The Mysterious Center Points of 3, 6, and 9:



The Mysterious Center Points of 3, 6, and 9:

What Can They Teach Us about the Enneagram and the Nature of Life?

Draft 3—Jan. 2006

A speculative essay based on a conversation with Charmaine Sungy

Susan Rhodes, susan@

The enneagram has two geometric figures inscribed within a circle: an inner triangle and an outer hexad. The triangle consists of points 3, 6, and 9; the hexad consists of points 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8.

These two figures represent two basic and distinctive energy flow patterns within the enneagram. The distinction between them is most clearly seen in Gurdieff’s process enneagram, where the points that make up the inner triangle are described as “shock points,” or places of sharp transition in levels of awareness. However, we see a similar distinction when working with the enneagram as a tool for describing the nine basic types of personality or individuality. The points comprising the inner triangle seem to be qualitatively different from those comprising the hexad.

The easiest way to describe this difference is by reference to the three centers of the enneagram: head, heart, and instinctual (gut). The center points for each of these centers are the three points of the inner triangle: Point 3 for the heart center, Point 6 for the head center, and Point 9 for the instinctual center, as shown in the diagram below:

Anyone who has studied the enneagram for any length of time is aware of the curious paradox that the center points for each center are precisely the place where the qualities associated with the center are least evident. So Point 3 is the least emotional of the Heart types, Point 6 the least “heady” of the Head types, and Point 9 the least “gutty” of the Instinctual types.

Various enneagram authors have explored this paradox—e.g., Beesing et al. In The Enneagram: A Journey of Self-Discovery (pp. 144-155), Hurley & Dobson in My Best Self: Using the Enneagram to Free the Soul (pp. 130-145); and Riso & Hudson in Understanding the Enneagram (pp. 254-272). Beesing et al. say they are points of denial; Hurley & Dobson call them points of repression; Riso & Hudson refer to them as simply unintegrated.

These conceptualizations convey the sense that something is missing at Points 3, 6, and 9 that ought to be there. The twin ideas of denial and repression suggest that the reason for this absence is an emotional blockage. The idea that these points are unintegrated is more conservative—it describes the effect without assuming a motive.

What all these concepts have in common is the idea of absence—the idea that the energy most associated with the center seems to be mysteriously missing right where we would most expect to find it!

In psychology, the idea of absence implies a lack of integration or wholeness. But in cosmology, the idea of absence is simply the opposite of presence. What is absent is the unmanifest while what is present is the manifest. What is physical manifest is said to depend upon the unmanifest for its existence. Also, even when something is present, it may be hard to detect, either because we lack the perceptual apparatus necessary for detection or because we lack the cognitive frame that allows us to properly appreciate what we are perceiving.

With this in mind, we might wonder whether the quality that seems to be missing at the points on the inner triangle is not really missing, but merely unmanifest. We could think of this unmanifest energy as an inversion of its manifest quality. In this form, it may seem more subtle or harder to recognize.

For example, it may appear that Threes are less feeling in comparison to Twos and Fours. But is this really true? Perhaps we believe this because our conception of feeling is too limited. If we were to expand our definition of feeling to include both its manifest (emotive) and emergent (non-emotive) forms, perhaps we would have a clearer picture of what feeling really entails.

The sense I have is that this unmanifest form of feeling serves as an anchor or balance point for the manifest feeling seen at Points 2 and 4. It makes sense to have the wing points actively manifesting the quality of the center, and a counter-point in the middle that anchors the wings. Like any good counterpoint, that anchor could not work the same way as that which it balances; it would have to provide the opposition that keeps the center in balance.

At this point, you may be wondering why any of this matters. It may sound a bit abstract and pointless. But to the extent that such ideas reflect something real, they can be applied in an extremely practical fashion. If I understand, for example, that the feeling function at Point 3 looks different than it does as Points 2 or 4, then I won’t expect Threes to display their feelings in the same way as other feeling types.

I should probably mention at this point a basic assumption I’m making about the nature of the enneagram, because it colors my observations. I don’t view the enneagram as a map of fixations, but as a map of potentialities. I assume that we are already whole and complete and don’t need fixing. The apparent deficiencies we experience are vehicles for creative expansion, and the limited perspective our the personality self is the womb in which this growth takes place. Just as a circle is already complete (but can become bigger), we are also complete (but can expand our awareness). It’s a paradox that we expand by means of limitation, but true nonetheless.

I also assume that the more we can learn about the context for our own point of view, the more we expand outwards from our point of view. Learning about wings, variants, centers, and arrows are all ways to refine self-understanding.

For me, part of this refining process includes exploring the enneagram from the angle of male-female polarity. This dimension appears to be relevant for understanding the nature of the centers and the center points, which is why I’m discussing it here.

Basically, I’ve noticed is that the enneagram has masculine and feminine aspects, just like everything else in life. Discovering what these are is helping me to see the enneagram in a new way.

What follows is our thoughts about three related areas: (a) how polarity shows up in the enneagram; (b) how it reveals something about the relationship between the points in the triangle and the points not in the triangle; and (c) how this relationship reveals something significant about the nature of reality, especially the fundamental nature of each of the centers.

Sex and the Enneagram

As a psychologist, I’ve always been interested in male-female differences in motivation and behavior. And as someone with metaphysical interests, I’m aware that literally everything in the material universe can be characterized in terms of sex—that is, masculine and feminine polarities.

When I started studying the enneagram, it hadn’t taken long for me to notice that the Heart Center seemed pretty feminine while the Head center seemed pretty masculine. The Instinctual Center was a little less clear until I reminded myself that—as Gurdjieff pointed out—for every duality, there’s a point of resolution or synthesis.

The obvious point of synthesis when you have male and female is a child. So I thought of the Instinctual Center as the natural outcome of the union of male and female. This made sense, since its center point, Point 9, is traditionally associated with both love and union.

So we can start by thinking about each of the centers as representing one of the three aspects of mother, father, or child:

By extension, it’s possible to look at the inner triangle in much the same way. When we do this, each point that defines the triangle is seen as having the same polarity as its center:

When I did this, it wasn’t just a theoretical exercise. Given what I already know, it was easy to see how 6 could be the protective father, 3 the socializing mother, and 9 the receptive child. What I felt I was seeing here was the archetypal family unit, and roles played were those that are most necessary for the maintenance of that unit.

But these weren’t the only roles that people can play. There are six other points on the enneagram. These six other points can be looked at from one of two perspectives: (a) as points comprising a figure known as the hexad—a mathematically mysterious figure—or (b) as wing points for each of the points on the inner triangle.

The Triangle, the Hexad, and the Circle

When we look at the enneagram, one thing we notice right away is how different in appearance the triangle is from the hexad. The triangle is a completely symmetrical, closed figure that is commonly used as in construction because of its known strength and stability. It’s among the most universal of symbols, as well.

The hexad, on the other hand, is a rather peculiar-looking figure. It is oddly shaped, open-ended, and only partially symmetrical. It is full of sharp angles and odd reverses in direction. It balances precariously on two tips and looks like a dubious prospect for use as a building block. Its very geometry suggests movement, rather than stability, specialization rather than universality. Most of us who have studied the enneagram also know that it is associated with the relationship between the numbers 1 and 7, in that 1/7, which is equivalent to .142857.

However diverse these two figures, they both fit perfectly into a third figure: the circle. The circle is the wholeness that is able to contain (and thus reconcile) these seemingly diverse elements. The circle are a visible representation of how to balance change and continuity, chaos and order.

Polarity in the Hexad: The Anatomy of a Kiss

If we look for a while at the hexad, we see something rather interesting. The hexad looks an awful lot like two figures kissing. This is a powerful image that implies polarity and brings to mind the idea that one side of the enneagram is a different polarity from the other.

This idea isn’t really new. It is alluded to indirectly to by Blake, whose diagram on p. 273 parallels the diagram in the next column in that, based on Gurdjieff’s conception of centers, he assigns Points 1 and 8 to the Intellectual Center, Points 2 and 7 to the Emotional Center, and Points 4 and 5 to the Moving Center. (There are some fascinating things that could be said about this, but this would take us too far afield from the topic at hand.)

In the diagram below, Father is on the left because three of the four points (5, 6, and 7) on that half of the enneagram are in the (masculine) mental center. Mother is on the right because three of the four points (2, 3, and 4) are emotionally-oriented or female in nature.

What remains are Points 8 and 1. It’s not hard to make a case that Point 8 is more male than female in nature. It’s a little harder to see the female qualities at Point 1, but they are there. But they are somewhat masked, for reasons that I’ll get to presently.

The basic idea is that the points of hexad are influenced by two levels of polarity: (a) the polarity of their location (which is determined by whether they’re on the right or left half of the enneagram) and (b) the polarity of the point itself (whether it’s most associated with the role of father, mother, or child).

The figure below shows the way I conceive of the polarities for each of the points on the hexad.

The polarities are bilaterally symmetrical, which reflects the bi-symmetry of the hexad itself. “Father” and “Mother” are close together, while the child is further away. Each child point is connected to the mother and father points on their own half of the enneagram. All of the parent points are connected to (a) the child on their own half of the enneagram and (b) the point having the opposite polarity on the opposite half of the enneagram.

Remember now that each half of the enneagram has its own polarity, as reflected by the anchor points of the inner triangle. Thus, the left side is MALE and the right side is FEMALE (see diagram below).

So each point of view is influenced by polarities operating at two levels: the point itself and the half in which the point is situated. The following list and diagram show how this breaks down.

Point Larger Polarity Polarity of Point

1 FEMALE Male (Father)

2 FEMALE Female (Mother)

4 FEMALE Androgynous (Child)

8 MALE Male (Father)

7 MALE Female (Mother)

5 MALE Androgynous (Child)

From my observations, it appears that the polarity operating at the point has the most direct influence on preferences and actions. But this influence is exaggerated or inhibited according to its position on the enneagram—that is, whether the polarity of the point is the same or different than the polarity of the environment around it. The polarity of the half is like the influence of the larger environment.

Three Hexad Types

Based on these considerations, we can say that the hexad types fall into three groups: pure polarity types, mixed polarity types, and weak polarity types.

Pure Polarity Types. In pure polarity types, the polarity of the type is the same as the polarity of the side of the enneagram that it’s on. There are two of these: Type 8 and 2.

Point 8 is Father at the level of the individual point and situation on the MALE half of the enneagram, so it’s quintessentially masculine in nature—fiery, assertive, and protective. Eights tend to play out this male role without hesitation because of the absence of mitigating feminine restraints.

Point 2 is its complement on the other side. As the Mother figure on the FEMALE half, Point 2 is quintessentially feminine in nature—emotional, intimate, and nurturing. Twos are so thoroughly feminine in nature that they have a hard time not seeing the world through a feminine lens. They tend to identify completely with their role of mother and help-mate.

Mixed Polarity Types. Types 1 and 7 are also parental in nature, but as “mixed polarity types,” they have both male and female attributes, and so their parenting style is less purely masculine or feminine.

Ones, like Eights, tend to identify with Father. They want to act to protect and reform. But unlike Eights, they are more inhibited in their ability to act because of their position on the FEMALE side of the enneagram. This means that Ones can’t help but be aware of the larger social context. So they have to reconcile personal inclinations with social norms and values. Otherwise, they feel guilty. The desire to act and the need to justify compete with one another, often creating a great deal of internal pressure. This is why it’s important for Ones to find a socially acceptable outlet for action.

Sevens are in the opposite situation. They are personally feminine in nature, but because their point is situated on the MALE side of the enneagram, this is a femininity with a distinctly “cool” flavor to it. It makes them intuitively aware of how to create an affable social environment (feminine) but with few strings attached (masculine). Because the feminine aspect is “smaller” (more personalized) than the masculine aspect, the masculine tendency to expand predominates. So instead of tending toward inhibition, like Ones, they tend toward over-expansion of the personal.

Weak Polarity Types. Points 4 and 5 are what I call weak polarity or “child” types. By this, I don’t mean to imply that they are less mature or developed than other types, but that they tend to be more androgynous and less identified with the social role of parent or partner. As a result, they have a greater tendency to look within themselves when seeking union. When they do look for a partner, they may do so in unusual or unexpected ways.

Technically, Fours and Fives are actually are “mixed” types like Ones and Sevens. But the mixing occurs on two levels: the level of the point and the level of the half. While both points are technically on one side of the vertical divide, they are quite close to the place where the polarity switches. And this makes the susceptible to the effects of a fluctuating energy field, which tends to have a destabilizing influence. Among other things, it causes them to be particularly sensitized to the environment around them.

As a 4w5, I’m acutely aware of this sensitivity, although I’ve had a hard time explaining it. But I’ve spoken about this with many people who I call “bottom of the enneagram” types (4w5 or 5w4) and most of them know what I’m talking about. In The Intelligent Enneagram), A. Blake maps the planets to the enneagram points, likening Point 4 to Mars, Point 5 to Jupiter, and the area between them to the asteroid belt—a place of chaos (p. 256). He also speaks of this area as a place of alchemical mixing and blending (pp. 72-73), which makes sense if it is a place where two polarities meet.

Both Fours and Fives use withdrawal as one means of maintaining psychic equilibrium, but Fours focus on maintaining emotional equilibrium while Fives focus on mental balance. Consequently, both types tend to feel separate from others. Fours often experience this sense of separation as pain or loneliness, feeling truly like “only” children. They long for union but areafraid to find it (because of a deep fear that this would destroy them by swamping their emotions). Fives typically find this separation easier to bear, because of their greater emotional detachment and ability to create a separate world populated by ideas. The child-like nature at Five expresses itself in a persistent curiosity and desire to learn.

The Big Picture

If we look at the polarity of the hexad and inner triangle together, we see something like this:

What we’re viewing here are three distinct levels of psychic functioning superimposed on one another. Each one exists on its own level but interacts with the other levels. I’m trying in this diagram to visually convey our perception of these levels by darkening the aspects that are easiest to perceive and graying out the levels that are more subtle or hidden.

The first level is the most basic, and is graphically depicted by the circular form of the enneagram. This is a view of the psyche as a whole, as represented by the outer circle that encloses everything within it. We could conceive of the enneagram as the Ultimate Reality, God, or the Higher Self. The enneagram is the Oneness that reconciles all the polarities at all the levels contained within it.

The second level is the level represented by the inner triangle comprised of Points 3, 6, and 9. When the Oneness comes into physical manifestation, it splits itself into a masculine and feminine aspect. The origination point is still present, but more as a latent potential rather than a manifest reality—that’s why it is said to be a “child” of the mother and father aspects. It is only when the masculine and feminine aspects come into union that the child is conceived.

That’s why Point 9 label is the most grayed-out—because its qualities are the most subtle and the hardest to grasp (because it is the energy potential that links the trinity to the oneness). The two other points of the inner triangle, 3 and 6, are also grayed out, but not as much. As the polarized aspects of the wholeness, the quality associated with the centers they represent seem somewhat obscured, as compared to the qualities of the hexad points, where the energies of the centers are openly displayed. But it is the very lack of activity at Point 3, 6, and 9 that makes all the activity in the hexad possible: only if there is an unmoving center can there be stable movement around that center. (The lack of movement should not be taken to imply a lack of energy; the energy at the center is the most concentrated and intense of any place on the circle.)

The third level involves the points not in the inner triangle, which we can think of either by reference to the single figure of the hexad or to the wings of the three centers. On the diagram, I just show the hexad. It is blackened to illustrate how the energies at these points are both more specialized and more easily seen than the energies of the inner triangle.

For example, if we take the Head Center as an example, we can see that the energy displayed at Point 5 and 7 tends to look more overtly mental than that displayed at Point 6. What is more, the quality of mentality is not the same for Points 5 and 7—the mental processing at Point 5 is depth-oriented and systematic while the mental processing at Point 7 is breadth-oriented and intuitive. That’s what I mean when I say that the energy of the hexad/wing points is more specialized—each wing manifests the energy of the center, but each along different dimensional lines. Meanwhile, the energy in the middle at Point 6 is “mentally quiescent”—its mentality literally does not move, which makes it appear as if the thinking function is somehow inhibited. But suppose it is not inhibited, but merely stationary? What would “thinking without thinking” look like?

One way to make this more concrete is to think of the psyche (as represented by the enneagram) as an big organization. We can think of the inner triangle as the line employees and the hexad as the staff members. In companies, the line employees are the generalists who keep the place running because they know how it functions and can do whatever is needed whenever the need arises. The staff includes all the specialists like lawyers, consultants, accountants, and anyone else who has a special area of expertise and does most of their work in that area.

The organization needs the contributions of both kinds of employees to prosper. But because of their different orientation and talents, the two groups may sometimes misunderstand one another. The generalists are apt to look upon the specialists as disloyal, elitist, or overly independent; the specialists are apt to look at the generalists as uninspired, unoriginal, or overly compliant. The reverse can also occur—specialists may envy the ability of generalists to adapt and to take on many different roles (including CEO!) while generalists may idealize what they see as the unusual talents of the specialists. In either case, there exists the potential for misunderstanding.

With this in mind, consider the idea that Points 3, 6, and 9 repress/deny/fail to integrate the energy of their center. “From whose perspective?”, we may ask. From the “specialist” perspective of the wings, it may look like the energy of the center is denied or repressed at the center point. This is because the “wing” perspective tends to equate feeling with openly emoting, thinking with making computations, and self-remembrance with paying attention to personal needs.

But if we consider things from the perspective of the center, not the wings, we might see a different picture. Think of what it means to “center”. Centering involves the ability to remain steady in the face of disruptive circumstances—to remain in the middle of the circle, the only place where there is no movement.

As we all know, being centered doesn’t happen automatically. And it doesn’t happen by an act of will. It is the result of inner attunement, which could be called a state of active receptivity. Being actively receptive brings the intuitive awareness that enables us to respond to the needs of the moment, without undue interference from moods, thoughts, or physical desires. When we are in a state of receptivity, how we experience these qualities may be subtle—so subtle that we don’t even realize we are experiencing them. Even to talk about this is difficult.

What we are really talking about is the idea that the feeling function as Point 3 means “feeling without emotion,” that thinking at Point 6 means “thinking without thought,” and being at Point 9 means “being without personality.”

This way of understanding is hard to grasp. But it may sound familiar to anyone interested in Zen or any other spiritual disciplines that emphasize the paradoxical nature of reality. But we also know that this kind of feeling, thinking, and being is seen as desirable among spiritual practitioners because it reflects an orientation that is not egocentric.

With this in mind, maybe those of us who are looking in “from the wings” at the center points should consider the possibility that what appears to be absent or missing is simply present in a way that we don’t yet understand. It’s possible that we could learn something valuable from looking at the function of the centers. It’s possible that the qualities of each center may not only be present, but intensely active, at the center points. But active in a way that yet remains a mystery.

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