A Historical Perspective of the Enneagram

Many people don't realize that most, if not all contemporary theories of psychology and personality originated back to the antiquity of time.  In fact, the field of counseling in Western civilization, as it is known today, is a spin off from the priesthood of the early Christian church. 

The exact history and the genesis of the Enneagram is unknown, and hence invites speculation.  The earliest roots go back, some think, over two thousand years to Babylon or somewhere in the Middle East.  It is often suggested that the Enneagram was further developed in the Middle Ages by the Sufi.  Through prayer and meditation the Sufis wished to become deepened in God's love despite the vehement resistance of Islam of that time. 

The Sufi called what is known as the Enneagram, the "Face of God."  Similar to how a light is  refracted out of a crystal, the Sufi saw the nine points of energy of the Enneagram as refractions of the One Divine Love of God.  The word "Enneagram" itself was a later invention. Compounded from the Greek word ennea (nine) and gramma (diagram).  Today, it is referred to as the “Nine Faces of God.”

 The wisdom of the Enneagram was evidently a strict oral tradition that over centuries was passed down from master to disciple.  Similarities in the mathematical constructions evident in the Jewish Kabbalic doctrine of the Tree of Life and the Enneagram seem hardly mere coincidences.

 There are similarities between the Enneagram and Christian spirituality.  The seven classic "capital" sins (vices) of the Christian doctrine can be found in the root compulsions of the Enneagram:

Pride (#2), Greed (#5), Lust (#8), Anger (#1), Gluttony (#7), Envy (#4), Sloth (#9) - there were two later additions;  Fear (#6) and Deceit (#3) to complete the nine sins.

The Enneagram's nine essences are almost identical to the "nine fruits of the spirit" cited by Paul in Galatians: 5:22.

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love (#2), joy (#7), peace (#9), patience (#5),     kindness (#4), goodness (#1), faithfulness (#6), gentleness (#3), self-control (#8); against such there is no law.”  (from the Oxford Annotated Bible)

 The Russian, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (ca. 1870-1949), an adventurer and seeker who studied Tibetan, Indian and Christian mysticism, also learned of the Enneagram in Afghanistan.  It was through his transmission that the Enneagram become known in Europe in the 1920s.  Gurdjieff receives credit for making the Enneagram known to the West.  He compared the Enneagram to the metaphoric philosopher's stone.

The dynamics of the Enneagram hold no claim as being an esoteric tradition.  It has been shown that the Enneagram can harmonize with religious (e.g., Christian) tradition of spiritual guidance and lay counseling.  Hence, the Enneagram builds a bridge between spirituality and modern psychology.  Furthermore, most, if not all, popular theories of personality have historical roots in mysticism.

 Since the mid-1980s,  a series of books have appeared about the Enneagram, partly growing out of the work of American religious orders and partly stemming from humanistic psychology.

 In its current stage, however, the Enneagram developers do not claim it to be a "hard science.”  However, for most of the history of civilization, humankind has relied on knowledge which was not scientifically proven (including the Bible).  Clinical investigations are under way in America, but they are only just beginning.  So long as no statistical material is available and supported by recognized investigative methods, the Enneagram can be utilized as a “wisdom.”