Ones through Fives -
Stress/Security Points, Wings and Subtypes
Copyright © 1994, 1998 The Changeworks


What are Wings?

What are Stress & Security Points?
Ones
Twos
Threes
Fours
Fives
Sixes through Nines
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What are Wings?

Your core style has a built-in relationship to the numbered styles on either side of it. This is a part of the theoretical formulation of the Enneagram that I've found to be both accurate and useful.

So if Two is your core style, you will have an intuitive connection to Ones or Threes or both. Within being a Two, you would have a basic orientation to other people. This will be influenced and modified by a preoccupation with principle and idealism (1 wing) or an extra sociable, achievement-oriented drive (3 wing). These are inherent connections; they are just there.

If you know your core style and think about it further, you can usually identify a wing that you favor. The healthy qualities of your wings are available to you almost like talents. The unhealthy qualities exist as potential pitfalls. Depending on your focus, you can tap the high side resources of your wings or unconsciously fall to the unhealthy side.

Somewhere between 60 and 70 % of the population have just one active wing, and will have an obvious connection that they can identify. This means that their other wing is unconscious and latent. The remainder of the population have both wings active and will have a combination of motivations that reflect their joint influence.

Throughout the reviews, I discuss various characters who illustrate particular wings. At the end of each chapter is a reference section called "Finer Distinction Notes." This includes mini-profiles of wings, connecting points, and subtype themes as they influence the specific Enneagram style. These are written impressionistically, just to give the flavor of each.

 

What are Stress & Security Points?

Within your core style you also have a built-in connection to two other Enneagram styles. These connections are often called stress and security points. Just as with wings, you can recognize an intuitive, unconscious link from your core style to your connecting points.

The words "stress" and "security" are used as neutral descriptive terms. When you are under pressure, for instance, you will tend to temporarily access the attitudes and motivations of your stress point. So under stress a principled One might begin to act like a self-pitying, melancholy Four. When relaxed, she would begin to manifest the attitudes of her security point, the playful high side of Seven. As a neutral description of what sometimes happens this is true as far as it goes.

A lot of writers have taken these connecting points to mean something more. In book after book, the stress point is called an unhealthy direction in general and the security point is portrayed as the general path to psychological health. The security point is called the direction of growth, integration, redemption, while the stress point is called the direction of decline, disintegration, breakdown, etc. These are presented as directions to avoid or cultivate when attempting to work on the dilemmas of your core Enneagram style.

I understand a teacher's desire to provide direction and a theorist's need to create a complete and unified theory. Unfortunately, unified theories about human behavior never hold together very long. Our personal psychology is a messy, complex process. Consequently, theorists usually have to ignore contradicting facts to keep their theories intact. It would be nice to think that within your Enneagram style there was one sure direction out, a royal road to health and well-being. It's just not what happens.

When people are unhealthy or under stress, they manifest the neurotic behavior and defenses of both their stress and security points in a kind of cycle. They will also manifest the unhealthy elements of their wings; not to mention their core style. These are the ingredients of being stuck or lost in a downward spiral and they all tend to reinforce one another. No one element offers a magic direction out and how people change and grow is a whole other subject.

The same is true when someone is healthy or relaxed within their being. The high side qualities of both their stress and security points will be evident and support a kind of upward spiral. The powers and resources of both wings are also be available as someone operates out of the healthy perspective of their core style.

Two films in the chapter on Ones put the case quite succinctly. Joan Plowright's character in Enchanted April is on an upward spiral and manifests the high side qualities of both her connecting points. Fredric March's character in Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde is sinking into decline and his two connecting points reinforce each other negatively. These generalized connections -- both healthy and unhealthy -- are evident in many, many films listed in this book and are discussed throughout.

 

SUBTYPE THEMES

The original formulation of the Enneagram states that within each style there are three possible suborientations that people tend towards. Your subtype is determined by whether you are unconsciously preoccupied with personal survival (self-preservation), whether you incline towards one-to-one relationships (intimate) or whether your style of relating includes a lot of people (social). Most politicians, for instance, would likely be social subtypes.

Author Margaret Frings Keyes describes these subtypes with the phrase "the One, the Few and the Many." The subtypes relate to three key realms of life -- how we take care of ourselves, the realm of close relationships and how we relate socially to the larger world. We all have portions of our attention and energy focused on these three realms. Within your core Enneagram style, however, you might habitually favor a particular realm more than the others.

As with wings, it's possible to have more than one subtype theme in your life. The content of the themes is different for each Enneagram style and explained both in the reviews and at the end of each chapter.

Subtypes are especially useful for recognizing what further motivates you within the core framework of your style. Movie stories favor some subtypes far more than others, as we shall see.




Ones - Fine Distinctions
One With a 9 Wing

Ones with this wing can have an aura of 9-like calm although eruptions of temper are possible. Often have a detached quality and can be mistaken for Fives. Tendency to formulate and embrace principles that have little human content, but this is also their strength. When awakened, may be objective and balanced, cool and moderate in their evaluations. More entranced, might have perfectionistic expectations that are not humanly possible to meet. May hold social or political opinions that are supremely logical but ultimately heartless and draconian. The rules come first no matter what. Can be merciless or unwittingly cruel.

Often a little colorless in their personal appearance. Many Ones with this wing are plain dressers, preferring functional clothing that is appropriate to context but not flashy. The emphasis on function may extend to their general lifestyle. Practicality is highly valued.

Real-Life Ones With a 9 Wing: The culture of the Amish, David Brower, Angela Davis, Michael Dukakis, Harrison Ford, Ralph Nader, John Cardinal O'Connor, Colin Powell, the culture of the Puritans, Yitzhak Rabin, Vanessa Redgrave, Bernard Shaw.

Movie Ones With a 9 Wing: Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond; Harrison Ford, The Mosquito Coast; Alec Guinness, The Bridge On The River Kwai; Katharine Hepburn, Rooster Cogburn; Anthony Hopkins, The Remains Of The Day; Jack Lemmon, Missing; Lilia Skala, Lillies Of The Field; Tom Skerritt, A River Runs Through It.


One With a 2 Wing
This wing generally brings more interpersonal warmth. High standards are tempered by humanism. May understand and partly forgive humanity for not doing its best. Work hard to improve the conditions of others, sacrificing time and energy to do good works.

When more entranced, can be volatile and self-righteous. Authoritarian inflation and moral vanity on the low side. Can give scolding lectures or display a kind of touchy emotionalism. "Do as I say, not as I do" attitudes possible. Hypocrisy likely because the person is so convinced they have moral good intentions. Overlook inconsistencies in their own behavior. Dependency in relationships. Far more likely to be a jealous intimate subtype than Ones with a 9 wing.

Real-Life Ones With a 2 Wing: Jane Alexander, William Bennett, John Bradshaw, Susan Brownmiller, Hillary Clinton, Barry Goldwater, Lillian Hellman, Glenda Jackson, Miss Manners, Gregory Peck, H. Ross Perot, Sidney Poitier, Marilyn Quayle, Meryl Streep, Joanne Woodward.

Movie Ones With a 2 Wing: Norma Aleandro, The Official Story; Glenn Close, The World According To Garp; Katharine Hepburn, Summertime; Glenda Jackson, House Calls; Gregory Peck, To Kill A Mockingbird; Joan Plowright, Enchanted April; Sam Waterston, The Killing Fields.


CONNECTING POINTS (Stress and Security)
One's Connection to 7

Healthy connection to 7 supports qualities like playfulness, flexibility and good cheer. Ones relax their judgmental stances, let themselves play. Sensuality can emerge plus an improved sense of humor. Creative imagination is enhanced, an appreciation of paradox develops. Begin to enjoy life, loosen the rules and look for what's going right.

When more entranced, Ones fight their Sevenish feelings. May feel a desire for freedom which they squelch in the service of being good. "Illegal" impulses come through anyway. Ones having this struggle become less reliable, more hypocritical and escapist. Addictive appetite a factor, could drink alcohol to relax, for instance. Extreme version is episodic escapes, breaking completely free of the rules to go on illicit adventures. Called "trapdoor Ones."

Movie Ones who demonstrate this connection: Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins; Harrison Ford, The Mosquito Coast; Anthony Hopkins, The Bounty; Glenda Jackson, House Calls; Jack Lemmon, Missing; Fredric March, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde; Michael O'Keefe, Nate And Hayes; Joan Plowright, Enchanted April; Paul Scofield, A Man For All Seasons; Kiefer Sutherland, Flashback.

One's Connection to 4
Healthy connection to 4 brings Ones access to inner feelings and a romantic, sometimes poetic streak. Experience soulful, sometimes contradictory, feeling states. Discover how they really feel in contrast to the way they "should" feel. Creative artistic imagination combines with playful high side of 7. Attraction to art, however latent. Make place for the aesthetic and spiritual in their lives.

Downside can reinforce dissatisfaction with reality. Ones can get morose and feel sadly alone in their efforts to reform others. Fourish yearning to live in a better, more ideal society. Sense of defect that may sink into self-loathing and self-indictment. Turn their standards violently against themselves. May remorsefully vow to suppress their flaws which sets up the next episode of "bad" behavior. Self-indulgent Fourish sense of being exempt from normal consequences reinforces "trapdoor" syndrome mentioned earlier.

Movie Ones who demonstrate this connection: Katharine Hepburn, Summertime; Anthony Hopkins, The Remains Of The Day; Raul Julia, Kiss Of The Spider Woman; Fredric March, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde; Paul Newman, Mr. And Mrs. Bridge; Gregory Peck, Old Gringo; Joan Plowright, Enchanted April; Rosalind Russell, Picnic; Tom Skerritt, A River Runs Through It.

SUBTYPE THEMES
Self-Preservation

Characterized by a tendency towards worry and negative anticipation, especially as it relates to material well-being. Can seem a little like Sixes. They fret about how to avoid making mistakes that could jeopardize survival. Petty, finicky quality; could seem "penny-wise and pound-foolish." Sense of being undeserving or inadequate - try to compensate with worry. As a parent or friend, they might be critical and nurturing by turns, wanting to protect you from the same negative consequences they worry about.

Self-preservation Ones are not plentiful in movies, but some good examples are Hector Alterio in The Official Story, Melvyn Douglas in I Never Sang For My Father, Joel McCrea in Ride The High Country, and Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.

Intimate
May be preoccupied with their romantic partner. Have high expectations based on having idealized their beloved. Their partner is supposed to be perfect man or woman. One's reaction is jealous judgment if their beloved acts in less-than-ideal ways. Jealous Ones may drive partners away with endless criticism.
Can have a dependent tendency related to the low side of 2. Most intimate Ones have a 2 wing. Also there's a melancholy yearning and fear of abandonment fueling the One's criticism. Connection to the low side of 4.

I found very few intimate Ones in movies but Geraldine Page in The Beguiled displays some of this theme. In The Official Story, Hector Alterio's basic subtype is self-preservation but he has eruptions of jealousy that are based on his high expectations of his wife. Also Cliff Robertson shows this theme to a degree in the movie Picnic.

Social
Social subtype Ones are everywhere in the movies, probably because they create dramatic friction. Characterized by a preoccupation with rules and how they should apply to (other) people's behavior. Tend to moralize and apply old standards inflexibly to each new situation.

Believe they are representatives of a larger social order or tradition. They're not, of course - acting as if they represent the rules is their psychological defense. Usually had great uncertainty in childhood, at least one undependable parent. Made themselves rigid to feel strong, aligned with the rules to contain their anxiety. Tend to depersonalize their own feelings, hope to be above criticism.

Social Ones can have either wing, though a 9 wing brings rules that are more abstract and inhuman-sounding. Examples in the movies include Glenn Close in The World According To Garp, Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Alec Guinness in The Bridge On The River Kwai, Raul Julia in Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Joan Plowright in Enchanted April, Jack Lemmon in Missing, Katharine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn.

Back to Ones



Twos - Fine Distinctions
Two With a 1 Wing

This wing brings conscience and emotional containment to the basic Two style. When healthy, they act from general principles about the value of serving others. Ethics come before pride. May hold themselves to high standards. More discreet and respectful of other people's boundaries. When upset, tend to go quiet and experience strong emotions internally. More melancholy than Twos with a 3 wing.

When less healthy and entranced, tend to confuse their sense of mission with self-centered needs. Go blind to their own motives; invade and dominate others. Believe their actions are perfectly justified by their ethic of helping. May repress their personal desires and focus on others as a way to avoid guilty dilemma between the rules and their inner needs. If really blind they will warp their ethics crazily to justify personal selfishness and prideful hostility.

Real-Life Twos With a 1 Wing: Alan Alda, Yasser Arafat, Harry Belafonte, T. Berry Brazelton, Ken Burns, Barbara Bush, Jesus Christ, Glenn Close, Bill Cosby, Betty Friedan, Danny Glover, Pamela Harriman, Jerry Lewis, Yoko Ono, Mr. Rogers, Virginia Satir, Desmond Tutu.

Movie Twos With a 1 Wing: Kathy Bates, Misery; Joan Cusack, Men Don't Leave; Piper Laurie, Carrie; Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V - The Final Frontier; Kate Nelligan, The Prince Of Tides; Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were; Marlo Thomas, In The Spirit; Charles White Eagle, Three Warriors.

Two With a 3 Wing
This wing brings Twos an extra measure of sociability and the capacity to make things happen. When healthy, can be charming, good-natured and heartfelt. Really get things done, serve effectively on projects that involve the well-being of others. Thrive on group process and are generally good communicators. Enjoy keeping several threads or projects going at once.

Entranced Twos with a 3 wing can be quite emotionally competitive and controlling. 3 wing brings a double dose of vanity. Strong tendency to live in one's images. May grow brazenly deluded, preferring their glamorous, self-important scenarios to reality. Tendencies to deceit and emotional calculation. Highly manipulative. This wing is also more extroverted; dramatization of feeling in the form of hysterical snit-fits is far more possible.

Real-Life Twos With a 3 Wing: Leo Buscaglia, Kathie Lee Gifford, Leona Helmsley, Whitney Houston, Arianna Huffington, Sally Kirkland, Susan Lucci, Madonna, Imelda Marcos, Susan Powter, Nancy Reagan, Danielle Steel, Richard Thomas, Jennifer Tilly, John Travolta, Ivana Trump, Xuxa.

Movie Twos With a 3 Wing: Glenn Close, Meeting Venus; Maynard Eziashi, Mr. Johnson; Joel Grey, Man On A Swing; William Hurt, Kiss Of The Spider Woman; Angela Lansbury, The Manchurian Candidate; Shirley MacLaine, Postcards From The Edge; Madonna, Truth Or Dare, Michel Serrault, La Cage Aux Folles; Meryl Streep, She-Devil.

CONNECTING POINTS (Stress and Security)
Two's Connection to 4

Like Ones, Twos have an emotional connection to 4. Their feelings also tend to have a melancholy flavor. Healthy connection to 4 helps Twos develop their inner life and maintain an independent, possibly artistic point of view. Shift focus off roles and other people, search for themselves within. A need for self-expression and creative release often follows. Connection helps with emotional honesty as Twos start to see the dark side of giving and their own tangle of mixed motives. Admit their emotional complexity and personal needs.

When more entranced, this connection brings a tendency towards self-pity, obsessive love and depression. May become guilt-inducing martyrs haunted by melancholy. Disown their capacity to be alone. Begin to fear abandonment. Can slip into unrequited love scenarios or develop romantic obsessions. Low side of 8 fuels aggression in the pursuit of a romanticized other. The low side of this connection can also bring a haughty artistic pretentiousness and, occasionally, a streak of morbidity.

Movie Twos who demonstrate this connection: Isabelle Adjani, The Story Of Adele H; Linda Hunt, The Year Of Living Dangerously; William Hurt, Kiss Of The Spider Woman; Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V; Madonna, Truth Or Dare; Isabella Rossellini, Zelly And Me; Meryl Streep, She-Devil, Sophie's Choice; Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were; Marlo Thomas, In The Spirit; Charles White Eagle, Three Warriors.


Two's Connection to 8
Healthy connection to 8 helps a Two make stronger personal boundaries and assert their own needs. Develop and express an appropriate honest selfishness. Brings self-confidence and a direct, almost blunt communication style. Have force of personality for getting things done, especially projects related to their inner sense of mission. May care less about other people's opinions. Can be quite decisive; do well in leadership positions.

The low side of a Two's connection to 8 brings anger and aggression in the service of self-importance. Vengeful blaming. Demanding, prima donna behavior. If a Two's pride is insulted or they feel under- appreciated they can act out nastily like an unhealthy Eight. Two then goes on thinking they are a caring, giving person and blocks out evidence of their own hostility. If more unhealthy, they can turn persecutory, using their sensitivity to others to gather ammunition for outbursts of Eightish cruelty. True hatred and acts of violent retribution possible.

Movie Twos who demonstrate this connection: Kathy Bates, Misery; Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction; Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game; Glynis Johns, Zelly And Me; Ray Liotta, Unlawful Entry; Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V; Shirley MacLaine, Postcards From The Edge.

SUBTYPE THEMES
Self-Preservation

Self-preservation Twos often harbor a striking sense of entitlement. May act superior to others and expect preferential treatment that reinforces their pride. Can seem shameless in their expectation of pampering. Behind this attitude is a logic that says, "I give and do so much for others, I deserve to be treated as someone special." Like an unconscious collection of fees for sacrifices made. Others who encounter this attitude are often amazed at a self-preservation Two's self- importance and diva-like behavior.

Real-life people with this subtype often have a 3 wing. Dip easily to the low side of 8 when angry. Not many movie examples, but Kathy Bates displays some of this theme in Misery. Glynis Johns has some of it in Zelly And Me, as does Madonna in Truth Or Dare. A real-life self-preservation Two is American hotelier Leona Helmsley.

Intimate
Tend to act seductive and aggressive by turns. Basic interest is in finding romantic union. Generally confuse sexual desirability with being loved and valued. Act receptively interested in others, use inviting touches. May ooze some combination of charm and sexuality.

When they encounter resistance will begin to push and challenge. Try to find a way around the other's objection. May go militant and angrily blame (connection to 8). Behind these flare-ups is a melancholy desire for total enmeshed connectedness to another. Yearning is related to the low side of 4.

Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were is an exact depiction of this subtype. Other examples include William Hurt in Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Ray Liotta in Unlawful Entry, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Social
Twos with this subtype are notable for their ambition, particularly to be publicly recognized as someone special. Seek attention either directly from their own efforts or via affiliation with powerful people. In the former scenario, a Two works to draw an audience through socially useful works or some kind of performing. Confuse being noticed with being loved. Can sometimes act provocative or obnoxious as this is better than being ignored.

Might also marry someone influential and concentrate their energies on the spouse's ambitions. Can groom their children to become achievers. Stage mothers and political spouses are possible roles. Often have a 3 wing but a 1 wing is possible.

Video examples include: Madonna, Truth Or Dare; Angela Lans-bury, The Manchurian Candidate; Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V; Shirley MacLaine, Postcards From The Edge; Marisa Paredes, High Heels; Rosalind Russell, Gypsy.

Back to Twos




Threes - Fine Distinctions
Three With a 2 Wing
Threes with this wing are often highly gregarious. They have a tendency towards persona - playing a role of themselves in real life. Social perception, prestige and recognition important. Healthy side brings personal warmth, leadership qualities. Sincere desire to do well by others; may be genuinely nice people. If they have achieved some measure of success they are generous in their mentorship of others.

When more entranced, they are preoccupied with seeming ideal to others. This can extend to friendships, family, as well as at work. Want to seem a perfect spouse, friend, parent, employee, good son or daughter. Strong social focus because they need so much validation from others.

Preening and boastful behavior possible. Bursts of egotism. Wanting to be on top, better than others. Slip into impersonation easily, may falsify feeling and not know it themselves.al nutrition. Deep emotional recognition is Malicious intentional deceit possible. Behavior of con-artists and sociopaths.

Real-Life Threes With a 2 Wing: Ron Brown, Dick Clark, Cindy Crawford, Joan Crawford, Tom Cruise, (Mrs.) Debbi Fields, Vince Lombardi, Joan Lunden, Ali MacGraw, Reba McEntire, Demi Moore, Oliver North, Elvis Presley, Burt Reynolds, Anthony Robbins, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cybill Shepherd, O.J. Simpson, Will Smith, Sharon Stone, Kathleen Turner, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Marianne Williamson, Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Wood.

Movie Threes With a 2 Wing: Annette Bening, The Grifters; Tom Cruise, Rain Man; Jamie Lee Curtis, A Fish Called Wanda; Richard Gere, American Gigolo, Sommersby; Tony Goldwyn, Ghost; Jack Lemmon, Glengarry Glen Ross; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pumping Iron; Cybill Shepherd, The Last Picture Show, Texasville; Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct; Kathleen Turner, Body Heat.

Three With a 4 Wing
May be slightly less image-conscious or project an image that is more implicit and subtle. 4 wing brings a degree of introversion. May measure themselves more by their creations, artistic or social. Tend to compete with themselves first more than with other people.

High side brings the motivation and ability to work on oneself. May accomplish everything they set out to do materially, then embark on a path of self-analysis. Artistic explorations or teaching possible. Will still like a challenge, but thoughtful, intuitive or humanistic concerns of prime interest.

The low side of this wing can bring a haunted, self-tormented quality or a haughty, competitive pretentiousness. Might be snobs or accuse critics of being too plebian to appreciate them. Cool, hard shell. In private, can lapse into Fourish self-questioning and melodrama. Instability and moodiness can be factors. Unrealistic grandiosity.

Real-Life Threes With a 4 Wing: James Baker, Joseph Biden, David Bowie, Johnnie Cochran, David Copperfield, Rebecca DeMornay, Nora Ephron, Werner Erhard, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Phil Gramm, Bryant Gumbel, Michael Jordan, Ed Rollins, Diane Sawyer, William Shatner, Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone, George Washington.

Movie Threes With a 4 Wing: John Cusack, The Grifters; Charles Dance, Pascali's Island; Jeremy Irons, Betrayal; John Malkovich, Dangerous Liaisons, In The Line Of Fire; Robert Morse, Tru; William Shatner, Star Trek V - The Final Frontier; Sting, Bring On The Night; Christopher Walken, At Close Range, The Comfort Of Strangers.


CONNECTING POINTS (Stress and Security)
Three's Connection to 9
Three's connection to 9 brings a capacity for self-reflection and a partial slow-down of tempo. A Three may become more receptive to the people in their lives and appreciate "idle" time, especially when it's spent with family and friends.

The modest, unpretentious quality of 9 is inherent, if latent, in Threes. Connection helps them come out of roles and relax into being. Winning can become less all-important. Success is sometimes seen through as an illusion. Take time out from the world's races. New projects might be entered into because they look interesting, or will benefit others, or for intuitive reasons that can't be explained.

More entranced, a Three might go through periods of 9-like confusion. Could start racing around, going in circles at high speed. Lose sight of their goals. The 9 tendency towards emotional numbness reinforces emotional absence. Three's unhealthy habit of altering themselves for an environment can also get worse.

May flip from hyperactivity to paralysis. Sink into a nihilistic "What's the use?" attitude and a numb, 9-like apathy. Lacking motivation and direction they can go passively depressed and use drugs or alcohol to further deaden their feelings.

Movie Threes who demonstrate this connection: Tom Cruise, Rain Man; Jamie Lee Curtis, A Fish Called Wanda; John Cusack, The Grifters; Jack Lemmon, Glengarry Glen Ross, Save The Tiger; Roger Moore, Bed And Breakfast; Robert Morse, Tru; Cybill Shepherd, Texasville.


Three's Connection to 6
Healthy connection to 6 helps Threes drop masks, admit flaws, be seen for who they are. Their true emotions generally have a fearful cast; fear is a door to authentic feeling. Honest vulnerability. Make and keep commitments to ideals beyond winning and succeeding. Develop personal loyalties to family and friends as well as to spirituality. Ethical concerns become far more important, moral courage emerges. They stay faithful and keep their agreements, even at the risk of losing.

Unhealthy connection brings runaway anxiety that fuels the Three's desire to cut off or mask feeling. Fear motivates hyperactivity as the Three runs away from the "awful truth" about themselves. May go nervously ambivalent about relationships, unable to decide or commit.

Threes also overidentify with hierarchies and traditions like a 6 can do. May give their power away to authority figures. Play "good child" roles that get them approval within the dependency. Could become overly cautious. Stay within the confines of tradition or excel within its terms as a way to stay safe.

Movie Threes who demonstrate this connection: Tom Cruise, Rain Man; Richard Gere, Sommersby; Tony Goldwyn, Ghost; Jack Lemmon, Glengarry Glen Ross; John Malkovich, Dangerous Liaisons; Charlie Sheen, Wall Street; Wesley Snipes, White Men Can't Jump.


SUBTYPE THEMES
Self-Preservation
Have a preoccupation with acquiring material security as a way to calm core anxieties about survival. Some grow up poor and focus on amassing wealth. Concentrate on doing well, having enough, especially of the right things. Irony is that the strategy doesn't really work - a Three could amass millions and still, say, harbor a morbid fear of dying broke. Insecurity fuels a sense that enough money is never enough.

Movie examples include Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump, Rebecca DeMornay in Risky Business and Charlie Sheen in Wall Street.

Intimate
Intimate Threes mask themselves with an image of what a sexually appealing man or woman is. They play roles in romantic relationships hoping to get love or admiration. Image is based on community or cultural standards of desirability or a given partner's expectations. If not committed to a specific partner then they will project an image generally and seek sexual conquests.

Intimate Threes in the movies can be sexual imposters or suave, attractive ideals of masculinity or femininity. Female characters tend to be beautiful out-of-reach Sirens. Examples include: John Malkovich, Dangerous Liaisons; Cybill Shepherd, Texasville; Richard Gere, American Gigolo, Sommersby; Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct; Kathleen Turner, Body Heat.

Social
Social Threes are often extremely status-conscious. Most confuse their inner self with the world's badges, honors and totems. Measure themselves by money, position, awards or results. Strive to match group standards and have the right credentials. How they rank in the eyes of others is most important. May be materialistic but with an eye towards the best brand names so as to be identified with the product's status.

The excesses of this subtype make for fine morality plays about the hollowness of fame and status. Movie examples include: Charlie Sheen, Wall Street; Robert Redford, Downhill Racer; Mary Tyler Moore, Ordinary People; Faye Dunaway, Network.

Back to Threes



Fours - Fine Distinctions
Four With a 3 Wing
Fours with a 3 wing can sometimes seem like Sevens. May be outgoing, have a sense of humor and style. Prize being both creative and effective in the world. Both intuitive and ambitious; may have good imaginations, often talented. Some are colorful, fancy dressers, make a distinct impression. Self-knowledge combines well with social and organizational skills.

When more entranced, often have a public/private split. Could conceal feelings in public then go home to loneliness. Or they could enjoy their work and be dissatisfied in love. Tendency towards melodrama and flamboyance; true feelings can often be hidden. Competitive, sneaky, aware of how they look. Some have bad taste. May be fickle in love, drawn to romantic images that they have projected onto others. Could have a dull spouse, then fantasize about glamorous strangers. Achievements can be tainted by jealousy, revenge, or a desire to prove the crowd wrong.

Real-Life Fours With a 3 Wing: John Barrymore, Kate Bush, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Judy Collins, Neil Diamond, Judy Garland, Martha Graham, Billie Holliday, Julio Iglesias, Janis Joplin, Naomi Judd, Jessica Lange, John Malkovich, Mary McCarthy, Rod McKuen, Anaïs Nin, Nick Nolte, Laurence Olivier, Edith Piaf, Anne Rice, Liv Ullmann, Robert James Waller, Tennessee Williams.

Movie Fours With a 3 Wing: F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus; Anne Bancroft, The Turning Point; John Barrymore, Dinner At Eight; Judy Davis, Impromptu; Jill Ireland, From Noon Til Three; Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire; Winona Ryder, Mermaids.

Four With a 5 Wing
Healthy side of this wing brings a withdrawn, complex creativity. May be somewhat intellectual but have exceptional depth of feeling and insight. Very much their own person; original and idiosyncratic. Have a spiritual and aesthetic openness. Will find multiple levels of meaning to most events. May have a strong need and ability to pour themselves into artistic creations. Loners; can seem enigmatic and hard to read. Externally reserved and internally resonant. When they open up it can be sudden and total.

When entranced or defensive, Fours with a 5 wing can easily feel alienated and depressed. Many have a sense of not belonging, of being from another planet. Can get lost in their own process, drown in their own ocean. Whiny - tend to ruminate and relive past experience. Prone to the emotion of shame. Air of sullen, withdrawn disappointment. May live within a private mythology of pain and loss. Can get deeply morbid and fall in love with death.

Real-Life Fours With a 5 Wing: Diane Arbus, Marlon Brando, Richard Brautigan, Jackson Browne, Kurt Cobain, Leonard Cohen, Isak Dinesen, Pink Floyd, Harvey Keitel, Philip Larkin, Thomas Merton, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Rimbaud, Anne Sexton, James Taylor, Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Neil Young.

Movie Fours With a 5 Wing: David Andrews, Cherry 2000; Albert Finney, The Playboys; Claude Rains, The Phantom Of The Opera; Winona Ryder, Beetlejuice; Campbell Scott, Dying Young; Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Out Of Africa, Plenty.


CONNECTING POINTS (Stress and Security)
Four's Connection to 2
Healthy connection brings interpersonal skills and the ability to voluntarily empathize with others. Can make good psychotherapists, teachers, ministers, parents. Teach others about the realms of subjectivity. Twoish capacity to identify with an audience. Good communicators, fine therapeutic skills. Can listen and accept, especially willing to understand the pain of friends. Less selfish. Will harbor and act upon ideals of service to others.

Low side brings dependency. Tendency to fixate on a loved one. Whiny demandingness and blame. Codependent melodrama when the real person behaves differently than the Four expects them to. Think they can't live without the other. Twoish capacity to empathize becomes compulsive. Four can't help but identify, especially with others' pain. Takes "beloved" person inside of their subjectivity, making that person their salvation. They may flee themselves by serving others. Prideful sense of specialness is also intensified. Hysterical illness possible.

Movie Fours who demonstrate this connection: Harriet Andersson, Cries And Whispers; David Andrews, Cherry 2000; Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire; Nick Nolte, New York Stories; Claude Rains, The Phantom Of The Opera.


Four's Connection to 1
Healthy connection to 1 brings objectivity, balance and idealism. Helps Fours locate the objective world and connect to a factual reality that is independent of their inner feelings. Like finding dry land in a sea of subjectivity. Discipline of cleaving to the real world diminishes self-indulgence and melodrama. Practical problem-solving skills enhanced. Intense feelings smooth out, a kind of balanced equanimity takes hold. Will also be idealistic and willing to work hard out in the world for what they believe in. Become contributors instead of complainers.

The low side of this connection is that a Four can become faultfinding and nit-picky. Dissatisfied perfectionism may color their relationships. Get creatively blocked because nothing they produce is up to their own high standards. Induce shame in themselves with inner criticism. May tear down others out of jealousy. Sometimes latch onto a grandiose, obsessive Big Idea. Belief they are attuned to Absolute Truth. Idealistic and artistic pretentiousness possible. Sometimes can be rageful.

Movie Fours who demonstrate this connection: Anne Bancroft, The Turning Point; Nicolas Cage, Moonstruck; Judy Davis, Impromptu; Maria de Medieros, Henry And June; Winona Ryder, Mermaids; Campbell Scott, Dying Young; Meryl Streep, Out Of Africa, Plenty.

 

SUBTYPE THEMES
Self-Preservation
People with this theme are often advocates of risk. Can be reckless, court disaster or just flirt lightly with loss. Take chances to stir up emotional intensity, play out melodrama or to get attention. Can have a desire to punish other through hurting themselves. The logic is, "If I die then they'll be sorry and finally appreciate me."

Can seem like counterphobic Sixes in their behavior. With a 3 wing this subtype is more flamboyant and makes a show of their daring. With a 5 wing they grow more sullen and self-punishing.

Movie examples include: Nicolas Cage, Moonstruck; Meryl Streep, Out Of Africa; Judy Davis, Impromptu.

Intimate
Fours with this theme tend to be highly competitive in close relationships but also more generally. With a mate they are prone to jealousy. Want to be the most important person in mate's life. Could be jealous of a partner's past relationships, maybe want to be the only person the partner has ever loved. Related to the dependent side of 2.

More broadly can be consumed by professional envy. Long to best others in their work. Can jealously measure their contributions. Petty about keeping score. Want recognition for their uniqueness. Take away from successes of others when threatened. See F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus, Harriet Andersson in Cries And Whispers, Nick Nolte in New York Stories.

Social
Prone to shame because they compare themselves with the "normal" world around them. Can be highly self-critical and feel ashamed for their deviance from imagined group norms. Sensitive to criticism. May romanticize their defects but feel bad about themselves anyway.

If they have a 3 wing, may cover their shame with charm. Can also seek status or be driven to achieve to get revenge against those who once laughed at them (Danny DeVito, Batman Returns). With a 5 wing, can grow antisocial and depressed, bearing their shame in solitude (Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant's Woman).

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Fives - Fine Distinctions
Five With a 4 Wing
The difference between the 4 wing and the 6 wing in Fives is like the difference between Art and Science. 4 wing brings an abstract, intuitive cast of thought, as though the Five were thinking in geometric shapes instead of words or realistic images. May be talented artistically and inhabit moods like Fours do. Combine intellectual and emotional imagination. Enjoy the realm of philosophy and beautiful constructs of thought. The marriage of mental perspective and aesthetics is the best of life for them.

When more defensive may seem a little ghostly, have a whisper in their voice. Fluctuate between impersonal withdrawal and bursts of friendly caring. Can get floaty and abstract. Act like they're inside a bubble, sometimes with an air of implicit superiority. Cliché of the "absentminded professor" applies especially to Fives with this wing.

Environmentally sensitive and subject at times to total overwhelm. Touchy about criticism. Can be slow to recover from traumatic events. Melancholy isolation and bleak existential depression are possible pitfalls.

Real-Life Fives With a 4 Wing: Laurie Anderson, Samuel Beckett, Paul Bowles, Tim Burton, David Byrne, Agatha Christie, Daniel Day-Lewis, T.S. Eliot, Albert Einstein, Jeremy Irons, Philip Kaufman, Gary Larson, George Lucas, David Lynch, Peter Matthiessen, Ian McEwan, Thelonious Monk, Georgia O'Keefe,

Movie Fives With a 4 Wing: Jeff Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys; Kerry Fox, An Angel At My Table; Glenda Jackson, Turtle Diary; Gena Rowlands, Another Woman; Dean Stockwell, Tucker - A Man And His Dream.

Five With a 6 Wing
The 6 wing brings an orientation to detail and technical knowledge, along with the tendency to think in logical sequence. Especially intellectual, far more analytical than Fives with a 4 wing. Can be loyal friends, offering strong behind-the-scenes support. Kind, patient teachers, skillful experts. May have a sense of mission and work hard.

Sometimes project an aura of sensitive nerdiness and have clumsy social skills. When defensive, they can be unnerved by the expectations of others. May like people more but avoid them more. Especially sensitive to social indebtedness. Could have trouble saying "thank you." Fear of taking action, develop "information addiction" instead. Ask lots of questions but don't get around to the decision at hand.

When more entranced, they develop a suspicious scrutiny of other people's motives but can also be blind followers. Misanthropic and Scrooge-like when defensive. More able to keep their feelings cut off in a constant way. Can be cold, skeptical, ironic, and disassociated.

A Five's 6 wing can be phobic or counterphobic. Counterphobic 6 wing brings courage and antiauthoritarian attitudes. When defensive they may mock authority, or angrily tell others off. Tend to "push the envelope," experiment, find what the limits are.

Real-Life Fives With a 6 Wing: Michael Crichton, Bobby Fischer (counterphobic), Jane Goodall, H.R. Haldeman, Arthur (The Amazing) Kreskin, John le Carré, Vladimir Lenin, Leonard Maltin, Sam Neill, Michelle Pfeiffer (counterphobic), Oliver Sacks, Ebenezer Scrooge, B. F. Skinner, George Stephanopoulos, Madeleine Stowe.

Movie Fives With a 6 Wing: Bernard Pierre Donnadieu, The Vanishing; Ben Kingsley, Turtle Diary; Peter O'Toole, Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Ally Sheedy, Only The Lonely; James Spader, sex, lies and video; Hugo Weaving ("Martin"), Proof; Robin Williams, Awakenings.


CONNECTING POINTS (Stress and Security)
Five's Connection to 7
The healthy side of this connection brings enhanced imagination and some social skills to a Five. It may spur them to seek adventure, whether intellectual, physical or social. Can have a positive outlook, be less self-conscious. A curiosity that helps them explore the world. May be quite funny, and display an engaging playful enthusiasm. Cheerful interest in things, stay mentally alive in old age. Capacity to savor the moment, yea-saying. Sometimes have a streak of generosity.

Unhealthy connection related to the way Fives can go abstract and schizoid. Social undependability and increased difficulty with commitment. May elusively jump around in their thoughts, scatter their attention into empty interests. Tendencies toward living in the future, greed and dilettantism. Use humor to disassociate or trivialize. Action taken sporadically and for strange reasons. React from different subpersonalities, lose their center. Play mind games for diversion, trying not to feel. Weird phobias and issues about appetite possible.

Movie Fives who demonstrate this connection: Bernard Pierre Donnadieu, The Vanishing; Kerry Fox, An Angel At My Table; Anthony Hopkins, 84 Charing Cross Road; Tommy Lee Jones, Lonesome Dove; Ben Kingsley, Turtle Diary; Ally Sheedy, Only The Lonely; James Spader, sex, lies and video; Robin Williams, Awakenings.


Five's Connection to 8
Healthy connection helps Fives access raw instinctual energy and aggression. They take charge of situations that would otherwise overwhelm them. Lusty, pushy core of Eightishness helpful to withdrawn people. Brings sexuality and physicality, moral and social courage. They state their needs, initiate contact, get things done. Helps Fives translate knowledge into action. They take risks, become initiators instead of observers.

Low side of this connection reinforces antisocial hostility. Fives can get nasty, punitive and severe with others. Unhealthy Eightish tendencies toward sneering and ridicule may come into play and support a standoffish, go-to-hell attitude. Aggression in the service of maintaining distance. Protecting what little they have. Cold, disassociated behind-the-scenes control. Bursts of nastiness. Can also turn Eightness against themselves. Criticize, yell at and persecute themselves. Leads to stricken self-consciousness and paranoia.

Movie Fives who demonstrate this connection: Michel Blanc, Monsieur Hire; Jeff Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys; Albert Finney, Scrooge; Michael Keaton, Batman, Batman Returns; Jerry Lewis, The Nutty Professor; Peter O'Toole, Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II; Alastair Sim, A Christmas Carol.

 

SUBTYPE THEMES
Self-Preservation
Chief defensive tendency is to withdraw. Sensitive to feeling saturated by the world, Fives with this subtype lose their sense of privacy easily. Can feel knocked over by people's expectations. In isolation they refind their lost sense of balance and build up to the next round of social stresses. More alienated than the other subtypes. May hide in books, live alone or need their own room where they can close themselves off. Take little from others. Sometimes thin. Likely to hoard time and space. Have solitary hobbies and interests, seek comfort and solace alone. Examples include: Kerry Fox, An Angel At My Table; Gena Rowlands, Another Woman; Robin Williams, Awakenings.


Intimate
Intimate Fives trust only a few people but then do so totally. Friendship is based on the sharing of confidences. Intimacy is equivalent to exchanging secrets. Can go from enigmatic, deliberate distance to intense, unguarded openness. Seductive invitation to sharing secrets; seek a total merging. When entranced can be a little kinky.

A great movie example is James Spader in sex, lies and video. Sharing intimate sexual secrets is what he gets women to do on video. Both Monsieur Hire and Mr. Lemorne in The Vanishing show this theme albeit perversely. Ben Kingsley in Turtle Diary also enjoys secrecy and is a little more normal.


Social
Social Fives connect with groups of like-minded people. Enjoy living in the flow of a group interest, sharing knowledge and affiliations. May prefer specialized or esoteric areas of knowledge that exclude all but the initiated. Could live in high society, know the "right" people, belong to the best clubs. Might enjoy speaking a professional language that few people understand. Can be quite friendly but, at times, terrific snobs. Romanticize secret elitist group membership; concerned with titles, degrees, credentials, etc. Realm of academia.

Peter O'Toole in Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a good movie example. Also, Anthony Hopkins in 84 Charing Cross Road.

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