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Multiple Enneagram Subtypes/Instincts What's your impression of each of the Instincts?

Elfboy

Certified Sausage Smoker
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
9,625
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
whether you want to answer based on single instincts, stackings or both is up to you.

let's begin

Social
on a preference level, I really don't like it much. something about it doesn't sit well with me on a visceral level; however, I also realize it can it in quite useful in areas I am inept at handling. If Self Preservation types are adept at managing the resources they have effectively, Social types are adept at exchanging and acquiring new resources. whether their objective is to contribute to a given institution, benefit from it as much as possible or both, they excel at it.

Self Preservation
probably my favorite instinct. Sp doms are responsible, hardworking, survival oriented and probably hold the most realistic world view of the three variants. on the flip side however, they can become boring, workaholic and freak out about things that are, in fact, not really a big deal.

Sexual
Exciting, energizing and sexy, but, in my opinion, their impulsiveness and lack of realistic perspective and expectations gets in the way of things. also, the constant desperation, feeling like part of you is missing and seeking merging of energy (preferably with a romantic partner) with another person can get really fucking frustrating sometimes.
 

Entropic

New member
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
Messages
1,200
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
8w9
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Social
Tends to have a smoothness to them, like they know how to smooth things over or move between people without creating friction. They are soft but not dull, unless anti-so at which point they can seem very asocial and quite harsh. I don't get so.

Self-preservation
Has a withdrawn and somewhat laid back vibe about them, like they are holding back of themselves. I think I vibe this more in sp/sx than sp/so that just bores me to death with so/sp not that far behind. If sp/sx, kind of like that clam you try to force open with sx.

Sexual

Energetic and intense. I can smell sexual firsts quite easily unless they are enneatype 9s who for some reason are much harder to vibe. I think it has to do with the way 9 and sloth operates. I second the longing. Painful doesn't even describe it.
 

mintleaf

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
505
MBTI Type
infp
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sp
Social: Very aware of the fact that neither intensity- nor comfort-seeking behaviors alone can sustain human life. At their best, they're simply well-attuned to social structures, not necessarily inclined to adhere to them. Their highly public/global focus can make me uneasy at times, but if balanced out by a healthy secondary interest in either sp or sx, I enjoy being around them.

Self-preservation: Subdued and hard to reach. Usually driven, with a good sense of where they stand, what they want, and how they can get it. Most are hard to offend. This is my third instinct, so I don't understand it well, but some sp's are extremely charming and funny in this subtle way that social and sx-firsts can never emulate.

Sexual: I'm just going to echo what LeaT and Elfboy said. Can maintain an aura of independence, which is often a coping mechanism for intense and unmet desire. Most likely, I'd think, to be dysfunctional. Generally hard to know where you stand with them. Especially if extroverted, their strong desire to bond can be off-putting.
 

Chiharu

New member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
662
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
So: So doms frighten me, but I'm pretty sure that I'm so second. I experience it more as a social sensitivity and wanting to connect with larger groups, but I see so doms as over-involved PTA moms or people with a bazillion facebook friends (that they've actually met).

Sx: We. Are. Too. Damn. Emotional. But we have Johnny Depp <3

Sp: I'm really drawn to sp doms, but they can be so freakin' inhibited.
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
5,059
MBTI Type
INtp
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
SP: Quieter, more reserved. Less outwardly emotional. Rather careful and cautious. Care about safety and health, sometimes too much. Can be risk averse.

SO: Talkative, pleasant. Good social skills and knowing the right thing to say. Sometimes care too much about social status and what others think.

SX: Dynamic, intense. Interesting company but sometimes too intense or clingy. May be rather reckless, especially if SP last.
 
G

garbage

Guest
My stereotypes:

sx
Very 'absolute' and way out at the poles too much. Thus, I can believe about 50% of what they say, be it because their statements are too extreme to be true, or that they'll wind up at the other pole tomorrow.

so
Kinda similar to the sx trap mentioned above, but in a different way. Since they can put on a shiny veneer for any situation, thus hiding what they truly think, I can believe about 50% of what they say, too.

sp
Kinda boring at times. But that's from the outside looking in--it works for them and so I guess I can't fault them. I definitely have this side to me, and.. well, I wouldn't exactly be the life of the party when in this mindset. I can believe 100% of what they say because they don't say very much.
 

Amargith

Hotel California
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
14,717
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
4dw
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Sp is completely foreign to me for the most part and looks almost Superman-like in others

So is what I consider a necessary evil in many cases, though when it does do what it does best for the right reasons it can be amazing :heart:

Sx is where I live. Love the intensity, love the merging, it drives much of what I do. I also -in typical polarizing sx fashion- loathe that it scares so many people, is highly impractical in diplomacy and addictive if you dont watch yourself :doh:
 

skylights

i love
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
7,756
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
Self-Pres - Ichazo identified the e6 sp in particular as being "warm" to disarm, but I think all sp types have a certain earthy warmth about them, and an ease of relations. They don't harbor a native neuroticism about interpersonal interaction, unlike so-first and sx-first. Sp is alert and independent. Doms have a self-containment about them that I always want to break open and burrow into.

Social - Makes me think "social butterfly", for the implication of touching lightly in many places but not tending to settle down. I'm impressed by the awareness level of So-firsts. I suspect several of my favorite friends are and have been So-first - I love getting the news from them. At the same time, the distance they keep is challenging for me to deal with. I want to keep digging deeper when they are ready to move on.

Sexual - Sx seems to me the least... "pure" of the three survival instincts. It's a little dark/paradoxical, because it often involves deliberate self-sacrifice. Most people seem to have gotten beyond "sx means sexy", but I think there's still a lot of hype about this instinct - for example, the idea that it makes people super crazy intense or flamboyant. I think mostly it manifests in addictive and obsessive tendencies, especially in regards to intimacy. But I think sx-doms are fairly normal and commonplace, not really the oddball they're sometimes made to be.
 

Elfboy

Certified Sausage Smoker
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
9,625
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Self-Pres - Ichazo identified the e6 sp in particular as being "warm" to disarm, but I think all sp types have a certain earthy warmth about them, and an ease of relations. They don't harbor a native neuroticism about interpersonal interaction, unlike so-first and sx-first. Sp is alert and independent. Doms have a self-containment about them that I always want to break open and burrow into.
such an Sx/So thing to view Sp doms :laugh:

Social - Makes me think "social butterfly", for the implication of touching lightly in many places but not tending to settle down. I'm impressed by the awareness level of So-firsts. I suspect several of my favorite friends are and have been So-first - I love getting the news from them.
So doms' awareness often leaves me thinking "how the f@#$ did you know that?!"

At the same time, the distance they keep is challenging for me to deal with. I want to keep digging deeper when they are ready to move on.
agreed

Sexual - Sx seems to me the least... "pure" of the three survival instincts. It's a little dark/paradoxical, because it often involves deliberate self-sacrifice.
nah, that's probably more due to superego and Sp last (though, paradoxically, Sp/So can be quite self sacrificing). Id Sx doms are more flashy, self absorbed and attention whoring (with the possible exception of the more earthy 8w9)

Most people seem to have gotten beyond "sx means sexy", but I think there's still a lot of hype about this instinct - for example, the idea that it makes people super crazy intense or flamboyant.
it often does, but not always. for instance, a more modest or introverted Sx dom would probably look at such a person and think "I'm like that on the inside"

I think mostly it manifests in addictive and obsessive tendencies, especially in regards to intimacy.
true dat! it gets really fucking annoying sometimes. it's like your mind locks on to someone with energy that grabs you and your mind thinks "must...have...PREY!"

But I think sx-doms are fairly normal and commonplace, not really the oddball they're sometimes made to be.
I don't think they're common, but they're certainly not as rare as some people make them out to be (according to peeps on typewatch, only 1/20 people are Sx dom LOL). if I had to guess, I'd say around 1/6 of people are Sx dom (and maybe 5/12 So and 5/12 Sp)
 

skylights

i love
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
7,756
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
such an Sx/So thing to view Sp doms :laugh:

Hah, truth! "Let me go against all your instincts cause it'll be super fun I promise". Fortunately the sp/sx secretly like it ;)

So doms' awareness often leaves me thinking "how the f@#$ did you know that?!"

I know! I'm friends with an ENFP so/sp who tells me new details about people we know every time I see her. It can be all of 24 hours and she's bound to have some juicy new tidbit. As an interesting/funny aside, here's how she describes dating, in as close to her words as I can remember: "I don't like dating. It's not fun for me. I just get stressed out. It's fun and everything until they want to get closer. I don't do getting close very well. At that point I'm just like, okay, I'm going home now, bye." She says that her relationships tend to develop out of long friendships, or at the very least slowly and over time, with lots of opportunity for shared experiential bonding.

nah, that's probably more due to superego and Sp last (though, paradoxically, Sp/So can be quite self sacrificing). Id Sx doms are more flashy, self absorbed and attention whoring (with the possible exception of the more earthy 8w9)

That's an interesting point, I can see that. And yes, sp/so can be very self-sacrificing!

a more modest or introverted Sx dom would probably look at such a person and think "I'm like that on the inside"

Right - it can manifest in a number of ways. Some people have natural barriers that stop that sort of expression, while others don't. I have an ESFP 7w8 sx-dom friend who has absolutely no filter whatsoever and she is one of those crazy people.

true dat! it gets really fucking annoying sometimes.

It does. I wonder if the other instincts can be so adamantly annoying. I want to say yes out of general assumption, but truthfully I don't know.

(according to peeps on typewatch, only 1/20 people are Sx dom LOL). if I had to guess, I'd say around 1/6 of people are Sx dom (and maybe 5/12 So and 5/12 Sp)

Yeah, see, that seems pretty low. I think your number sounds more reasonable. I don't deny that sx is probably the least populous (and frankly probably the least useful to long life), but I imagine it probably correlates pretty well with successfully reproducing.
 

Elfboy

Certified Sausage Smoker
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
9,625
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
[MENTION=10496]skylights[/MENTION]
pretty much agreed on everything
 

Cellmold

Wake, See, Sing, Dance
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
6,266
Right - it can manifest in a number of ways. Some people have natural barriers that stop that sort of expression, while others don't. I have an ESFP 7w8 sx-dom friend who has absolutely no filter whatsoever and she is one of those crazy people.

I think I met an Sx Dom ESFP the other day, incredibly annoying, like you said no filter and this notion of "I'm just gonna keep on fucking talking I don't really care what anyone else has to say, cause it's all about me"

Although there could be some projection here, albeit small.
 

Azure Flame

Permabanned
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
2,317
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
8w7
So - warm and affable

Sx - intense and aggressive

Sp - quiet and guarded
 

skylights

i love
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
7,756
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
I think I met an Sx Dom ESFP the other day, incredibly annoying, like you said no filter and this notion of "I'm just gonna keep on fucking talking I don't really care what anyone else has to say, cause it's all about me"

Although there could be some projection here, albeit small.

:shrug:

The ESFP sx girl I know can be obnoxious, but she's not very self-absorbed, and she's actually quite astute. She just doesn't really edit the content of her communication - it's whatever is on her mind or in her feelings. Rather than reframing/adjusting communication based on who she's talking to, it seems like she tends to just share or not share. She talks about sex all the time, both in groups and individually, but it's interesting because she doesn't actually have sex that frequently. I type her ESFP because she's very in the moment, pretty observant, and has that go-with-the-flow xSxP vibe. She's funny because a lot of people write her off as ditzy (which I think is fairly common with ExFPs) but then if you talk to her she really notices a lot more than you'd think to give her credit for. She's a refreshing change because she'll dive right into any subject, no holds barred, but she definitely also can make people feel uncomfortable. I harbor a secret desire to bring her to formal social functions, because she says all the things I'd like to say but don't.
 

sarahmariev

New member
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
5
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
SX - pointed, sharp, focused, intense, dark

SO - warm, effusive, gooey, light

SP - grounded, contained, heavy, opaque

As an interesting/funny aside, here's how she describes dating, in as close to her words as I can remember: "I don't like dating. It's not fun for me. I just get stressed out. It's fun and everything until they want to get closer. I don't do getting close very well. At that point I'm just like, okay, I'm going home now, bye." She says that her relationships tend to develop out of long friendships, or at the very least slowly and over time, with lots of opportunity for shared experiential bonding.

THIS! I am the worst person at dating that ever existed...
 
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