skylights
i love
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2010
- Messages
- 7,756
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- 6w7
- Instinctual Variant
- so/sx
Twos want to be loved more than anything, so they will do what's needed to be loved. How that pans out is going to depend on the person, as well as how they are raised/ their environment (not to mention their instinct). They seem to take pride in how they get that love. So a two who gets love by helping is going to be proud of their image as 'helper' while a two who gets love by being seductive is going to be proud of their image as 'seducer'. And so on.
I think many twos keep their pride hidden as much as possible, because they take pride in not appearing proud. I think it's safe to say that all image types pay a lot of attention to how they appear, and when you care about your image, there's always an element of manipulation involved. The person doing the manipulating might not be conscious of it, however, and others might not be, either.
I think a lot of twos are not fond of their line to eight, just as many fours dislike their line to two. It can feel like you're a different person when you switch to that mode. All lines of disintegration can feel like that. But there can also be a positive relationship with the disintegration line when healthier, when it becomes more mature than infantile.
I think this is really good analysis, brainheart.
My mom's a pretty textbook 2w1 as far as I can tell. She took an Enneagram seminar at work and came out as 9, then 2, but we went through her papers together and she felt that 2 fit her better, which I think is true too. Her instinct variant is almost certainly sp/so. I don't really see her much as a "seducer", but she's a very smooth social persuader. She draws people into certain paths of action more than she draws them into herself. Taking on others' burdens is like breathing for her - and it makes her upset if you try to stop her from doing it, like she perceives it as an inconvenience for you to try to help her. She can get pushy if she thinks her strategy is a good one or if she really feels like something would be good for you, so I guess her pride would mostly fall into the "assertiveness" category.
I think there are a lot of kinds of each enneatype. Very influenced by wing and variant, and by MBTI, cultures, a number of other factors. I see what you're saying @Elfboy about not letting that single image of the dutiful helper take over the type description. My mom actually does happen to be the type of 2 that basically word-for-word IS one of "these saintly, dutiful helpers who are constantly putting the needs of others before their own". She's a 2w1 sp/so ESFJ, and that all fits with that description. But a 2w3 sx/so ENFP could be totally, totally different.
brainheart said:Also, I want to know what Naranjo means when he calls that self pres two description 'fourish'. That sure doesn't sound like four to me
I am not really sure I understand this one either. I actually really don't feel like "me-first" is a very good description of any e2, because everyone technically is me-first and a 2 externally is very not me-first. The way I'd identify an Sp-first 2 is they're a 2 and their primary concerns are resources, stability, and comfort. IME that tends to manifest in terms of trying to take care of others' Sp needs as well.