What The Heck is An Enneagram & Finding Out What Mine Is!

For some reason, every time I go on Pinterest lately, I get random pictures, illustrations, and info graphics popping up saying things like “Enneagram Type 4: You’re spunky and won’t change your mind for anything!” or “Harry Potter Enneagram Types: Hermione Granger is totally a 5!” (I have no idea if those numbers are correct, by the way) Basically, I’m being told by a social media platform that Enneagrams are important and I need to find out what mine is. (Not really, but I’m doing this for the blog! And because I’m curious!) But first of all: what the heck is an Enneagram and what does it mean???

I have heard of Enneagrams before; I just don’t quite know what they were. I figured it was something akin to the Myers-Briggs test: where they use psychological traits plus other personality tests to identify what kind of personality you have, your strengths, and how you perceive the world. It’s a really helpful quiz to do if you’re looking to understand yourself more and why you behave the way that you do. For example, I’m an INFJ aka the Advocate or Idealist, which apparently is very rare, but surprisingly, it seems like most of the people I meet tend to be INFJ (boo, I’m not special!). But INFJ stands for Introverted (check!), Intuitive (okay?), Feeling (oh yes, I feel all the feels!), and Judging (I’m SO judgy. Just kidding! It just means how you view things). While not 100% percent accurate because everyone is literally different, even if you are the same MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) type, I’ve found myself enjoying the fact that I’m an INFJ because it really explains a lot about myself. (Like, a lot. Seriously.)

To learn more about the MBTI test, check it out here. (There are 16 MBTI types!) They have really cool explanations about why certain types act the way they do, and how they interact with others. Plus, they even give out job recommendations that would be good for certain types, plus famous people who share your personality type (For me: Oprah and Martin Luther King Jr. Heck yeah!). But again, nothing is 100% accurate, so don’t take it too seriously or think it’s utterly and entirely factual.

But Enneagrams sounded a little weird to me. For some reason, even the name of them sounded like something out of Scientology or a cult. (I think because in Scientology they have “engrams” and that sounds a lot to me like Enneagrams!) But after some further research, I found out that Enneagrams, or Enneagram of Personality, is another type of personality test, that consists of nine personality types (called enneatypes) which make up a geometric figure of all the interconnecting personality types called (you guessed it!) an enneagram. (So, really, shouldn't we not be calling them Enneagrams, but our enneatypes?)

According to the website Truity which offers free tests, Enneagrams: “...is a personality system that aims to reveal how emotions drive our lives and how we engage with others in an effort to get what we want and need…defines nine personality types, each with its own set of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for personal growth.” Finding out your type also “reveals what motivates you on a very deep level, and illuminates the path you must take to achieve a higher level of self-actualization.”

Hmm not as cult-y or strange as I thought, but also not too different from Myers-Briggs (though there are some people who mix Enneagrams with spirituality. Whatever floats your boat!). So let’s find out what I am and what all this fuss is about!

Before I started though, I found out there were nine different personality types (some with different names, but meaning the same basic thing):

Type 1: The Reformer/The Perfectionist: principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic.
Type 2: The Helper/The Giver/The Caregiver: generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive.
Type 3: The Achiever: adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.
Type 4: The Individualist: expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental.
Type 5: The Investigator: perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated.
Type 6: The Loyalist/The Skeptic: engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.
Type 7: The Enthusiast: spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered.
Type 8: The Challenger: self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational.
Type 9: The Peacemaker: receptive, reassuring, complacent, and resigned.

Of course, these are just four basic words to describe each type, but if you look into all of the types, different websites will go in really deep (like, real deep) into how the types interact with others, how they view themselves, others, and the world, and so much more. The *official* Enneagram Institute website goes incredibly deep into how these types are all connected, how the Enneagram system works, and a lot more (seriously, they have so many Enneagram graphs and writings about how the types handle anger, stress, and more. It looks very complicated! And kind of science-y and psychological-y...? But who knows!).

Also, these descriptions are from the *official* Enneagram Institute website, where I did NOT pay $12 to get a code and take their test. Apparently a lot of businesses like to use these tests (also MBTI) to figure out employees' strengths and weaknesses, which is cool, but I’m my own boss and I’m not paying myself $12 to take the test. Sorry, self. You’ll have to figure it out unofficially! 

I started out by taking some (free) tests, because I wanted to take them several times to see if the results would vary. (I took several Myers-Briggs tests multiple times and always got INFJ) The first Enneagram test was on Truity, which reportedly would only take 10 minutes (fingers crossed!). After six pages of checking five boxes ranging from “Inaccurate,” “Neutral”, and “Accurate” and questions like, “I don’t fit in with ordinary people,” (um, yes) and “I do not hesitate to call out other people when they are behaving badly” (um, no. But I should!), I was finally done.

Enneagram Test #1: Truity

Apparently everyone shares a percentage from every different personality type, but the one I matched with the most, at 98% was type number Two! Aka the Giver, Twos wants to be liked and find ways to help others to make them feel loved and like they belong. Aww, I sound like a sweetheart!

But I also matched very closely with type 9, at 96%, the Peacemaker. Nines obviously like to stay out of trouble and let people around them make the decisions. Which I totally do at times.

The seven other types I matched with were, in order:

Four: The Individualist (87%)
Six: The Skeptic (83%)
One: The Perfectionist (79%)
Five: The Investigator (71%)
Seven: The Enthusiast (64%)
Three: The Achiever (63%)
Eight: The Challenger (42%)

Truity/That Weird Girl Life

I could have gotten the full report, but you had to sign up, and honestly, I didn’t know if I’d have to pay for it, so I just didn’t bother. (Also, I was feeling lazy and I had other free Enneagram tests to take!) On to the next test!

Enneagram Test #2: 9Types

The next one I tried was on 9Types, a website that looks very old school, like in a “remember-this-from-the-first-mid-2000’s” type of way that brings me so much nostalgia. It said on the first page to look over my results afterwards to see what type I truly identified with, which I found very intriguing. I took the free test, which consisted of selecting the statements that most applied to you (“methodical and cautious” vs. “adventurous and taken risks”) and these were my results! (They also asked for my gender and MBTI type at the end, too. Hmm.)

For this one, they’re saying I’m a Two as well! Only they’re calling it the Helper, not the Giver. My second type is Seven, the Generalist (or as the previous test called it, The Enthusiast). My other results from this site were:

Type 3: Four, the Artist
Type 4: Six, the Skeptic
Type 5: Two, the Helper
Type 6: Six, the Skeptic (again??)
Type 7: Four, the Artist (um, again??)
Type 8: for this I got a zero, and I have no idea what this means.
Type 9: Five, The Thinker

9Types/That Weird Girl Life

As you can see, I got wildly different results, despite my same number one results being a Two aka the Giver/Helper. Hmm. I’m not sure if it’s the tests or me! Especially since I got a zero for my 8th type (What. Does. That. Mean???). Let’s try one more and see how it goes!

Enneagram Test #3: CrystalKnows

Next up was the CrystalKnows test. This one was a lot like the Truity test. Very updated and geared towards finding out the psychology of the person, to help better you and work on yourself (it made me feel like it was again geared towards businesses, looking all professional and sleek). I had to answer several questions by checking boxes ranging from 1-5, 1 being very Disagree and 5 being very Agree. This one was a lot shorter than the Truity test, with the test barely taking five minutes (maybe I should have been paying attention more?)

But it turns out my Enneagram is way different than the first two tests I took. According to this test, I’m a Type Six: A Loyalist! As a Six, I “tend to be engaging, hard-working, and responsible. You generally want to feel safe and avoid outside threats.” Which is somewhat true, because I try to be responsible (usually), work hard (also usually), and I do like to feel safe and avoid outside threats (I mean, who doesn’t want to avoid outside threats?? I know I do!).

But again, to get my full profile and to see what my other percentages or types were, I had to make an account. Um, I don't have time for that, so let's move on!

CrystalKnows/That Weird Girl Life

Am I Really A Two?

But for now, let’s focus on the Truity and the 9types tests, because my first two type results were the same on both: My number one type being a Two, the Giver/Helper.

According to the *official* Enneagram Institute website: “Twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. They are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. They typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs. At their Best: unselfish and altruistic, they have unconditional love for others.”

Some other famous “Two’s” they listed Eleanor Roosevelt, Dolly Parton, Elizabeth Taylor, and, here’s a fun one, Monica Lewinsky (hey, ladies!).

And this is what Truity has to say about Twos and their core values: “A strong sense of meaning, acknowledgment from loved ones, and emotional intimacy with others are Givers’ grounding principles. Altruism holds a strong place in their hearts and they readily go out of their way to volunteer their time and energy to bring others up. Kindness and reciprocity are the guiding values for their decisions. To improve someone else’s life or mood is an immeasurable times better than helping themselves. The shared experience of spending quality time with a loved one is among the best feelings in the world to Givers.”

And according to CrystalKnows, here are some Two weaknesses: “Seeking and needing approval from others... Being perceived as overbearing at times...Difficulty recognizing and acknowledging their own needs...Disliking or being easily offended by criticism.”

I mean, a lot of this does strike a chord with me. I do try to be as kind and as helpful as I can. So many people in my life have been that for me, and I really do want to try and give back as much kindness that has been shown to me. I also try to be as sympathetic and as empathetic as I can towards people. I know what it’s like to not be in the best place, and I want to support people as much as I can. And I am altruistic! I like to think the world can be a better place, if only people would just try to make it that way. And as far as disliking or being easily offended by criticism...oh yes, that’s me all the way! (Don’t hurt me, I’m delicate!)

So what is my Enneagram? Am I really a Two, the Helper/Giver/Caregiver? Or am I a mix? Because honestly, when looking at all of the Enneagram types, I identify with a lot of them. I can be a Peacemaker at times, receptive and complacent, and sometimes I feel like I’m very the Investigator (who sounds very mysterious, by the way, and something I now aspire to be). So what am I really?

The *official* Enneagram Institute website says that people do not change from one basic type to another. But then the 9Types website says that after you get your results, you should really think about if you identify with the type you’ve been assigned. Call me confused! What or who do I believe??

So, What Do I Believe About All This of Enneagram Stuff?

All in all, I found this Enneagram experiment to be so fascinating! Much like the Myers-Briggs test, I found it to be an interesting take on the personality test, but I also didn’t quite agree with the results as much as I did with the Myers-Briggs one. My INFJ seemed to cover more of my personality traits, whereas my main type, being a Two, along with my second type, a Nine, were more of a mix of my actual personality type. Plus, there seems to be a lot of differences between Enneagram tests and beliefs, as seen by the various tests and what they call the different types.

I think the test, just like the Myers-Briggs test, is what you make of it. I love being identified as an INFJ, and thinks it suits me (almost) perfectly. As far as being assigned a Two as an Enneagram, I’m okay with it, but I feel like it isn’t perfect and other types may suit me better at different times (which I guess is why you have different types of your types. Does that make any sense? I'm still a bit confused by it all). 

So are these tests perfect? No, they aren’t. I don’t know how scientifically based they are (some people say not at all), even though they say they use “psychological traits” in some cases to determine your personality (some have called these test total pseudoscience and a new sort of “astrology," aka open to interpretation, in that it fits you at the moment). But they are kinda fun, and some of them really do help me look at my personality, and what I can identify and see as myself in these descriptions. But like I said before, we’re all such different people, that no test can really fit us into one perfect niche or define us, no matter how scientific or psychological (or spiritual) it might be. Just take it all with an open-mind, and remember that you are way more than what you are assigned and labeled by a test, official or unofficial.

And if nothing else, just have fun with it! Go give the Enneagram tests I took a try and see what comes up for you! Maybe you'll see yourself in that personality type and maybe it'll help you figure some things out about yourself. Or maybe you think it's all a bunch of nonsense and you'll leave me a strongly worded comment letting me know exactly how you feel! You never know!

That was my journey into finding out what the heck an Enneagram is and what my Enneagram is! I guess I’m a Two if I decide to be! (I’m taking the 9Type’s website’s advice and deciding for myself!) But I’m still not exactly sure if I think Enneagrams are my sort of thing, but if nothing else it was a blast taking the tests and learning about all of the different personalities!

Let me know in the comments if you’re into Enneagrams or not or had no idea like me what they were in the first place! I’d love to know your thoughts! (And what type of Enneagram you are!)

Stay Weird,
Emily

Pin It!