The Enneagram describes nine distinct and fundamentally different patterns of thinking, feeling and acting. Each of the nine patterns is based on an explicit perceptual filter that determines what you pay attention to and how you direct your energy. Underneath each of the nine patterns is a Basic Proposition™ or belief about what you need in life for survival and satisfaction.

The Basic Proposition consists of three parts:

The fundamental principle you lost sight of: A basic truth about life that your early experiences and natural tendencies led you to lose sight of while your personality was forming.

What you came to believe instead: A core belief that you developed, which grew out of your early experiences and natural tendencies, replacing the fundamental principle you lost sight of in early childhood.

The strategy you developed to cope with this belief: The coping or survival strategy that you developed because of this core belief to preserve a sense of safety, love and value.

Each type has a set of principle characteristics or manifestations based on the underlying core belief and coping strategy, as well as a unique central issue for healing. We suggest that you start with Type One, the Perfectionist, and continue around the Enneagram circle, or proceed in any order you choose by clicking on the type below.

For more extensive discussion of the key themes of the types, refer to The Essential Enneagram and The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and Others in Your Life.

Next: Type 1

Key themes of all types: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9