Common mistakes people make about the Enneagram
I’ve been working with the Enneagram for 10+ years now, and I keep seeing people make the same mistakes about it. If you don’t know, the Enneagram is a personality framework that clusters people into nine types based on distinct fears, desires, and tendencies.
Here are these misconceptions, and my responses to them. This was originally an X thread.
1. It’s “occult” or “satanic.”
Uh, no. It’s historical, with ancient roots tracing back to many cultures and traditions, from Sufism to Kabbalah to the Desert Fathers and Mothers. But “old” doesn’t mean “magical and/or evil.” Here’s more on the history of the Enneagram.
Maybe people get this idea because the Enneagram symbol looks vaguely pentagram-ish? But even the pentagram isn’t an inherently “bad” symbol: since 3000 BC it has symbolized health, harmony, and protection and has only fairly recently been associated with dark stuff.
2. It’s inherently Christian.
Also no. Although one of the first modern groups of people that really embraced and used the Enneagram were Jesuits in the ~1950s and 1960s, the system is not inherently religious. It is not associated with, or meant for, any particular religion.
That said, many people use the Enneagram for personal and spiritual development and find that it complements their religious practices. And some organized religions (like Christianity) have leaned heavily into using the Enneagram.
A good book that overviews using the Enneagram with spirituality is “The Sacred Enneagram” by Christopher L. Heuertz.
3. There’s no evidence to back up the Enneagram.
Not true. Here’s a collection of a few of the articles and research that show different aspects of its validity, including that types are predictable, consistent across sex, and correlate w/ other measures like Big Five:
- In a 2004 study, Newgent et. al. found significant correlations between the nine Enneagram types, as categorized by the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) test, and the Big Five personality traits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness
- In 2005, Brown and Bartram found that the Enneagram types had predictable and strong associations to the Big Five traits, making it possible to classify 70–75% of people accurately
- In 2011, Scott found that the Enneagram’s nine personality types were consistent across sex and were unaffected by whether participants already knew their type before the study
- In 2011, a study by Enneagram in Business covered 72 companies using the Enneagram, including major corporations like Best Buy, Toyota, and Avon; it found that using the Enneagram improved communication, collaboration, sales, and employee engagement in these organizations
- In 2013, Sutton et. al. examined the use of the Enneagram in the workplace and concluded that it predicted job-related variables and was a useful typology for understanding individuals’ behavior at work
- In 2018, Matise examined correlations between the Enneagram and well-known psychiatric tools, including the criteria for mental disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV, using patient case studies to demonstrate effectiveness.
- In 2020, Hook et. al. found that 1, the Enneagram is helpful for personal and spiritual growth; 2, 87% of individuals were able to accurately predict their Enneagram type (before taking the test) by being read descriptions of each type; and 3, the Enneagram has theory-consistent relationships with other constructs such as the Big Five.
- In 2022, a global survey by Enneagram in Business found 25 different Enneagram applications being used in organizations, up from just 10 in 2011 (a 150% increase). The most common applications in 2022 were personal growth (81% of companies), emotional intelligence (68%), leadership (67%), communication (65%), and coaching (62%).
4. It’s like or somehow related to astrology.
Not really. Although there is likely some overlap in the types of people who are interested in both personality models and astrology, and (broadly) they’re both tools to examine and explain people, the two are quite different.
Astrology uses the movements and positions of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies to explain human affairs and terrestrial events. There’s special emphasis on when and where you were born.
The Enneagram is a psychology-based personality system that clusters people into “types” that share common motivations and behaviors. Its closest comparisons are Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
Where and when you were born is irrelevant to the Enneagram, unless those factors contribute to the nature/nurture of your personality (e.g., growing up in more collectivist countries in Asia accentuates more passive/agreeable personality traits, while the USA rewards traits like ambition, drive, and competition).
5. “I’m a 3 with a 9 wing.”
No, you’re not. A lot of people simply get the system wrong. There are nine types. Your type never changes, but you can become a healthier or less healthy version of it. Your wing is like a side dish that adds some flavor to your main type. Your wing is next to your base type (so a 3 can only have a 4 or 2 wing; a 3 with a 9 wing doesn’t exist). More about wings here.
If I had a dollar for every time someone confidently told me that they’re an impossible/nonexistent thing in the Enneagram, I could throw us all a pizza party.
6. The Enneagram is just another personality test.
You can use it as just that, sure, but you’re only scratching the surface. It’s meant for deeper self-discovery and growth, not just classification/typology. It’s versatile: you can use it surface-level, or to examine your soul.
It’s a shadow approach, meaning that it doesn’t pull any punches and lets you know when you’re becoming your best (or worst) self. It shows you the painful reality of what you can become if you descend to the depths of your darkest tendencies, but also the heights of heroism that you can aspire to when you actually put in the work of getting to know and improve yourself.
The point isn’t to put you in a box and keep you there. The point is to show you the box that you’re *already in* (via your automatic habits, unconscious patterns, ego needs, mechanical overthinking, etc.), so you can transcend it and be a human being, not a human doing.
7. Some types are better or worse, or some types are not ever compatible.
All types have strengths and weaknesses. Depending on your own values and preferences, you will likely find some Enneagram types more appealing (and more annoying) than others. But that’s not in or part of the model; that’s just human difference.
We do see patterns where certain types often end up friends with/business partners with/dating/marrying other types in semi predictable ways. For example, here’s a post we did on common romantic pairings for types Two, Three, and Four. But there’s no hard rule where “X type is always incompatible with Y type.”
8. “I took a test, so that’s my type.”
No personality test is 100% accurate; we all have tremendous blind spots, even (especially) about ourselves. Test results are a starting point. Only by reading more about the types with an open/curious mind will you land on the right one.
Here’s a library with more info on all nine types so you can see what stands out for you.
My friends and I built our own test that we happen to think is pretty damn accurate, but even with ours, most people still greatly benefit from perusing the different types and seeing what really punches you in the gut. That feeling usually means you found the right one. You can take our test online here (we’re called Blueprint Enneagram).
