Guide to the Enneagram Personality Types: Variations within type

Enneagram with Arrows

There are a number of concepts that describe variations within type that explain why people of the same type can seem so different.

Click a topic below to learn more about that concept.

Enneagram Wings
The wings produce two variations of type based on the influence of the types on either side (e.g., 9w1, 9w8).
Enneagram Instincts
The instincts are generally considered to be three different survival strategies that we use to varying degrees (i.e., sp, sx, so).
- Instinctual Subtypes
  The instinctual subtypes divide each of the nine personality types into three subtypes (e.g., sp 1, sx 1, so 1).
- Instinctual Variant Stacking
  Instinctual variant stacking describes an individual's preferential order for the three Enneagram instincts (i.e., sp/sx, sx/sp, sp/so, so/sp, sx/so, or so/sx).
Enneagram Centers
The Enneagram centers of intelligence can be used to identify three Enneagram types (your gut type, heart type, and head type).
Enneagram Stress and Growth
The inner lines and arrows of the Enneagram symbol are used to represent movement between the types.
Enneagram Levels
The Enneagram levels of development describe nine levels of fixation or psychological health within each type.