A Quick Way to Get Clarity on Your Enneagram Type

While the Enneagram is an ancient teaching, it’s brand new to many of us in the West. When we encounter this fun, and amazingly useful, teaching for the first time, our number one priority is gaining clarity around which of the nine types is our home base type. In the process of determining this we learn a lot about all nine types, which is incredibly useful for understanding others. 

There are many wonderful Enneagram teachers in the West, and not all of them use the same descriptor for each type. I recently researched the different names for each type, and came up with the list below. 

While I generally use the names from the Riso-Hudson lineage in my teaching (as I studied there), I think it’s useful to see the many names for each type, as each one word description points, like facets in a diamond, points to a relevant aspect of each type. 

For example, one of my best friends identifies as having an Enneagram Type 6 Loyalist personality. He is loyal to the bone. And yet, for me, “Loyalist” is associated with those who, during the Revolutionary War, remained loyal to the British crown, so not such a great fit. However, when I see his type described as a Guardian, Questioner, and Security Seeker, it resonates with greater fidelity with my experience of his personality. 

EXPANDED LIST OF NAMES FOR EACH ENNEAGRAM TYPE

Enneagram Type One

• Reformer
• Crusader
• Moralist
• Perfectionist
• Idealist

Enneagram Type Two

• Helper
• Nurturer
• Advisor
• Mentor
• Caretaker
• Connector
• Supporter
• Giver
• Enabler

Enneagram Type Three

• Achiever
• Performer
• Motivator
• Succeeder
• Initiator
• Winner

Enneagram Type Four

• Individualist
• Romantic
• Designer
• Artist
• Aesthetic
• Originality 

Enneagram Type Five

• Investigator
• Thinker
• Observer
• Recluse

Enneagram Type Six

• Loyalist
• Pathfinder
• Guardian
• Troubleshooter
• Questioner
• Security Seeker
• Devi's Advocate
• Skeptic
• Trooper

Enneagram Type Seven

• Enthusiast
• Optimist
• Epicure
• Adventurer
• Visionary
• Generalist

Enneagram Type Eight 

• Challenger
• Leader
• Boss
• Protector
• Asserter

Enneagram Type Nine

• Peacemaker
• Mediator
• Peace Seeker
• Harmonizer 
• Connector

INQUIRY

1. Does this expanded list of descriptors offer you any insights into your home base type? 
2. Does this expanded list of descriptors offer you any insights into the personality type of those with whom you are in close relationship?

Image Credit: Gina Nero, Mind Over Matterhorn