The Enneagram: A Map of the Soul’s Complexity
Image: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Have you ever wondered why you seem to get stuck in the same emotional patterns over and over again? Or why people who love each other can still end up misunderstanding one another so deeply?
The Enneagram offers a fascinating window into these questions. At first glance, it looks like a simple model: nine personality types, each defined by core emotional drivers or “passions.” But the more you delve into it, the more interesting it becomes. Each type has its own internal logic, hidden motivations, and patterns of relating to the world—shaped by early adaptations and defenses that once helped us survive but now often keep us trapped.
Drawing on the depth psychology insights in Claudio Naranjo’s Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View, the Enneagram is not just about labelling people. It’s about seeing how character is “engraved” on us—how our habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving can become rigid strategies for coping with perceived threats or deficiencies. Naranjo explores how each of the nine types represents a specific way of seeking being, but in the process can lose touch with our true self.
This is what makes the Enneagram so compelling. It’s not static. It’s dynamic, describing both the fixations that limit us and the potential paths toward growth. For example:
Type 1 – The Perfectionist: Their drive for perfection is fueled by anger at what feels wrong or imperfect.
Type 2 – The Helper: Their need to help is driven by pride in being needed and valued.
Type 3 – The Achiever: Their push for achievement is powered by vanity and fear of failure.
Type 4 – The Individualist: Their longing for significance can be driven by envy, a sense of missing something essential.
Type 5 – The Investigator: Their retreat into knowledge is shaped by avarice, holding back to feel safe and resourced.
Type 6 – The Loyalist: Their vigilant loyalty is motivated by fear and a search for security.
Type 7 – The Enthusiast: Their hunger for experiences hides an avoidance of inner emptiness.
Type 8 – The Challenger: Their assertive control is fueled by lust for intensity and self-protection.
Type 9 – The Peacemaker: Their easygoing peace can conceal inertia and a reluctance to face conflict.
Each type has its own nuanced mix of passion and cognitive fixation—its own “story” of how to get love and safety in the world. And by recognizing that story, we can begin to loosen its grip.
The benefit for you? Self-understanding. Compassion for others. The possibility of living with more freedom, less compulsion. The Enneagram doesn’t promise a quick fix. Instead, it invites you on a journey—a journey of seeing yourself more clearly, owning your patterns, and recovering what Naranjo calls your “lost being.”
If you’re ready to begin that journey, I’d love to walk alongside you. Get in touch with me today to explore counselling that’s compassionate, insight-oriented, and attuned to who you truly are.
Reference
Naranjo, C. (1994). Character and neurosis: An integrative view. Gateways Books.
