The Enneagram is a personality typing system that has ancient roots dating back centuries. It consists of 9 primary types and 18 sub types that are graphically represented via a 9 pointed geometric shape. The 9 primary types of the enneagram are 1 – the reformer, 2 – the helper, 3 – the achiever, 4 – the individualist, 5 – the investigator, 6 – the loyalist, 7 – the enthusiast, 8 – the challenger, and 9 – the peacemaker. The reformer is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic. The helper is generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive. The achiever is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-concious. The individualist is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. The investigator is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated. The loyalist is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious. The enthusiast is spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered. The challenger is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational. The peacemaker is receptive, reassuring, agreable, and complacent.
To best way to discover your enneagram type is to take an accurate enneagram test. The test consists of a number of questions designed specifically to elicit your enneagram type. At the end of the test you should receive a report that details your enneagram type and sub type also known as a wing. The wing is one of the 2 types that are adjacent to your primary type.
Understanding your enneagram type can shed light on why you do the things you do, your personal motivations, fears, and habitual patterns. Understanding the enneagram type of the people you interact with can lead to more empathetic and effective communication and relationships.
Manipulation often begins with an intimate understanding of what drives an individual. Manipulators can use the insights gained from a person’s enneagram type to control and influence that person. The Enneagram, with its detailed mapping of nine distinct personality types, provides manipulators with a roadmap to a person’s deepest fears and desires. For instance, a Perfectionist (Type 1) may be manipulated through their desire for improvement and fear of making mistakes, while a Helper (Type 2) might be exploited through their need to feel indispensable and loved. By recognizing these tactics, we can better protect ourselves from those who seek to use our personality traits against us.
The Enneagram’s rich and nuanced descriptions of personality types offer manipulators a sophisticated toolkit for influence. This misuse of the Enneagram perverts its intended purpose — promoting self-awareness and growth — into a means of control and exploitation. Manipulators often tailor their tactics to exploit the specific vulnerabilities of each Enneagram type. By understanding the core motivations and fears of each type, they can craft their strategies to control and influence individuals more effectively.
Defending against manipulation is crucial for maintaining your well-being and fostering personal
growth. Manipulation can erode your self-esteem, undermine your confidence, and distort your sense
of reality. It often leads to emotional distress, strained relationships, and a diminished ability to make
autonomous decisions. By understanding how to defend against manipulation, you protect your
mental and emotional health, ensure your relationships are healthy and supportive, and create a
foundation for personal development.