Self-Preservation
(Satisfaction):
Do
what they need to do to get what they want. Great
desire for privacy, more Five-like, less feeling
than other Eight subtypes. Survivalists who secure a
personal bunker against invasion; more contained,
less visible as an Eight. The fear of deprivation
fosters preoccupation with comfort, knowing where
things are.
At
best maintains order/security - makes the rules,
does what's necessary; at worst Machiavellian,
anti-social, unfeeling.
One-to-One/Sexual (Possession/Obsession):
Acting out lust by
possessive attitude toward intimates and friends.
More emotional, dramatic. The will to take hold of
the other and make them do what the Eight wants, a
passion for possession and surrender. Full
involvement - wants to know everything, often takes
charge of another’s life. Lusty in love and
commanding in business. Relentless competitors, more
angry, more likely to humiliate; can be tyrannical,
even sadistic.
At
best rewards loyalty, promotes stability, honesty,
predictability in family/organization; at worst
wants to control everything, angry, insulting, even
tyrannical - Attila the Hun.
Social (Complicity):
Friendship without
judgment; harder to recognize as Eight because very
friendly not apparently angry - lets out feelings
within a closed circle. “Accompliceship” or survival
through alliance - good times are magnified by good
friends who can hold their own and assert themselves
honorably. Seductiveness makes it possible to be an
Eight in the world - they can go full out because
they’ve tested each other’s limits.
At
best friendly, establishes group cohesion and
protection - leads the "charge," protective, fun to
be around; at worst overwhelming to others (out of
selfishness, excessiveness, gusto).
*
* *
*According to
Peter O'Hanrahan,
the subtypes "show how the ruling emotion of our type is expressed through our
instinctual behavior." The above descriptions also draw from Helen
Palmer's The Enneagram in Love & Work and
workshops with
Dr. Claudio Naranjo.
Subtype Test
Answers to Subtype Test
