How do you figure what Enneagram wing you are?

[Sniffles]

I know I'm a 4, I just don't know which wing I am.

 

[miss fortune]

dammit... where's Spongie when he could be quite useful?

 

[The Ü™]

I know I'm a 4, I just don't know which wing I am.

Whichever neighboring type of your primary type is higher is your wing.

 

[Sniffles]

Whichever neighboring type of your primary type is higher is your wing.

I guess that would make me a w5?

 

[miss fortune]

quite possibly- have you read up on the 4w5 type much?

 

[miss fortune]

ok- snatched from Wikipedia because I have a headache and am being lazy...

Fours with a dominant Three wing
When healthy can be both successful and inspired. They leave a personal touch in all the works they do while maintaining some connection with the larger world. They enjoy public attention but are also committed to private self-exploration.

When more average they can be provocative and attention-grabbing, whether through art or life. Their emotional turbulances are more on the surface than the more withdrawn Fours with a dominant Five wing and it often translates to immediate and widespread interpersonal impact. They can have problems with vanity and self-indulgence, and can resemble sevens in their love of luxury and pleasure. Unlike Sevens sensations are not sought in themselves but as another accessory to their fantasy identity. They tend to "hide away" once the problems with self-image catch up with them. They can also be competitive, play emotional games and cause "dramas" of various sorts.

When unhealthy they are prone to hysteria and shallow or melodramatic emotional displays. They can have pronounced issues with self-image and shame. They feel justified to act selfishly because of their suffering. Narcissism and jealousy are also common.


Fours with a dominant Five wing
When healthy bring profound creativity and insights of an intrapsychic kind. Their emotions are more under the surface than Fours with dominant Three wing and more private modes of communication (such as writing) are preferred. They have intellectual as well as emotional insights and can often synthesize experiences into something intensely personal yet timeless.

When more average they are devoted to cultivation of a personal worldview, often by philosophical or artistic means. They are more likely than those with a dominant Three wing to be reclusive and out of touch with the greater social world and to compensate they may adopt unconventional or eccentric ways of life. They can be purposefully obscure and enigmatic in their expressions and then have an elitist and contemptuous view of those who failed to understand them. They tend to withdraw for prolonged periods under stress which can leave them further isolated. As a result they are prone to hallucinatory states and total alienation.

When unhealthy they can inhabit a terrifying fantasy-world of their own creation. Their emotional torments are turned inward, causing severe depression and self-destructive thoughts. When average they may romanticize death but when unhealthy they may plunge into it.