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Enneagram Triads: 2. Hornevian Groups
The second triad of the enneagram deals with the way we approach the world or how we act. Also known as stances, the triads were originally identified by Karen Horney as she classed them by the direction we move in relation to other people. We can move with people, against people or away from people. Whilst I agree with the general idea of these names, I’ve read other articles relating these types to using the three basic actions, thinking, feeling and doing, in different orders. I’ve also seen correlation to the Freudian ideas of ego, superego and id but unfortunately, as much as I love Freud and his radical theories of psychology, only weakly match the triad descriptions. Nevertheless, considering all three in conjunction with each other provide a much richer description of the Hornevian groups. The Assertive Stance - Types 3, 7, 8 This triad is seen as the ‘moving against’ stance. The types are very much focused on acting in a manner to gain what they desire. They are the types that think about what they want and then act do gain this. It’s this focus on the self that matches the Freudian association of the ego. To assert oneself is second nature. This is very obvious with type 8 as they assert themselves very often, sometimes to the point of aggression. For Type 7, the assertion is seen when they pursue new things, asserting their right to fun. Type 3 asserts itself in a more subtle sense, focusing more on their own goals. However, if one was to stand between them and these goals, they would stand up for themselves. The general advice for the Assertive Stance types is to be aware of the other people. The types can often act without thinking about how their actions are affecting people, sometimes with very negative consequences. It the simple notion of thinking before acting but also thinking about others before doing. It’s also interesting to note these types can sometimes have difficulty forming deep, meaningful relationships with people. The Compliant Stance - Types 1, 2, 6 When we talk of the types being compliant, it is a compliance to the superego. The focus is more on society and the people around them rather than themselves as seen with the assertive types. These people ‘move with’ others, focusing on feeling what is happening around them and then acting accordingly. For Type 2 this action is focused on people. The desire to help others and attend to their needs outweighs focusing on their own needs. Type 1 directs their focus to social standards. They act to maintain justice and preserve social law within their groups. Type 6 will act more towards their situation they are present within, constantly assessing its safety and working towards building a secure environment. For the Compliant Stance, sometimes its good to look inward at their own desires. Each type can be self-sacrificing in some way and so to be aware of how your own desires may not be in line with your society’s desires is important in acting in a way that can attend to both. Often, the Complaint Types can be very unaware of how their personal reasoning is heavily influenced by the communities they are involved in.
The Withdrawn Stance - Types 4, 5, 9 The Withdrawn Stance as the name suggests are those types that 'move away’ from people. Here we find the types that focus on thinking and feeling, making them highly imaginative. It is hard to see how their Freudian assocation, the Id, can be linked with these distant types however Freud himself remarked that it was 'thinkers and poets’ who were most in connection with their subconscious. Type 5 often withdraws the most physically, strongly asserting their need for privacy and withdrawing from the world. Type 4 withdraws socially, taking time to construct their own individuality separate from others. While Type 9 doesn’t necessarily physically withdraw from the world, they are guilty of zoning out with people, a mental withdrawal into an inner sanctum of being. Types of the Withdrawn Stance can all benefit from moving themselves into the world and really being present within it. Often the types can develop great skills and talents in their time by themselves but do not ever present these to the world, focusing rather on keeping it all to themselves. It is good to learn that using these skills and showing them to the world can be as rewarding as developing. The Withdrawn Stance also has a unique quirk in that they can feel a disconnect to their humanness, often feeling detached from their body and more present within their imagination and fantasy. The Hornevian Groups are much easier to identify than the Primary Centres. It is also much easier to determine a persons type by first identifying their stance. In addition, all the triads make clear something that we can overlook in typing; personalities are complex. It’s not only our Primary Centre that we have to work on but also how our stance affects us and the way we react to others. Just learning about some of the basic aspects of ourselves gives us a starting point for looking further into each of our rich complexity of being.