Triads

Core Fixation

Once the Center has been over-activated in response to the wound, it begins to form a looped response pattern — a psychological structure that attempts to resolve the loss of stability using the same tools that were shaped by the injury itself. This is where the Core Fixation emerges.

There are three core enneagram types in each center of energy. Each Enneagram type follows a distinct internal sequence — a three-part script made up of the Object Relation, the Hornevian Group, and the Harmonic Triad. This defines the exact relationship that the individual forms with their center of energy.

With self-understanding and accurate insight on your type, you can unwind this looping pattern by releasing the responsibility of thinking from one dominant center, and allow different aspects of your mind (heart, head, gut) to process the information they are supposed to process respectively. This is the starting key to integration. *read more Function of Centers, Information Processing, and Becoming Whole.

The Hidden Triads

Each type is composed of internal points that give rise to the overall quality and purpose for the type. Think of it as the notes that make up a chord in a musical scale.

Object Relations

Foundational reaction to feeling of lack. This triad describes what sort of feeling causes stress reactions, and the measures we take to resolve them. 

Attachment (=)

3,6,9

A persistent toggling between over-adaptation and withdrawal, designed to preserve access to the source of the need. This strategy suppresses individuated impulses within the Center that might jeopardize relational security. Tendency to get sucked in and immersed in the world around them , dissociating from a personal focal point of awareness, and entangling with the object of interest. Aware of the negative space between forms. Comparisons and possibility of adaptation. Sitting between materialized objects as the metaphysical force.

9:

3:

6:

Rejection (–)

2,5,8

A portion of the Center is walled off or numbed, creating space for more “manageable” substitutes. This strategy reshapes reality to avoid triggering the disowned need — reframing, minimizing, or bypassing anything that would evoke the part of the self that was denied care or permission.

2:

5:

8:

Frustration (+)

4,7,1

An active pursuit of an idealized, missing element — an experience that would finally fulfill the need and resolve the yearning it left behind. Moving against the flow, in a state of friction.

But the fulfillment is inherently out of reach . The type becomes locked in a cycle of pursuing a specific aspect of the center to feel whole through essential nourishment, constantly aware of the gap between what is and what should be.

Frustration types are seeking to move away from their center of intelligence.

1: Separating their body and experience from involvement in actions and thought processes that dont fit into their inner standards and ethics of living. Constantly perfecting their relationship to the environment to mitigate restlessness and disgust.

4: Separating the self from the bounds of emotional convention. Constantly crafting and reworking their thoughts and feelings to be closer to the idealized inner image.

7: Separating their minds from the contraints of practicality and realism. Constantly devising a way to increase satisfaction with new pursuits and activities.

Center Orientation / Energy Reaction Style (Hornevian Groups)

Describes how the psyche moves and utilizes energy to get its needs met. The energy orientation with which the individual secures and maintains their sense of wholeness.

Transactional/Superego (=)

2,6,1

Maintains a sanctified method for how things should be done in order to justify the right to meet their needs. This strategy sacrifices personal spontaneity and maintains certain rules of conduct to upkeep beneficial relationships.

Themes: conscientiousness, idealized responsibility, martyrdom, and internalized authority. Often “ambiverted,” seeking balance between belonging and integrity.

1: Considers it an ethical duty to maintain standards to mutually agreeable results and enforces them.

2: Staying on each other's good graces .boosting emotional state to keep a positive self-image

6: Responsible to a cause, bond, project, or philosophy to do right by it.

Withdrawn (–)

4,5,9

Retracts from engagement with others and the world to preserve the self from contamination, distortion, or intrusion. Needs are retracted from the world to reduce interference. Moves toward the self to continue experiencing what is pure and unchanging.

This type self-protects through selective invisibility and distance — removing themselves to avoid being taken over, trampled, or altered. More “introverted” in energy; values separateness and control through non-engagement.

9: Removes their direct personal involvement with conflict and boundary control to maintain a sense of internal stability

4: Hides what is most valued from the world and creates specific passageway into seeing it that prove understanding.

5: removes involvement with the world to the walls to only focus on 

Assertive (+)

3,7,8

Expands outward to secure needs through willpower, speed, or dominance. Moves toward desire without hesitation, believing power and motion will outrun scarcity and lack. Fixated on taking more from the outside world.

This orientation is impulsive and confident. Motivated by ambition and overreach. More “extroverted” in style, equating forward momentum with safety and identity.

Themes: High activity, big energy, push now/think later, do more, take more

3: believes in their right to success and adoration in any domain. In insecurity, amps up ambition and confidence.

7: believes they in their right to outrun any system or tactic to get what they are chasing. In stress, amps up creative thinking and prospect planning

8: believes they have the right to take power and control of every situation in their hands and control how things are delegated. In stress, amps up anger and forcefulness to get back in control.

Narrative Bias (Harmonic Triads)

Regulates emotion and frames reactions to what has happened; a means of interpreting reality when expectations aren’t met. This frames ones orientation to conflict 

 This forms the conclusion of the Type story: the way we interpret and react to disappointment or disruption.

Competence (=)

3,5,1

Suppresses emotional reactions to prioritize functionality, objectivity, and clear-headed problem-solving. Seeks to stay emotionally neutral in order to improve tools, refine systems, and sustain forward motion. Ego-identified with being skillful/adept. Sees lack of competency as a failure to measure up to what is valued.

Irritated by: Lack of precision and resourcefulness

Themes include: suppressing emotional involvement and affect control, precision, logic, structure, and a commitment to rationality. 

3: motivated to become capable and skillful at creating and demonstrating their value

5: motivated to become an indispensable storage of knowledge and capacity in their object of self-study

1: motivated to become an embodied exemplar of their standards and code of ethics - defining exactly what is correct and incorrect

Reactive/Negative Bias  (–)

4,6,8

Amplifies emotional response as a way to reveal underlying truths -- with the assumption that unfiltered feelings will cut through falseness and evoke authenticity. Expresses dissatisfaction directly, prefers to "get real" now to expose what is hidden or unresolved. 

Themes include: confrontation, emotional volatility, depth, catharsis, and the belief that truth must first be felt before it can be resolved.

irritated by: lack of honesty and authenticity

4: exposes and focuses on the rejected aspects of the mind as a resource for authenticity

6: exposes and retaliates against falsity and perceived distortions to Truth.

8: affirms the secret will of self-expansion that is latent in everyone and embodies it.

Positive (+)

2,7,9

Covers or reframes raw emotional reactions to preserve harmony and maintain a hopeful or constructive outlook. Focused on understanding and interpretation, to dispel misunderstandings and conflicting narratives that stop the process of reaching the next step. Focuses on the bright side or forward path, often delaying confrontation with pain or disappointment. The upward triangle of the enneagram, positivity, looks "up" and sees the potential in situations. This is why these types often seem to be living in a fantasy compared to others.

Themes include: optimism, charm, resilience, avoidance of emotional heaviness, and the instinct to transform discomfort into opportunity or light.

irritated by: negative attitudes and overly realistic narratives

2: 

Instinctual Triads

Describes the primary/primordial instinct for which each type is responsible. This is where the raw drive or impulse of the individual sits beneath the personality. This determines the nature of relationship the individual has with the world.

This triad houses the primary drive of each point on enneagram, however the preferred instinct of the individual can be different. Thus, the relationship between one's core drive and the type's home drive explains complexities inherent to the type story.

For example, individuals with an instinct stack congruent to their core type (e.g. SX9) will have a less self-questioning attitude and dive fully into the demands of the instinct. While individuals with an incongruent instinct stack (e.g. SO4) will have a more self-questioning attitude and subvert the core type's home desire. This relationship defines the *Spectrum of Counter-Types* in the Enneagram.

Desirability-Seeking (+)

2,4,9

This triad orients around personal fusion — the drive to merge with others or with life itself in a deeply affective, sensual, or spiritual way. Despite different outward expressions, all three types in this triad carry an internal longing to dissolve separateness through intensity, warmth, or soulful resonance.

• Type 2 attempts this through interpersonal seduction — giving to be needed.

• Type 4 longs to retreive depth of love in negativity— needing recognition to feel real.

• Type 9 seeks fusion through passive attunement and energetic blending — maintaining harmony to avoid rupture.

The unifying charge is libidinal merging — whether through caretaking, romantic yearning, or emotional stillness. Each represents a unique distortion or adaptation around erotic belonging and the fear of being severed from life-force or love.

Autonomy-Seeking  (–)

5,6,8

This triad orients around boundary control — the need to defend, prepare, or fortify the self against threat, exposure, or depletion. These types exhibit vigilance around resource management — energetic, relational, or psychological.

• Type 6 seeks safety through loyalty, questioning, and bonding with secure structures or alliances.

• Type 5 withdraws to conserve energy and builds internal clarity as a buffer against intrusion or incompetence.

• Type 8 asserts dominance and control to avoid vulnerability — pushing outward to keep threats at bay.

This triad is driven by defensive individuation — a refusal to be compromised, penetrated, or unprepared. Each instinctually prioritizes survival of self — through caution, withdrawal, or control — over fusion or visibility.

Update-Seeking (=)

3,7,1

This triad orients around external positioning — the need to optimize, perform, or model values for collective or idealized eyes. These types are shaped by their role in the group — how they are seen, what they contribute, and how they manage image or ethos.

• Type 3 aligns with value through achievement and adaptive presentation — appearing admirable to gain love.

• Type 1 embodies ethical correctness — managing their conduct to uphold internalized social ideals.

• Type 7 thrives on being charismatic, future-forward, and stimulating — avoiding limitation through reframing and freedom.

What binds them is a curated relationship to collective expectation — using social positioning as a defense against inadequacy, chaos, or internal fragmentation. Each maps the world as a stage or system to navigate with efficiency or moral clarity.