is from the Taoist tradition. 

Once there was a Chinese farmer who had a mare of which he was very proud. He was the envy of the 

entire village. But one day a wild stallion came and took the mare away. His friends all commiserated 

with him, You are so unlucky, you lost the finest working horse in the area. The farmer merely replied, 

Well, you never know. A few weeks later, the stallion, along with the farmer s mare and three others, 

came into the farmer s corral looking for food. Now his neighbors waxed enthusiastic. You are so 

fortunate, having so many horses. But the farmer merely responded, Well, you never know. The next 

day his son went out to break the wild horses and broke his leg in the effort. His friends again lamented, 

Your son, your helper and delight can no longer work with you. You are the most unfortunate of men. 

The farmer merely replied, Well, you never know. The very next week a general came in from the front 

lines where his troops were fighting valiantly, but he was losing. He came into the village and demanded 

every able-bodied man to join the army. But, of course, with a broken leg, the son could not go. His 

friends were muttering about his good luck, but the farmer merely said, Well, you never know. 

One of the functions of an ego structure, an Enneagram style, is to know what is real and so make 

judgments about what is good and what is bad, who is good and who is bad. We are up the tree of the 

knowledge of good and evil. 

But parables weaken that certitude. They say, We never know. 

2 


Apology 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

The Enneagram and Our Personal Relationship with Money 

(Excerpt from IEA 2011 Presentation) 

We would like to start with an apology. 

Mónica Tinoco and Consuelo Ramírez 

During our presentation we mentioned that we relied on several authors to give information and to 

support the presentation s conclusions. We now regret that we omitted to mention all of these 

authors, and specifically Margaret Smith s Willful , Idealistic and Hopeful types that she 

describes in her book "Money: From Fear to Love". We hereby offer a public apology to Margaret 

Smith, as well as to all of the other authors whose names were not explicitly mentioned in our 

presentation at IEA conference 2011. These other authors who s previous work was of great help in 

order to provide a framework for our investigation were Vickie Champion, Francesc Beltri Gebrat , 

and Alex Rovira Celma. 

Our Presentation 

Each year we have the opportunity to celebrate our annual meeting of the IEA, where everyone has 

the chance to gain new ideas and knowledge from people who are working with the Enneagram in 

every corner of the world. 

There is now a lot of extant material from many different Enneagram authors who share their 

important hard work resulting from their investigations and experiences, and all of this will help us 

to validate, support and guide new research conducted in the field. 

Speaking specifically of our presentation at the IEA in 2011 with the theme "The Enneagram and our 

personal relationship with Money", our interest in the subject came up in a casual conversation 

about 18 months ago when we read an article about the three men recognized as the richest people 

in the world who all happened to be the same type, "5". 

Among them is Mr. Carlos Slim who is Mexican and we have had the opportunity to work in some of 

the areas of his company, Telmex, through our professional work services in Enneagram 

Business Coaching Mexico . We have been able to use this experience to validate certain 

information as we worked in the development of his companies. We were also able to discover his 

personal leadership style and the way that he conducts business as we were working with people 

very close to him. What we learned piqued our interest and we decided to investigate the issue 

further. We conducted a ten month long programme where we surveyed 400 people who knew their 

type. The results appeared to support and validate the work of several different authors who have 

researched and worked around this issue.


This included Vickie Champion, author of "Simple steps for listening for Intuition with Money", who 

breaks the relationship that individuals have with money into five main areas: of an individual with 

money into 5 main areas: money management, money spending, money earning, money saving and 

money investing. We used her valuable nomenclature as a guideline to develop our surveys to 

obtain the predominant patterns. We hoped that this would lead to conclusive results for each type 

that we could present as percentages according to each type s ability and skills around the five areas 

in our country. The benchmark we used was the Hornevian triads. 

A method was used to conduct the research. We determined that we wanted to evaluate 5 factors 

that are crucial to understanding our personal relationship with money (and which are described in 

the paragraphs that follow), so we defined a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 was the lowest grade and 5 

was the highest grade. 

Respondents self-evaluated their own skills through a series of questions. The outcome of our 

research was that the most repeated grade was what we considered the mode (for each factor 

evaluated), or the half-way mark from which we could observe patterns in different types. In the 

case of Money Making (for example) we observed that Assertive types (3,7 and 8) scored by 27% 

higher than the rest of types because they landed either in the mode or higher in comparison to all 

the other types. 

Once we had our results, we also investigated other authors to find out if we could validate this 

information. These included Margaret Smith, Francesc Beltri Gebrat , and Rovira Celma. 

And we decided to include the willful , idealistic and hopeful types that Margaret Smith 

mentions in her book "Money: From Fear to Love". 

For most of our investigation, however, we used Vickie Champion s 5 Key Elements. In more detail 

these are: 

Money Managing it - This consists of the day-to-day tasks involved in taking care of your money as it 

comes in and goes out, or the cash flow. This might be paying bills, tracking deposits, balancing the 

checkbook, keeping a budget, etc. 

Money Spending it - Basically, this is how you spend your money. 

Money Earning it - This is how you make money. 

Money Saving it - This includes the methods and how much money you hang onto. 

Money Investing it - This is about ways you get your money to make you money, about 

putting money to work for you instead of putting yourself to work to get money. 

At first the surveys showed no patterns at all, but we decided to keep going since our gut feeling told 

us that there was something to be found if only we would be patient enough to wait for a pattern to 

start emerging. And it did, months later. 

We were surprised to realize that there are three types that scored significantly higher at 

their Money Management perceived skills. These are the Dutiful types (according to 

Hornevian Triads): 1, 6 and 2 (in that order) by a 22%. 

Our results also showed that Assertive types (according to Hornevian Triads): 8, 3 and 7 (in that 

order) scored higher in their perceived skills to Making Money, by a 27% than the rest of the types. 

2 



There was no observable trend to Money Spending among the 9 types. Regarding Money Saving 

perceived skills, again, Dutiful types (according to Hornevian Triads): 1, 6 and 2 (again, in that order) 

scored higher by a 14% above the mode. 

Finally, when it came to Money Debt and Investing, types 5, 8 and 2 (the Willful types described by 

Margaret Smith in her book Money: From Fear to Love - Using the Enneagram to Create Wealth, 

Prosperity, and Love ) scored higher than the mode by a 37%. This gave us some information about 

the reason why type 5 s are significantly better than the rest of types at investing money and 

managing debt. 

It is interesting to look deeper into the inverted recognition that our research threw up regarding the 

absence of types 4 s and 9 s in the results. It would be interesting to find out why for types 9 s and 

4 s it is not clear how they manage and invest money in their lives? Could it be a blind spot for them? 

Could it be a matter of patterns they have followed over a certain period of time? Could it be that 

we need a larger sample to reach a result? We do not know yet, but we hope that someday we can 

discover the specific reasons for which 9 s and 4 s do not have the same clarity as the rest of the 

types regarding their perceived skills on their debt management and money investing. 

This could be the topic of a further study looking for the triggers that lead 9 s and 4 s to achieve their 

investment and money management goals. 

The final results of our survey are shown as statistics (Appendix A), which we presented as 

the conclusion of our presentation in IEA 2011. 

We supported our presentation using different authors perspectives in order to relay the 

information and to get a stronger validation and explanation of our submission that was the end 

result of our 400 surveys. These were conducted over a period of ten months starting in September 

2010 to July 2011 with different types of people including our clients, participants to our workshops 

and other Enneagram programme attendees. 

It was very helpful for our research that we could draw on different authors for information and to 

support our development and conclusions. All the authors that we referred to enhanced our 

presentation, and in doing so, enhanced the participants understanding. 

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the authors who have researched and worked 

very hard to learn more about this topic and who have reached extraordinary conclusions like 

Margaret Smith, Deborah Ooten, Vickie Champion, Francesc Beltri Gebrat , and Alex Rovira Celma. 

Our intention is to support our research by referring to all of these authors to facilitate 

the understanding of the Enneagram through the use of all the reference frames that currently 

exist in order to help people achieve better understanding, awareness and growth from 

the Enneagram and which connects all of us who are part of the IEA. 

3 



Mónica Tinoco: International Business Bachelor s Degree, Monica Tinoco is 

the founder of Enneagram Business Coaching Mexico and leads the company 

with passion to help create sustainable change in Mexico. Her knowledge, 

negotiation skills and experience in the business arena in Mexico have been a 

remarkable added value that has brought innovation and creative ways of 

Coaching successfully in a very competitive market. She enjoys spending time 

with her family and friends, traveling and reading. Contact: 

monica.tinoco@ebcm.com.mx 

Appendix A 

Consuelo Ramirez: International Business Bachelor s Degree, Consuelo 

Ramírez, has experience in logistics and brokerage services for specialized 

industries. Her passion has always been quality service and developing 

longtime relationships with people. Her becoming a business partner in 

Enneagram Business Coaching Mexico has been a key factor to develop 

sustainable business relationships and attracting new clients from the 

Fortune 500 list. She enjoys traveling, listening to music and meeting new 

people. Contact: consuelo.ramirez@ebcm.com.mx 

4 


What is the Enneagram? 

Viviana Trucco 

Article published in Sintoniza Nº8, October 2011 Aenaegrama Spain 

On the basis of next III International Conference Madrid 2012 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

The Enneagram is a path that once it opens its door to you, it will never close back again. But its 

opening is an opening with pause, to the beat of an awakening that unveils fine layers of conscience. 

It is quickly learnt, but it decants slowly. 

Its mystery is its strength. Not because it cannot be explained, but because, not only is it not 

exhausted, it also summons; that is why it makes you feel so passionate about it. 

Its reason is its symbol, which as a geometric design distributes knowledge in fixed places as well as 

in circuits that flow. It s a map; it s a compass both on its surface as in its depths. 

Its passion is what it generates in people, because of its power to summon. Both as a system of selfknowledge 

and personal, organizational and spiritual transformation, as much as it does, due to its 

power to join, to bind, to share, to create, to enjoy, to globalize and to transcend. What is fantastic is 

not only the way we move in it, as a roadmap, but the way we move because of it, from different 

places in the world to share a common language, an anti-Babel language, since it transcends 

cultures, languages and ethnic groups, but respecting, at the same time, identities and 

idiosyncrasies. 

Its course shelters and expels. It shelters because you find yourself deeply described. It expels 

because at the same time you find yourself deeply proscribed 

To find yourself, sheltered. It is a way to explain how story molds its effects and perpetuates its 

answers. An identity forged of repetitions that assure the familiarity with the step that follows. To 

find the Enneatype is to confirm a story of motivation and resolution. It s to know that you are what 

you are. That is all. 

Is that all? 

The Enneatype is the starting point and not the arrival. 

To find yourself, at the same time, expelled. More precisely, it is to discover how you have been 

expelled from your entire self to embody only a partial part. 

The challenge is the search. The challenge is to integrate what has been postponed, blinded, 

forgotten, what has not yet been embodied. The challenge is to find in this diamond of nine facets, 

from which of them we will refract the best light. 

There, we will find our true nature and the treasure to deliver to the world.

What is the Enneagram? 

The Enneagram teaches us to look inside, to look back, to look around, to look forward, to look up 

and to look beyond. 

As we look inside and back, the Enneagram teaches us to assume what we find in us, present and 

past. 

As we look around, the Enneagram teaches us that others also have an inside, and an outside, but 

by another path. It teaches us to recognize similarities and to polish differences, be they individual 

or cultural. It teaches us that in this world we all fit and learn from each other. It teaches us to 

discover ourselves but at the same time to understand, accept and value that other person that 

perhaps is placed in the most rejected point inside ourselves. 

The Enneagram integrates without diluting and separates without exiling. 

As we look forward and up, the Enneagram defies the inertia of an ineffective and faded 

obsolescence that stops our evolution as individuals and as societies. It teaches us to unfold our best 

potential as individuals and as groups. It teaches us to multiply synergies in our system of 

relationships, be they private or public. 

Finally, the Enneagram teaches us to look beyond ourselves, leads us away from our own 

environment and beyond the stretch of history from which we are protagonists. It makes us look for 

the best of ourselves and makes us able to give it to the world and leave it as a legacy to those who 

follow us. 

It makes us also feel part of a whole, beyond of what that may mean for each one. And this is its 

spiritual aspect. That which transcends us, the scope of which will be the measure of how each one 

may mean it. 

That is why the Enneagram, is respectful of how this sense of transcendence unveils to each one 

without imposing any creeds or beliefs. 

The Enneagram is a path, which, once it opens its door to you, will never close back again; each one 

is summoned to cover its way from its own resonance. 

My Professional training has required me first to understand it, then to test it on myself and on 

others and finally to generate contributions. 

However, my resonance with the system exceeds the responsibilities of an ethical practice of the 

system, which, as a health professional, I take for granted. I use different practices to promote 

mental health, but not all of them as a system, produce in me so much enthusiasm. Actually, what I 

enjoy most of the Enneagram are its effects, in myself, in my patients, in my students, and in the 

Enneagram community which I feel part of. 

Definitely, if I had to give a reason why the Enneagram keeps me so enthusiastic on its way, I must 

confess (and that is what I like most) that I still do not know it completely, because 

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of. 

2 


Blaise Pascal.

Introduction 

LOOK-ALIKES ARE NOT-ALIKES 

Jerry Wagner 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

One of the difficulties in typing people, besides the diversity (there is so much variation within each 

type) and perversity (we simply resist being typed) of human nature is the Look-Alike phenomenon. 

For example: 

Ones and Sixes look alike in that both are conscientious, responsible, rule-abiding, accountable, 

etc. However Ones tend to have their canons of perfection inside, while Sixes guidelines reside 

within authorities. 

Twos and Sevens look alike when Twos try to cheer you up if they can t help you and Sevens try 

to help you if they can t cheer you up. 

Threes and Eights are both problem/solution/action oriented, assertive, energetic, etc. But 

Eights use raw force, while Threes like leverage. 

Fours and Eights are alike in their intensities but might differ in their sensibilities. 

Fives and Nines are alike in that both are on the sidelines. However Nines have drifted there, 

while Fives have headed there. 

Research 

Some time ago (Wagner, 1981) I conducted a research project comparing the nine Enneagram styles 

with Theodore Millon s (1969) eight personality types. While it s not easy squeezing nine into eight, I 

did find some significant correlations between the two systems with each Enneagram style showing a 

distinct profile of Millon s eight patterns. The differences help tease out how Enneagram look-alikes are 

not-alike. 

The sample consisted of 390 subjects: 311 women and 79 men, with ages ranging from 19-82. If you 

look at a typical Enneagram workshop, I d guess the ratio is about 3 women to 1 man. The age 

distribution in my sample followed a bell curve with most of the subjects in the 20-60 age range. 

For this study I constructed an Enneagram Personality Inventory (Wagner, 1981) to assess Enneagram 

styles and used the Millon-Illinois Self-Report Inventory (Millon, 1974) to determine Millon s types. 

All of the differences among the Enneagram types and Millon scales were significantly different beyond 

the .0001 level except on Millon s active-ambivalent scale 8 which was .05. Apparently ambivalence 

shows up even in testing. 

Since most readers may not be familiar with Millon s theory of types, I ll give a brief summary here and 

then show how the Enneagram styles scored in his system.


Millon s Types 

Millon describes eight personality patterns based on whether we seek comfort and satisfaction (positive 

reinforcement) or attempt to avoid emotional pain and distress (negative reinforcement); whether we 

seek satisfactions from outside or within ourselves; and whether we actively or passively go about 

maximizing rewards and minimizing pain. Individuals who seem aroused and attentive, arranging and 

manipulating life events to achieve gratification and avoid discomfort, display an active pattern; those 

who seem apathetic, restrained, yielding, resigned, or seemingly content to allow events to take their 

own course without personal regulation or control, possess a passive pattern. 

Detached types (those persons who fail to seek positive reinforcements and who experience few 

rewards or satisfactions in life, be it from self or others) 

1. Passive-detached /apathetic/asocial personalities seek neither to gain positive reinforcements 

nor to avoid negative reinforcements. Their self-image is I am complacent and their 

interpersonal attitude is indifference. 

High scorers tend to keep to themselves, appearing rather quiet and unemotional. They are 

even-handed, fair-minded and not easily excited. They tend not to get emotionally involved 

with others and do not often feel strongly about things. They do not avoid other people, but 

simply feel indifferent about having others around 

2. Active-detached/sensitive/avoidant personalities do not seek positive reinforcements but do 

seek to avoid negative ones. Their self-image is I am alienated and their interpersonal 

attitude is distrustful. 

High scorers tend to be quite shy or socially ill-at-ease with others. These persons would like to 

be close to people but have learned that it is better to maintain one s distance and not to trust 

the friendship of others. Although they often feel lonely, they avoid close interpersonal contact, 

often fearing rejection and tending to keep their sometimes very strong feelings to themselves. 

Dependent types (those individuals who experience reinforcements from sources other than 

themselves, who measure their satisfactions or discomforts by how others react to or feel about 

them) 

3. Passive-dependent/cooperative/submissive personalities wait for others to provide 

reinforcements. Their self-image is I am inadequate and their interpersonal attitude is 

compliance. 

High scorers tend to be soft-hearted, sentimental and kindly in relationships with others. They 

are extremely reluctant to assert themselves, however, and avoid taking initiative or assuming a 

leadership role. They are inclined to be quite dependent on others, preferring to let them take 

the lead and give direction. It is typical of them to play down their own achievements and to 

underestimate their abilities. 

2 



4. Active-dependent /sociable/gregarious personalities manipulate and seduce others to provide 

reinforcements for them. Their self-image is I am sociable and their interpersonal attitude is 

seductive. 

High scorers are talkative, socially charming and frequently dramatic or emotionally expressive. 

They tend to have strong, but usually brief relationships with others. These persons always look 

for new excitements and interesting experiences. They often find themselves becoming bored 

with routine and longstanding relationships. 

Independent types (persons who experience reinforcements primarily from themselves, whose 

gratification is gauged primarily in terms of their own values and desires with little reference to the 

concerns and wishes of others) 

5. Passive-independent/self-assured/narcissistic personalities are self-satisfied and content to 

leave matters be. Their self image is I am admirable and their interpersonal attitude is 

exploitive. 

High scorers tend to be quite confident in their abilities and are often seen by others as selfcentered 

and egocentric. They rarely doubt their own self-worth and act in a self-assured 

manner. These persons tend to take others for granted and often do not share or concern 

themselves with the needs of those to whom they relate. 

6. Active-independent/assertive/aggressive personalities seek to arrogate more power to 

themselves. Their self image is I am assertive and their interpersonal attitude is vindictive. 

High scorers are strong-willed and tough minded, tending to lead and dominate others. They 

frequently question the abilities of others and prefer to take over responsibility and direction in 

most situations. They are often blunt and unkind, tending to be impatient with the problems of 

weaknesses of others. 

Ambivalent types (those who have conflicting attitudes about dependence and independence, who 

experience considerable conflict over whether to be guided by what others say and wish or to follow 

their own opposing desires and needs ) 

7. Passive-ambivalent/disciplined/conforming personalities submerge their desire for 

independence and behave in an overly acquiescent manner. They are dependent on the outside 

and independent on the inside. Their self image is I am conscientious and their interpersonal 

attitude is respectful. 

High scorers are very serious-minded, efficient, and rule-conscious persons who try to do the 

right and proper things. They tend to keep their emotions under check and dislike showy 

people. They prefer to live their lives in a very orderly and well-planned fashion, avoiding 

unpredictable and unexpected situations. 

8. Active-ambivalent/unpredictable/negativistic personalities vacillate erratically from a position of 

dependence to a position of independence. Their self image is I am discontented and their 

interpersonal attitude is vacillation. 

3 



High scorers tend to be discontent and pessimistic. They often find themselves behaving 

unpredictably: sometimes being out-going and enthusiastic; then changing quickly to the 

opposite. These people often feel guilt about their moodiness, apologize to the people involved, 

but soon are just as moody as ever. 

Enneagram Types 

Now let s take the Enneagram styles in turn and see how they correlated with Millon s types. Each 

Enneatype has a distinct profile of Millon s patterns and those distinctions indicate how Enneatype lookalikes 

are really not-alike on some important dimensions. 

Enneagram Style One (N=71) practically paralleled the pattern of all the Ennneagram types averaged 

together (N=390). In the graphs, the dotted line is the average of all the Enneatypes while the solid line 

is the average of each Enneagram type. Ones scored highest on Millon s passive-ambivalent scale (7), 

which is his disciplined or conforming pattern. These individuals are described by Millon as being 

serious-minded, efficient, and rule-conscious persons who try to do the right and proper things. 

They are perfectionistic, compulsive, legalistic, righteous, and moralistic. They adopt a good boy, 

good girl image. In their childhood they were taught a deep sense of responsibility to others and a 

feeling of guilt when these responsibilities have not been met. As youngsters they were moralized to 

inhibit their natural inclinations toward frivolous play and impulse gratification. These are all 

remarkable One-like characterizations. 

4 



Enneagram Style Two (N=83) scored highest on Millon s passive-dependent personality scale (3). This is 

the cooperative or submissive type of person. High scorers tend to be soft-hearted, sentimental, and 

kindly in their relationships with others. They are inclined to be dependent on others for approval. 

Twos also scored higher on Millon s active-dependent scale (4). By their helping behavior, they are 

actively trying to solicit the approval of others. Twos scored lower on Millon s independent personality 

scales (Millon 5 and 6) and were also less detached (Millon scales 1 and 2) than the average Enneatype. 

5 



Enneagram Style Three (N=28) scored highest on Millon s passive-independent/self-assured/narcissistic 

personality pattern (5). High scorers here tend to be quite confident in their abilities and are often seen 

by others as self-centered and egocentric. They convey a calm, self-assured quality in their social 

behavior which is sometimes perceived by others as immodest, haughty, cocksure, and arrogant. They 

exaggerate their powers, transform failure into success, and inflate their self worth. Threes also scored 

high on Millon s active-independent/gregarious/sociable scale (6). High scorers here are talkative, 

socially charming, and frequently dramatic or emotionally expressive. Threes scored low on Millon s 

detached patterns (1 and 2). Threes move towards and against, not away from. 

6 



Enneagram Style Four (N=28) scored highest on the passive/dependent scale (3). They are dependent 

on others approval and acceptance, but tend to stand off, waiting for others to notice them and invite 

them into the group. They are also high on the active/dependent scale (4). Through their suffering and 

specialness, they seek to draw others to them. Fours scored low on the independent scales (Millon 5 

and 6). They were lower than the average on Millon s scale 7, the disciplined style. Fours want to be 

original, not conforming. Some of the Fours scored high on Millon s active-detached scale (2), the 

sensitive personality. These Fours (like Fives) actively avoid involvement to keep from being 

misunderstood and hurt. 

7 



Enneagram Style Five (N=59) scored higher than the average Enneatypes on Millon s detached patterns 

(1 and 2) and lower on Millon s styles 4 (gregarious), 5 (self-assured) and 6 (assertive). High scorers on 

the passive-detached/apathetic pattern (Millon 1) tend to keep to themselves, appearing rather quiet 

and unemotional. They are even-handed, fair-minded, and not easily excited. They tend not to get 

emotionally involved with others and do not often feel strongly about things. As we shall see, Fives 

share some of this pattern with their look-alike Nines. Where they differ is their higher elevation on 

Millon s style 2 the active-detached/avoidant pattern. High scorers on this scale tend to be shy or 

socially ill-at-ease with others. These persons would like to be close to people but have learned that it is 

better to maintain one s distance and not to trust the friendship of others. This is in contrast to passivedetached 

individuals (Millon scale 1) who do not avoid other people, but simply feel indifferent about 

having others around. Avoidant personalities (Millon scale 2) are highly alert to social stimuli and are 

oversensitive to the moods and feelings of others, especially those which portend rejection and 

humiliation. While passive-detached personalities (Nines) tend to drift to the shore, active-detached 

personalities (Fives) head for the hills. 

8 



Enneagram Style Six (N=38) scored higher than the average on both the passive and active detached 

scales (1 and 2) and on the passive-dependent scale (Millon 3) where they competed with the Twos for 

the highest scores on this cooperative/submissive/compliant scale. Sixes were lower than average on 

the gregarious, self-assured, and assertive scales (Millon 4, 5, 6). Sixes were the least aggressive of all 

the types. In contrast to their Five neighbors, Sixes were less passively-detached Millon scale 1), but 

more actively-detached (Millon scale 2). They were more gregarious (Millon scale 4) but noticeably less 

self-assured (Millon scale 5) than Fives. 

9 



Enneagram Style Seven (N=19) came out less detached (Millon 1 and 2), dependent (Millon 3), and 

disciplined (Millon 7) than the other Enneagram styles and more gregarious, self-assured, and assertive 

(Millon 4, 5, 6). This appears to reflect the Sevens self-image of I am O.K., their outgoing nature, their 

liking for parties and social events, and their tendency towards gluttony which would not lead to a high 

disciplined score. Interestingly and fittingly the different groups that made up the Seven sample had the 

most variability amongst themselves of all the Enneagram types. This might have been due to the small 

sample size or this is what tracking a collection of butterflies looks like. 

10 



Enneagram Style Eight (N=39) profile came out almost the opposite of the other Enneagram types 

giving new meaning to the term oppositional character. Eights were decidedly less detached (Millon 

scales 1 and 2), dependent (Millon scale 3), and conforming (Millon scale 7), while being more 

gregarious, self-assured, and assertive (Millon scales 4, 5, 6) than the average Enneatype. They 

displayed a 5 (passive independent), 4 (active dependent), 6 (active independent) pattern for their 

highest scales but were by far the highest scorers among the Enneagram types on the active 

independent scale 6. Millon describes high scorers on this scale as strong-willed and tough-minded, 

tending to lead and dominate others. They frequently question the abilities of others and prefer to take 

over responsibility and direction in most situations. They are often blunt and unkind and are driven by a 

need to assert their own superiority. Independence for them stems not so much from a belief in selfworth, 

as from a fear and mistrust of others. They feel secure only when they are independent of those 

who may harm and humiliate them. These and further descriptions of the active-independent 

personality read like they are taken directly from the Eight s playbook. 

11 



Enneagram Style Nine (N=25) profile, in contrast to the Eights but like the Ones, followed the general 

overall pattern of all the other styles. Apparently even on personality inventories, Nines do not like to 

differentiate themselves from others. The Nine profile has an affinity to the Enneagram type Five and 

Six configurations. Like the Fives and Sixes, Nines scored higher on the detached scales (Millon scales 1 

and 2). They scored higher on the passive-dependent scale (Millon scale 3) than the average more so 

than the Fives but less so than the Sixes. Nines scored lower than the average on the gregarious, selfassured, 

and assertive scales (Millon 4, 5, and 6). They were more gregarious and assertive than 

Enneatypes Five and Six and more self-assured than Sixes but less assured than Fives. Nines, Fives, and 

Sixes show different elevations in their scales which might help in differentiating them. Not surprisingly 

Nines scored lower than the average on the disciplined personality scale (Millon 7). Nines tend to be 

more carefree, relaxed and loose vs. rigid, uptight, and action-oriented. 

12 



As can be seen in the accompanying figures, each Enneagram style has a profile distinct from all the 

other Enneatypes on Millon s typology, providing some confirmation that there might indeed be nine 

distinct Enneagram styles. Also the correlations among the Enneagram and Millon types are, for the 

most part, congenial by being in the direction one would expect. For example Ones are disciplined while 

Nines, not so much. This yields some concurrent validity to both systems. These varying profiles also 

point to some underlying dissimilarities among Enneatype look-alikes. 

For a more detailed comparison of Enneagram styles and Millon s types, I m hoping to publish an 

expanded version of this article in the July 2012 edition of the Enneagram Journal. And if you are 

interested in exploring these comparisons further, I will be presenting this material in an interactive 

format at the 2012 IEA Conference in Long Beach, CA. 

Bibliography 

Millon, T. (1969). Modern psychopathology. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co. 

Millon, T. (1974). Millon-Illinois Self-Report Inventory (MISRI). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co. 

Wagner, J. (1981). A descriptive, reliability, and validity study of the Enneagram personality typology. 

Ph.D., 1981, Loyola University, Chicago. 41/11A. GAX 81-09973. 

13 


David Bowie 

An Enneagram Profile 


Jan-Mar, 2012 

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones, 1947) is amongst the most charismatic, individualistic and 

influential figures in popular music, with a back catalogue spanning some five decades and 

comprising a dizzying array of musical genres and changes of image. He embodies many of the key 

characteristics of the type Four (The Artist, The Tragic Romantic, The Outsider), in that his personae 

and lyrical subject matters explore and celebrate the marginal, unconventional and (often quite 

literally) the alien. 

So I turned myself to face me, but I never caught a glimpse ( Changes 1971) 

Bowie is sometimes simplistically termed Rock s Chameleon , owing to his aesthetic malleability 

and tendency to move from one style to the next and, in terms of the Enneagram, is commonly 

misidentified as a type Three. 

However, whereas the type Three is capable of identifying what works, objectively utilizing their 

abilities to the end of succeeding swiftly, and usually in a proven field, Bowie s career appears as 

that of one who doesn t recognise or is indifferent to what works (indicated by his long pre- stardom 

apprenticeship and abandonment of commercially successful formulas) and, in embracing the 

unusual, synthesizing seemingly incompatible aesthetics and mediums, and risking alienating his 

audience in pursuit of a very personal vision, he exhibits the essence of the Four, standing apart, 

exempt from conventional rules and expectations, ever in the process of becoming , in search of 

the true, authentic self. The latter is evidenced by the recurrent lyric themes of Bowie s songs; for all 

his changes, the dominant tenor of his oeuvre is that of the brooding and often disquieting 

Romanticism of the type Four, with an emphasis on self- immersion ( I m sinking in the quicksand of 

my thoughts Quicksand 1971), alienation, transgression, madness and loneliness. 

This tendency to explore and indeed revel in his own vulnerability and insecurity is quite distinct 

from the Three s desire to at all times present themselves in the most suitable, flattering manner, 

usually as confident and perfect winners, exhibiting a deft ability to filter what they reveal about 

themselves. Bowie, in his life as well as work, has been consistently self- revealing, perhaps never 

more so than when he is playing a role; in The Mask , a mime written and performed in 1969, 

Bowie s protagonist finds fame as an entertainer after donning a mask. His success is dependant 

upon this smiley facade and, in one telling scene, Bowie s character removes the mask to reveal a 

look of scowling disdain, an expression of the unhealthy Four s contempt for what they perceive to 

be the unimaginative, amorphous and easily manipulated masses (from whom they feel excluded 

but nonetheless may wish to woo). In the final scene, Bowie s performer finds himself unable to 

remove the mask and chokes to death on stage, with the voiceover commenting that newspapers 

mentioned nothing about a mask. Bowie s mask is a metaphor for public perception and the gulf 

between performance and real life, a theme that is further explored in 1971 s Life On Mars? where 

the girl with the mousey hair walks through her sunken dream , to a cinema, where she s hooked 

on the silver screen . At this point the focus shifts, emphasized by a key change and orchestral swell, 

where the film ( a saddening bore ) is revealed to be the girl s real life ( she s wrote in ten times or 

more ), with her dissatisfaction expressed by her wishing to spit in the eye s of fools . Therein 

follows another change of key with a lyrical montage of filmic imagery ( sailors fighting on the 

dancefloor lawman beating up the wrong guy ) and the suggestion that the fantasy ( the best 

selling show) and the real worlds are one in the same.

David Bowie 

"I think rock should be tarted up, made into a prostitute, a parody of itself. It should be the clown, the 

Pierrot medium." (David Bowie, April 1971) 

This ability, to put himself and his point of observation at a distance from his subject, has led to 

charges of Bowie s being inauthentic, a mere magpie flitting from one style to another. What is 

singularly overlooked is that, rather than being a Rock musician per se, Bowie is an Artist whose 

primary medium is Rock music. Because Rock, especially at the time of Bowie s ascendance in the 

late 60 s (the era of protest songs and counter culture agitation), was generally regarded as a sincere 

antidote to a manufactured pop ethos and celebrated for it s genuineness, keeping it real has 

often meant sticking to clichés and remaining aesthetically static in the name of being down to 

earth , relevant or in touch with the ordinary man etc. 

As a Four, Bowie identified that Art (as a creative, generative form, rather than a monolithic way of 

being) entailed a certain amount of what might superficially appear to be artifice, where sensitivity 

could be both shielded and expressed through the adoption of personae ( I ve no defence, I ve got to 

keep my veil on my face Janine 1969). This allowed the intensely personal to be elevated to the 

Superhuman and iconic and, in that the Universal often resided in the strange and hitherto 

unexplored, Bowie, as a truly creative pop musician, would inevitably run against the grain. 

Released in June 1967, Bowie s debut album could hardly have been further from the then prevailing 

Summer Of Love ethic of groovy free-love and hippiedom. Consisting largely of orchestrated 

vignettes dedicated to odd, unglamorous characters and sung in a wry ironic cockney manner that 

owed a certain amount to Anthony Newley, Bowie had already, at the age of nineteen, a highly 

developed and uncommon melodic and linguistic sense, and was exhibiting classic Four traits of 

identification and sympathy with the socially excluded (such as, in Little Bombardier , a shell 

shocked lonely veteran befriending two small children, before being accused of paedophilia and 

consequently run out of town) , gender distortion ( She s Got Medals - her mother called her Mary, 

but she changed her name to Tommy, she s a one! ), an aching nostalgia ( Come & Buy My Toys 

and There Is A Happy Land .. where only children live, they have no time to learn the ways of you 

sir, Mr. Grownup ), and a taste for rather macabre humour ( Please Mr. Gravedigger ). This was, in 

all, a far darker and more complex vision, albeit masked by the vaguely unhinged cheeriness of the 

music, than that offered by his contemporaries and, unsurprisingly, a resounding commercial failure. 

Though this album contains the kernel of many of the themes that were to dominate Bowie s Golden 

Years of the 1970 s (alienation, gender- mutation, war, nostalgia and Romanticism) it is still 

somewhat overlooked and dismissed as a misguided lurch into vaudeville, a view that in many ways 

reflects it s stark variance to the surrounding psychedelic rock milieu from whence it came. 

However, Bowie s preparedness to eschew the then dominant musical, lyrical and ideological mode 

in favour of a more individualistic, personally resonant aesthetic, illustrates the Fours admirable 

commitment to the dictates of the muse, willingness to go it alone and observe the common 

consensus with unique sensitivity and perceptiveness, as well as evidence of his being 

commendably authentic to himself, which, in Art, is arguably where it really counts. 

Indeed, it is precisely the deficit in personal authenticity (and free thought) displayed by many 

celebrants of the Summer Of Love that Bowie was to lacerate in 1969 s The Cygnet Committee , an 

examination of the contradictions and latent violence of the Hippy movement. This prescient piece, 

written some time before the Manson slayings and Altamont disaster that closed and tarnished that 

era, sees Bowie, as the outsider Four, offering reportage on a conformist mob-think imbued with 

unquestioning self- righteousness ( our weapons were the tongues of crying rage ), capable of 

creation ( where money stood we planted seeds of rebirth ), but equally of destruction ( ploughing 

down man, woman, listening to it s command, but not hearing anymore ). In not hearing , the mob 

replaces discussion with simplistic slogans, starting benignly enough with love is all we need , but 

soon devolving into Kick out the jams , before descending into destructive generation- revolt ( kick 

2 


David Bowie 

out your mother ), and paranoia ( cut up your friends, screw your brother, or they ll get you in the 

end ). 

A Leper Messiah ; The Artist as Visionary 

As the type Four is highly concerned with the broad potency of Art, Bowie was especially aware of 

the Messianic properties of the rock medium, with the crowd being dictated to by the machinations 

of the idol on the podium (leading Bowie to controversially claim Hitler as the first rock star) and 

where, in the case of 1972 s Rock n Roll Suicide , the Four s desire to reveal ( I ve had my share, I ll 

help you with the pain ) and invite identification ( oh no, love, you re not alone ) is expressed 

through the media of performance, with the line just give me your hands evoking the image of the 

rock star reaching out to a sea of supplicants, whereby the experience of shared humanity can, for 

the socially maladroit and sensitive Four, best be attained through Art and Idealization. 

The role of Leper Messiah ( Ziggy Stardust 1972) has been a recurrent theme of Bowie s; from 

the Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (whose idyllic mountaintop life ends with his being hanged by 

uncomprehending villagers), to All The Madmen (with whom Bowie wishes to stay, as they re all 

as sane as me ) and perhaps most notably with the alien rock star Ziggy Stardust , all of which 

reflects the Four s feelings of being apart from their fellows, (with the mountaintop visionary and 

alien superstar being idealized manifestations of the Four s sense of not belonging). Here, we find 

the Four s alienation being sublimated to a sense of Artistic mission, one that invites and, in true 

Tragic Romantic manner, expects castigation, rejection and misunderstanding. 

I cannot breathe in the atmosphere of convention I find freedom only in the realms of my own 

eccentricity (David Bowie 1971) 

Like fellow Fours, Oscar Wilde ( I consider that for any man of culture to accept the standard of his 

age is a form of the grossest immorality ) and Prince ( Am I black or white, am I straight or gay ), 

Bowie delighted in eschewing conventional morality and definitions, taking a Puckish delight in 

transgressing boundaries of gender (being one of the first rock Artists to come out as being gay, in 

1972) as well as genre (with his frequent stylistic shifts bewildering both fans and critics alike). Fours 

tend to abhor rules and, ever in the process of discovering themselves, regard definition as 

unacceptable restriction. Thus, following the long sought- after global success he finally attained 

with space- age superman Ziggy Stardust, Bowie felt capable of retiring this immensely lucrative 

character at the height of its popularity. He then embarked on a Broadway- style musical based on 

Orwell s 1984 ( Diamond Dogs ), the tour of which involved an elaborate and costly set that 

ensured minimum profits, and played to a largely confused audience of Ziggy clones. No sooner was 

this new guise established than once again Bowie moved on, this time to soul music. Consequently, 

the vast 1984 set was abandoned, and the audience confronted by a baggy- suited Bowie, flanked 

by a plethora of gospel singers and backed by a funk band. 

A more career- minded artist would perhaps play it safe and temper creative demands to the 

expectations of audience and critics alike, especially in the high- stake rock arena, where reputation 

and revenue are, once lost, seldom recovered. However, as a Four, Bowie was primarily driven by 

the need to follow his Artistic vision; that this decision was vindicated by longevity and ongoing 

success is testament both to his instincts and the individualistic commitment of the Four, a type who 

often suffer incomprehension and failure for furrowing new paths through unknown terrain. 

In a pop culture that seeks to produce simplified, saleable artists, ever in pursuit of the predictable 

over the creative, Bowie serves as an example of the imaginativeness, courage and tireless self- 

discovery of the Four, and as an inspirational model of Artistic vision, commitment and 

perseverance. 

3 


Suggested reading; 

The Pitt Report Kenneth Pitt (Omnibus 1983) 

David Bowie 

Glam! Bowie, Bolan and the Glitter Rock Revolution Barney Hoskyns (Faber & Faber 1998) 

Alias David Bowie Peter & Leni Gillman (Hodder & Stoughton 1986) 

Bowie - Jerry Hopkins (Macmillian, 1985) 

Gavan Keaney is a musician and artist based in London. After completing a degree in Fine Art with 

Sonic Art, Gavan commenced recording under the moniker Sand Snowman and has, to date 

released six highly acclaimed albums, toured Europe and collaborated with Porcupine Tree s 

Steven Wilson and Gong s Theo Travis. He can be contacted at: sandsnowman@yahoo.co.uk 

4

From the President Mario Sikora

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