Enneagram: Understanding Yourself & Others
The Enneagram is a powerful tool for self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and personal growth. It reveals the motivations behind our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, helping individuals and teams improve communication, leadership, and decision-making.
Wings
Wings are the Enneagram types immediately adjacent to your core type. They can be understood as flavours of your core personality, adding a secondary influence that may shape how your type is expressed.
Wings add further depth and variety to each Enneagram type. They may help explain why people with the same core type may express themselves differently, while still sharing the same underlying personality pattern.
Arrows
The arrows within the Enneagram show the connections and movements between different types. These directional lines are an important part of the system, illustrating how our patterns can shift and express themselves in different circumstances.
Each Enneagram type has movements in two directions: the forward arrow and the against arrow. These movements are an important part of the Enneagram system, showing how the patterns of each type can be expressed in different ways.
3 Centres of Intelligence
The Enneagram is structured around three core centres that influence how we experience the world:
- Head Centre (Types 5, 6, 7) – Analytical, security-driven, and future-focused
- Heart Centre (Types 2, 3, 4) – Emotionally attuned, relationship-oriented, and image-conscious
- Body Centre (Types 8, 9, 1) – Instinctive, action-driven, and grounded in control or harmony
27 Subtypes
Beyond the core 9 types, the 27 Enneagram subtypes provide deeper insight, shaped by instinctual drives:
Self-Preservation (SP) – Focused on security, stability, and well-being
Social (SO) – Prioritizes group belonging and social impact
Sexual (SX) – Seeks deep, intense connections and experiences
