One might immediately assume that the Enneagram Eight is not afraid of anything. Like Cyclops, isn’t this person lashing out without fear at anyone entering their cave without being invited in? Actually, the search for control and domination is based on a profound fear that one is lost without control and dominance. As Helen Palmer notes, it is all about being strong rather than weak. One has to have the power if they are to accurately anticipate what is about to occur in their “cave.” Positive anticipation is to be found when the Eight has full authority to exert control in a specific setting or, better yet, in a broad setting (“If I were king!”). Negative anticipation arises when the Enneagram Eight is forced to comply with a set of orders delivered by someone else. Hell exists in an organizational setting where the Enneagram Eight has been given significant responsibility for performing a task, yet has been granted little authority to perform the task successfully.
The Cyclopian Eight finds that they also receive little help from anyone else while expressing their anger and frustration. Other people tend to avoid their cave when they are thrashing about. As we find with the other Enneagram types, the Eight’s aggressive behavior fulfills their expectation that other people are often indifferent to the Eight’s welfare (“it’s dog-eat-dog”). The self-fulfilling prophecy can also take the form of realized fear that, without control, one is lost—for the Enneagram Eight is often looking for a new job if they are not in charge. They have to find another cave and look (often in vain) for a setting where they have full control.
Enneagram Nine: The Mediator
Our mid-21st-century world is desperately in need of Enneagram Nines. These are the folks who bring people together from opposite sides of the road. They mediate, moderate and sometimes mollify. Helen Palmer (Palmer, 1991, p. 345) offers the following portrait of this ninth Enneagram type:
“Nines are the children who felt overlooked when they were young. They remember that their point of view was seldom heard and that other people’s needs were more important than their own. Eventually Nines fell asleep, in the sense that their attention turned from real wishes and they became preoccupied with small comforts and substitutes for love. Realizing that their own priorities were likely to be discounted, they learned to numb themselves, to divert their energy from priorities, and to forget themselves. When a personal priority does develop, it can be easily sidetracked. Errands can become as pressing as an important deadline. . . The closer a Nine get to having the time and energy available for a priority, the more attention can get diverted into secondary pursuits.”
Yes, the Nines are often overlooked. I often find that Enneagram Nines are a middle child and in this role are not only neglected but also serve as the buffer between their older and younger siblings. With this early upbringing, the Niners are, as Helen Palmer suggests, inclined to subordinate their own needs and wishes to those of other people. The Nines also learn how to mediate between their older and younger siblings. Their experience and acquired skills in mediation can come in quite handy when they are grown adults.
Download Article
