20/05/2023, 21:24 The Twenty-Seven Enneagram Type and Instinctual Type Combinations — John Luckovich

JOHN LUCKOVICH

The Twenty-Seven Enneagram

Type and Instinctual Type
Combinations
AUGUST 22 , 2021

The 27 Combinations of Enneagram Types and

Instinctual Types

The instinctual drives are widely recognized as

having a significant relationship with the
Enneagram, but exactly what that relationship is
and why it’s so crucial to inner work is not well
understood. The instinctual drives are motivational
drives to meet basic biological and emotional needs
for physical well-being (the Self-Preservation
Instinct), to put ourselves ahead of sexual
competition (the Sexual Instinct), and to create
and maintain relationships (the Social Instinct).
Why are these expressions of our biology combined
with the Enneagram of Personality?
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The relationship between the Enneagram of

Personality and the instinctual drives is profound
and complex, and to get the full picture, I’m going
to recommend you buy my book The Instinctual
Drives and the Enneagram. But to provide a brief
explanation, the Enneagram of Personality is about
what we become identified with, and how those
identifications prevent us from inner freedom.
When we are not cultivated a quality of present
awareness that gives us inner space from the
patterns of our personality, we become wholly
identified with the needs, agendas, sensations, and
patterns of attention that are rooted in these three
basic drives. The personality is basically a kind of
“management system” for our instinctual life, and
yet, we make the personality structure the
centerpiece of our identity. This not only greatly
limits our consciousness and creates incredible
suffering, it also means that the instinctual drives
themselves are not able to function in a way that
best supports our survival, well-being, and
relationships.

The identification with the instinctual drives

means that we unconsciously seek to experience the
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Essential Quality of our point on the Enneagram

through instinctual satisfaction. In other words, it’s
like trying to find a spiritual quality of
consciousness through something physical and
biological. This problem leads to serious distortions
in our perception, perpetual frustration, and wrong
views about our own human nature as beings that
are both biological and spiritual.

We identify with one of the instinctual drives

most strongly. We experience it as being the most
directly connected to our identity. This can make
us a “Self-Preservation Type”, a “Sexual Type”, or a
“Social Type”. Combine these three potential
Instinctual Types with one of the nine Enneagram
Types and you have twenty-seven Enneagram Type-
Instinct Type combinations. Some people refer to
these combinations as “subtypes”, but I don’t think
it’s an appropriate term.

The following are short sketches of these instinct-

type combinations, and it is important to keep in
mind that these descriptions don’t encapsulate the
“wholeness” of these types. One ought to have a
working understanding of the core Enneagram

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Type under one’s belt before these will have any

meaning. In other words, if these descriptions were
someone’s first exposure to the Enneagram, then
the distinctions these descriptions are making
wouldn’t really stand out. To find the longer
descriptions, please order my book here.

Eight

In Type Eight, the Essential Quality of Power

collapses into the Passion of Lust. The drive to
experience the immediacy and fullness of the
moment leads to chronic exertion and forcing when
unable to receive impressions of Essence. Thus,
Type Eight applies force when trying to meet the
needs of their Dominant Instinct.

Self-Preservation Eights

Self-Preservation Eights tend to be

excessive and forceful in the pursuit of what they
believe supports physical well-being. This amounts
to an excessive preoccupation with autonomy. They
do not want to have to answer to others, and they
aim to be self-reliant above all.

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Self-Preservation Eights spend a great deal of

energy trying to make money or to find a "sure
thing" in terms of a desired lifestyle, even if they
were already born into privilege. There can be an
attitude of "getting mine," with a propensity to see
others’ success and well-being as a threat or affront
to their own. They can become controlling about
their resources and fight off any perceived attempt
to wield any influence over them, even to the point
of seeing any form of compromise with others as a
personal infringement. Fixated Self-Preservation
Eights push hard for their desired vision of
autonomy and prosperity, but often at great cost to
their relationships and physical and emotional
health. They’re likely to regularly provoke power
struggles and conflict related to carving out their
own way of life. This may mean pushing up against
others in business dealings, competition, athletics,
or acquisitions, treating life as a battle or game.

For all the intensity typically displayed in Eights,

they’re actually pushing up against an inner sense
of deadening, a lack of being touched by their
experience, so the more entranced a Self-
Preservation Eight, the less they’re able to directly
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register impressions of well-being. This results in

being so caught up in self-assertion and struggle
that they become physically neglectful or even
reckless about their own well-being.

Sexual Eights

Sexual Eights can be excessively forceful in

capturing the interest of the object of their desire.
They put a great deal of effort toward amplifying
their impact on the object of desire from the
assumption that fully capturing their beloved’s
attention is the way to ensure that attraction is on
their terms. While Self-Preservation Eights have
very solid boundaries and Social Eights tend to
hold a strong social “field,” Sexual Eights have a
more permeable boundary because of the Sexual
Drive’s responsiveness to chemistry and disposition
of relenting to attraction. It gives the usual
charisma of Eights a hint of self-consciousness and
adds receptivity to chemistry, which is shared with
only a select few.

As much as Sexual Eights want to “hook” someone,

a fear of rejection or of being controlled by their

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own desire can motivate this Instinctual Type to

provocatively invite rejection or disinterest, or to
preemptively end relationships in order to make
sure rejection is under their control. Sexual Eights
avoid feeling rejection or a lack of reciprocated
attraction on the basis of traits and qualities close
to their hearts, so they often make a big display of
being too much to handle, an “excuse” with which
they can easily write off their failure to gain the
interest they’re looking for. When in a relationship,
Sexual Eights have a propensity to ongoingly
provoke reactions from a partner in order to feel
connected in place of authentic relating. Control,
domination, possessiveness, entitlement, and
testing their romantic interest’s time and emotional
and physical “tolerance” are common in entranced
Sexual Eights.

Social Eights

Social Eights are looking for the experience

of Essential Power through relationships and having
a strong influence on other people. Social Eights
tend to have immense energy for other people and
tend to be the most personable, approachable

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Eights. They are classic protectors and find

fulfillment in mentoring, advocating for others, and
helping others find their own power.

Social Eights want to make a big splash within their

community, to impact friends and family alike.
This desire can be harnessed positively or
negatively, for being of service to others or for
megalomaniacal fantasies, control, manipulation
underpinned by a sense of entitlement to others’
respect and attention.

Social Eights stave off fears of abandonment and

ostracization by being the instigating centerpiece
or ringleader that provides their group,
organization, family, or friends a sense of meaning
or mission. They often set agendas for others for
the purpose of keeping people together, which
results in them becoming de facto leaders. However,
they will unconsciously assume others are rejecting
them with the same ferocity they are rejecting their
own vulnerability, and in place of being able to
maintain relationships on the basis of personal
connection, they will use provocation, stirring up

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drama, and forcing their way into others lives as a

way to remain on others social radar.

Nine

In Type Nine, the Essential Quality of

Harmony collapses into the Passion of Sloth. The
longing to experience the coherent, syncretic
quality of the present leads to self-fragmentation
and dissociation. Therefore, Type Nines use
instinctual resources to self-forget, either by
distracting themselves from individuating or using
instinctual resources as a means to self-narcotize,
failing to develop themselves beyond the minimum
needed to maintain instinctual needs.

Self-Preservation Nines

Self-Preservation Nines are looking to experience

Essential Harmony through their lifestyle and
interests. Self-Preservation Nines are the most
independent style of Nine.

Nines dominant in Self-Preservation will typically

seek out lifestyles that provide enough
independence that they don’t have to be answerable
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to or at the whim of other people’s agendas. This

can mean keeping them in a kind of outward-
focused busyness or an immobile slump that
distracts them from fully seeing their present
circumstances. There is a way in which they also
“settle,” not quite going for what they really want to
the extent they could and instead contenting
themselves with lifestyles and desires that don’t
require them to reach too far outside a limited
comfort zone. They may view “getting by on a
little” as humble or even virtuous and may seek to
keep their “world small.”

Self-Preservation Nines are stubbornly entrenched

in their habits and routines, so they put a great deal
of energy into making sure too much isn’t
demanded from them. Despite a reputation for
being self-effacing and low-key, when certain
boundaries are infringed on or demands placed on
them, they can react with intense aggression.
Young Self-Preservation Nines are prone to
having a difficult time in knowing what path or
direction they want to take through adulthood, and
they will delay choosing something definite for a
great deal of time. They can be late bloomers in all
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areas of life, taking a long time to complete their

studies or acquire certain skills. Following a path
laid out to them by others, or sticking with an
unrewarding job while making sure to look busy,
are strategies of putting on a performance to
parents and loved ones, appearing to be proactively
reaching for a goal without taking any real steps.
The struggle here is not that Self-Preservation
Nines don’t have interests or talents, but they often
easily give up on themselves.

Ironically, Self-Preservation Nines have some of the

greatest potential for endurance of all the
Enneagram Types, so once they have an aim they
can get their energy behind, they typically achieve
that aim and are not easily dissuaded nor taken off
track. The difficulty comes in really pulling their
energy out of distractions and into something that
will enliven and challenge them.

Sexual Nines
Sexual Nines are looking to experience
Essential Harmony through chemistry and sexual
relationships, and their attraction style tends to be
more focused on inviting attraction rather than

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outright pursuit. Sexual Nines have a flirtatious

style that balances an edginess with reassuring
sweetness. The imaginative quality of this type can
lend itself to a great deal of creativity or idealism,
but this can suffer from a lack of grounding.

Sexual Nines know how to temper the aggressive

edges of the Sexual Drive with attunement more
skillfully than other Sexual Types. The good-
natured quality of Nine supports people in feeling
relaxed and comfortable in letting their guard
down.

Despite usually being attractive, however, Sexual

Nines can struggle with feeling overlooked, unseen,
or unwanted. Sexual Nines are typically confident
in their physical appearance, but they suffer when
they feel elements of their personality are
unacceptable or uninteresting, or when they simply
can’t “find themselves.” They can feel they
disappear beneath their sexual display or that they
aren’t wanted unless they’re attractive.

People of this type will put pressure on themselves

to attract yet may come to feel resentful toward
their partner for having compromised their own
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autonomy in order to remain alluring. This can lead

them to either spacing out—hiding something of
themselves from their partner so they can’t fully
“give themselves away”—or mysteriously breaking
off the relationship because they’ve felt they
couldn’t really be themselves. As an expression of
Sloth, Sexual Nines may settle for a partner who
may not value them or support their growth. When
a Sexual Nine is very unhealthy, they may have a
manipulative side, using their desirability and
sexuality to get by in life at the expense of really
developing themselves. Their sexuality can be
dissociated, “leaking” inappropriately, and they can
give themselves to partners who don’t value and
respect them.

Social Nines

Social Nines are seeking to experience

Essential Harmony through their relationships and
their contributions to others. Social Nines tend to
be the most outgoing, friendly, and charismatic
Nines. Social Nines tend to be actively involved
with other people, and despite their modesty, they
often make a big impact. They can easily fall into a

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kind of caretaker or “therapist” role with others.

Deeply supportive and self-effacing, Social Nines
can feel taken for granted since they care for
friends and loved ones and don’t ask much in
return.

For Social Nines, autonomy conflicts can take

shape as a tension between how much they give
themselves over to relationships versus how much
they keep for themselves. This can play out in
Nines as compartmentalizing different aspects of
themselves that get expressed in different
relationships. They can be outwardly the most
malleable Nine, while covertly keeping others at
arm's length. It means that the Social Nine stays
dispersed and divided, both connected to and
outside of relationships at the same time. They
allow much of their personal self-expression to be
determined more by the perceived needs of the
relationship than from fully showing up as their
whole self.

Sloth can manifest in Social Nine as preemptive

self-rejection of their own gifts. They can hide their
capacities, talents, and individuality in order to

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remain accepted by others. A conflict can emerge

for people of this type in both wanting attention
and recognition while also feeling that being too
singled out is narcissistic or threatens the respect
and connections they have with others. This can
create a great deal of tension and inner resistance,
leading to resentment, and in some cases, passive
aggressive behaviors and occasional eruptions of
anger.

The checked-out Social Nine may then rationalize

they’re looking for a better relationship or better
social conditions to more fully express themselves,
but this fantasy is often a way to simply delay
showing up in the present. Likewise, the flipside is
that they may settle with certain friends and
relationships that don’t have their best interests at
heart or who encourage them to remain in limited
identities.

One

In Type One, the Essential Quality of Integrity

collapses into the Passion of Anger. The drive to
experience the aligned, sacred quality of the present
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leads to frustration and judgment. Type One

critiques their own instinctual needs and resources
as a way of controlling ego-boundaries, thereby
feeling separate from the objects of their critique.

Self-Preservation Ones

Self-Preservation Ones seek to experience Essential

Integrity through their lifestyle and well-being, and
they put a great deal of energy into determining the
best way to live in accordance with their values. For
them, living with integrity means making sure the
choices they make correspond to principles of good.
Every area of life is intentionally considered: the
right diet, work, hygiene, and even how the day is
structured and how time is spent, because creating
coherence between their personal values and how
they are expressed in micro and macro details help
the Self-Preservation One find clarity, orientation,
and purpose.
Many Self-Preservation Ones can exhibit a
great deal of anxiety around lifestyle choices. Their
home, for example, is often the object of emotional
fuss. Contrary to stereotypes, it’s not always the
case that Self-Preservation Ones’ living spaces are

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perfectly tidied and ordered, but there is almost

always some clear intentionality. It might be
aesthetically “just right,” it might represent an ideal
environment for caring for a family, or it might be
an expression of a particular kind of lifestyle.

Self-Preservation Ones are also typically quite

frugal and have strong boundaries around money
and can be surprisingly intense about territory and
having control over their sense of autonomy. They
can emphasize correct procedures and correct
habits, in themselves and in others. For distressed
Self-Preservation Ones, there is little room for
disruptions or flexibility outside narrow
parameters. Therefore, punitive self-control can be
met with “leaks” whereby the One tries to release
some of the pressure built up around their harsh
inner critic, such as being extremely choosy around
their diet and then binging on sugar after a lengthy
period of “good behavior.”

In attempting to avoid feelings of being flawed, the

imbalanced Self-Preservation One will feel a need
to justify the correctness of their lifestyle, leading
to some rather bizarre rationalizations for the way

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they live and how others ought to be, especially

when physical and emotional needs arise that don’t
fit cleanly within their ideals.

Sexual Ones

Sexual Ones seek to experience Essential Integrity

in their sexual relationships and attraction displays.
The idealism of Type One manifests here most
acutely as attempting to be the best kind of
romantic partner, to have the best partner, and to
have an untouchable kind of chemistry. They’re not
so much interested in appearances, though they
certainly give it attention; instead, they aim to
exemplify traits that make them exceptional and
therefore desirable, and, in turn, they look for a
partner who shares these qualities and with whom
they can have the right kind of relationship.

In contrast to the stereotype of the straight-laced

One, Sexual Ones often have hobbies, interests, and
careers that may seem out of bounds for a type that
is typically perfectionistic. These interests often
seem, on the surface, unrelated to attraction, but
their “hook” is that they’re usually fascinating,
adventurous, or creative, and performed to a high
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enough standard of excellence that it stands out. By

seeming to be rooted in an ideal other than
attraction, their attraction-displays also serve the
additional purpose of giving the Sexual One’s ego
“plausible deniability” that these activities are
sought for a higher purpose than just procuring
sexual attraction.

Sexual Ones can have an infatuation for the ideal.

They may unconsciously create conditions where
they either keep a relationship with a potential
partner from being consummated or they become
obsessed with unobtainable lovers, believing that
this person is “perfect” for them.

Autonomy plays a central role in the Type One

personality, so the judgment that they direct at
themselves, at lovers, and the relationship as a
whole unconsciously functions to reinforce
separateness. If the partner is too X, Y, or Z to
infuse themselves with, or the Sexual One judges
themselves to be unworthy or not good enough for
their partner, this may present emotional
difficulties.

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Sexual Ones often have an ideal kind of partner in

mind, but their bodies may betray an attraction to
people that don’t accord with their ideals. They
may seek out partners who hit every box on their
checklist but are poor lovers, or vice-versa. This can
pit a Sexual One against themself in a clash
between standards and reality, and there may be an
unconscious dynamic of being turned on by their
own frustration toward their partner. In
partnerships, Sexual Ones can become ruthlessly
critical and controlling of their partners, as if
getting a thrill from turning partners into
improvement projects.

Social Ones

Social Ones are looking to experience Essential

Integrity in relationships, causes, and vocation.
Social Ones tend to have a great deal of awareness
about what’s going on in the world at large. They
want to understand their place in it and how they
can meaningfully contribute to its betterment.
People of this type tend to be reformers, social
crusaders, and standard bearers. They have a sense

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of mission and purpose and wish to set an example

of how to live from integrity.

Their sensitivity to context makes Social Ones

naturally adept at seeing both the potential in
others as well as where others fail to live up to it.
This often has them gravitate toward mentoring,
teaching, guidance, coaching, or leadership
positions where they can foster the growth of
individuals. In the Social One, autonomy conflicts
come into play as a desire to become attached to a
particular social set while finding that group to be
not quite up to their ideals. Thus, the relationships
and connections they seek to foster are in need of
improvement. This keeps the Social One both
engaged and oriented toward particular dynamics
and people, yet on the outside. By being critical of
them, they remain autonomous and separate.
Although their impulse to reform is well-
meaning, as their ideals become more rigid and
unrealistic, their judgments become more intense.
Unconsciously, the imbalanced Social One is
perpetually striving for moral superiority, which
finds an uneasy tension with the desire for
connection and the Social Instinct’s awareness of
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others’ states. Social Ones can play out chronic

frustration and judgment of loved ones and groups
as a way to remain both separate from them and
attached through a negative affect. To keep up the
identity, no matter how others actually are, the
entranced Social One will have to find fault and
come from a position of judgment and
condemnation.

The pathological Social One can become a zealot

for their visions of how society should be, taking on
an air of purifying the social climate. An
identification with feeling right can prevent them
from being willing to see how their ideals may not
work out as imagined.

Two

In Type Two, the Essential Quality of Love,

the intimate, interconnectedness of the present
collapses into the Passion of Pride, a lack of self-
acceptance and an inflation of positive motivations.
Therefore, Type Twos deny the extent of their
neediness for fear of having selfish motivations and
project their own neediness onto others. This sets
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up a dynamic of caring for others while relying on

them to meet the Two’s needs as a sign of
reciprocity for the Two’s support.

Self-Preservation Two

Self-Preservation Twos are looking to experience

the Essential Quality of love through attending to
the well-being, comfort, and health of others. They
are classic providers and have a strong sense of
obligation and responsibility.

Because of the Self-Preservation emphasis on the

body and on practical results, these Twos are warm
but don’t often have the gregariousness of other
Twos. Especially if they have a low Social Drive, the
way they show their love and support may not
often be as “personal” or as “face to face” as Twos
dominant in Social or Sexual. Their style of support
tends to be practical, like financial support, some
sort of skill in healing, or caretaking. Their
dedication and drive can make for an incredible
capacity for selflessness and giving care, especially
in times of crisis or when people can feel there’s no
one else to turn to. Yet this often means Self-
Preservation Twos neglect their own self-care and
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run themselves ragged for other people with the

unconscious expectation that others will be there in
their own time of need. Time and energy not
focusing on the benefit of others can create anxiety.
They may withdraw or self-indulge in food or idle
time to compensate for the care they feel they’re
not getting. This gives the appearance of self-care
without the actual care.
In some cases, Self-Preservation Twos have
been so caught up in performing a function for
others or in occupying a caretaking role that they
may not know how to relate to others without
having something to offer. Despite all their helping,
they may not have formed a bond on the personal
levels they thought or wanted because it had all
been contingent around a dynamic of offering
support. This situation compounds the feeling of
being uncared for, which their superego takes as a
sign they’re not doing enough. In extreme cases,
this can lead to the Self-Preservation Two
essentially performing roles and tasks they’re not
qualified for simply for the sake of being needed by
others.

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Over time, a lack of adequate self-care paired with

a Two’s difficulty in directly asking for what they
need can create a pattern of resentment and
entitlement. They jump into situations to provide
support to others in the hopes of being cared for in
return, but those who benefit from the support can
become habituated to it without understanding the
Two’s expectations for reciprocation or the amount
of energy the Two is spending. Twos can then feel
that their boundaries have been impinged on,
occasionally culminating in eruptions of
devastating anger.

Sexual Two

Sexual Twos long to find the Essential Quality

of Love through their romantic relationships and
attractions. Sexual Twos often have a coquettish
persona, and they typically know how to turn up
the intrigue and sexual tension while still retaining
a “good” image.

Sexual Twos often struggle with craving nearly

constant attention from the object of their desire
and have learned how to be attention-grabbing in

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order to keep it. This betrays an often deep-seated

insecurity around their own genuine attractiveness
and about their ability to maintain that attraction
over a period of time. They might be physically
beautiful but have severe insecurities that their
personality is repellant, or they might simply worry
that they themselves can’t keep attraction and
passion intense enough, whether or not this is a real
concern of their partner.

When attracted to someone, Sexual Twos may try

to force a relationship in a variety of ways. Even
relatively balanced Sexual Twos have a difficult
time not being in a relationship, so infatuation
based on very little is a frequent occurrence. They
may even talk themselves into being attracted to
certain people in order to force the chemistry. The
Sexual Drive combined with the Pride of Two often
manifests as over-doing efforts to attract, allure,
and occupy their partner’s attention while often
not being real with themselves about the true state
of their own attraction. They may have so much
emotional reactivity around losing their partner’s
interest that they may be unaware if they

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themselves have lost attraction to their partner

instead.

Sexual Twos who are imbalanced may throw

themselves at any potential partner who
reciprocates, or, conversely, at those whose
attraction is most difficult to earn. This can lend
itself to the Sexual Two choosing partners who
aren’t up to their intellectual and emotional level,
who take them for granted, or who reinforce a
negative psychological status quo. When insecurity
around desirability sets in, the Sexual Two can
become invasive, both in terms of trying to receive
sex and attention as reassurance, as well as acting
out intense possessiveness, jealousy, and control.
When unbalanced, Sexual Twos can engage in
exaggerated displays of love, attraction, devotion,
and simply assume that they are the best possible
partner for their object of desire.

Social Two

Social Twos seek to experience Essential Love in

their relationships, vocation, and their sense of
belonging. Social Twos are typically deeply involved
with people and have a great deal of energy for
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relationships. Because of this, they have wide social

networks, typically serving as a central axis within
their milieu. Social Twos have deep fears of
exclusion, both in interpersonal relationships and
in their social context. Therefore, they may acquire
specialized relational skills in order to have
something to offer to those who make the effort to
connect with them. They are also likely to insert
themselves into other people’s relationships and
affairs as necessary connective tissue and into
conflicts as mediators.

Pride can make it hard for Social Twos to see the

extent of their social positioning and interpersonal
meddling. Because of the Social Two’s emphasis on
positive intentions and loving feelings, they may
fail to see themselves as socially ambitious. Yet this
very lack of acknowledgment is often why people
sometimes pull away, keep distance, or end
relationships with them.

Further complicating the matter is that, in not

wanting to expose the elements of themselves that
the superego deems selfish or unlovable, a Social
Two will be unreceptive to genuine help and

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support. The hierarchy-making element of the

Social Drive can express itself here as creating an
unconscious dynamic of positioning oneself “above”
others, as one who bestows support while others
must always be on the receiving end. Others may
feel that the Social Two will not allow them to be
on equal footing, making the real connection and
intimacy Social Twos crave impossible. Neurotic
Social Twos have an extremely difficult time being
alone or not being involved in other people’s aims
and affairs..

Three

In Type Three, the Essential Quality of Value, the

precious, actualized quality of the present moment
collapses into the Passion of Vanity, self-deception
and the over-valuation of the ego. Therefore, Type
Threes seek to craft a persona that will have the
greatest ability to obtain the most desirable
instinctual resources.

Self-Preservation Three

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Self-Preservation Threes strive to experience

Essential Value in their accomplishments, lifestyle,
and careers. They tend to emphasize efficiency,
tangible results, and mastery of specific skills more
than Sexual and Social Threes. Self-Preservation
Threes are typically very driven and can be quite
competitive, although contrary to some stereotypes
not every Self-Preservation Three is wealthy and
materially accomplished, as their values may lie
elsewhere. A Self-Preservation Three may opt for a
humble lifestyle, yet, they may be the most
experienced healer in their community or a Yoga
teacher with the most training and credentials to
show for it.

As values and capacities change over the course of a

lifetime, however, Self-Preservation Threes can
struggle with finding a path forward in life that
results from their authentic values rather than
something they’re good at. They may find
themselves running off an “inner program” that
they adopted at an extremely young age and
therefore find themselves struggling to feel relevant
when outer circumstances and cultural views of
value change. Likewise, they may avoid
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experimenting or trying out things that they think

they won’t be naturally good at, limiting their
options and overall approach to life early on. Their
efficiency and achievement can lend itself to a kind
of momentum toward goals that can sweep them up
without their heart really being in it. They may
find themselves following a path that is not aligned
with their deeper values and have a hard time
finding a path in life that isn’t based on their
forward-moving energy.

Self-Preservation Threes are prone to workaholism,

running themselves into exhaustion and achieving
without awareness or concern of the larger context
or impact on others. Even though Self-Preservation
is their Dominant Instinct, people of this type can
over-do exercise, physical performance, and work
at severe cost to their overall health. These
activities can become another means of
achievement, divorced from their original aim of
enhancing the body’s well-being.

Sexual Three

Sexual Threes seek to experience Essential

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Value through their desirability and the magnetism

of their attraction displays. Sexual Threes want to
be the most magnetic person in the room. They
feed off of generating intrigue, mystique, and even
controversy, and they aren’t much concerned with
being liked or pursuing practical achievements.
Competition in Sexual Threes revolves around
being the most attractive and having the most
captivating sexual display, and they’re most likely
to have cultivated a striking personal flavor meant
to stand apart from others.

Competition and ambition can also play out as

making it big in fields where they can signal their
sexual value, such as modeling or performing.
“Failure” is extremely painful for Threes as a whole,
but for Sexual Threes, failure is defined as a failure
to attract, incite interest, or to keep the focus of
their romantic partner. Sexual Threes will “pull out
all the stops” to win a specific partner and will
often adapt their personal style, preferences, and
image into what they believe is most desirable. As a
result, they often struggle to allow their partner to
discover who they are beneath the display. When
unbalanced and fearful, this can lead to Sexual
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Threes rejecting partners when an intimate bond

forms, disappearing behind their sexual
“performance,” or conversely, becoming possessive
and controlling, suspecting sexual rivalry at every
turn. Entranced Sexual Threes can isolate their
partner from friends and other people or turn run-
of-the-mill social engagements into “battles” of
fending off rivals and projecting their energy all
over the place.
Unhealthy Sexual Threes can view themselves
and their partners as “prizes” in that having
partners who are attractive and desirable becomes a
statement on their own desirability. Therefore,
imbalanced Sexual Threes may enter into
relationships that support their narcissistic self-
image or relationships that are toxic, wherein the
partner’s lack of appreciation of the Three beyond
their sexual display reinforces a further division
between their perona and their authentic self.

Social Three

Social Threes look to experience Essential Value in

their relationships and vocation, particularly with
the people with whom they experience belonging.

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Many Social Threes are highly accomplished and

talented, but much of their drive stems from
wanting to inspire others through their example.
It’s important for Social Threes to feel they are seen
as exemplars of whatever may be valuable within
their social context, and they especially want to be
seen as special to loved ones on a personal level.
Social Threes don’t wish to conform to their social
milieu so much as they wish to be a force within it,
the one who sets new standards and raises the bar
higher for the culture they’re in.

They can be so skillful at progressing toward their

aims that they may catch themselves pursuing a
path that they didn’t have that much interest in.
Often, Social Threes get caught playing many
different roles for many different people and are
unable to inwardly locate themselves apart from
the roles they’re called to play. When a different
persona is called for, Social Threes often become
the exemplar of it. Many Social Threes fall into the
trap of blurring their private life with their
professional persona, living as if they have to always
be “on” in promoting themselves like a personal
brand. Private experiences may be undertaken with
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a public audience in mind, which can drive

intimacy from relationships. The need to be seen as
desirable and special can lead to Social Threes
wanting to position themselves in socially exclusive
circles, presenting an aloofness which may run up
against their desire for personal connection and
leaving Social Threes feeling alone and insecure
despite whatever prestige they’ve acquired.

The ambitiousness of the Three personality can

turn the desire for belonging into a motivation to
constantly expand their influence, and they may
begin to view others as personal challenges of
whom they can win over and how quickly. Social
climbing and vying for status, recognition, and
exclusivity can replace any real connection with
themselves and they can begin to act in ways that
are incongruent with their heart’s authentic wishes
in order to get ahead socially.

Four

In Type Four, the Essential Quality of Depth, the

mysterious, bottomless quality of the present,
collapses into Envy, chronic disappointment and a
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reaction to the inadequacy of the personality. Fours

seek instinctual resources which they hope can
meet their longing for depth while reacting to the
inability of resources to provide the Depth they
seek.

Self-Preservation Fours

Self-Preservation Fours strive to experience

Essential Depth through their lifestyle, creativity,
and self-expression. They usually require periodic
bouts of solitude to be immersed in their creative
projects, but they struggle with finding a lifestyle
that is congruent with their needs and inner
experience.

The Self-Preservation Instinct results in an insular,

highly sensual, and tactile Type Four. They’re
especially sensitive to matters of aesthetics and
ambiance, and their preferences of environment
and home are reflections of their idiosyncratic
personalities, having more to do with emotional
resonance than comfort.

Self-Preservation Fours are looking for their home,

work, and overall lifestyle to be as close an
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expression of and congruent with their subjective

experiences as possible. Their lifestyle and
environment should be a container for their self-
discovery, aesthetically evocative of what draws
them inward while being sheltered from outside
intrusion. In this type, Envy lends itself both to a
struggle with feeling functional and capable and,
more centrally, to a frustration that the overall
picture of one’s lifestyle doesn’t accord with an
idealized self-image. They can become so
myopically devoted to forging a personalized and
individualistic path that they fail to develop
practical and interpersonal skills or make certain
compromises which may help them achieve their
aim.

When imbalanced, Self-Preservation Fours can

“paint themselves into a corner,” limiting their
possibilities and opportunities for growth by
rejecting all that doesn’t accord with their self-
image and abhorring anything that limits their
creativity. People of this type can have an indulgent
streak, especially when it comes to spending
beyond their means to acquire objects of beauty or
to pursue situations, travels, or opportunities that
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speak to them. This can be a strength—a devotion

to feed their inner life—or a way they shoot
themselves in the foot. They are often tenuously
balancing between financial security and collapse.
Emotional states and self-comforting are modified
through indulgence in excessive eating, drinking,
sex, and carelessness. Unhealthy Self-Preservation
Fours are prone to masochistically acting out
against themselves physically, by going without
food, sleeping in bizarre places, and even self-
injury.

Sexual Four

Sexual Fours long to experience Essential Depth in

their relationships, creativity, and intense
experiences. They are prone to demonstrating their
creativity and depth as a means to entice and
sexually attract, and they can fetishize emotional,
intellectual, or spiritual depth, imbuing it with an
erotic mystique and deep contempt for the
mundane.

Both Type Four and the Sexual Drive emphasize

characteristics that distinguish oneself from others;
compounded, Sexual Fours cultivate identities that
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are hyper-specific and elaborate. This hyper-

specificity aims to be very attractive to a few and to
repel those deemed too “banal” to appreciate their
unique flavor. They want to be uninhibited in
pursuing attractions, so they’re typically resistant
to structure, confining jobs, and adherence to
routines. There is often a struggle to sustain
themselves practically.
Envy lends itself to chronic doubts about
attractiveness and the ability to keep those they
wish to attract interested in them. Hypersensitivity
to their partner’s perceived level of attraction
generates great distress if there are any lulls or
mellow periods, so Sexual Fours tend to be sexually
competitive—they feel they can’t be magnetic
enough, and therefore are always trying to shore up
their display of talents while never feeling
adequate. They may feel the need to be the greatest
love of the partner they’re with or, at least, the
most impactful and unique one. Envy also creates
an excessive focus on perceived personal defects,
which a Four will inevitably find, that disqualifies
them from having and keeping the person they
want.

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This can lend to Sexual Fours testing their partners

and desired objects in various ways: possessiveness,
suspicion, or causing fights to feel “entangled.”
They’re prone to acting out stormy swings between
idealization and disillusionment, extremes of love
and hatred. Sexual Fours can play out a pattern of
frustration with their loved ones, wanting their
loved ones to be everything for them and rejecting
them when their partner is unable to meet
unrealistically high expectations.
Disintegrating Sexual Fours are prone to self-
harm, emotional abusiveness, and physical violence
toward themselves and their partners, acting out
intense hatred and possessiveness toward their
partner and adopting a reckless, “burn it all down”
approach.

Social Four

Social Fours are looking to experience Essential

Depth in their relationships, creative offerings, and
social roles. Social Fours combine an appreciation
for depth and authenticity with an interest in other
people, lending to deeply personal self-revelation in
their artwork, interests, and general self-expression.

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These Fours can adapt themselves to Social

situations with greater ease than other Fours, yet
they still need to maintain a sense of being
different from others in some remarkable way.

The Four’s desire to be a unique individual comes

into tension with the Social Drive’s need to be
available for connection, so in Social Four, there’s a
special effort to embody and share a deeper view of
life in a way that is comprehensible and useful to
others without compromising their personal vision.
Whereas the Social Drive generally wants to find
“common ground” with others, Social Fours crave
connection while feeling uneasy about that which is
“common,” so they seek to cultivate extraordinary
connections with a select few. People of this type
are usually not “people persons.” They are likely to
fantasize that a social group, friend, or lover who
will see who they “really” are is elsewhere, often
ignoring the love and acceptance that’s already
present for them in the relationships at hand.

Social Fours feel that their differences and unique

perspective is a strength, one they long to be
recognized for, and at the same time, Envy often

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brings their inadequacies into extreme focus,

making them self-conscious and feeling unable to
connect, comparing themselves to how they could
be if only they had some other characteristic or
quality. They can adopt an exotic, mysterious, or
sophisticated persona. They can identify with being
an outsider and appreciate the mystique that
affords while also longing to be among a more elite,
studied, or chosen circle.
When feeling slighted or unacknowledged,
Social Fours are prone to adopt an arrogant, elite
attitude. Distressed Social Fours can make dramatic
public displays of their anger, with accusations of
betrayal and cutting criticisms. They can easily feel
humiliated, leading to exaggerated motivations for
revenge and seriously undermining others for
perceived slights, and they can become so focused
on their own pain as a justification for their
behavior that they fail to see the extent of their
impact. desire.

Five

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In Type Five, the Essential Quality of Insight—

the clear, revealed quality of presence—collapses
into the passion of Avarice, withholding oneself
from contact and filtering experience through
conceptualizations. Type Five seeks instinctual
resources that support a state of concentration and
discovery without requiring too much from them
personally.

Self-Preservation Five

Self-Preservation Fives are seeking the Essential

Quality of Insight through their lifestyle and
interests. They have a deep capacity for
concentration and are typically insightful, quirky,
and intensely specialized in certain areas of
expertise. Self-Preservation Fives are looking to
leverage their skills—intellectual, creative, or
otherwise—into earning a sustainable living that
allows them to pursue their passions and interests
without being controlled or too at the behest of
other people’s demands and agendas. Many Self-
Preservation Fives do this quite literally by living in
their studio, or making their living space into an
office, laboratory, or library, for example.

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Alone, unstructured time is a major priority for

this type, as they are easily drained by the demands
of others and wish to have uninterrupted focus.
They often have careers or jobs that require
minimal ongoing interaction with others or have
otherwise arranged their life so as to have plenty of
time to themselves. Whereas most people seek to
keep their work within a boundary, limiting time
and energy In order to have freedom in their
personal lives, Self-Preservation Fives keep their
“personal life” quite narrow so they can be free to
focus most of their energy on their interests. Self-
Preservation Fives’ interest is their life’s central
focus, while they can compartmentalize other
demands of living or treat them as secondary.

This type constantly struggles to have the energy

and attention for tackling life’s necessities. They
can become overwhelmed by the demand of having
to attend to their own needs, and as such, retreat
into living “around” those needs instead of
addressing them, like inadequate care of hygiene or
letting their home fall into disrepair. They may also
leave the cultivation of interpersonal relationships
up to imagination. This can also create unprocessed
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anxiety, further making self-regulation challenging.

Fear of depletion can turn into a literal fear
that outside forces are taking something from
them, often leading to obsessive fixations on
paranoid ideas. Despite the withdrawn and often
disconnected character of the Five, they can be
quite aggressive, demanding, and controlling when
they feel threatened while simultaneously unwilling
to fully take responsibility for their aggression.

Sexual Five

Sexual Fives look to experience Essential Insight in

their romantic relationships, chemistry, and
interests. When Sexual Fives encounter someone
they share chemistry with, they have enormous
energy for hashing out ideas and probing uncharted
conceptual vistas together, as if the energy of the
fascination element of attraction will itself give
birth to something totally new. While all Fives
enjoy diving deeply into subjects that interest
them, the Sexual Five uses their interests and
knowledge to elicit attraction by advertising what a
rich, interesting, and even transgressive inner life
they have.

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As much as Sexual Fives may crave attraction,

chemistry, and sexual relationships, Avarice means
that they also have fear that they’re unable to
provide enough emotional connection, physical
adequacy, and practical support for their partner or
desired beloved. Sexual Fives often believe it
requires more “juice” than they have to keep the
intensity of the chemistry going, so they can
withdraw or try to create limits on their partners’
expectations of them. Sexual Fives anticipate the
demands of a relationship before such demands are
made, and thus, they’re often wrong about what the
requirements will be but exhaust themselves by the
mere anticipation of them.

In craving intense chemistry, they are also prone to

put certain conditions or blinders on the
relationship so they can continue to have the
chemistry they seek without the burden or
distraction of the facets of a relationship that are
normal for most people. This is consistent with
Five’s contradictory feelings with regard to
instinctual resources, both wanting them and
trying to minimize or manage the conditions
within which these needs are met. This can lead to
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their partner feeling resentment over being so

much of the dynamic having to be on the Sexual
Five’s terms.

Avarice lends all Fives to mentally abstract

themselves from their experience, and in the case of
this type, Sexual Fives can approach the erotic
conceptually. Therefore their fascinations are often
organized around the symbolic and veiled, and
typically, the pursuit of their interests is tied in
with a sense of self-revision. Sex itself is a major
need for Sexual Five, but it can come with highly
specific conditions, rituals, or unconventional
expressions of sexuality. These can be both to
psychologically prepare them to get out of their
heads as well as symbolize a kind of merging of
their conceptual world and the practical world,
Sexual Fives can be consumed with bizarre ideas
not founded in reality, and they may develop
erotically-charged obsessions with certain people
and concepts.

Social Five

Social Fives are looking to experience the Essential

quality of Insight in and through their
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relationships, their interests, and their

contributions. They have a kind of Promethean
calling, whereby the want to offer wisdom, insight,
creativity, and understanding to loved ones and the
world at large—to peer “behind the veil” in order to
bring illumination. At the same time, they can be
fearful of being overwhelmed by the interpersonal
burdens that come from participation with others.

Social Fives are drawn to fields, groups, and

institutions that hold the promise of engaging with
fascinating people who are at the top of their game
intellectually, creatively, or otherwise. Contrary to
the stereotype that Fives only value knowledge,
Social Fives enjoy being stimulated and impacted
by all kinds of people, and they respect mastery
above all. Through their capacity for insight and
new understandings, the Social Five hopes to claim
their place or niche and solidify their interpersonal
and social value. They’re excited by the feeling of
being a part of a tradition or specialized class, but
these special groups can also be a way Social Fives
seek to sequester themselves away from the messy
or practical elements of life they feel unprepared to
face.
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Avarice can be expressed as a tension of wanting

both to deeply belong as well as to separate
themselves, usually through social distinction, such
as being the expert or even presenting themselves as
uniquely gifted or insightful. This sense of
superiority is a double-edged sword, as they believe
being the key expert will assure them of the social
value and belonging they desire while also creating
separation and a lack of interpersonal connection.
This tension can lead to a great deal of alienation:
belonging is not sensed directly, but rather
abstracted and conceptualized, leading to loneliness
and a sense of isolation as the Social Five doubts
their value and the niche they’ve carved out.

Social Five can express Avarice as wanting to

contribute their gifts and creativity meaningfully,
but not feeling equipped to handle the
responsibilities that may come from being in
leadership. As Social Fives become more
unbalanced, they feel their contributions are
underappreciated and their genius under-
recognized. They may become both angry and
frightened of the masses who can’t appreciate them,
making public displays of their superiority that
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almost always backfire. Deeply imbalanced Social

Fives may entertain delusions of their social
specialness and significance and may imagine
others conspiring against them.

Six

In Type Six, the Essential Quality of Truth, the

quality of the present moment that is experienced
as real and foundational collapses into the Passion
of Fear, a lack of orientation and doubt. Therefore,
Type Sixes are seeking an assured means of
acquiring instinctual resources that will provide a
stability and solidity that the personality lacks.

Self-Preservation Six

Self-Preservation Sixes long to experience Essential

Truth in their lifestyle, path of personal growth,
and resources. The devotedness and reliability of
the Six meets the perseverance of the Self-
Preservation Drive, lending itself to a deep
awareness of how the things they value grow and
are sustained. Much like their neighbor, Type Five,
Sixes are extremely observant, but in contrast to
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Five’s narrow focus, Sixes’ have a broader quality

awareness that is attentive to how parts relate to
the whole, as in how a tree can only grow relative to
the integrity of its roots. Awake Self-Preservation
Sixes bring together this awareness with an
inherent inner resourcefulness that lends to
confident self-possession and meeting challenges
with acceptance and fortitude.
This type is often adept at discerning patterns
and keeping things “on track” toward their
intended results. They are the most practical Sixes
and tend to be exceptionally mindful, giving care
and attention to the details that others overlook.
While some Self-Preservation Sixes have a great
deal of anxiety around their safety and well-being,
it is typically balanced with having an intrepid or
adventurous side.

Self-Preservation Sixes are acutely aware of chaos

and the absurdities of life. To manage anxiety, they
create or turn to systems that help keep all bases
covered. Without ongoing attention to life’s
necessities, they fear things may collapse into
entropy. Often, they rely on complex means of
organizing their attention, like keeping to well-
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structured schedules. This can lend itself to a need

for routine, predictability, and an over-emphasis on
procedures and a lack of ambiguity.

When they feel unsupported, Sixes will look for

something reliable on which to model their path
through life on, but in doing so, they may fail to tap
into all their creativity or potential. This may lead
them to keep their world small and anxiety-ridden.
They can become attached to a job, a situation, or a
life path that isn’t personally rewarding but
provides some direction and clarity, and they will
end up sticking with something even after it’s no
longer to their benefit. As they become more
imbalanced, they begin to feel that keeping things
together is left solely up to them. They can live life
from their minds, trying to regulate and create
structure to the flow of life, which can lead to an
attachment to ideas over directly entering into the
unpredictability of life. They are prone to spending
a great deal of their energy living in anticipation of
imagined disasters that may never arrive.

Sexual Six

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Sexual Sixes seek to experience Essential Truth

through chemistry and in their romantic
relationships. The contradictory nature of Six is
expressed in this type as a bold and provocative
attitude paired with vulnerability and uncertainty
about their desirability. They tend to be
unpredictable and edgy, and yet very charming and
endearing. Freedom of expression is often paired
with the Sexual Six’s need to check in on whether
their actions undermine or enhance their appeal. A
need for certainty in the fluctuating arena of
attraction and chemistry speaks to the basic
conflict within this type. Sexual Sixes are looking
for chemistry they can rely on to be sustainable and
energizing. They tend to project swagger with a
tough or dramatic “hard to handle” attitude, yet
they often display a great deal of unexpected
vulnerability, sensitivity, and sentimentality,
needing a great deal of assurance that their
partnership is secure and that they’re still enticing
and beautiful.

Despite bouts of confidence, insecurity arises on

whether or not their partner will remain faithful
and interested in them when potential rivals are
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around. They may start fights with perceived sexual

rivals who, in reality, may have zero interest in
their partner. It may be difficult for Sexual Sixes to
fully relax around their partner, which can mean
being “on” too much, needing to impress or seduce
in order to capture attention.
It’s not that all Sexual Sixes are interested in
long-term monogamy, but when they do find a
partner they wish to be exclusive with, they can
become possessive and competitive in trying to
keep them because of a basic lack of trust in the
elements of attraction that they may not see or have
control over. Some Sexual Sixes can test their
partners to see if they will leave them. Sexual Sixes
may also use one relationship after another to prove
to themselves they can still attract whomever they
please, or they may become attached to a partner
who is a “sure thing” in desiring them.
As Sexual Sixes become imbalanced, they may
lash out at their loved ones and entertain paranoid
fantasies about abandonment or betrayal. They may
even gravitate toward partners who they have a
sense will betray them, so when it does happen, it
reinforces an identity structure of not being able to
trust or believe in anyone. Deeply unhealthy Sexual
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Sixes can be aggressive and controlling toward their

partner, using them as an emotional punching bag
to discharge their anxiety and frustrations.
Unhealthy Sexual Sixes who are single might not
respect boundaries in pursuing potential partners
and sexual interests.

Social Six

Social Sixes want to experience Essential Truth in

their relationships, contributions, and causes. They
seek meaningful connections with others and are as
interested in individuals as they are with the
underlying reasons, values, and commonalities that
keep bonds enduring and sustainable. This type has
a deep longing to feel a solid sense of belonging
with others. As friendly as Social Sixes can be on
the surface, on the inside they may harbor a deep
cynicism about other people’s reliability, integrity,
and dependability. Many Social Sixes are charming,
funny, and kind, but they also have a sharp, critical
side with which they use to probe others’
authenticity and character. This type has strong
expectations of friendships and relational dynamics
that aren’t always explicitly communicated, so they
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can feel betrayed or let down by people who can’t

meet these expectations.

People of this type tend to get caught up in beliefs

and ideologies that serve as umbrellas for people
coming together, but they can let their devotion to
these ideological tentpoles run away to the point of
actually undermining the very interpersonal
connections they wish to foster—for instance, in
the case where adherence to a political cause ends
up alienating the people it's supposed to benefit.
Social Sixes can begin to believe their belonging is
contingent on maintaining specific relational
structures, of which they see themselves as a
guardian, so this can escalate to larger social
structures, like a political ideology, familial loyalty,
or religion, taking precedence over the
interpersonal connections it was there to support
in the first place. In other words, the idea overtakes
reality.

As they become more imbalanced, they can struggle

in distinguishing their own independent agenda
and identity, resulting in a vacillation between
adherence to an authority or compulsive rebellion;

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alternatively, they may hold a black or white view

of other people’s moral character. They may often
replace one authority for another as if choosing a
new inner authority figure represented a self-
directed choice. As Social Sixes become more
imbalanced, they can pick fights in trying to test
interpersonal loyalty and get at loved ones’ “true
feelings” for them. Their bright minds can become
co-opted by the impulse to justify their ideological
frameworks at the expense of open inquiry,
complete with supplying effective arguments,
“evidence,” and seemingly coherent justifications.
Deeply unhealthy Social Sixes can be bent on
punishing real or imagined wrong-doing and can
act obsessively to purge “bad” beliefs or people
from their social group.

Seven

In Type Seven, the Essential Quality of Freedom,

the independent, liberating quality of the moment
collapses into the Passion of Gluttony, insatiability
and distractibility. Type Seven is seeking to sample
a broad range of instinctual resources in the hopes

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of finding fulfillment or distraction, but this only

perpetuates frustration and feelings of deprivation.
Self-Preservation Seven

Self-Preservation Sevens seek Essential Freedom in

their lifestyle through experiences and sensual
pleasure. They are the most practical and
experience-oriented Sevens. They typically have a
natural talent for synthesizing skills and creating
businesses, art, and adventures, and they might
combine these elements into something
unexpected, yet useful and interesting. Self-
Preservation Sevens find ways to arrange their
lifestyle so they can pursue the kinds of
experiences, subjects, and interests they love while
also ensuring some degree of well-being and
material security. Where and how they live is
viewed as the nexus to what opportunities and
experiences will be available to them. Some Self-
Preservation Sevens have multiple projects and
money-making endeavors, and they love to travel
and have intense experiences. People of this type
have a great deal of resilience in the face of setbacks
and upheavals. They also have a gift for extending
this attitude to friends and loved ones, “sharing the
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wealth” by means of material support or opening

up opportunities for others.

Self-Preservation Sevens express gluttony for

resources and experiences that they believe provide
physical well-being, an interesting life, and sensual
pleasure. Consumption is a major Self-Preservation
Seven theme—big expensive meals in fancy
restaurants, big shopping excursions, collections,
interests in upscale and luxury items are all possible
examples. Or, they may live humbly but display a
voraciousness in reading, passion for art or film, or
prodigious creative output.
Self-Preservation Sevens struggle to know
what conditions to agree to, what skills to develop,
and what roots to put down in order to foster the
kind of life they want to lead. Some Self-
Preservation Sevens can feel crushed by a demand
to have a life trajectory established by a certain age
or by the expectations family may have around
what kind of lifestyle they choose.
In Self-Preservation Sevens, anxiety around the
limitations and state of the body creates a kind of
impatience with the body and with healing, which
exacerbates whatever physical and psychological
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issues are at play. Under stress, they adopt a

predatory “me first” entitlement that can be overt
in their attitude toward others or played behind
the scenes by “borrowing” what they want or
scheming for what they feel they are owed or what
they think others won’t miss. They may also
overestimate their energy and become workaholics
in an effort to keep up stimulation and to prevent
feeling overwhelmed by anxiety. Many unhealthy
Self-Preservation Sevens may indulge in substance
abuse, excessive partying, and reckless physical risk-
taking, trying to escape crushing inner feelings of
deprivation and grief.

Sexual Sevens

Sexual Sevens want to experience Essential

Freedom in chemistry, their fascinations, and their
romantic partnerships. The high energy of Type
Seven paired with the attraction-seeking,
boundary-pushing Sexual Drive produces colorful
characters who have a willingness to drop whatever
they’re doing in pursuit of something that has
captivated them. The object of desire represents a

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doorway to a new world and an entry into

experiences they couldn’t have anticipated.

There’s a sense that every partner, every romance,

and every turn in the evolution of a long-term
partnership is a new discovery. They can have a
gluttony for arousal. Much of their talent, charm,
and success comes from this capacity, but they can
jump completely into one project or person, and
then the next and the next; the consequence is that
their life can take on a zig-zag pattern. In seeking
fascinating people and experiences, Sexual Sevens
want to be fascinating as well. Yet their tendency to
be stretched thin may lead to having many interests
but not a lot of proficiency in any one skill nor any
particular direction in life, fueling an insecurity
they may compensate for by resorting to being
outrageous or provocative instead of well-rounded.
As a type based in the Intellectual Center, all
Sevens experience difficulty being in contact with a
quality of inner knowing and discernment. When
personality co-opts the Sexual Drive, it interferes
with the natural intelligence and discrimination of
attraction and chemistry, becoming overridden by
intense mental excitation, a need for stimulation
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and seeing people through a veil of imagination. It

can seem almost as if others become characters
through the lens of a fairy tale or story. Therefore, a
great deal of the basis for attraction of Sexual
Sevens is the symbolic potential that the person
and their relationship may open up. The
obstruction of imagination over one’s experience
can also easily turn into a pattern of chasing
“peaks.”

Imbalanced Sexual Sevens will hardly allow for a

situation to unfold on its own, and instead will
goad things along with provocation to up the ante
or add something to the experience. When this
happens, the natural transgressive and provocative
impulses of the Sexual Drive become intensified by
mental activity toward exaggerated exhibitionism
and fascination with the perverse. This can both
stave off the possibility of sincerity and intimacy
and undermine their attractiveness.

Social Sevens

Social Sevens are looking to experience Essential

Freedom in their relationships and vocation. For
this type, the possibility and variety of life is at its
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richest when shared. Social Sevens have a strong

sense of purpose and a profound desire to
meaningfully leave a positive impact on other
people. They love making genuine connections,
going on adventures with companions, and are
generally able to find something worth appreciating
in most people.

While Seven and the Social Instinct, taken

together, may evoke a picture of the buoyant social
butterfly, not all Social Sevens are so extroverted.
They tend to have extended networks of friends but
have a tight inner circle of enduring connections.
Even so, there’s a persistent sense of being called to
be part of a larger world or bigger conversation and
often a call to genuinely contribute to the
betterment of others. Because of this, they are
prone to being giving and self-sacrificing, often
giving up opportunities, freedom, and self-interest
for the sake of others.

One of the major difficulties that Social Sevens

struggle with is not knowing where to invest their
energy and time, so Gluttony compensates for this
lack of real knowing by trying to pursue nearly

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every option they find even a little bit interesting.

It’s hard for them to settle on where to develop
their gifts and contributions. Unconsciously, there’s
a belief that finding the right kind of relationships
and the right kind of orientation, role, or calling
will unlock the meaning they’re seeking, yet the
fear of missing out on what that calling is, or where
that key to unlocking potential lies. Adding to this
difficulty, Social Sevens tend to be able to see
something positive and interesting in nearly every
path, option, and person. It can also lead to a lack
of discrimination of who and where to give energy
to, resulting in a frustrating feeling that it’s nearly
impossible to make the “inroads” the Social Seven
seeks or to figure out what to devote themselves to.

Under stress, Type Sevens have an unconscious

habit of setting themselves up for disappointment
by overlooking negativity or making agreements
without fully considering the consequences of
doing so. They may agree to take on responsibilities
toward many people or organizations until they feel
bogged down and resentful, searching for a quick
way out.

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As Social Sevens become overtaken with

anxiety, they can be ungrounded, unreliable, and
out of control while retaining a charming façade, so
others can easily be swept up into the Social Seven’s
impulse to escalate situations. In trying to enhance
the social atmosphere through outrageousness,
imbalanced Social Sevens are prone to escalation,
burnout, and putting themselves at risk through
self-neglect and recklessness. The focus on other
people flips to self-absorption and hedonism, using
other people and betraying their trust.

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