Comparison of different enneagram schools’ opinions of centre use

Authors generally agree on the primary ‘centre’ for the types, i.e. 234 – heart, 567 – intellectual, 891 – instinctive or ‘gut’ centre, although exact terminology used varies. What does vary, however, are interpretations as to which centre (if any) is non-preferred or repressed. For example *Hurley & Donson equate repressed centres to the Horneyvian…

Author Case Study – Robert E. Howard – 8w9

Robert E. Howard is best known as the creator of the fictional character Conan [Conan the barbarian]. While particularly introverted for an eight, the basic eight drives, belief structures and setup show up in his work. Apparently outwardly an introvert, he is probably an Sp 8w9 [“satisfactory survival”]. Function-wise, Howard is probably an ESFP [extraverted sensation…

Centres – parts of centres & 891

Original contributors to the enneagram system frequently talk of ‘centers’. Gurdjieff sometimes spoke of three centers, sometimes of five, and sometimes of seven. Briefly, the three basic centers could be said to be the ‘moving’, ’emotional’ and ‘intellectual’, however the first centre really is three centers; a ‘lower storey’ of the organism which includes a…

Author Enneagram Case Study – Michael Ende (3w4)

Type: 3w4 (so?) Level of integration: average to healthy Type allocation based on: type-specific behaviour (fictional); functions Note: Lower likelihood of 4w3 as opposed to 3w4. Spoilers for The Neverending Story follow.   Introduction Michael Ende was a German children’s fiction author, probably most famous for The Neverending Story, though he wrote a few other books…

Author Enneagram Case Study – Robert Silverberg (9w8)

Type: 9w8 [sx] MBTI: ISFJ ?? [Si ?/Fe definite] – (probably would score as INFP or ENFP) Type based on: type behaviours only – see below. (It seems that the traditional ‘holy idea’ [love] that useful to identify Nines – compare Brunner description and note that the concept is something that is generally interesting to…

Author Enneagram Case Study – John Brunner (5w4)

Type: 5w4 (self-preservation) MBTI: theoretically INTP based on functions; might have scored as INTJ Based on: Noticeable Five patterns, functions, possible holy idea ? Health: unhealthy (somewhere about 5th or 6th level). Introduction John Brunner is an English SF author who is one of the more interesting of a number of probable Five authors; he…

Author Enneagram Case Study – Sir Terry Pratchett [7w6]

Typing based on: Holy idea (/virtue) references, defense mechanisms, overall. I felt a need for a cheerier article after the last very-unhealthy one, but this particular article will be a little brief, simply due to its abstractness: it has been a long while since I’ve read any Terry Pratchett books. He shows some fairly clear…