Enneagram
The Enneagram is a personality model that describes nine core types, numbered 1 through 9 and arranged on a nine-pointed geometric figure. Each type organizes around a basic fear and a basic desire that steer its deepest motivations. Structured by Claudio Naranjo and later popularized by Helen Palmer and by Riso and Hudson, the model connects the types through wings and arrows, which makes it a dynamic map rather than a simple classification.
Where the model comes from
The nine-pointed figure has circulated for a long time in traditions of inner teaching, but the nine-type model you meet today took shape in the 1970s: Claudio Naranjo structured it from the work of Óscar Ichazo, then Helen Palmer and the duo of Riso and Hudson spread it widely. Each school has its own nuances, and that is a richness more than a flaw.
How to approach it
Start by reading all nine types without rushing to find your own. Notice what pinches you, what makes you smile in recognition. The Enneagram is interested in your motivations, not your surface behaviors: two people can act the same way for opposite reasons. Take it as a patient mirror, never as a verdict.
Sources
- , Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View (1994)
- , The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life (1988)