Reddit reviews The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge

In my experience there’s a huge variety in the subtype descriptions out there.

I’ve found the best source is this book by Beatrice Chestnut.

I've seen others say that tritypes are often used to fill in the gaps when a type doesn't fit them well.. maybe the theory is correct, and tritypes do exist, but you need to focus on your core type, wing, and instinctual variant first. Those should all fit without having to delve into a tritype to fill in the gaps.

You'd be a lot better off looking into your instinctual variants... you'd be surprised how different a 6 so vs sp vs sx are.

Edit: I used to like the tritypes myself, but I've since fallen away from it because I could never find any good books on it that weren't insanely priced - the one book I did find on it was this one: https://amzn.com/1930054181 and it now has no price (It's priceless! lol), but it used to be priced at nearly $120, and maybe this is just me, but I would not fork over that much money for a spiral bound with only one review.

Edit#2: You'd be a lot better getting and reading this book https://amzn.com/1938314549, which was recommended to me by /u/excel958, and it's been amazing so far—I've only read much into type 6 though because my husband is a 6.

I’m also a social 9w1 and for me the hardest thing to come to terms with was my anger and the way I numb it out. I highly recommend reading Beatrice Chesnuts book The Complete Enneagram. It goes over each type and style in depth and talks about advice each type needs to grow.
I don’t know if you are the same way but I am someone who is constantly hard on themselves, when I first started learning about the enneagram I spent most of the time focusing on what’s wrong with me only to become more frustrated with myself. Self growth is a long journey and a learning process and it’s important to be kind to yourself no matter what. Try to take your time in becoming more self aware, I use the app insight timer to help me meditate. Sarah Blondin has a course called “Coming Home To Yourself” which was really helpful for me in practicing noticing when I “forget myself”.
Ultimately the work for 9s is about counting ourselves in, valuing ourselves as much as the group and realizing that in order to truly feel connected with others, we have to be connected with ourselves.
I hope some of this has been helpful!

Here’s the first Sarah Blondin meditation I tried, its free and worth a listen (https://insig.ht/tdxb97ZobY)


The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938314549/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_N8sRDbBMTNB5Y

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of tests at all. They usually somehow come up with how you behave in a vacuum, which doesn't get to the heart of the Enneagram: your deepest motivations. Two different 4s may act completely differently, but have similar motivations. I don't think I have read the book you're referring to, but I would warn you to stay away from descriptions that don't take instinctual variants (self-preservation, social, and sexual) into account.

Beatrice Chestnut and Sandra Maitri are, by far, my favorite Enneagram authors. The two "biggest" people, Riso and Hudson, move away from what the Enneagram is really about and their descriptions are kind of larger-than-life (ex: 7s are always go go go without rest, can't stay at home for 24 hours, and have no self-discipline, whereas, realistically, 7s can find stimulation in many non-active things such as their imagination and they may not even always seem "busy" in the conventional sense - they can be "on" and "off" just like anybody else; 2s are just "helpful" whereas, realistically, they mold themselves to be lovable based on what they perceive others to find lovable, so they may not try to be "helpful" at all, depending on who they're around). Chestnut and Maitri also give good descriptions about how different instinctual subtypes within a single Enneagram type can make people so different, while their "overall" descriptions encompass each type's motivations pretty well.

Sorry that I rambled, but I hope that this helps. I'd highly recommend reading all of this book before deciding on a type for sure. You can get a free trial on Scribd and find it there, or you can buy it. There are also excerpts from the book found on the Internet for each individual subtype, but I cannot recommend reading the whole thing enough.

"does anyone else have trouble “accepting” the fact that you’re a 4?"

I have and I do. Beatrice Chestnut's The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Self-Knowledge helps to explain why. Chestnut writes that all nine types have a shadow, or unconscious part of their personality that they repress. Most types repress their negative aspects--except for Fours, who repress their positives. For example, a One might have a 'superego' that keeps their anger hidden from their conscious thoughts and behaviours, but a Four might bury positive parts of themselves under feelings that they are inferior, broken, or damaged.

I can only speak from personal experience, but my advice would be to seek out people and experiences that bring out your shadow--positive aspects of your character. Do things you love and are good at. Spend time with people who love and appreciate you for who you are. Face fear and challenges to help you grow as a person rather than escaping into melancholy and fantasy. This will help you to accept yourself as a whole. And, if you can, I highly recommend picking up Chestnut's book!

I also found this little interesting bit:

> While Type Twos are in conflict with their sadness and Threes underdo grief, habitually numbing out their feelings so they don’t get in the way of their goals, fours overdo an attachment to grief. The three heart types also share a central concern with image—a self-consciousness about how they might appear in the eyes of others. While all three types in this triad have a formative, underlying need to be “seen,” they each act this out differently based on the ideals they try to fulfill in order to be recognized and appreciated by others.

Chestnut, Beatrice. The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge (p. 270). She Writes Press.

This might help distinguish your feelings from one another.

Sorry if I am not much help.. I'm still learning too.

Search google for 'enneagram instincts'. I am reading about them in this book https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Enneagram-Paths-Greater-Self-Knowledge/dp/1938314549/

Here is the mobile version of your link

That stuff about sentences being accurate systems and important for Ti makes me lean towards Te. If it gets the job done then it doesn't really matter. I get how you are trying to say that 5s are usually detached and Ti-heavy but the descriptions are coming from the sx variant of 5s. Why I keep coming back to it despite what you're saying is because I do not at all think that my core motivations line up with the 4 description from the Enneagram Institute:

>Basic Fear: That they have no identity or personal significance

>Basic Desire: To find themselves and their significance (to create an identity)

In SX 4s the core motivation is envy, and its manifestation is competition. I do not see much of myself in that. But I do see myself very much in the core motivations of the 5:

>Basic Fear: Being useless, helpless, or incapable

>Basic Desire: To be capable and competent

It doesn't refer to a pursuit of knowledge, just competence. Competence can be applied to knowledge and systems but also to hoarding/greed (which fits with the core motivation being avarice) of resources to survive/not feel like they are being overwhelmed.

 

Also the 5w4 sx quotes are from this book and Naranjo's profile of instinctual variants.

>SX-4

>Shameless. Even if it's shameful, I will still get what I want, do anything to satisfy my desires. The more I complain, the more I get (this strategy works well as child, but not as adult). Viking ENVY, cannabalistic drive, competitive hate. Oral aggression - wishing mixed with anger. Sin of Cain - I envy you therefore I kill you. If I envy wealth, I start a revolution. Hateful, outspoken with anger, envy as competition.

>SX-5

>Not easy to see the difference at first. But if you engage them in conversation long enough, you'll find they are passionate about the one person (usually someone they can't find). Search for absolute love and it's too hard for others to pass the test. Very easily disappointed. Looking to trust in another - the one that will be with you and for you no matter what, beyond the level of marriage vows. Romantic. The non-5 among 5s, though not completely apparent until you touch the spot.

It is a very different description compared to the SO-5 and SP-5. Even without complicating everything by comparing descriptions and looking at the correlating Jungian functions , only looking at the basic fears and desires still points to 5. I have no issue with being a 4, but I do have issues with settling with any type when another type can explain things equally or even better than my supposed type. Naranjo's descriptions do state that 5s are more monochromatic and 4s differ more widely with their instinctual stacking, but I still cannot identify as much with 4 SX, SO or SP from those descriptions. The most applicable one would be 4 SP but again, not 4's basic fears and desires.

 

>"I feel my best when in a tornado of intense feelings involving others, whether good or bad, it is invigorating, jarring and life-giving in a way that I am not just floating and content. I feel moved and intense, which I greatly enjoy"

I just feel my best when I am in that state, I am not constantly in that state nor do I actively seek it out. While yes, it fits well with the 4w5 (no instinctual stacking) description, it also fits very well with the 5w4 (SX) and even more so when the core motivations, desires and fears are taken into account. This is the main dilemma, I think. And I agree that at this point, reading too much into the descriptions may overcomplicate it. Your insights are helpful, thanks.

People are biological machines. MBTI details how the consciousness operates. Or how our brains particular interpretation of "reality" is inputted, digested and outputted. Enneagram drills down to the essence of why we do what we do.

MBTI: The INTP strives for precision with logic.
Ennea: The 5 has a voracious appetite for knowledge to satiate his perpetual state of famine.


Combined together however........

Imagine a pair of 3s'. One ESTJ and ENTP. They both strive for success and recognition.

The ESTJ supervisor tacks on more responsibility, money and respect for knowing what works and what doesn't (active use of Si) meanwhile having the cognitive flexibility (shrewd use of Ne) to handle any unconventional situation. Eventually becoming an esteemed CEO and major shareholder of the company.

The ENTP entrepreneur becomes well practiced in boldly diving into different pools of acid and emerging with a bounty of wealth. Although success isn't always assured, there is a semblance of consistency due to adherence to rational principles (active use of Ti). Meanwhile having the social capital (shrewd use of Fe) to purchase (schmooze) from the right people, raw data for his next venture. Eventually he lands on a Black Swan (jackpot, the big enchilada, home run) and is lauded as an innovator.


Similar motivations and results but different methods.


Speaking for myself, the Enneagram is a system of greater flexibility and depth. The points of integration and disintegration, levels of development, the wings, the triads and much more. In learning more about the "Why", I understood more of the "How". I strongly recommend reading the book by Beatrice Chestnut.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Enneagram-Paths-Greater-Self-Knowledge/dp/1938314549

beatrice chestnut's book is the most comprehensive i've found.

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https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Enneagram-Paths-Greater-Self-Knowledge/dp/1938314549

This one

It's a great complimentary book to the official Riso-Hudson book. She doesn't address wings, but she goes much more in-depth to the sx/so/sp variants (which probably correlates to a wing anyway) than any other author. Like a 4w3 is more likely to be an sx or so than an sp.

Beatrice Chestnut’s book is a great place to start. Unfortunate name, awesome material.

:-) Please please please please read this amazing book I just read: Loving Bravely by Solomon

https://www.amazon.com/Loving-Bravely-Twenty-Lessons-Self-Discovery/dp/1626255814

I can relate to a few things you talked about, and I think this book will be really enlightening for you. It totally changed the way I look at love and relationships...and I've read a ton of self help books on the subject.

Also, I will be reading Attached by Levine and Heller soon, so I can't vouch for it yet but it sounds really good.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1585429139/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RFSRGW1TF3Q83SJY4Z6K

You may have some "attachment items" you may want to consider and reflect on that may give you insight into your relationship patterns. This book would probably help a lot with that. Hope this helps! :-)


Also, nothing has helped me sort through my romantic relationship issues more than exploring my personality type through the enneagram. Check out

Super comprehensive book on all the 9 personality "types":
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Enneagram-Paths-Greater-Self-Knowledge/dp/1938314549


More of an easy read:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062510266/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F0M8XBW924976HC0FJ9A



Easy read, and relates to enneagram + relationships:

https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Type-Yours-Relationships/dp/006251248X