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What's Better - Enneagram Wings or Tritype?

What's Better - Tritype or wings?


  • Total voters
    50

Thinkist

New member
Joined
Dec 7, 2011
Messages
128
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I've seen that method before, and I favor it. The only problem is how to include/notate the instinctual variants.
 

Mycroft

The elder Holmes
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
1,068
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
Are you an INTP?

I dunno, maybe.

Anyway, what Ygolo said. (Although I'm not sure "wrong" is the word I'd go with, but I agree with the sentiment.)
 

Asterion

Ruler of the Stars
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
2,331
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I find tritype works well. It helps explain differences between two people of the same type better than wings do.
 

Morpeko

Noble Wolf
Joined
Sep 20, 2017
Messages
5,414
MBTI Type
LEFV
Enneagram
461
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I would say tritype.

I generally find wings to be quite unimportant, actually. They just look nice with the types, so I'll suggest wings to people, and for myself as well. I don't think wings distinguish different kinds of the same type particularly well, though.

Tritype can be used as a cheap way to show uncertainty in your type (and believe me, I've used it for this reason in my past). I don't like that as much. However, thinking about enneagram in terms of triads can be useful, and trying to identify which type you identify with most in your non-prominent triads is also useful. I also do think it's a better way of showing the differences between two people with the same core. For example, as a philosopher, I won't relate to a gentle spirit as much, even if we are the same core.
 

Peter Deadpan

phallus impudicus
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
8,883
I think it's important to lean into one's weaker wing to attain more balance, on the high side of health of course. Tritype is a fascinating theory, but I think it's less stable and because the system is actually rather dynamic with movement throughout it, it can be difficult to nail down an actual accurate lifelong tritype, especially if there are dysregulation issues present.

If something serves you in the moment, then use it, but be aware that you might be completely incorrect and thus carelessly blind to your true self. It's much easier to see from the outside, so try to get out of the grip of your ego, yo.

I like answering questions without actually answering them. :coffee:
 

Luminous

༻✧✧༺
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
10,235
MBTI Type
Iᑎᖴᑭ
Enneagram
952
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I think wings are more important in that we use our wing more than we use the other numbers in our tritypes. The wing flavors our core. It's seeping into our core. Only after our mixed core and wing do we head onto the rest of our tritype. That said, it's more fun to think about and play around with tritype, easier to try to narrow down the types of others, look at different triads, etc.
 

chickpea

perfect person
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
5,729
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
i voted wing, and probably still agree, but i do really like tritype and think it does a good job showing the different flavors of each enneagram type.

i actually relate slightly more to 5>7 as a head fix, but i felt that my 7 influence is something i needed to reflect so i chose it over 5 for my tritype.
 

RadicalDoubt

Alongside Questionable Clarity
Joined
Jun 27, 2017
Messages
1,848
MBTI Type
TiSi
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
By theory, your wing is probably more important than your tritype, hence I voted wing. In theory, your core type alongside wing should be able to "explain" anything that tritype itself works to explain. However, I do think tritype is important/useful, as it adds diversity to the ways that each type can present. Essentially, tritype seems to work to explain what aspects of your specific type are accented (ie. a 9 with a 4 or 5 fix, for example, will have their withdrawn traits of being inwardly focused or un-initiating accented while one with a 6 and or 3 fix may have their attachment traits, such as a tendency to be satisfied/accommodating towards life and merging traits accented). It also can show the effect that each of the core fixations (shame, fear, anger) effect an individual.
 

Vendrah

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Messages
1,947
MBTI Type
NP
Enneagram
952
I would say tritype.

I generally find wings to be quite unimportant, actually. They just look nice with the types, so I'll suggest wings to people, and for myself as well. I don't think wings distinguish different kinds of the same type particularly well, though.

Tritype can be used as a cheap way to show uncertainty in your type (and believe me, I've used it for this reason in my past). I don't like that as much. However, thinking about enneagram in terms of triads can be useful, and trying to identify which type you identify with most in your non-prominent triads is also useful. I also do think it's a better way of showing the differences between two people with the same core. For example, as a philosopher, I won't relate to a gentle spirit as much, even if we are the same core.

Just to not make you feel alone in this thread this year/month, I voted tri-type as well.
Tri-type carries more information about your type than the wing, it has more potential for a deeper description than the wings. It also has more degrees of freedom for a secondary type (since you can choose between 6 types instead of just 2).
 

Kasper

Diabolical
Joined
May 30, 2008
Messages
11,590
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
Holy old threads!

Depends on how you want to use the Enneagram imo, if you’re looking for a label that can put you in a box with a bow on top then go for tritype, hell, add wings for each of your tritype points along with disintegration/integration points and you can have a unique sequence that can explain every last behaviour by the fancy unique way you relate to each of the 9 types.

If you view Enneagram as a system for growth and development then toss tritype in the bin, your core motivations, fears and holy concept highlight weaknesses that require growth, wing or subtype (depending on the core type) can add other relevant factors.

I accept the concept of tritype and it can be a fun waste of time to figure it out but the core fears and motivations of an E4 are not my issues to address even though it’s my heart fix and they never will be etc., so it adds no value unless you’re making money selling tests.
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Enneagram is an odd system in that it's less a logical all-encompassing map of personality and mainly nine archetypes of personality. One could say something similar about the 16 MBTi types, although there those types are being constructed of evaluation of smaller blocks (function pairs) which are then combined to create "types". However, enneagram assumes the archetypes themselves are the foundation and complete in themselves.

Wings and tritypes are basically ways (along with the variants) to expand on enneagram and provide additional flavor.

I'm not sure what the justification ever was regarding wings being confined to the two types to either side of an archetype -- aside from the word "wing" itself. The entire system seems more creative than rationally derived. In that sense, I don't really see wings as any better than tritypes. Wings work really well for some times, not as much for others. (Like, 5w4 is very common and seems to be reflected, for example, or 7w8, or 1w2 / 2w1; but maybe some of the other pairings, not so much or harder to see reflected IRL?)

Tritypes are just a flavoring that expands on enneagram archetypes by taking the prioritized type from each locus area (head, heart, gut), then looking at how the three enneagram types would likely play out in that personality mix with the archetypes prioritized a certain way. So at least it has the benefit of taking foundational pieces (the archetypes) and then logically building on how they would likely play out in proximity to each other. MBTI does this in but starts with the functional pairs as the building blocks, to build its own archetypes (the 16 types).

Anyway, as far as the most useful, since both wings and tritypes seem arbitrary? Probably tritypes, because at least it allows you to prioritize all the archetypes in a particular personality blend, versus wings, which just restricts you to influences on either side of an archetypes in the enneagram diagram which might or might not be categorically useful. But I consider the enneagram as just a way to describe a personality, rather than a system that covers the full delineated grid of personality (put another way, if you don't fall into one of the nine buckets, you land in dead space somewhere, rather than on a grid -- but the wings and tritype try to alleviate that a bit, which is why they spawned and evolved, to compensate).
 

Maou

Mythos
Joined
Jun 20, 2018
Messages
6,117
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Tritype, because humans are more complex than a singular message and mode of operation. You can simplify the modes and messages, but people will always have more than one.
 

Saturnal Snowqueen

Solastalgia 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
6,124
MBTI Type
FELV
Enneagram
974
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
For me, tritype. For me, while my wing's influence is definitely there, I feel like at the end of the day wings explains the "whys" behind your core(for example, the w8 gets autonomy from the 9s peace seeking and the 1 a sense of "goodness"). Which isn't unimportant, but for me tritype has helped me unlock more of myself. The theory of disintegration and integration and your wing explaining why you relate to over types sounds valid, but for me as a 94 stem who relates strongly to both 9 and 4, there's no explanation for why I'd relate to both types to much except maybe shared withdrawn triad. The 3 types in your tritype explain how you deal with fear, anger, and shame, which I've found most useful in really knowing why I do the things I do and feeling like my motives were being understood. When I typed as a 9, I just felt like the 1 was an appendage getting in the way, that it was there but what do I do with it? It flavors my core yes, but as a flavor to the core it feels like there's nothing much to do with it, not as much to analyze. Some people have weak wings, and some have wings so strong you mistake their core for their wing, so knowing how weak one's wings can be makes it feel more meaningless. Shame and fear are such strong emotions in me, so with tritype it feels like there's way more there to analyze. They say tritypes can make things more cluttered, but I don't have that problem, I believe all my fixes compliment each other equally, not to mention I don't feel like a person has to have one main triad(like the disintegration and integration points of 1 are all frustration triad).
 

Pessimistic Hippie

New member
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Messages
454
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
469
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I just think they both serve their purpose/I wouldn't be the same person if either of them changed. I guess it's hard for me to say because they aren't mutually exclusive for me..like picking socks or sneakers.
 

Kanra Jest

Av'ent'Gar'de ~
Joined
Jun 30, 2015
Messages
2,388
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
4w3
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Both have their uses. But I'd say tritype with wings is the closest we'd get to the complexity that is the human psyche.
 
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