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PREVIOUS: Ennea Basics (#3)

SITEs: ‘Re. Wings & Arrows’ 
• Enneagram Dimensions  MANY Articles

BOOK : “Are You My Type, Am I Yours?, Relationships Made Easy Through the Enneagram” ~ Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

We can say the Enneagram is:
♦︎ a mirror, reflecting the truth of who we really are
♦︎ a map, guiding us toward growth and liberation
♦︎ a catalyst, speeding our journey of self-knowledge & transcendence.

• Although everyone has some aspects of all 9 numbers, we are each born as one basic type, with the others operating in the background to drawn from throughout our life.
Based on this foundation we then develop a ‘passion / fixation / weakness’ as a reaction to our earliest experiences. This problem attitude governs our outlook & behavior until modified or corrected.

OUTLINE of Enneagram Symbol parts
The information & internal connections between the numbers of the Enneagram are complex & subtle. In addition to the meaning of each Type, there are many other things to look for. 

TRIADS There are several kinds, & this is not a complete list:
✤ Core Centers tells us each group’s main goal. Each has its own intensity, emotional focus & physical center:
2, 3, 4 = Heart & Love-Shame
5, 6, 7 = Head & Fear-Anxiety
8, 9, 1 = Gut & Anger-Rage

✤ Harmonics: 4s, 6s, & 8s are Reactive / 2s, 7s & 9s Have a Positive Outlook / 1s, 3s & 5s focus on Competency

✤ Importance: 1s, 4s & 7s feel Smaller than the world  / 3s, 6s & 9s adjust themselves to the world  /  2s, 5s & 8s feel Bigger than the world
✤ Instinctual Sub-types are how they function best in the world – Social, Self-preservation & Sexual/Intimate, each Type expressing all three in their own way

✤ Object Relations connections: 3s, 6s & 9s Attach (join) / 1s, 4s & 7s Frustrate (are ambivalent) /  2s, 5s & 8s Reject (push against)

✤ Social ‘Movement’ (interaction), instinctive style: 2s, 6s & 7s go Toward others / 4s, 5s, 9s move away from others / 1s, 3s & 8s go against others

ARROWS – The six-pointed figure showed the relationships between the steps in the process
EXP: Step 1 is influenced by steps 4 & 7 via connecting lines. Each Type relates to 2 other numbers, at the opposite end of their connecting lines, usually at the far side of the circle.
— When we’re relaxed, one of these numbers enhances us, as we add some of those positive qualities to our
— When we’re stressed the other weakens us, as we add some of those negative qualities to our native style.

DESIRES & FEARS – Each type is drive to gain their Heart’s desire & to avoid – at all costs – their greatest fear. People living at the lower Psychological Levels are run by their fear & sadly their dysfunction coping mechanisms often increase it. As one moves up to higher levels, the Desire begins to be the stronger motivator for our actions & interactions with others.

LEVELS – each Type will also be expressed in 9 psychological levels, from most damaged to healthiest. While the goal is to improve oneself, the levels do not automatically imply moving upward, and not everyone starts out from the lower 3. Most people live in the middle 3 – the ‘Average’ range – & some are able to function in the top 3.

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES – Each Type is most easily defined by their “Passion” or negative defense, & their whole life is built around it. EXP: the 3’s Flaw/ Vice is Deceit, the 9’s is Sloth…. The goal is to grow into our Type’s highest potential, the positive version of your number

WINGS – These are the numbers on each side of every Type & we tend to choose one or the other to modify our own.
EXP: We can be a 1 with a 9 wing (1w9) or a 1 with a 2 wing (1w2)…. Each has a ‘title’ & allows for easier connections to people of that adjacent Type, who they may not otherwise understand or get along with.
EXP: Type 8 (intense, easily angered, dominant) is extremely different from a #7 (lighthearted, rarely serious, irresponsible), so the 8 with a 7 wing (8w7) is lighter, & can can get along with a 7w8 reasonably well since many traits overlap. (WINGS….)

NEXT: Enneagram Intro #4