Enneagram Wings

What Are the Enneagram Wings?

The enneagram wings are basically the most dominant type after the main one. Even though you may have a dominant enneagram type, a single type does not represent everything you are and your personality, so you may identify more with one but also feel identified in some aspects by the other types. A very graphic and correct way to see this is by aligning all the types from 1 to 9 and placing them in a circle. Thanks to the development of the enneagram test, the wings are usually the types that are on one side of the main one, for example, if you are 1 you will have 2 and 9 on one side, which will surely be your wings.

In short, the enneagram wings of the enneagram represent a further description of your dominant type, it is a way in which the other types influence the main one. These wings add more value and detail to what your enneagram may be and therefore, this will help you get to know a person much better after knowing their main enneagram.

The Dynamics Between the Enenagram Wings and the Main Type

The relationship between your wings and your main personality type isn’t fixed; it can vary with time, and depending on the life circumstances you’re in, you might find yourself depending more on one wing than the other, or even developing both in a way that you become a more balanced version of yourself.

• Choice of Influence: This isn’t as straightforward as it seems, it depends a lot on where you are at the moment, you may lean more towards your neighboring wings or you might mainly focus on one that corresponds to you as a main.
• Balance and Growth: It’s vital to recognize your wings and your main type, they will help you develop in a much larger personal spectrum, contributing to establishing a self-knowledge that will push you to be better.

How do I find my Enneagram wing?

The importance of knowing the enneagram wings

Knowing your wings is like having the key to fine-tune your personality. It allows you to see not only what you are at the core of your being but also how other adjacent aspects influence you, complement you, or even challenge you. It’s a way to understand that we’re not made of a single piece, but we are a mosaic of influences and possibilities.

Your enneagram wings can reveal characteristics and talents you didn’t know you had. This discovery can be a valuable resource for personal and professional growth, encouraging you to explore new areas of interest or skills you had underestimated. We often find ourselves in conflict with ourselves, torn between different desires or ways of reacting. Knowing your wings helps you understand these internal contradictions, offering you clarity on why you may feel or behave in certain ways in different situations.

Balance and Adaptability

1. Balance Between Extremes:
   • Imagine that your main personality is like walking on a tightrope; your wings are the poles that support that rope, providing you with stability and balance. Learning about them allows you to balance your extreme tendencies, finding a healthy midpoint in your behavior and thoughts.
2. Adaptation to Various Situations:
   • Life is full of changes and challenges. Knowing and utilizing your wings gives you the flexibility to better adapt to these situations, consciously choosing which aspects of your personality will be most useful in each case.

Growth and Personal Development

1. Catalyst for Development:
   • Understanding your wings not only offers you a richer view of your personality but also acts as a catalyst for personal development. By identifying and working on the areas of influence of your wings, you can embark on a more informed and directed growth path.
2. Improvement of Interpersonal Relationships:
   • This knowledge equips you with greater empathy and understanding towards others, allowing you to recognize the diversity of personalities and how these can interact with each other. Knowing how your wings affect your interaction with other Enneagram types can significantly improve your relationships.

How do the enneagram wings work?

Wings act like spices in a recipe: they can enhance the flavor or give it a completely different twist. Depending on which wing is more dominant in you, you might find that certain traits of your personality are softened or, on the contrary, intensified. It’s a game of balance and harmony that makes us unique. The influence of wings on our personality is both subtle and profound, akin to how spices transform a dish. But how does this translate into our behavior and self-perception? Let’s break it down further to understand how these dynamics operate in practice.

1. Trait Enhancement:
   • Life Example: Think of a time when you faced a risky decision. If your dominant wing leans towards boldness (say, if you’re a Type 9 with a strong 8 wing), this ‘spiced-up’ side of you is likely to push you to make the decision with confidence and bravery, enhancing your ability to face challenges directly.
2. Characteristic Softening:
   • Everyday Scenario: Consider a situation where you would normally react with frustration or impatience. If your main personality is influenced by a calmer and more reflective wing (like a Type 3 with a 2 wing), you might find yourself responding with more empathy and patience, softening your initial impulse towards impulsive reaction.

Wings can act as counterweights, providing a balance between two forces. If one wing pushes you towards action and determination, the other might invite you to reflection and analysis. This internal dynamic allows for greater adaptability and self-understanding in the situations we face.  Imagine you’re in an important meeting; depending on the fluidity between your wings, you could adapt to the present moment with more flexibility, alternating between being assertive and receptive as the situation requires. This ability to ‘switch spices’ according to the context is a testament to the dynamic influence of wings.

Things you should know about Enneagram wings

Reading the enneagram wings will depend on the moment you are in and the professional you do the test with (if you do it with a professional). The tests usually give you percentages of what your wings are, but like any test, it leaves some results up to interpretation.

The most significant wing of the enneagram will depend on the interpretation, although by percentages you will always have one wing, another smaller percentage may be your wing at that moment. Our recommendation is that you do not just stick with the result of your main wing and the secondary percentages, we want to encourage you to know more about your enneagram, which implies that you also study the enneagrams of what your wings may be, so with the descriptions, you will know which is the best one that suits you. So, from this we can say:

1. The wings can change
2. The dominant wings will depend on the interpretation and what best suits your personality.

Why you should know the Enneagram Wings?

Knowing your wings gives you a more complete perspective of yourself. It’s like having a manual that explains not just how you are, but why you react in certain ways to different situations. This knowledge is powerful: it allows you to work on yourself with greater precision, always seeking a more balanced and authentic version of your being. Discovering your wings is like opening your eyes to a new level of self-awareness. They teach us that we are complex and multifaceted beings, capable of adapting and growing. Wings remind us that there’s more to us than we thought, and this “more” gives us the ability to navigate life in surprising and creative ways.

1. Revelation of Personal Multifacets:
   • The Enneagram wings act as lenses through which we can see the multiple layers that make up our being. Discovering and accepting these influences helps us understand that we are not limited to a single way of being or reacting, opening up a range of possibilities for our growth.
2. Clarity in Internal Diversity:
   • Sometimes, we find ourselves reacting in ways that seem contradictory to our main type. Knowing the wings provides clarity on these reactions, showing how different parts of our personality can coexist and even complement each other.

A Compass for Self-regulation and Balance

1. Guide for Self-regulation:
   • Understanding the dynamics between your main type and your wings offers an invaluable guide for self-regulation. It allows you to identify when and how you can lean towards one wing or the other to find balance in your emotions and reactions, especially in times of stress or conflict.
2. Strategies for Personal Balance:
   • Awareness of your wings facilitates the development of personalized strategies to maintain or regain your inner balance. If one wing feels overdominant, you can consciously invoke the qualities of the other to counterbalance it, promoting a more harmonious life.

Enhancing Personal Development and Interpersonal Relationships for the Enneagram wings

1. Facilitator of Personal Growth:
   • Knowing and working with your wings invites you to explore and develop aspects of yourself that you might have ignored or underestimated. This exploration can reveal new paths for personal development, from careers and hobbies to relationships and self-expression.
2. Improvement of Communication and Relationships:
   • Understanding how your wings influence your interaction with others allows you to adjust your communication and behavior to improve your relationships. The deep empathy and understanding that comes from this knowledge facilitates more authentic and meaningful connections.

The 9 Enneagram Types and Their Wings:

• Enneagram Type One, The Reformer:
  1w9, 1w2
• Enneagram Type Two, The Altruist:
  2w1, 2w3
• Enneagram Type Three, The Achiever:
  3w2, 3w4
• Enneagram Type Four, The Individualist:
  4w3, 4w5
• Enneagram Type Five, The Investigator:
  5w4, 5w6
• Enneagram Type Six, The Loyal:
  6w5, 6w7
• Enneagram Type Seven, The Enthusiast:
  7w6, 7w8
• Enneagram Type Eight, The Challenger:
  8w7, 8w9
• Enneagram Type Nine, The Peacemaker:
  9w8, 9w1