What Are The Wings Of The Enneagram?

You know a lot about the Enneagram after learning about each of the types. And the 9 different personality types represented in the model is just one aspect to the Enneagram. There is a lot more to the model than what you have learned already.

Now let’s talk more about another important component of the Enneagram model. And those components are the wings. You have the personality types, and each personality type has its wing.

What Are Wings Of The Enneagram?

The wings in the Enneagram model are comparable to the wings of an airplane. The wings of an airplane are what helps to keep the core balanced. Because without the wings, then the airplane could not be balanced and you don’t want to even think about what would happen in that case. Therefore, in other words, the wings of each personality type are the traits of the neighboring types. And they are needed in order to balance out each type.

Let’s look at an example of a wing and how it balances the personality type out. For instance, you have type 9, which is The Peacemaker. Those who have this personality type are known to literally need peace. They also mediate conflicts. However, they do not like facing conflict themselves. At the same time, they tend to not speak up when they need to. And they are known to put things off at the last minute.

However, you will find that The Peacemaker may have traits of the Type 8, The Challenger as well. Or some may have traits of the Type 1, The Reformer. That is due to the fact that the Type 9 has been leaning on either wing. That would be either the 8 or 1 wing.

Therefore, the Type 9 that shows some leadership traits, and assertion leans on the 8 wing. The Type 9 that shows traits of keeping their lives organized may lean on their 1 wing. It is more likely than not that you would have a dominant wing that you lean on as well. Some people, however, lean on both of their wings. But most tend to lean on one wing, and may lean on the other at odd times.

You cannot have a wing of a personality type that is not the neighboring type. That means if you are the Type 1, you could only have a 9 wing, or a 2 wing. If you are the Type 2, you can only have a 1 wing or a 3 wing. Therefore, if you take the Enneagram test and learn about your type, then you could easily see what traits of your neighboring type you possess as well. Because that is indicative of your dominant wing.