Enneagram Passions

Enneagram Ones – Anger – Irritated

feeling irritated that there’s a difference between ‘what is’ and ‘what’s right’. It is a chronic dissatisfaction with how things are.

Enneagram Twos – Pride – Being indispensable

feeling more important than one actually is. It is about doing things for other people in order to feel better about yourself.

Enneagram Three – Self-Deceit – False image

deceiving yourself as to who you really are by trying to be someone else. It is about becoming what others admire or value.

Enneagram Four – Envy – Lacking

constantly comparing yourself to others and only noticing what you are lacking or don’t have. It is a constant sense of inner deficiency, wishing for what is “missing” and comparing yourself to someone who has it.

Enneagram Five – Avarice – Closed heart

closing your heart to receiving and giving. It means hoarding one’s time, knowledge, energy and resources out of fear of having nothing.

Enneagram Six – Fear – Anticipation

of apprehension, tension or uneasiness suggest that something is wrong, but the source of danger is not obvious. The heart constantly anticipates the worst

Enneagram Seven – Gluttony – Wanting more

an excessive desire to consume whatever feels good. It is an insatiable and unrelenting need for constant stimulation of any kind – for people, places, experiences and things.

Enneagram Eight – Lust – Being Excessive

‘lust’ is excess; excessive energy and intensity. The craving for intensity spreads across all areas of life for an Eight, for which food, work and pleasure are only some of the ways it manifests.

Enneagram Nine – Sloth – Self-forgetting

doing every action, except the right one – the one that matters most to the Nine.

Enneagram Virtues

The Virtues

The Virtues represent who we are in higher emotional awareness. They are expressed when we let go of the emotional vices of our personality, which is who we are in lower emotional awareness. The virtues represent our truest, most authentic expressions of ourselves, and are always the complete opposite of the passions, which represent our less authentic, egoic selves.

The path between vice and virtue requires self-observation, self-awareness, and commitment to growth. Lifelong inner work helps us move toward our virtue.

Type One

THE VICE OF ANGER LOOKS LIKE:

· channeled into hostility toward what is imperfect

· directed at whatever is not ideal and trying to fix it

· marked by criticism, judgment, or a sense of tension in the body

THE VIRTUE OF SERENITY LOOKS LIKE:

· extraordinarily calm, relaxed, and filled with a sense of balance within the body

· allowing life to be exactly what it is, and without containment

· it is freedom

Type Two

THE VICE OF PRIDE LOOKS LIKE:

· a need to be important to people

· cycling through self-elevation and devaluation

· viewing the self as the one who can deliver help without needing anything in return (and yet using expectation as a manipulation tactic)

THE VIRTUE OF HUMILITY LOOKS LIKE:

· knowing how important they are without feeling the need to increase or decrease their self-worth

· letting go of the belief that others need them to survive and allowing the self to be exactly as important & worthy as they are

Type Three

THE VICE OF SELF-DECEIT LOOKS LIKE:

· an over-identification with the personality or outer persona

· believing they have to earn love by being worthy

· being the shape-shifting tendency itself

· taking on the ideas/desires of others as their own personal identity.

THE VIRTUE OF VERACITY LOOKS LIKE:

· being nothing but who they really are without regard of what others think

· pure authenticity

· slowing down and acknowledging their own personal feelings – content to just “be”

Type Four

THE VICE OF ENVY LOOKS LIKE:

· a sense of lack, especially having to do with believing they are missing something that others have, therefore others are happier, better, more deserving, etc.

· a sense of inner deficiency

· feeling inferior OR superior (comparison)

THE VIRTUE OF EQUANIMITY LOOKS LIKE:

· balance in how they see the self and others

· become detached from emotions in a healthy way – emotions exist but not in control

· become more grounded in their bodies and recognize that they have all that they need & nothing is missing

Type Five

THE VICE OF AVARICE LOOKS LIKE:

· withholding out of fear of depletion

· holding too tightly to what they already have (resources, energy)

· the heart shuts down for both giving and receiving

· compulsion to hoard (knowledge, energy)

THE VIRTUE OF NON-ATTACHMENT LOOKS LIKE:

· an open-handedness around emotion, energy, and resources, which leads to a sense of generosity

· in sync with the flow of life – no need to hoard time, knowledge, or energy, for there is no impending impoverishmen

Type Six

THE VICE OF FEAR LOOKS LIKE:

· subconscious need to protect the self from everything happening around them

· accelerating thoughts and conclusions as a result – this acceleration can feel like spinning in their minds

· hesitancy to do anything permanent

THE VIRTUE OF COURAGE LOOKS LIKE:

· taking responsibility for permanent action

· not delegating authority or power to others but taking charge and becoming the leader of their own life

· doing things with the heart open & vulnerable

· giving reassurance to oneself

Type Seven

THE VICE OF GLUTTONY LOOKS LIKE:

· indulgence of life

· a desire to sample everything life has to offer without limitation

· the pursuit of MORE – at least a little bit of everything

· jumping around from experience to experience

THE VIRTUE OF SOBRIETY LOOKS LIKE:

· being grounded in the moment; undistracted

· in touch with the self & with the present, rather than running to the next jolt of excitement or interest

· focused on what is in front of them & truly experiencing their lives

· coming home to a deeper part of the self

Type Eight

THE VICE OF LUST LOOKS LIKE:

· a passion for excess

· “anything worth doing is worth overdoing”

· can be about some sort of physical gratification, but it’s mostly about finding a more intense experience and getting more out of life

· often marked by reactivity

THE VIRTUE OF INNOCENCE LOOKS LIKE:

· responding in a fresh way to each moment without judgment, memory, or expectation

· an openness and vulnerability to be impacted by the moment

· often marked by non-reactivity

Type Nine

THE VICE OF SLOTH LOOKS LIKE:

· a “psycho-spiritual” laziness – the state of not being in touch with the core self

· asleep to the true essence – spend energy outside (to keep the outside world out and the inside world in) rather than paying attention to the self

THE VIRTUE OF RIGHT ACTION LOOKS LIKE:

· really refers to “right action”

· a sense of action that is ingrained in the core sense of self – total engagement with the self and a willingness to act on it

· full commitment of the self to doing what is needed

NOTES:

We (@eqenneagram & @ninetypesco) wrote this post based on our conversations, our individual understandings, and observations of the passions. If you want to learn more about this important piece of enneagram theory, we recommend listening to the Enneagram 2.0 podcast episode called “The passion, the virtue, and the path between them” (May 28, 2020). Uranio Paes and Beatrice Chestnut do an incredible job of explaining the passions in detail in that episode!

Enneagram Passions

Enneagram Passions

Claudio Naranjo placed great emphasis on the passions as he evolved Ichazo’s ego-types into the Enneagram personality types as we know them today.

Oscar Ichazo‘s Enneagram of Passions lies at the heart of the Enneagram personality types. Whereas the fixations describe the intellectual part of the ego, the passions are described as the emotional part of the ego that supports the fixation.

The passion appears when the corresponding virtue is lacking. The passions were described by some early teachers of the Enneagram personality types as the Enneagram sins (7 deadly sins + 2).

Ichazo’s original passions

Taken from a book called Transpersonal Psychologies edited by Charles T. Tart, the descriptions of the passions below come from John C. Lilly and Joseph E. Hart who attended the 1970 Arica retreat with Oscar Ichazo.

  1. Anger – Again the ego will keep the person in resentful anger because he is not perfect, nor are the people around him.
  2. Pride – The Ego-Flattery is dependent upon the approval and applause of others, and he works hard to get them. The constant approval and flattery of others produce Ego Pride.
  3. Deceit – One who wants to be known for his accomplishments, positions of influence, and efficiency find it difficult to admit anything that might mar his public image, so he often is forced into deceit to protect his ego.
  4. Envy – The Ego-Melancholy person, hoping for the perfect mate or situation in order to feel really real and fulfilled, tends to think most others have achieved this and, of course, is envious of their seeming happiness and earthiness.
  5. Avarice – Anonymity, and security are important to the Ego-Stinge in order that he can safely watch the world from the peephole of his hiding place. Not only is he avid for the means to maintain his corner, he also is greedy for knowledge of what is going on in life, so that he can feel alive.
  6. Fear – There is a necessary instinctive fear of dangerous situations in order to safeguard our physical existence. We wouldn’t last long without it. But for the Ego-Coward, all of life is threatening. Enemies surround him, so he must always be on the alert and find someone stronger to protect him. Though such constant fear is painful, it is familiar and safe. To live without it would leave one too vulnerable to an unexpected attack.
  7. Gluttony – If a little of something is pleasant, then an unlimited amount should bring unheard-of pleasures, so the Ego Plan feels. This projection of present enjoyment into future ecstasy through more and more of the same is a recurring emotional reaction to the good, though each time it ends in uncomfortable satiation and physical distress.
  8. Excess – The person seeking justice and truth very often overdoes his vengeance in his great moral indignation at injustice. Just as he can punish too severely one who he thinks has wronged him, he can be even more punishing to himself when he feels he has failed in justice. Often he will do physical damage to himself.
  9. Laziness – For the ego-indolent, the ego will persuade him to be very lazy in searching for his essence, though he may be hyperactive in finding ways to avoid working toward his essence.

The passions and the personality types

In relation to the Enneagram personality types, the passions can be better understood as representing underlying energy in support of the personality type. The labels used for the passions can’t simply be understood through the common dictionary definition however and need a reinterpretation that aligns with the personality types.

  1. Anger – energy that corrects and improves what’s unacceptable. It’s primarily directed at myself and secondarily at the world around me.
  2. Pride – an inflated feeling of self-importance in the lives of others. Others need me because I uniquely understand and can meet their needs and desires.
  3. Deceit – involves taking on a persona that appeals to an intended audience. I have difficulty knowing who I am separate from the image I’m presenting.
  4. Envy – a one-sided comparison between the positives of others and the negatives of oneself. What’s lacking in me that I don’t have what they have?
  5. Avarice – a hoarding of resources and minimizing of needs in order to avoid intrusions. I’m more comfortable observing the world from a distance.
  6. Fear – arises from a sense of uncertainty and doubt within. I scan others and the world around me to locate dangers and find something to reassure me.
  7. Gluttony – of the mind is the pull felt toward interesting possibilities. Why get mired in boredom or discomfort when pleasurable alternatives are available?
  8. Excess – energy needs to be released through activity and expression. It feels natural for me but I may have to sit on it when others find it too much.
  9. Laziness – a difficulty with defining and accomplishing goals. I tend to go along with what others are doing and lose myself in routine and comfort.
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