Enneagram

Another one of Witchy's crazy whims: the Enneagram!!! But what the hell is it and how can it help teachers and students? The answer is below...

Witchy explains: "The Enneagram is a set of nine distinct personality types, with each number denoting one type. Generally people find a little of themselves in all nine of the types, but only one of them stands out as being closest to our personality. This is your basic personality type.

Everyone emerges from childhood with one of the nine types dominating their personality; in other words: we are born with a dominant type. This inborn orientation largely determines the ways in which we learn to adapt to our early childhood environment. By the time children are four or five years old, their consciousness has developed sufficiently to have a separate sense of self. At this age children begin to establish themselves and find ways of fitting into the world on their own.

You will find a complete description of each type if you move your mouse on the names of the types.

The Peace-maker: the easygoing, self-effacing type:
Receptive, Reassuring Agreeable, and Complacent

Basic Fear: Of loss and separation
Basic Desire: To have inner stability "peace of mind"
Enneagram Nine with an Eight-Wing: "The Referee"
Enneagram Nine with a One-Wing: "The Dreamer"

The Challenger: the powerful, dominating type:
Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational

Basic Fear: Of being harmed or controlled by others
Basic Desire: To protect themselves
(to be in control of their own life and destiny)
Enneagram Eight with a Seven-Wing: "The Maverick"
Enneagram Eight with a Nine-Wing: "The Bear"

The Individualist: the sensitive, withdrawn type:
Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental

Basic Fear: That they have no identity or personal significance
Basic Desire: To find themselves and their significance (to create an identity)
Enneagram Four with a Three-Wing: "The Aristocrat"
Enneagram Four with a Five-Wing: "The Bohemian"

The Investigator: the intense, cerebral type:
Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated

Basic Fear: Being useless, helpless, or incapable
Basic Desire: To be capable and competent
Enneagram Five with a Four-Wing: "The Iconoclast"
Enneagram Five with a Six-Wing: "The Problem Solver"

The Reformer: rational, idealistic type:
Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic

Basic Fear: Of being corrupt/evil, defective
Basic Desire: To be good, to have integrity, to be balanced
Enneagram One with a Nine-Wing: "The Idealist"
Enneagram One with a Two-Wing: "The Advocate"

The Helper: caring, interpersonal type:

Generous, Demonstrative, People-Pleasing, and Possessive

Basic Fear: Of being unwanted, unworthy of being loved
Basic Desire: To feel loved
Enneagram Two with a One-Wing: "Servant"
Enneagram Two with a Three-Wing: "The Host/Hostess"

The Achiever: success-oriented, pragmatic type:

Adaptable, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious

Basic Fear: Of being worthless
Basic Desire: To feel valuable and worthwhile
Enneagram Three with a Two-Wing: "The Charmer"
Enneagram Three with a Four-Wing: "The Professional"

The Loyalist: the committed, security-oriented type:
Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious

Basic Fear: Of being without support and guidance
Basic Desire: To have security and support
Enneagram Six with a Five-Wing: "The Defender"
Enneagram Six with a Seven-Wing: "The Buddy"

The Enthusiast: the busy, fun-loving type:
Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered

Basic Fear: Of being deprived and in pain
Basic Desire: To be satisfied and content � to have their needs fulfilled
Enneagram Seven with a Six-Wing: "The Entertainer"
Enneagram Seven with an Eight-Wing: "The Realist"

Attention please!!
No one is a pure personality type: everyone is a unique mixture of his or her basic type and usually one of the two types adjacent to it on the circumference of the Enneagram. One of the two types adjacent to your basic type is called your wing. Also your type may tend to change under conditions of stress. You can see the directions of change in the graphic below.

Read the enneagram type description here!

Click on the Start button and see how the types change under stress conditions!!!

Exciting activities for students !!!

Witchy says: "And now it's time to realise which type your personality belongs to. There are a lot of Enneagram tests on the Internet but this one was made by myself and, for this reason, it is scientifically-based... or not? Well... one thing is sure: this test is the shortest of all!"

1st activity - Test: Imagine the ship on which you were having a fantastic cruise has shipwrecked and, after swimming for several miles in the ocean, you have reached an isle. In which situation can you imagine yourself most easily? Read all the paragraphs and then click on the question mark.

You belong to the Individualist Type 4!!
(Also said the Romantic Type)

You are sensitive and withdrawn and can appear initially thoughtful; people who don't know you can think you are apathetic or lazy but you just don't care!!

The isle is full of beautiful natural sights which inspire your poetic vein; besides, it is peopled by girls (or boys, id depends on your tastes...) who are completely free in their sexual habits and consider you a sort of god (goddess... ) come from the sea by a miracle.

The inhabitants of the isle are very primitive and soon realize the superiority of the civilization you come from. You take a leading position and enjoy the advantages of your status.

You get deeply involved in the island life because people are so primitive and really need everything. You help them to build huts which don't collapse easily under tropical storms and villagers soon learn to appreciate your heart.

Life on the island soon gets very routine-like but you never get bored because everything is so different from what you left home: no tv, no cell phone or pc but only human beings going on with their activities. You love to have a rest and see other people working.

At last there is noone to quarrel with! Here you can feel relaxed and at peace with yourself. Islanders have understood you are a wise person and given you the task of solving controversies which, even there, may happen sometimes.

What a wonderful life!! Bananas, mangoes and coconuts on the trees at will and they even cost nothing! Nothing to do during the day except swimming and enjoying the local beauties and dances around the bonfire at night. who wants to go back home?

These primitive people are so naive! They really should learn how to build a proper net for fishing and also a little bit of manners, especially at table. Fortunately they have got you as a teacher! Besides this, everything is all right: people are friendly and spontaneous!

You really can't understand how these people can survive without TV or telephones. Everything is predictable and each day is like the day before. Fortunately you have managed to get busy with village life and help people at building more solid huts; everybody respects you and considers you a leader so, after all, you now feel quite at home.

First times have been really difficult: villagers were scared of you at least as much as you were of them. And the person you feared most was the terrible king of the tribe. Now you have learned to appreciate their simple lifestyles and the king is your best friend!

You are the Challenger 8 Type!!! (also said the Boss Type)

Assertive, sometimes aggressive, you have an all-or-nothing approach to life. often you find yourself in a leading position maybe because you are very loyal and protective with friends.

You belong to the Helper Type!! (Also said the Giver Type)

As a Type 2 you are active, helpful and generous with time, energy and things. Better at giving than receiving, you can sometimes seem to people manipulative; but friends know you are genuinely caring and supporting.

You are an Investigator Type!!! (Also called the Observer Type)

You tend to experience life from a distance, observing rather than engaging. The life of mind is very important to you and you have a love of knowledge and information, often quite specialized. For this reason and also because you like to know in advance what is expected in work and leisure, you can be an excellent decision-maker and a creative intellectual.

Type seven: the Enthusiast!!
(Also said The Epicure Type)

You are optimistic, energetic, charming and elusive. You have a Peter pan quality, hating to feel trapped or coerced. You often feel the need to exclude negative emotions and potential blows to your self-image. if you succeed at disciplining yourself you can be a very creative productive worker.

Yours is the Peacemaker Type!!!
(Also called the Mediator Type)

You are Type nine: The perfect peace-maker! Excellent at understanding everyone else's point of view maybe you are not so good at knowing what you want yourself. You are very active but put off the highest priorities to the last minute. This happens because low priority activities (like reading and hanging out with friends) are often more appealing to you than the others.

Congratulations!! You are n. 1 the Reformer!! (Also called the Perfectionist Type)

Critical of yourself and others, you have an internal list of shoulds and should nots. You take responsibility seriously and wish whatever to be done absolutely correctly. You find it difficult to allow yourself pleasure for its own sake. Try to relax every now and then!!

Type Three: the Achiever!!
(Also called the Performer Type)

High energy workaholic, as a Type Three you strive for success to gain status and approval. You are competitive and try to succeed in whatever arena you are in: family, work, sport, etc. Though out of touch with your real feeling, you can diplay appropriate feelings if they are called for. you make an excellent team leader and motivator, being goal-oriented as you are.

Type Six: the Loyalist!! (Called the Questioner Type by someone)

Though often unaware of being fearful, you tend to see the world as thretening. Your doubting frame of mind can produce procrastination and suspicion of others' motives. The thing is that you are often right!!! Having given your trust, you become a loyal and committed friend and team member.

Witchy says: "Do you think I can leave you without another exciting activity? NOOOOOO!!!!

2nd activity - Roleplay: Students write down some notes about the Enneagram Type to which they belong, then in pairs, disccuss it with deskmates. Here are some tips for starting the dialogues:

1st friend: "I think I belong to type seven, the Epicure, because I am optimistic, charming and don't like feeling trapped!"
2nd friend: "Not at all! You are typer five: the Observer because you just watch things happen and do nothing!"
1st friend: "What about my wings? What do I look like when I'm under stress?"

I hope you've enjoyed discovering new aspects of your personality! Beware: Enneagram types are fluid and ever-changing so don't apply labels to yourselves or others... truth is always more complicated than theories, however fascinating they may look!

Love from

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