History of the Enneagram Types, Tritypes® and Instinctual Subtypes

What is the Enneagram?

The Enneagram (pronounced “any-a-gram”) is a personality system with roots in ancient Middle Eastern spiritual traditions. “Ennea” is the Greek word for nine, and “gram” means drawing or graph. The Enneagram symbol is a circle enclosing nine equidistant points connected by nine intersecting lines.

As we know it today, the Enneagram is a vital link between the psyche and the spirit. It is a complex and sophisticated conceptual system that is also a sensible and easily understood self-discovery tool. The nine points represent how the nine different personality types perceive and defend their realities.

The Enneagram types are distinguished from one another by unconscious motivations and preoccupations that produce patterns of perception, feeling, and behavior, which can be gifts or obstacles to the personality.

The nine points represent the ways in which the nine different personality types perceive and defend their realities. The Enneagram types are distinguished by unconscious motivations and preoccupations, which produce patterns of perception, feeling, and behavior, which can be gifts or obstacles to the personality.

The wisdom of the Enneagram is that it recognizes nine very different yet inherently valid views of reality. The power of the Enneagram is that it is a profound and comprehensive tool to harness and transform self-defeating behavior into life-enhancing personal empowerment. The gift of the Enneagram is that through self-discovery, one can create and sustain meaningful and lasting relationships.

The Enneagram is a useful tool in determining personal patterns of relating and in understanding differing styles of communicating. Through deeper insight, one can more fully understand one’s own communication style, as well as the styles of others.

With this knowledge, one can observe the core triggers influencing one’s ability to respond successfully to any situation and avoid ineffectual, self-defeating reactivity. Ultimately, the Enneagram is an invaluable tool that defines nine distinct life strategies that, when understood, can give crucial insight into developing the self-awareness needed to create change. Enneagram Tritype® Test

Understanding the Enneagram

Many personality typologies identify important character traits, which in and of themselves are very instructive, but only the Enneagram identifies the specific core motivations and often unconscious unmet needs (real or imagined) that may cause the personality to go on red alert and react defensively.

The beauty of the Enneagram is that it is a very simple yet complex personality tool that is easily understood. This is due in part because each of the nine types has a very specific way in which their view of the world is organized.

Once you recognize that your view of the world is along the same lines as one of the nine Enneagram Types, you can begin to examine the predictable ways you will react or respond to different situations. Then, you can use the same considerations when determining your Tritype® Stacking and Instinctual Type and Subtype Stacking.

Discovering your Enneagram Type, Tritype®, and Instinctual Type is truly transformational because once confirmed and understood, it is easy to pinpoint the moments and issues that will cause your defense strategies to go into overdrive.

With this knowledge, it is easy to recognize the very predictable defense patterns of the types. More importantly, with experience, you can discover your own personal triggers and track the ways in which your defense strategies work to protect you in times of stress.

Learning to recognize the micro movements, micro gestures, and micro-expressions that you use and those that signal the possibility of impending distress and potential conflict will give you the much-needed time to intervene on your own behalf long before you have become mired in frustrations or a fixed point of view.

Then, you can begin the process of creating meaningful and lasting change. Enneagram Tritype® Test

History of the Enneagram, Tritype®, and Instinctual Types and Subtypes

Note from Katherine: A student of many teachings
I have had the good fortune of learning directly from the first Enneagram teachers, including Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo. I have also certified with Helen Palmer-David Daniels, Don Riso-Russ Hudson, and Kathleen Hurley-Ted Dobson (later Theodorre Donson) and know their work at a master level. In addition, I have conducted 22 completed research studies with tens of thousands of international participants, thousands of qualitative interviews, and  In-depth Inquiry Coaching Sessions.

I know that I am forever changed by having had the opportunity to meet and study with such amazing people and teachers. As a result of what I learned from them, I have developed a much more expanded, integrated view of the types,  that is, at the same time, a much more focused way of seeing what causes the types to suffer and what supports them in releasing rigid beliefs, negative emotions, and habitual behaviors.

You could say that I now have a more detailed map as to what triggers the defense strategies and coping mechanisms of the Enneagram Types, Tritypes®, and Instinctual Types and Subtypes. And that the types themselves have taught me what is needed to quickly and radically help them to see, know, and feel for themselves the specific patterns and associations that can keep them mired in unnecessary suffering.

I write this now because I realize more and more that these divides are becoming larger and that many people are not aware of what came when and from whom, and why. And, more importantly, how each of these missing pieces of information can help us to more fully love, understand, forgive, guide, and work with those we know and will encounter in the future. 

This in no way negates the wonderful work that Enneagram teachers are providing.  I just know that each teacher taught me aspects of the Enneagram that the other teachers were unaware of and that many of these gifts modified my understanding of the types, leading to a more compassionate understanding of the internal world of the Enneagram Types.

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Enneagram of Personality Timeline:

History, Evolution, Dissemination, and Timeline of the Enneagram of Personality
The Enneagram of Personality is a model of human personality used for understanding and developing personal growth, interpersonal relationships, and spiritual development. Its history is complex, involving contributions from various individuals and traditions over several decades. Here, we define the four distinct disseminations of the Enneagram of Personality by Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo, Father Robert Ochs, and Katherine Chernick Fauvre and the first Authors. 

Early Roots (1950s-1970s)
1954: Oscar Ichazo Begins his Work
1954: Oscar Ichazo, a Bolivian philosopher and spiritual teacher, began his work by giving talks on Integral Theory, laying the groundwork for his later development of the Enneagram of Personality.

1968: Oscar Ichazo establishes a spiritual school in Arica, Chile.
1968: This school becomes the primary center for developing and teaching his Enneagram theories. Ichazo's theory, known as Protoanalysis, includes 108 Enneagons describing various aspects of human experience.
1968: Passions and virtues were a part of the spiritual work.

1969: Claudio Naranjo meets Oscar Ichazo and introduces Protoanalysis to cohorts from Berkeley and Esalen.
1969: Claudio Naranjo attends a talk given by Oscar Ichazo. Naranjo introduced Ichazo's Protoanalysis (Enneagram) to his cohorts at Berkeley and Esalen, including Father Robert Ochs.

1970: Impressed with Ichazo's knowledge, Naranjo asks Ichazo to be his teacher.
1970: Naranjo gathers 57 cohorts for a 10-month training in Arica, Chile, with Ichazo

1971: Naranjo integrated modern sociology and psychology with Ichazo's Enneagram spiritual teachings and arranged a 10-month training with Ichazo.

Four Key Disseminations of the Enneagram of Personality

1970: First Dissemination by Oscar Ichazo Introduces Protoanalysis, Trialectics, and Integral Philosophy
1970: Oscar Ichazo begins disseminating his Enneagram of Personality, sharing his teachings with a broader audience through his spiritual school in Arica, Chile.

This marks the first major dissemination of the Enneagram system.

1971: Second Dissemination by Claudio Naranjo Addition of Psychological research and terms
1971: Claudio Naranjo, after attending almost 6 months of the 10-month training with Ichazo, returns to the United States and begins teaching the Enneagram to a wider audience through his SAT (Seekers After Truth) group workshops, introducing the Enneagram to professors, psychologists, and therapists.

1972: Third Dissemination by Father Robert Ochs - Jesuit Teachings
1972: Father Robert Ochs, a Jesuit priest, became one of Naranjo’s first students in the United States. Ochs plays a crucial role in spreading the Enneagram within the Jesuit community, marking the third major dissemination of the Enneagram system. This dissemination is different because Ochs added the concept of integration and disintegration, not realizing that he misquoted Claudio Naranjo. Naranjo documented that he never meant to imply the ego used one line when healthy and the other when unhealthy.  He explained that when people are healthy, both thier lines and wings are healthy, and when unhealthy, both their lines and wings are unhealthy as well.  It concerned Naranjo that teachers and students mistyped themselves and others using this misunderstanding. This error continued as "stress and security" as well. One needs only to correct this error to still benefit from looking at their internal process.
1972: Fixations and Holy Ideas are added to the Enneagram by Ichazo and Naranjo, further enriching the model by explaining the mental patterns associated with each type. Shortly thereafter the types were referred to as the names given to Ego-fixations.
1985: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) learns the Enneagram from a student of Kathleen Speeth.
1994: First Enneagram Conference at Stanford University organized by David Daniels

1994: Fourth Dissemination of the Enneagram by Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) introduces 3Types, Tritype, Tricenter, and Trigram.
1994: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) conducted her first qualitative research on the "Internal Experiences of the Enneagram Types and Subtypes" and introduced findings on Instinctual Types, Subtypes, Stackings, and Countertypes.
1994: Katherine Chernick Fauvre introduces 3Types, Tritype, Tricenter, and Trigram.
1994: Chernick Fauvre also discovered Tritype® Stackings and Archetypes during her qualitative research. Her ongoing research suggests that individuals use three Enneagram Types, not just one. These three types occur as the dominant type in each of the three centers of intelligence: head (5, 6, 7), heart (2, 3, 4), and gut (8, 9, 1), combining the idealized images, core fears, and defense strategies of all three types, creating a “new" type unto itself with a more specific focus and worldview. All three types are used in unison, in a rapidly repeating, hierarchical stacking order. The type at the top of the Tritype® Stacking is the "core" type.

Katherine Chernick Fauvre‘s research suggests that the common theme found among the three types within an individual’s Tritype® identifies that individual’s archetypal life purpose and a critical blind spot to self-awareness. In addition, the shared view by the types in an individual’s Tritype® gives essential clues as to what is needed to live a more conscious and meaningful life.

Extensive research with tens of thousands of international participants has confirmed that each Tritype® Archetype comprises the character traits of the three types within the Tritype®. These traits within the Tritype® combine to create the 27 unique Tritypes®, each with its own set of core values, needs, fears, and concerns and include a specific focus of attention, idealized image, core triggers, core fears, desires, blind spots, a sense of purpose, and growing edge, adding significant precision, accuracy, and scope to the Enneagram Typing process.

1996: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) attends Claudio Naranjo’s Seekers After Truth Training (SAT). in Boulder Colorado.
1996: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) attends Naranjo's first Enneagram SAT Intensive after his absence of almost 24 years. Her research confirmed Naranjo's theory of the Subtypes.  He validated her finding that there were countertypes for all types in a hierarchical stacking order and that integration and disintegration had been misstated.

 Development and Popularization (1970s-1980s)

1972-1995: Naranjo Adds Subtype Archetypes
1972-1995: Over the years, Naranjo slowly adds Subtype Archetypes to his teachings, expanding the understanding of the Enneagram by including instinctual subtypes and their behavioral manifestations.

1980s: Spiritual and Psychological Integration
1980s: The Enneagram gains traction in both spiritual and psychological communities. Key figures like Helen Palmer and Don Richard Riso, begin writing and teaching extensively about the Enneagram.

1987: Don Richard Riso’s book, "Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery."
1987: Don Riso introduces the concept of Levels of Health, which provides a detailed framework for understanding the dynamic nature of each Enneagram type.

This concept explains how individuals can move up and down a continuum of health within their type, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of personality development.

1988: Helen Palmer’s book, "The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and Others in Your Life"

These books are pivotal in popularizing the Enneagram.

Timeline of Key Events
1954: Oscar Ichazo begins his work on Integral Theory.
1968: Oscar Ichazo establishes a spiritual school in Arica, Chile.
1969: Claudio Naranjo meets Oscar Ichazo and introduces Protoanalysis to cohorts from Berkeley and Esalen.
1970: Naranjo gathers 57 cohorts for a 10-month training in Arica, Chile, with Ichazo.
1970: First dissemination of the Enneagram by Oscar Ichazo.
1971: Second dissemination of the Enneagram by Claudio Naranjo - Adds psychological details
1972: Third dissemination of the Enneagram by Father Robert Ochs - Adds Integration-Disintegrations
1972: Fixations are added to the Enneagram as Ego-fixations by Ichazo and Naranjo.
1972-1995: Naranjo slowly adds Subtype Archetypes to his teachings.
1980s: Enneagram gains traction in both spiritual and psychological communities. Key figures like Helen Palmer and Don Richard Riso, begin writing and teaching the Enneagram.
1987: Don Riso first publishes his book Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery.
1987: Don Riso introduces the concept of Levels of Health.

1990s: The Enneagram is used in business and therapy.
1990s: The Enneagram is starting to be used in organizational development, leadership training, and team building. Consultants like Helen Palmer and David Daniels apply the Enneagram in corporate settings.

Therapists and coaches use the Enneagram to understand client personalities and tailor therapeutic interventions.

1991: Kathleen Hurley and Ted Dobson first publish What’s My Type.
1994 Jerome Wagner publishes Two Windows on the Self: The Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs - Cass
1994: Tom Condon first publishes The Enneagram Movie and Video Guide: How to See Personality Types in the Movies.
1994: Fourth Dissemination of the Enneagram: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) - Adds 3Types: Tritype
1994: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) conducts her qualitative research on the "Internal Experience of the Enneagram Types and Subtypes”
1994: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) introduces her research findings on Instinctual Types, Subtypes, Stackings, and Countertypes, and  Identifications.
1994: Katherine Chernick Fauvre introduces 3Types: Tritype, Tricenter, and Trigram.
1995: Katherine Chernick Fauvre publishes The Instinctual Types and Subtypes 1.0, and  Enneastyle: The 9 Languages of Types which includes her groundbreaking original research on the internal experiences of the nine Enneagram types, the lexicon they use, and the most common adjectives they choose to describe themselves with.
1995: Katherine Chernick Fauvre certifies with Helen Palmer and David Daniels (Narrative Tradition)
1995: Katherine Chernick Fauvre certifies with Don Riso and Russ Hudson (Enneagram Institute).
1996: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) certifies with Kathleen Hurley and Ted Dobson (Breakthrough Approach)
1996: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre)  attends a 10-day SAT Training with Claudio Naranjo.
1996: Claudio Naranjo confirms the error in disseminating Integration - Disintegration and adds more archetypes to the Subtype Archetypes.
1996: Claudio Naranjo validates Katherine's research findings on the Subtypes.

1997: Oscar Ichazo introduces the concept of Trifix to Arica Institute, three years after Katherine introduced 3Types and Trigram to clients.
1997: Oscar Ichazo adds the concept of Trifix within his school, the Arica Institute. This concept is similar to Tritype but focuses on only the "fixations; the mental preoccupations of the three mental types in the Trifix." This concept was not publicly disseminated. In contrast, the Tritype includes the mental fixations, emotional passions, and visceral convictions of the three types in the Tritype.
1997: Katherine Chernick Fauvre adds Trifix to her Tritype work, giving attribution to Ichazo as the creator of the Enneagram of Personality.
1997: Katherine Chernick (Fauvre) research on the Enneagram Types, Instinctual Subtypes, and Intimacy with Kit Snyder and Victoria Ruderman
1998: Katherine co-presents her research findings with Victoria Ruderman and Kit Snyder at the annual Teachers in the Oral Tradition.
2000s: The Enneagram spreads globally through the internet and integrates with various spiritual practices.
2000s: Websites, online courses, and forums allow enthusiasts and professionals to share information and experiences.
2005: Katherine Chernick Fauvre's Continued Study
2005: Katherine Chernick Fauvre teaches Introduction to the Enneagram.
2005: Katherine Chernick Fauvre attends Oscar Ichazo's 2005 Reunion Intensive in Maui, where she meets and studies with Mark Sheehan, one of Ichazo's authorized teachers, and Marian Scott, who attended the 1970 Enneagram Training in Arica, Chile.

2007: Katherine Chernick Fauvre separates her research findings and growing body of work from Ichazo's term of Trifix.
2007: An Arica member attended Katheirne’s Workshop on Tritype and Trifix. After the workshop, the two women discussed their experiences with the Enneagram. Katherine shared that she wanted to separate her work from Ichazo because people did not realize that Ichazo had not published anything on the topic and that all descriptions of the 3Types, Trifix aka Tritype®, came from her 13 years of research with study participants that began in 1994. Together, they discussed how she and Ichazo could distinguish their work, making it easier to separate.  

Independent of one another, Ichazo and Chernick Fauvre both discovered that people use all three triads. However, as they continued to discuss the two different models, it became clear that there was a very important distinction. Katherine's research with thousands of participants revealed people used a type from each center. In contrast, Ichazo’s theory was that people use only the mental fixations of the three types in the Trifix.

Tritype explained the full use of all three types and how they merge to create a much more specific focus of attention. Trifix focused on mental preoccupations only, a similar but very different theory. 

2007: Katherine  Chernick Fauvre changes her term to Tritype because her work was based on the full dynamic expression of the three types, creating a new type unto itself.
2007: Arica confirms that the Trifix is the fixations of the three head types in the Trifix only. Ichazo kept his term of Trifix because he taught only about the three "Mental Fixations" of the types. 
2010: Katherine Chernick Fauvre and David Fauvre publish The 27 Tritypes Revealed. Based on hundreds of coaching sessions and tens of thousands of Enneacards Tests and Enneastyle Questionnaire results. This booklet revealed for the first time the 27 Tritype® Archetypes.
2020: Katherine Chernick Fauvre introduces the Enneagram Tritype Test (ETTv8)
2020: Katherine Chernick Fauvre teaches the significance of  Tristar: The Unfolding of the 27 Tritype Archetypes
2024: Katherine Chernick Fauvre publishes Advanced Instinctual Types and Subtypes 2.0, The Definitive Enneagram: Types, Tritypes®, Instincts, and Subtypes,  Advanced Enneagram Tritype® Advantage 2.0, Enneastyle 2.0: The 9 Languages of Enneagram Type.

Conclusion
The Enneagram of Personality has evolved significantly since its introduction in the 1970s. Contributions from professors, coaches, mystics, psychologists, and spiritual teachers have shaped it, leading to its diverse applications today. Understanding its history and key influences can provide deeper insights into its current forms and uses.

Read the In-Depth History, Transmission, and Timeline of the Enneagram

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©1995-2024 Katherine Chernick Fauvre