THE ENNEAGRAM-
A SYSTEM TO HELP UNDERSTAND PERSONALITIES
Overview–
Your animated companion will give you an overview of this fascinating personality system. Please take time to listen to her orientation.
Fill out this Enneagram Test before proceeding. Be sure to choose the Free Test, and at the end of it, see which type they give you. https://www.bestenneagramtest.com/free-enneagram-personality-test-and-how-can-i-find-out-my-enneagram-type?gclid=CjwKCAiAx8KQBhAGEiwAD3EiP7hRuVIxYOK8ataIMTTZTUCCv34Wd4udh02NPJvhwOOvEegd2T81bBoCT1IQAvD_BwE
Write down your numbers.
After filling out the test, please come to Psyche’s Sanctuary.
In this sacred space, we will learn about the psychology of scent and explore how we are wired. This name draws inspiration from Greek mythology, where Psyche represents the human soul and mind.
It’s a fitting name for a space dedicated to exploring one’s personality and psychological well-being.
To get there, go to Deck 5. Turn aft and proceed to the end of the corridor; Psyche’s Sanctuary is on the right, overlooking the stern.
Please read the chapter after you arrive at the Sanctuary and find a spot to get comfortable.
Record your Enneagram numbers to compare to the personality analysis and see which parts fit.
Laurie will be showing a video on how the Enneagram types make purchases. A small Voki video with Kate tells you about flower essences. This chapter can be a minor blip in your studies or a fascinating add-on that you use for many aspects of your life, including family, relationships, and client interactions.
The Enneagram-
What does personality have to do with aromatherapy, you may ask? An aromatherapist deals with personalities all the time. Learning more about your personality gives you a deeper understanding of your behaviours, preferences, and priorities. It also gives you a language that helps articulate your wants and needs.
I want you to know that learning about your clients helps you deal with them better in consultations. It enables you to understand their goals, priorities, and the reason for their consultation. Personality style also impacts the way people express their needs and influences what they like aromatically and how they like it delivered.
The Introversion and Extroversion Scale
One of the first distinctions in personality is the scale of introversion and extroversion. Psychologists have talked about this concept for years. Dr. Jung dealt with it in his writing, and the Alberta-born Albert Bandura did extensive work on this subject.
Extroverts get nourishment from the outside—other people, parties, and various types of stimulation. A true extrovert can come back from a party feeling refreshed. Their nervous systems are less sensitive. They need more stimulation to keep them excited and awake-i.e., louder sounds, higher levels of activity, and brighter colours.
An introvert, on the other hand, goes within to become refreshed. They can go to a party but prefer to talk in-depth to one or more people. They can like people, but the stimulation wears them out. They have a more sensitive nervous system and prefer less stimulus.
Most people have introverted and extroverted traits but favour one mode. On the other hand, some people are true ambiverts and possess a personality with an equal proportion of introversion and extroversion.
There are many other helpful personality systems for aromatherapists to work with, and we will explore more of them in the Advanced Practical Potions Program. But right now, we will look at a handy concept called the Enneagram. This system was initially developed in the East. Spiritual leader Gurdjieff westernized it in the early 1900s. Later, psychologists and other individuals and groups interested in personality classification adopted it.
The Enneagram is based on nine personality styles, and before proceeding with the lesson, please try this test to determine which type you may be.
If you still need to fill out the Free Test, and at the end of it, see which type they give you. Could you write down the number? https://www.bestenneagramtest.com/free-enneagram-personality-test-and-how-can-i-find-out-my-enneagram-type?gclid=CjwKCAiAx8KQBhAGEiwAD3EiP7hRuVIxYOK8ataIMTTZTUCCv34Wd4udh02NPJvhwOOvEegd2T81bBoCT1IQAvD_BwE
After taking the test, please write down the number they give you and bring it back to the site to learn more about your style of relating.
Unfortunately, this is an art, not a science, so you might get different responses depending on your test. Make the final call yourself, as no one knows you better!
Studying the Enneagram is fascinating and valuable. It provides enlightening insights into our perceptions and behaviour and a practical way to work with clients.
When you understand the client’s values, you can speak to them meaningfully. For instance, type one people like perfection and are sensitive to criticism or feeling judged. Please make sure your sessions start on time, your space is clean, and your explanations are clear when dealing with type one people.
There will only be one in-house video available with this lesson. There are many Enneagram personality videos available online. Please find a few you like and learn more about the types if this interests you.
Enneagram types
Information on Enneagram types was gleaned from Don Richard Riso, Russ Hudson, and Helen Palmer. Please check out their books and websites for more information.
Ones-
The Reformers
They want to be correct, to have integrity and balance, to strive higher and improve others, to be consistent with their ideals, to justify themselves, and to be beyond criticism so as not to be condemned by anyone.
Healthy: Conscientious, with strong personal convictions. They have an intense sense of right and wrong, personal and moral values. Rational, reasonable, self-disciplined, mature, moderate. Highly principled, one strives to be fair, objective, and ethical. Truth and justice are primary values. Ones are responsible, wise and discerning. They know the best things to do in all circumstances. Humane, inspiring and hopeful that the truth will be heard. Whistleblower.
Average: Dissatisfied with reality. High-minded idealists. Crusaders, advocates, critics. Afraid of making a mistake. Everything must be consistent with their ideals. Orderly, well organized, but impersonal, rigid, emotionally constricted. Workaholics, anal, compulsive, punctual, pedantic. Very opinionated about everything – correcting people and badgering them. Impatient, never satisfied with anything. Moralizing, scolding.
Examples: Mahatma Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Ralph Nader, and Mr. Spock. Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote.
Twos-
The Helpers
They want to be loved, to express their feelings for others, to be needed and appreciated, and to have others respond to them.
Healthy: Empathetic, compassionate, feeling with and for others. Caring and concerned about other’s needs. Twos are outgoing and passionate. They offer friendship and kindness. They are thoughtful, saintly, warm-hearted, forgiving and sincere. Twos are encouraging, appreciative and able to see the good in others. The Helper personality brings out the best in others. They are recognized as nurturing, generous, giving- genuinely loving people. They can be unselfish, humble and able to provide unconditional love.
Average: Engage in “people-pleasing” to be closer to others, becoming overly friendly and emotionally demonstrative. Flatters and strokes others. Talkative, especially about love. Intimate and intrusive twos must be needed so they hover, meddle, and control. Want others to depend on them? Give, but you can expect a return. Increasingly self-important. Seek specific forms of repayment—hypochondriacs, overbearing, and condescending.
Examples: Mother Theresa, Ann Landers, Florence Nightingale, and The “Mother” Stereotypes from many cultures.
Threes-
The Performers
Wants to feel valuable and worthwhile, to be affirmed, to have recognition and attention, to be admired, and to impress others.
Healthy: Self-assured, energetic, and high self-esteem. They believe in themselves. Adaptable, well-adjusted, charming. Realistic, purposeful, and with a good sense of their potential. High-spirited, goal-oriented, and persistent. Industrious, effective. They may have a self-deprecatory sense of humour and can be charitable.
Average: Concerned with performance, doing the job well, being superior, rising above others. Career-driven, social climbers, “winners.” Image-conscious. Present themselves how they think others want to see them. Cut corners, going “too fast.” Lose touch with feelings. Problems with intimacy. Narcissists, exhibitionists.
Examples: Bill Clinton, Sharon Stone, Tony Robbins, Vanna White, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Fours-
The Romantics
They want to be themselves, express themselves in something beautiful, find the ideal partner, withdraw to protect their feelings and take care of their emotional needs before attending to anything else.
Healthy: Self-aware, reflective, and aware of feelings and inner impulses. Sensitive, intuitive, gentle, tactful, compassionate. Highly personal, individualistic, true to their feelings. Self-revealing, emotionally honest, humane. Fours often hold an ironic view of self and life. Creative, inspired, and able to transform their experiences into something valuable.
Average: Artistic, romantic orientation to life. Creates beauty in their environment. Heightens reality through fantasy and imagination. Longs for the idealized partner. Interiorize and personalize things. Self-absorbed, hypersensitive, shy. Temperamental and moody. They feel like outsiders. Melancholy dreamers, disdainful, decadent. Impractical, unproductive and pretentious.
They may have problems or issues with depression.
Examples: Bob Dylan, Virginia Woolf, Rudolf Nureyev, Leonard Cohen.
Fives-
The Eccentrics
Want to be capable, to master a body of knowledge and skill, to remain undisturbed by others.
Healthy: Observe everything with extraordinary perceptiveness and insight. They are mentally alert, curious, and have a searching intelligence. Able to concentrate. Attain skillful mastery of whatever interests them. Innovative, inventive. Independent, idiosyncratic. Visionaries are open-minded and find new ways of doing things.
Average: They work things out in their minds. They are studious, specialized, and intellectual. They are involved in research. They are detached and preoccupied with their imaginary world. They are reclusive, cynical, and isolated.
Examples include Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Stephen King, and Vincent Van Gogh.
Sixes-
The Loyalists
They want to have security, feel supported, have the approval of others, test the attitudes of others toward them, and defend their beliefs.
Healthy sixes are steadfast, earnest, and affectionate. They are dedicated to individuals and movements in which they believe. Community builders are responsible, reliable, and trustworthy. They have good foresight, are great organizers, and are natural troubleshooters. They are hardworking, persevering, and cooperative. They are independent yet cooperative with others. They treat others as equals.
Average: They invest time and energy into whatever they believe will be safe and stable. They are imaginative. Sixes are worriers who anticipate problems. They can become argumentative and rebellious. They seek clear guidelines. They gravitate toward authority figures, accept too much, and then push back. They are evasive, indecisive, and ambivalent. They have intense self-doubt and suspicion about others’ motives. These people are an enigma. They need help to figure it out.
Examples: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Candice Bergen, Princess Dianna, Woody Allen, Marilyn Munroe, and “George Costanza” from the Seinfeld television show.
Sevens-
The Epicureans
They want to be happy and satisfied, have various experiences, keep their options open, enjoy life and escape anxiety.
Healthy: Highly responsive, excitable, and enthusiastic. The most extroverted type. Lively, cheerful, eager. They become accomplished achievers—generalists, multi-talented. They are deeply grateful for what they have. Visionaries, great at selling ideas. Network builders.
Sevens are awed by the simple wonders of life.
Average: Materialistic, worldly, constantly amusing themselves with new things and experiences. Hyperactive, unable to say “no” to themselves. Uninhibited, doing & saying whatever comes to mind. Fear of boredom keeps in perpetual motion. Superficial. Overbooked, late for appointments. Self-centred, greedy. Run from anxiety-provoking situations. When out of balance, eights may become demanding, pushy, aggressive, addictive, and insensitive.
Examples: John Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Bette Midler, and Jack Nicholson.
Eights-
The Defenders
The world is an unjust place. I defend the innocent. They want to be self-reliant, resist their weaknesses, assert themselves, stay in control, and prevail over others.
Healthy: assertive, confident, strong, decisive, and authoritative. A natural leader people can look up to. Take initiative, make things happen, and champion people. Courageous.
Average: Self-sufficient, financially independent, pragmatic, rugged individualists, wheeler-dealers. 8’s are risk-taking and hard-working. They deny their own emotional needs. They can begin to dominate their environment and the people in it.
They are proud and egocentric. They can become combative and intimidating. Everything becomes a test of will. They try to control the people around them, which is bullying behaviour.
Examples: Martin Luther King Jr., Roosevelt, Mikhail Gorbachev, Sean Connery, Barbara Walters, Donald Trump, Napoleon, and Don Vito Corleone. Ralph Klein.
Nines-
The Peacemakers
The World won’t value my efforts. Stay comfortable. Keep the peace. To have serenity and peace of mind, create harmony in the environment, and preserve things as they are, to avoid conflicts and tension, to escape upsetting problems and demands on them.
Healthy: Receptive, accepting, unselfconscious, stable, and serene. Trusting with self and others. At ease with self and life.
Innocent and simple, patient, unpretentious, good-natured, imaginative, creative, attuned to nonverbal communication, optimistic, reassuring, and supportive, they have a healing and calming influence and bring people together.
Average: Self-effacing, agreeable, accommodating, idealizing others, going along with things to avoid conflict. It needs to be more responsive and complacent. Walking away from problems and sweeping them under the carpet. Passive, disengaged. Hazy thinking, mostly about fantasies. Unwilling to exert self. Passive-aggressive. Stubborn, resistant to influence. Creates conflicts through denial and fixity.
Avoids anger and conflict. Friendly, likable, and easy to get along with.
Ambivalent about personal decisions. Postpones decisions. Allows things to fall apart through neglect. Will not make decisions.
Examples: Abe Lincoln, Walt Disney, Edith Bunker, and Marg Simpson.
Learning your client’s Enneagram type will also give clues about their tendency to be introverted or extroverted.
Twos, three’s, seven’s and eights tend to be extroverts.
Fours, fives, and nines are generally more introverted.
One’s and sixes are closer to ambiverts.
Consider which essential oils might stimulate or calm the nervous system to balance your client’s tendency to extroversion or introversion.
Key Personality Weaknesses of the Types
1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Deceit
4. Envy
5. Avarice-(Holding onto resources and giving of themselves for fear of being depleted.)
6. Fear
7. Gluttony
8. Lust
9. Sloth
These personality soft spots may be addressed using scent to boost the strengths.
Enneagram –
Aromatherapy & Flower Essence Chart
Below, we will discuss a chart of the Enneagram, Essential Oils, and Flower Essences (Developed by Laurie).
I’ve explained the definitions used in the chart below.
The Enneagram is a system of personality classification using nine archetypes. Each personality type has different strengths, weaknesses, and patterns of behaviour. To determine your type, find a good enneagram questionnaire and fill it out. You can pick out your enneagram type by looking at the keywords in front of the chart. The essential oils and flower essences suggested for each type may enhance their best characteristics and help balance their more challenging characteristics.
The Chart uses Aromatherapy, which you know well and Flower Essences, which may be new to you, to address mental/emotional issues the enneagram types may experience.
Aromatherapy-
Steam-distilled, cold-pressed, absolutes or CO2-processed plant oils are used. These pure oils will affect the brain just by sniffing. Their tiny molecules travel up the nasal passages and hit different parts of the brain to help balance moods and create a pleasant atmosphere. Mixed in cold-pressed vegetable oils (such as almond, olive, and apricot), they can be used for massage. Use a 1-5 % ratio of essential oil to 95-99% vegetable oil. Used on the body, oils can heal and relax. Add 3-10 drops of essential oil into cream or full-fat milk and stir into the tub to create a sublime bath. Avoid oils or use with care if you are asthmatic, pregnant or epileptic. Please do not take it internally, as some oils are toxic. Keep away from children. Do not use undiluted on the skin.
Flower Essences-
Video- Kate explains what flower essences are. Please press play.
The use of plant energies in a vibrational form. The flower essences are made by floating flowers in purified water in a crystal receptor. The resulting elixir taken internally is said to help clear emotional & spiritual patterns.
If the suitable essences are chosen, they can help bring the light into the soul to help turn a trait from negative to positive, i.e. stubbornness becomes perseverance. The idea is to create an affirmation around the essence. A common way to take them is under the tongue, 4 drops 4 X a day, repeating the affirmation. The essence is taken for a moon cycle of 28 days. If the issue feels resolved, the essence may be stopped.
We teach flower essence courses in the earth spirit program of www.northernstarcollege.com
We also offer free information on flower essences at our business website, www.selfhealdistributing.com. When you visit the site, go to Flower Essences for a wealth of information.
You may not yet have encountered all the essential oils mentioned in the chart; this summary will give you a small overview of the psychological aspects of the essential oils suggested for the Enneagram Types. may
Essential Oils- For the Chart on Enneagram Types
Angelica is said to call forth angels or bring out the inner guiding light.
Basil: Diffuse this oil to sharpen powers of concentration, thinking, and logic.
Bergamot: Diffuse this scent to help uplift grey moods and encourage lightness and joy.
Black Pepper: Diffuse for a warm, grounding, lively scent.
Blue Chamomile: During a massage, it decreases irritability and inflammation and adds a calm, healing quality.
Cabreuva: Use as part of a massage oil blend to enhance flexibility and release stubborn attachments.
Clary Sage: An uplifting, cleansing oil to release tension and rigidity.
Frankincense helps deepen communion with the soul and karmic past. It also helps slow one’s pace to gain perspective.
Hyacinth: Diffuse in the air to help reach a psychological state of nirvana. It’s a perfect scent.
Jasmine: A compelling, erotic oil with a passionate, complex, creative personality.
Lavender is a calming, protective oil that helps to take the edge off irritability and aids in a peaceful, empathetic state.
Lemon: This stimulating, uplifting scent aids brilliant thinking and clarity.
Linden: A calming, uplifting, joyful scent. It helps dissipate even the most severe funk.
Marjoram: This sedative, centring oil, is used in massages to relieve muscle pain.
Neroli: An oil to uplift moods, decrease fears, and heighten confidence.
Oakmoss: A very grounding, gently strengthening oil to help one experience the richness of their own heart.
Patchouli: This very seductive essence helps people warm to their romantic side.
Pine: Apply this strengthening oil to the adrenal glands (on top of the kidneys) to help with burnout and exhaustion.
Roman Chamomile is soothing, meditative, and very calming. It helps one achieve a spiritual, relaxed, and nonjudgmental state.
Rose—the queen of oils—expands and opens the heart. It helps dissolve grief, making room for joy to enter.
Rosemary: An energizing oil. Diffused, it is excellent for promoting clear thinking and cleansing the air.
Rosewood: A grounding, warming, balancing oil. To help centre and relax.
Sandalwood: A balancing, strengthening oil that is cleansing and revitalizing.
Spruce: Apply to the adrenal glands to help regenerate from exhausted, depleted states.
Vanilla: A warm, calming oil to help soothe and bring a sense of familiarity into an environment.
Vetiver: A grounding, powerful oil with a lot of “scentual” charisma.
Yarrow: A mystical, protecting oil that helps the wearer create healthy boundaries.
Ylang: A calming, uplifting oil that aids relaxation and dissipates anger.
Yuzu: A surprising, quirky oil. Its enthusiastic, effervescent personality has many dimensions to explore.
Disclaimer- This chart is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to treat or diagnose. Please always seek the help of a healthcare professional for psychological or physical problems.
How the Enneagram Types
Purchase Essential Oils
Information similar to that within the video is written below- in
A Light Look at the Enneagram Types As Aromatherapy Clients-
Reason for Oil-
ONES
To relax, to create a perfectly scented environment, or just the right scent for self.
Name of Blend- “Scents of Perfection”
How They Make A Decision.
Partly analytical. What is the “best, most perfect” scent? Despite the analysis, they end up going with their gut-level reaction.
Reason for Oil-
TWOS
To please someone else. To smell pleasant. To create a loving environment.
She is maybe buying a gift for another.
“Scents of Love”
How They Make A Decision
They may ask for someone else’s opinion- like yours. The decision will ultimately be based on emotion.
Reason for Oil-
THREES
To smell appropriate for work. To have others admire their scent.
“Scents of Success” Threes also love what is popular and what will gain them status.
They also like their environment to smell tasteful.
How They Make A Decision
What would smell appropriate? What will promote a favourable image? What will draw approval?
Reason for Oil-
FOURS
To bring back old memories, i.e. of loved ones or when they felt special. To promote and bolster their moods and feelings. To create atmosphere and glamour.
“Scents of Imagination”
How They Make A Decision
Emotionally based on feelings and fantasy.
Reason for Oil-
FIVES
Curiosity. What can these oils do? They may like unusual oils and be attracted to learning all the details about them.
“Scents of Brilliance”
How They Make A Decision
Intellectual. May research oil’s properties and effects. They might be
slow and analytical about their decisions. It is well thought out, possibly cost-conscious.
Reason for Oil-
SIXES
It is used to relax, feel less anxious, and reduce stress. To slow down their minds.
“Scents of Trust”
How They Make A Decision
Type sixes may initially ask for someone else’s opinion but then flip back to their impression. May rely on references from experts who say the oil will do something specific.
Reason for Oil-
SEVENS
To heighten pleasure. To explore aromatherapy as a new experience, a new “high.”
“Scents of Adventure”
How They Make A Decision
They like to involve others and get lots of attention- an audience.
Intellectual process in actual buying- the best scent for the money. It might make it a scent-sniffing party.
Reason for Oil-
EIGHTS
For practical reasons. Want to smell attractive and powerful? They want to define their territory with scent.
“Scents of Power”
How They Make A Decision
Quick, decisive, based on own preferences. Gut-level reactions.
Songs- Do It My Way- Frank Sinatra; Stand By Me, Or Not At All.
Reason for Oil-
NINES
To create a peaceful, enjoyable atmosphere. To heighten their sense of peace and relaxation.
“Scents of Peace”
How They Make A Decision
Slowly. They may need to come back and re-sniff a few times. They will often stick to the oils they enjoy once they have decided.
Downloads for this lesson are located below.