ENNEAGRAM WINGS. Have you ever wondered about the function of wings in the Enneagram and what it means to be an Enneagram 9 wing 1 compared to a 9 wing 8?

What are the Enneagram wings?

Firstly, your Enneagram Wing is your persona, where the first number is your core emotion, the second number is your mask emotion. People, out of a desire to be less vulnerable with themselves, tend to put on a mask to the outer world. For example, the Enneagram 7 wing 8 will put on a more aggressive outward persona, in order to mask their own anxiety and uncertainty.

In today’s article, you will learn about all the different masks and how they present themselves

Gut Types

Enneagram wing 8w7

The 8w7 masks their anger with a fun and bubbly exterior. They will appear passionate and confident to the outer world, but may hide feelings of having been wronged or treated unfairly inside. The enthusiastic front is there to give the impression that you can’t “beat” the Eight or shake them in any way.

Enneagram wing 8w9

The 8w9 masks their competitive spirit with an outwardly nurturing and peace-seeking front. You do not wish to argue with or overrule anyone, and if people would simply get out of your way, there would be no problem.

Enneagram wing 9w8

The 9w8 are deeply peace-seeking types yet often put on a strong front to the outer world, serving as protectors of the weak and those that have been wronged. Importantly, you seek harmony and rest, but often feel you must be strong for the sake of other people.

Enneagram wing 9w1

As a 9w1 you mask your more conflict-avoidant side by constantly living in a way that can never be questioned or criticized by anyone. Firstly, you want to live in a way so that nobody will ever take fault with anything you do, which can make you avoidant or overly quiet.

Enneagram wing 1w9

The 1w9 is outwardly a very forgiving and accepting type that tends to hold their strong judgement to themselves. You want to appear tolerant and forgiving to other people, but you can often feel disappointed and annoyed with other people. Other people will not know this, because you work so hard to seem zen.

Enneagram wing 1w2

As a 1w2 you work hard to show a generous and accommodating personality to the outer world. You try to show warmth and care for those around you, seeing yourself at times as a Saviour or rescuer type. But behind your desire to support other people, is often a hidden agenda to change them.

Heart Types

Enneagram wing 2w1

The 2w1 wing type is outwardly cold and rational but inwardly warm and sensitive. You try to appear cold and uncaring in order to not be taken advantage of. It is important for you to be self-composed and to be careful with who you let in. In secret, you worry about other people and will often expand your energy putting other’s needs before your own.

Enneagram wing 2w3

The 2 wing 3 wants to appear as an ideal to other people, secretly hoping to be a guiding light and inspiration. You show a successful, positive front to the world, wanting other people to idealise you. However, this may at times just be a front, and you have your share of struggles that you can’t share to other people. Underneath this persona, you are just trying to be strong so that other people will not need to help you and so that they can focus on themselves. This makes you often feel forgotten by others.

Enneagram wing 3w2

The 3w2 is careful not to appear selfish or narcissistic. You want other people to look to you as a mentor and guiding light. You want to be liked by other people and so work hard to support other people and to share your generosity for others. Ultimately, you often do this out of shame and a desire to become popular.

Enneagram wing 3w4

Firstly, the 3w4 wing often goes out to show that they don’t care about success in a conventional way. It is important for you that people see you as unique and one-of-a-kind. You also want people to know that you made it on your own. Secondly, while deep down, status and success is the most important to you, outwardly, you want it to be known success was just an accident that you got for “being yourself.”

Enneagram wing 4w3

The 4w3 feels deeply different from other people, but outwardly, they can come off as popular and successful people. You seem like everyone’s friend. Yet, on the inside, you feel very alienated from others, and like you will never fit in anywhere.

Enneagram wing 4w5

The 4w5 would rather write off their quirkiness and how different they are in intellectual ways. It is important for you to rationalise who you are and to be able to explain yourself to other people. You are an identity seeker and someone that wants to “discover” yourself.

Head types

Enneagram wing 5w4

As a 5w4 you love to research odd and different topics. You want to be a pioneer of new ideas and research and you’re not afraid to entertain what other people may think is farfetched or crazy. Sometimes people call you well researched and studied. But you often want people to think that your insight is just an accident, and that you just got lucky or stumbled on your discoveries.

Enneagram wing 5w6

The 5w6 is keen to show that their ideas have a worth to society and a more practical element. You want your knowledge to be useful to others. And so you study things that can improve your well-being, comfort, or security in some way. You want people to see you as well-prepared and ready for any eventuality.

Enneagram wing 6w5

As a 6w5 you can at times come off as a know-it-all. When you pack, you bring anything you could ever need. And you love to read in advance so nothing will catch you off guard. You can sometimes trick yourself that you know everything that is going to happen to you. But people are not as predictable as you think.

Enneagram wing 6w7

The “fun aunt” enneagram wing. You seek a healthy routine, stability and control, but you don’t want to come off as a bore to others. You try to be fun and lively but can often come off as forced. Enneagram wing 7w5 types can sometimes act as if they don’t know things and pretend not to see things that bother them, and will “act surprised” even though you want to be fully aware of what’s happening.

Enneagram wing 7w6

The 7w6 is much like an anti-seven. You’re always focused on what’s next, but you don’t like to be seen that way. You want people to see you as steady, reliable, and ordinary. While you are thrilled by the thought of adventure, you want others to think of you as frugal and in control.

Enneagram wing 7w8

The 7w8 projects a powerful and lustful persona outwardly. You want people to see you as confident and unshakeable in spirit. In reality, you are often running away from things more than you are running towards them. You can overpower other people in conversations and through sheer spirit in order to avoid being distracted by what is really bothering you.