posted by audreybrooke
Introduction: Understanding the Enneagram
So, the Enneagram is a pretty complicated system of classifying personalities. Basically, everyone has a core type, expressed as a number of One through Nine. This is the most straightforward description of someone’s personality.
Here’s a basic rundown of each type:
1: perfectionistic, rational, idealistic
2: generous, warm-hearted, nurturing
3: ambitious, image-conscious, charming
4: sensitive, dreamy, moody
5: cerebral, perceptive, analytical
6: trustworthy, loyal, brave
7: fun-loving, enthusiastic, lively
8: assertive, strong, self-confident
9: peace-making, nonjudgmental, serene
From there, it gets a bit more complex. Most people also display traits of the numbers immediately adjacent to theirs (I'll refer to these as "wings"). Let’s say you’re an easygoing Nine, for example. If you’re assertive when push comes to shove, then you probably have a wing of Eight, written as 9w8. But if you’re more perfectionistic, you’re probably a 9w1 instead. The only possible wings for any given type are the numbers on either side of it.
Then there’s the Tritype Theory, that everyone is actually three different Enneatypes to varying degrees. It’s all very confusing at first, but the numbers are broken into groups:
Heart Types (2, 3, 4): deal with how you experience emotions
Head Types (5, 6, 7): deal with how you experience fear
Gut Types (8, 9, 1): deal with how you experience anger
To get your Tritype, you figure out which number you are from each category and rank them according to how much they fit you. For example, I’m a 4-7-9, the moody, fun-loving, yet easygoing type nicknamed the “Gentle Spirit”. Each type in your Tritype also has a wing, which can be difficult for many people to figure out. (I’m specifically a 4w3-7w6-9w8.)
There is yet another classification beyond that, which focuses on whether a person is socially oriented ("so" or social), self-oriented ("sp" or self-preservation), or one-on-one oriented ("sx" or sexual).
Now, onto the scheduled program!
Enneagram Type: 2w1, “The Servant”
The Enneagram Institute has this to say of Twos: “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.”
Her “wing” is that of a One, which lends the sense of perfectionism and bossiness about her. Nevertheless, her “One-ness” is filtered through the lens of Two, the Helper, so it manifests as a strong desire to proactively help others. Thus, she is the 2w1, unfortunately nicknamed “The Servant”. 2w1s are intensely altruistic, cheerful, and dutiful.
This is demonstrated perfectly in Snow White’s interactions with the dwarfs and the Evil Queen. Not only does she charge right into the dwarfs' cottage and start cleaning, but she also endured what was probably years of servant work and still emerged with a smile on her face and a willingness to help others of her own free will. That's pretty impressive.
Snow White’s heart fix is the Two, as I just discussed. But what about situations where she can’t rely upon her emotions? That’s where her two lesser types, One and Six, come into play. Two, as her primary type, is the most present, but her secondary and tertiary types also coexist in her personality.
Her first instinct is clearly to love unconditionally, but Snow White also can be observed inserting herself into the dwarfs’ lives and being an overall team player—attributes that are characteristic of the One and Six.
One serves as the gut fix, or how someone acts. Snow White is responsible and hard-working, and she is clearly a natural organizer.
Together, they form the 216 archetype known as “The Supporter”:
“If you are a 216, you are discerning, caring and inquisitive. You want to be ethical, helpful and cooperative. Highly responsible, you are most comfortable when you do things by the book and know what to expect. Focused on the needs and concerns of others, you seek ways to be of service. Your life mission is to find structured ways to give, and be of assistance to others. A true helper, you are happiest when you are in a position to support others achieve their goals. You can be overly fixed in your opinion of what is right and be rigid in your expectations of yourself and others and thus come across as disapproving or militant.”
Instinctual variant: so
Her subtype of so, or “social”, comes into play when you consider how focused she is on the dwarfs as a group, as opposed to being overly concerned about her safety or any one person in particular.