Me personally, I find Enneagrams to reflect more of what "Holy Idea", "Basic Fear and Desire", and "Temptation" you have as well as which Enneagram you retreat to in stress and which Enneagram you "move" to during growth, and characteristics and behaviors are an observation of the vast majority. That just might be me, though.
But to answer your question:
The Holy Idea for Type 2 would be Holy Will, while the Holy Idea for Type 9 would be Holy Love. But don't think that Type 9's are better than Type 2's because they want Love over Will. It's just the word choice; both have an equal amount of perks and flaws. But to translate: Our Holy Ideas are what we think of as a ideal life. Holy Will is the thought that a good life will present itself if we are selfless and caring. This causes Type 2's to surrender their needs and desires in hopes that they could get something good out of what they believe is right. Type 9's Holy Idea of Holy Love, however, is the thought that there would be universal love between others if there's no conflict. This causes Type 9's to retreat from conflict in hopes that they could get something good out of what they believe is right.
Basic Fear is a lot easier to understand. It is a fear the Enneagram Type has that drives the Temptation, and ties into their Basic Desires. Type 2's have the Basic Fear of being unloved. They are afraid that they cannot be loved or will never be loved, causing them to desire others' love and affection. This causes them to be self-sacrificing and manipulative, usually because many people have been taught this was the way to get love and affection. Type 9's have a Basic Fear of "separation". (Just think the opposite of cooperation. The word choice is a bit confusing... so sorry about that) They are afraid that others would "separate" or not get along, causing them to desire wholeness and peace. This causes them to avoid conflict and not be assertive, usually because they have been taught that this was the way to have wholeness and peace.
When in stress, many Enneagram Types will retreat to the negative parts of another Enneagram. This is how Nature helps us survive. In order to grow as a person, Enneagram Types would go to a Type that has good traits and perks contradicting their Basic Fear and Temptations. This isn't to say you become a different Enneagram in stress or growth. It just means that in stress, you take on the negative traits of a specific Enneagram Type while in growth, you take on the positive traits of a specific Enneagram Type. With Type 2's, they take on the negative traits of Type 8, such as trying to act tough to not get hurt or taking control just to gain control, in stress; when in growth, however, they take on the positive traits of Type 4, such as being more creative for
themselves and more emotionally aware. With Type 9's, they take on the negative traits of Type 6, such as becoming anxious of possible - sometimes unlikely - scenarios and jump to conclusions, in stress; when in growth, however, they take on the positive traits of Type 3, such as being
part of the group by bettering themselves instead of withdrawing and "fixing" the group overall and being more assertive.
There's also the fact that these two types are in completely different Triads and "Assertive-Withdrawal-Compliant" Triads. (There's no common name for this group for some reason.) Type 2 is in the Heart Triad, which means they have an "identity crisis" so to speak. They focus more on their feelings and how others think of themselves, which is seen in Type 2's when they become self-sacrificing and manipulative to make others think that they have the "caretaker" identity. They are also Compliant, focusing on society. Type 2's usually focus on the people, focusing on people's needs over their own. Type 9 is in the Gut Triad, which means they have an "environmental crisis" so to speak. They focus more on how they can help make an ideal world, which is seen in Type 9's when they become passive and avoid conflict to create an ideal world of a peaceful environment. They are also Withdrawn, focusing on "moving away" (It makes more sense once you dive into it) Type 9's usually focus on "moving away" from reality into their own little harmonious world.
Hope this helped! I'm sorry if you had to read a lot, but hey, you made it to the end! Thanks for taking the time to read my (mini) essay, and wish you the best in figuring out if you're a Type 9 or Type 2.
