The Enneagram is, like a protractor, a caulk-spreader or a T-square, only a tool

I guess it’s about time to address the nutter side of the Enneagram. Google the topic and you will find a range of sites, from astrology-like “What’s your number?” gabfests to discredited Jesuit adaptations of the Enneagram for the Catholic church. For me the Enneagram simply identifies a pattern in nature. I want to be cautious: When I talk about the Enneagram I’m not referring to some system taught at an Institute with mentors, or to a false-prophet manipulation that overlays the Enneagram onto the Catholic faith. I’m just talking about a tool that helps you to see patterns that already exist irrespective of your attention to them. A New Age-y friend exposed me to the Enneagram over a decade ago and I thought it was a kick. In the years since then, through my own musings, I have found the Enneagram to touch on the truth about people and systems. That’s all. I have faith in it because I’ve seen the proof of its truth in my life during the years since I first learned of it. Many smart people believe the Enneagram is bunk. Some of the methodology discussed under the umbrella of the Enneagram would strike me as bunk, too. For me, the Enneagram is just a measuring device. It’s not a religion or a philosophy or a mystical revelation. We’ll have fun with it and we’ll try to use it to bring a little order to chaos. Just because I believe in it, though, doesn’t mean that I elevate it to the level of Catholicism, and I don’t think it would withstand the rigors of scientific inquiry. It’s a little-f faith. Perhaps you will find the Enneagram useful or amusing, too, or perhaps you will be content to humor me on my Enneagram-discussing days. End of today’s disclaimer.

I wanted to first introduce the Enneagram as it’s used to typify personalities because I think that aspect of the Enneagram is relatively accessible (with practice), and people usually find the parlor trick quality of it interesting; however, I’m headed toward discussing the Enneagram as it’s used to explain systems. More explicitly than that, I’m moving toward using the Enneagram as a tool to examine storytelling and screenwriting, which is a methodology invented, as far as I know, by your very own Beast family.

Okay, a lot to unpack there…

The Enneagram, that is, the flow from numbers 1-9, can describe a chain of events. The flow of numbers can be used to tell a little story: Let’s say I am a child on Christmas Eve awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.  Everybody knows what the moment feels like, right?

The 1 describes the current situation: Me! Anticipating Santa!

The 2 will introduce some trouble or some intensification that moves events forward: I lay out the cookies and milk. Santa’s getting closer!

The 3 is something introduced from outside of my situation, something that dramatically changes the dynamic: Mom says, “Time for bed.” My waiting for Santa has been focused. I have a plan to wait for Santa and it means going in my bed!

The 4 results from the 3 and is usually chaotic: I’m in bed just like Mom said but I can’t get to sleep. Tossing and turning — agony! Will it ne’er be day?

At this point comes the 4-5 switch. Four and Five are not connected, therefore a jump is necessary to proceed to the next number. The switch will be a change in me or my situation that brings a small resolution. In terms of our Santa story: I fall asleep.

The 5 is very similar to the 4 except that order has replaced chaos. If a brother was with me waiting for Santa, too, then we would be fussing at the 4. At the 5 we are cooperating: I/we sleep peacefully through what’s left of the night.  Visions of sugarplums dance in our heads.

The 6, when done satisfactorily, will mirror the 3. It is also an event coming from the outside. In this case: Mom says, “Time to wake up.”

The 7 is the moment of decision. In storytelling the 7 can take place in the blink of an eye, or be almost implied. Perhaps I take time to contemplate my clothing, or whether I should wash my face. Most likely, though: I decide to jump out of bed.

The 8 is the climax of a story or the culmination of events. It’s the big whizz bang: Santa came! I peek around the corner and see for the first time the marvelous, wondrous tree with its presents.

The 9 is the resolution, the stabilizing of the entire cycle: Ah! Christmas morning is here and Santa has come. Ta da! The end.

Of course most of life is much too complicated, especially when you’re living in the middle of it, to successfully apply the Enneagram. That’s why we love stories so much. The pattern is discernible to us. We can feel each step unfold and, as the Greeks say, experience a catharsis at the end, a little vicarious moment where everything makes sense for a second or two. A good story, or movie, will hit every one of the Enneagram’s 9 points. An unsuccessful story will skip a point, or underdevelop a point.

Generally speaking, that is. Some storytellers or movie directors (cough-Steven Spielberg-cough) can succeed without hitting the Enneagram points.  I prefer to focus on the stories that succeed by touching on the Enneagram points — subconsciously.  As far as I know, no one consciously tries to overlay the Enneagram onto a story to check its consistency.  Perhaps they should.  A few stories could be saved from mediocrity with just a little tightening.  My point, though, is that the flow of the story exists, whether the screenwriter recognizes it or not.  We the viewers are dissatisfied if the flow of the story is corrupted, whether we know that the flow exists or not.  The Enneagram is just a tool for recognizing patterns in nature, remember.  If you want to pretend the Enneagram is an opening into the occult, this is not the site for you.  If you want to use the Enneagram to categorize sinfulness in the Catholic church, this is not your home.  Sometimes we’ll look at political figures and try to glean more about what kind of potential leaders they are; mostly we’ll look at movies and storytelling to see if we can discern how to be better storytellers ourselves.  Most of the baggage related to the Enneagram that you will find on the internet is of no use to me and will hold no place in our discussions.  I look forward to moving on to a well-known and beloved movie next time.  We’ll see then if all this “flow of the story” stuff can make any sense.

For prior posts on the Enneagram please look here.