It can be easy to feel that the Enneagram is a bit reductive and basic. 'What? You mean everyone fits in to one of nine personality types?!'
However it is not as simple as that. Yes, the Enneagram believes that we fit into one of nine personality types but each Type is, in a sense, divided into two by the Wings ie: we are either a Two with a One wing or a Two with a Three wing, or we are a Five with a Four wing or a Five with a Six wing etc. and the Wing adds a distinctive flavour to the Type. Then there are the Instincts - Self Preservation, Sexual and Social - and our own personal 'stack' depending on which instinct is dominant ie: are we Social dominant, Sexual second and Self Preservation bottom? Or are we Self Preservation dominant, Social second and Sexual bottom etc. There are six different possible instinctual stacks. So we can see from this that the Enneagram is much more complex and sophisticated than simply nine personality types. It can take some time to identify what Type and Wing you are, then more time to understand your Instinctual stack. It took me three years to recognise my Type and I was completely baffled by the Instincts at first, so understanding my Instinctual stack took yet more time.
Below is my visual illustration of the complexity of the Enneagram with the Types, Wings and Instinctual stacks represented as petals. Once you know your Type, Wing and Instinctual stack you can locate yourself to the last petal (or 'squiggle') at the outer edge of the diagram. I call it my Enneagram Flower.
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