Enneagram Glossary Terms, Definitions & Concepts

The direction of movement on the Enneagram symbol that shows how a type adopts the healthier qualities of another type when relaxed and growing (e.g., Type 1 integrates to 7).

The direction of movement showing how a type tends to take on the less healthy qualities of another type under stress (e.g., Type 1 disintegrates to 4).

The three core processing centers - Gut (Instinct), Heart (Feeling), and Head (Thinking) - that shape how each type experiences the world.

The primary inner longing that motivates a type’s behaviour and choices. Each type has one central desire (e.g., Type 3 desires to feel valuable).

The fundamental fear a type is unconsciously trying to avoid or compensate for; it sits beneath surface anxieties (e.g., Type 6 fears being without support or guidance).

Sometimes used as an umbrella term for the combined inner drive of core desire and core fear that propels type patterns.

A habitual psychological strategy each type deploys to protect its ego structure (e.g., Type 1 uses reaction formation, Type 9 narcotisation).

A repeating mental preoccupation or cognitive style that reinforces the ego structure of a type. Often paired with the Passion.

The core emotional habit or distortion of each type (e.g., Anger for Type 1, Pride for Type 2, Gluttony for Type 7). Passions colour reactivity.

The transformed emotional quality that emerges as a type relaxes its Passion and grows (e.g., Serenity for Type 1, Humility for Type 2).

A higher-level perspective or spiritual truth that arises when the fixation loosens (e.g., Holy Perfection for Type 1). Considered advanced teaching.

Three social interaction styles: Assertive (3,7,8), Compliant/Dependent (1,2,6), and Withdrawn (4,5,9), describing how types move toward or away from others to get needs met.

Problem-solving styles: Positive Outlook (2,7,9), Reactive (4,6,8), and Competency (1,3,5) - how types respond when things go wrong.

Underlying relational templates: Attachment (3,6,9), Frustration (1,4,7), Rejection (2,5,8). These reflect how early unmet needs shaped relational strategies.

Three primal survival drives - Self-Preservation, Social, and Sexual (One-to-One) - that influence how a type expresses itself. One is typically dominant, one repressed.

The ordering of a person’s three instincts from most to least expressed (e.g., Social > Self-Preservation > Sexual).

The combination of core type and dominant instinct (e.g., Social 6). Subtypes can significantly alter outward presentation.

A continuum (popularised by Riso & Hudson) describing healthy, average, and unhealthy manifestations within each type.

The intelligence center (Gut, Heart, or Head) a person underuses or delays, creating imbalance (e.g., many Type 3s under-access the Heart center authentically).

One of the two adjacent types on either side of a core type which flavours its expression (e.g., a 5w4 vs 5w6). Wings modify - not replace - the core type.

The adjacent type that most strongly influences the core type’s flavour. Some experience balanced wings; others lean clearly to one side.

Confusing one’s true type with another due to shared behaviours, overlapping instinct or subtype expression, or aspirational self-image.

The process of discovering one’s Enneagram type through assessment, reflection, behavioural patterns, and motivation inquiry.

Practising non-judgmental awareness of one’s habitual reactions, core narratives, and embodied patterns - essential for genuine growth.

The patterned identity a type clings to for safety and continuity. Personal work gently loosens identification without attacking the self.

Intentional practices that relax compulsive patterns and foster the Virtue, balance the centers, and expand freedom of response.

Aspects of self a type denies or represses because they threaten its core identity strategy (e.g., Type 2 denying personal needs).

The recurring inner storyline or explanatory frame that reinforces the type’s worldview (e.g., “I must hold it together” for Type 1).