Am an I an Enneagram 9? What does it mean to be a Body type? What’s a good contrast between 9w8 and 9w1? How are self-preservation 9s, social 9s, and sexual 9s different from each other? This in-depth analysis answers all of your questions!
INSIDE THIS POST:
THE 9 AS A BODY TYPE
Body types experience life in terms of energetic output and the tension and friction that exists between themselves and everything else. It feels like the world bears down on them, determined to move them in ways they don’t want to move, so they must bring the energy required to push back. They know the pain that comes from doing things, and see life as a battleground in which they must defend their autonomy, lest others take control and leave them without options. A Body type never wants to be without control, choices, or the right to choose their own path and listen to their intuition.
9s want to live in a pleasant reality that does not impose on them or make them feel anything they don’t want to feel, and that lets them be serene. To cope with the infringement of real life, which wants to shape them into something else, 9s build a rich inner landscape where all their ideas, thoughts, and feelings align with what pleases them. They craft this version of reality into an ideal and want to bring it about in kind but firm ways. 9s keep out anything that upsets them by taking the path of least resistance to save their valuable and limited energy (and feelings) for the things that matter.
They are unflappable and calm in a storm. Externally agreeable, but their internal perspective doesn’t shift to accommodate yours, only to get along with you at the moment, so you will leave them at peace to set their agenda. 9s don’t want others to impose their will on them, or ask them to change anything about themselves, so they do the same for you; unless you provoke them, they keep criticisms to themselves and are accepting, with an ability to listen to and hear all sides and mediate in conflict. They aren’t oblivious to others’ faults, but love and accept them despite them, because they know how rigid humans can be (like them) and won’t put unnecessary energy into trying to change them. To not accept them means being upset with them or engaging in power struggles, which is not how they want to live. They want their lives and the people inside it to be in harmony so they can focus on what they care about.
For a 9, dreaming about something is as good as doing it. They can refine it in their mind and enjoy it with no need to exert effort, which feels tiring, since reality resists their hopes and dreams at every turn. They know the best way to accomplish things without using up energy is to get into the natural flow of life and ride it. Rather than fight about everything, 9s either go along with anything that doesn’t feel like a boundary violation or go against something to let it orient them. It’s easy for them to let down their guard and let others decide things, since what they are asking does not seem all that important (who cares where we eat dinner?). Only in a situation that deserves a strong response do they give one.
Though amenable, in serious decisions, 9s know that their inner guidance will tell them what is right and wrong, or when to act and what to ignore. When things go wrong, they retreat to decide what feels like the right thing to do in their body, and act on it. It’s hard for them to focus, think, or feel at ease in their own body if situations are loud, tense, or volatile. Any disruptive or unpleasant environment robs them of choices and forces them to deal with it. This uses up their energy. 9s want to choose what is and isn’t worth internal turmoil. Since it takes so much effort to maintain a state of calm, 9s adapt to meet others halfway. To keep things pleasant, they choose to be agreeable and ignore trivialities.
A 9 can’t predict what will happen if someone gets mad, and feels it on a visceral level that makes them want to shut it out (by reacting mindlessly to it, fleeing, self-numbing, etc.). It makes them do and say things they regret, or creates tension that later needs to be resolved if they care to save a relationship. Often, they experience their anger as separate from them. 9s have trouble remembering exactly what they said or what happened while they were mad.
9s can be diverse. Some of them are mopey, highly emotional, and fixated on their suffering or how life is hard and pointless, while others are idealistic and only want to see the good in things. But all the easy-going 9s struggle to find middle ground between under and over-asserting their boundaries. If they under-assert to keep peace and others don’t respect them or cross a line, 9s get mad because they didn’t stand up for themselves, but if they over-assert and it creates the tension they hoped to avoid, it seems like they went too far.
9s defend against outer assaults by creating resistance through their avoidance, and ignoring what they don’t want to face, which takes up a lot of their energy reserves. It takes stamina to create and maintain an ability to block out whatever might disrupt them or give them anxiety, so they don’t feel there’s much left over for “doing.” 9s dwell in their thoughts and feelings and substitute it for action.
This means they neglect taking the initiative. It may not dawn on them if they really intend to get the life they want and think about all the time, they must take concrete steps toward their goals or they will forget about their particular dreams. It’s easier to say they’re going to write a book than to sit down and do it. One day, they will paint the deck when it feels right (it may never come). A 9 may sign up for an advanced college course, get into it, realize how hard it is, and panic, because an upcoming test fills them with nervousness, they “forget” to take it and fail a course, then get mad about freezing rather than studying in advance. They don’t ever want to feel any discomfort, so they avoid exerting themselves with distractions.
Because 9s want to focus on what makes them feel good, even if they know they should do something for their own good, they may not do it if it’s boring or hard. They may want to be successful, but aren’t willing to pay the price of leaving a comfort zone. Some of them neglect stuff and wind up with a mess (rent due, bills unpaid, or half-finished projects). If making a decision causes anxiety, they will drag their heels. Any external pressure gets met with silent resistance, since 9s can’t decide anything when they’re stressed.
Any disruptions to their lifestyle, routine, environment, or habits angers them, but they will sulk, fume, growl, make faces, flip you off behind your back, or refuse to answer a text or e-mail rather than start a fight. If they snap at people, they want to shut the problem down quickly and not deal with it any further. If given no choice but to do what they don’t want to do, 9s struggle with anger, resentment, and fear. As they don’t want to feel upset, being upset makes them more upset. They don’t want to feel like this, but life forced it on them. Yesterday they were at peace, now they’re not! They get angry at whatever or whomever is making them feel this way.
The 9w8
9w8s have opposing energies inside them, which means they don’t relate to most descriptions of their type. They feel powerful but want to be left alone, and are sensitive to the things that upset them or threaten their autonomy. Those things enrage them, which gives them the energy to assert themselves. 9w8s are aware of their anger and the effect it has on you and on their relationships, so they hold it inside, lest it carve out a path of destruction. Young ones learn the hard way “going off” on people robs them of their desired connections. Their rage feels like too much for you to handle, or is twice as strong as anyone else’s reaction, and causes them problems they must deal with after they explode, so they contain it unless they get mad enough to use it to enforce a boundary.
They exert force and energy to draw lines around what they will and won’t tolerate and to keep others from getting in their way, but they prefer to use resistance or stubbornness over confrontation, and that’s a last resort if distance fails. They want to be left in peace and respected. If others try to influence them, change their mind, or make them do what they don’t want to do, this annoys them. 9w8s will dig in their heels to prove you have no power over them. They may stir up an argument or provoke you to see where you stand on an issue, but back away or shut it down if it turns contentious, since they do not want to fight with you “for real.” With people who do not matter to them (casual interactions) they may welcome conflict or debate, since they don’t mind if the other person dislikes them.
9w8s try to preserve their relationships with the people they love or need to get along with at school or in the workplace, but if you’re of no interest to them, they care less how you react to their anger. They can block a casual acquaintance, ignore them, or walk away. To maintain their inner peace, they lay down boundaries, and hope you will respect them, but if you won’t, they will assert them again, stronger this time, until you get the message. Out of a desire to get along, they repress and hold their anger inside until one day they get tired of this and explode. Their eruptions are about feeling as if a situation or person has repeatedly disrupted their autonomy, body, peace, or state of mind, and to make it stop. Once they state their views, they want that to put an end to it. If you try to force them to talk about it, they will leave the room or disappear from a chat.
The 9w1
9w1s feel the world is not as it should be, and only they know what a better version looks like. They feel what is right, and notice what is out of alignment, but are powerless to do anything about it. They get irritated with reality, people, or situations that don’t reach their full potential, which is how they imagine it could be. Only they can see this hidden potential and know how to make it amazing, but it never lives up to their ideal.
9w1s need what they do to live up to their vision. Part of their procrastination in doing things (taking them out of thinking and dreaming about them into reality) comes from an inner sense that their body, mind, heart, and soul are the only pure vessels in existence—inside the mind and imagination, this fantasy version of a task or achievement can’t turn out as less than perfect. Once a 9w1 brings it into the light of day, it isn’t good enough; it lost its luster, it’s not as flawless as it should be, they failed to actualize it or get the results they wanted. A need to do things right invites them to work harder to bring about their vision as they imagine it, but it falls short of perfection. If it exists in a tangible form, a 9w1 looks at it and sees its flaws. The form, delivery, or aesthetics aren’t up to their personal standard of what is “good.”
It doesn’t feel as if they leave a loud footprint in the world, but as if they are deer-like, tender in how they walk and careful not to destroy the young grass. Even when 9w1s are content, they feel a deep longing for a reality beyond this one, in which people are kind and life is not as hard; if they could muster the energy required to bring it about, they would feel less dissatisfied. As fixing it all feels like a colossal task, 9w1s direct their energy toward what they can change, the areas where they have control. It is important for them to do the things that matter to them “right.” 9w1s don’t want to disrupt others, but also refuse to lower their standards.
It feels as if they’re connected to everything, a floating mist in the universe with a unique sense of how a nudge in this direction could take them closer to the beauty they see in everything and make it realer in the universe. 9w1 rarely experience sincere satisfaction, but celebrate each victory as taking them one step closer to the life or success they want. They are patient and ready to wait for things, to bide their time and practice; knowing that rushing leads to mistakes and self-criticism.
Read the full profile, almost 9,000 words including self-work, about the Enneagram 9 in my book, 9 Kinds of Quirky.
Social Variants:
Since my book does not include social variant types, I recommend you purchase John Lucovich’s excellent and ground-breaking work on the topic. You can read more of his content here.
Social variants determine how we respond to the world and where our major priorities in life lie. Attentiveness to bonding, social responsibilities, and how we ‘appear’ to others is in the realm of social (soc). Survival, fulfilling all of one’s needs, and a focus on ensuring one always has enough resources for a comfortable life is self-preservation (sp). Sexual displays, competing for attention, being like a moth to a flame in your pursuit of another person, or competing for a mate falls under the realm of sexual (sx). Read through each to determine which resonates the most with you.
The Self Preservation 9
Self-Preservation Nines are looking to experience Essential Harmony through their lifestyle and interests. Self-Preservation Nines are the most independent style of Nine.
Nines dominant in Self-Preservation will typically seek out lifestyles that provide enough independence that they don’t have to be answerable to or at the whim of other people’s agendas. This can mean keeping them in a kind of outward-focused busyness or an immobile slump that distracts them from fully seeing their present circumstances. There is a way in which they also “settle,” not quite going for what they really want to the extent they could and instead contenting themselves with lifestyles and desires that don’t require them to reach too far outside a limited comfort zone. They may view “getting by on a little” as humble or even virtuous and may seek to keep their “world small.”
Self-Preservation Nines are stubbornly entrenched in their habits and routines, so they put a great deal of energy into making sure too much isn’t demanded from them. Despite a reputation for being self-effacing and low-key, when certain boundaries are infringed on or demands placed on them, they can react with intense aggression.
Young Self-Preservation Nines are prone to having a difficult time in knowing what path or direction they want to take through adulthood, and they will delay choosing something definite for a great deal of time. They can be late bloomers in all areas of life, taking a long time to complete their studies or acquire certain skills. Following a path laid out to them by others, or sticking with an unrewarding job while making sure to look busy, are strategies of putting on a performance to parents and loved ones, appearing to be proactively reaching for a goal without taking any real steps. The struggle here is not that Self-Preservation Nines don’t have interests or talents, but they often easily give up on themselves.
Ironically, Self-Preservation Nines have some of the greatest potential for endurance of all the Enneagram Types, so once they have an aim they can get their energy behind, they typically achieve that aim and are not easily dissuaded nor taken off track. The difficulty comes in really pulling their energy out of distractions and into something that will enliven and challenge them.
The Social 9
Social Nines are seeking to experience Essential Harmony through their relationships and their contributions to others. Social Nines tend to be the most outgoing, friendly, and charismatic Nines. Social Nines tend to be actively involved with other people, and despite their modesty, they often make a big impact. They can easily fall into a kind of caretaker or “therapist” role with others. Deeply supportive and self-effacing, Social Nines can feel taken for granted since they care for friends and loved ones and don’t ask much in return.
For Social Nines, autonomy conflicts can take shape as a tension between how much they give themselves over to relationships versus how much they keep for themselves. This can play out in Nines as compartmentalizing different aspects of themselves that get expressed in different relationships. They can be outwardly the most malleable Nine, while covertly keeping others at arm’s length. It means that the Social Nine stays dispersed and divided, both connected to and outside of relationships at the same time. They allow much of their personal self-expression to be determined more by the perceived needs of the relationship than from fully showing up as their whole self.
Sloth can manifest in Social Nine as preemptive self-rejection of their own gifts. They can hide their capacities, talents, and individuality in order to remain accepted by others. A conflict can emerge for people of this type in both wanting attention and recognition while also feeling that being too singled out is narcissistic or threatens the respect and connections they have with others. This can create a great deal of tension and inner resistance, leading to resentment, and in some cases, passive aggressive behaviors and occasional eruptions of anger.
The checked-out Social Nine may then rationalize they’re looking for a better relationship or better social conditions to more fully express themselves, but this fantasy is often a way to simply delay showing up in the present. Likewise, the flip side is that they may settle with certain friends and relationships that don’t have their best interests at heart or who encourage them to remain in limited identities.
The Sexual 9
Sexual Nines are looking to experience Essential Harmony through chemistry and sexual relationships, and their attraction style tends to be more focused on inviting attraction rather than outright pursuit. Sexual Nines have a flirtatious style that balances an edginess with reassuring sweetness. The imaginative quality of this type can lend itself to a great deal of creativity or idealism, but this can suffer from a lack of grounding.
Sexual Nines know how to temper the aggressive edges of the Sexual Drive with attunement more skillfully than other Sexual Types. The good-natured quality of Nine supports people in feeling relaxed and comfortable in letting their guard down.
Despite usually being attractive, however, Sexual Nines can struggle with feeling overlooked, unseen, or unwanted. Sexual Nines are typically confident in their physical appearance, but they suffer when they feel elements of their personality are unacceptable or uninteresting, or when they simply can’t “find themselves.” They can feel they disappear beneath their sexual display or that they aren’t wanted unless they’re attractive.
People of this type will put pressure on themselves to attract yet may come to feel resentful toward their partner for having compromised their own autonomy in order to remain alluring. This can lead them to either spacing out—hiding something of themselves from their partner so they can’t fully “give themselves away”—or mysteriously breaking off the relationship because they’ve felt they couldn’t really be themselves. As an expression of Sloth, Sexual Nines may settle for a partner who may not value them or support their growth. When a Sexual Nine is very unhealthy, they may have a manipulative side, using their desirability and sexuality to get by in life at the expense of really developing themselves. Their sexuality can be dissociated, “leaking” inappropriately, and they can give themselves to partners who don’t value and respect them.
Influences on MBTI Types:
ISTJ: has a calm sense of self and focuses on doing their work well and on time, to avoid potential work-related conflict or angry clients, routinely suppresses their own thoughts and feelings; the 9 fear of making decisions would enhance inferior Ne anxieties about change and the unknown, and cause them to postpone making life-altering decisions as long as possible.
ESTJ: would find friction between their natural bluntness / facts-oriented brain and their inferior Fi insecurities about relationship dynamics, which might cause them to be more amiable than other ESTJ Ennegram types, more prone to devotion to their friends and family and concerned for their emotional well-being; would not know how to mirror others effectively, but would strategically plan to avoid potential mistakes. Has more forward motion than the ISXJ, due to general extroversion, which forces them to make decisions in a more timely fashion. Possibly excels at resolving inner-department conflict in ways that benefits everyone.
ISFJ: use Fe to “merge with” others and avoid appearing disagreeable, is pliable, nonjudgmental, and good-natured, maintains a cheerful persona that changes between external influences, uses Fe to read what others want and need and bond with them through affirming language and bodily communication, avoids airing their feelings of frustration in relationships (until they explode) while often feeling ignored and unappreciated; may struggle with their anger and fears about change / making big decisions in life, but will ultimately feel better if they Fe-share these feelings with others.
ESFJ: their external focus means they prioritize keeping everyone in harmony in their life, which means they would be natural professional mediators, but often overlook their own weaknesses, the true source of their anger, and insecurities (inferior Ti’s lack of self-analyzing); like the ESXJ, more able to maintain forward momentum and pursue change, but also indecisive (lower Ne) when faced with important decisions.
INTJ: the desire to avoid conflict softens the sharp edge of NiTe, and influences their approach to others (softening it, and bringing with them a sense of internal peace); will avoid conflict and try to diffuse situations with the facts, may rely on Ni-insights to read between the lines and head off conflict before it arises. Prone to serious inertia, between 9’s lack of energy and the weakness of inferior Se, which would motivate them more easily into direct action higher in the stack.
ENTJ: might turn their business mentality and futuristic planning skills toward global or national interests in terms of peacemaking on a huge level; their focus would be current benefits as well as long-range success; tert-Se would make them more decisive and opportunistic, but also much more inclined to avoid whatever 9 doesn’t want to deal with through excess (sex, drinking, over-indulgences, fast cars, and “playing”). Like the ESTJ-9, inferior Fi would be insecure about their emotional ability to connect to others, and lack the ability to ‘read’ them with Fe, but Ni would provide greater insight into others’ true motives.
INFJ: uses Fe to “merge” with others and Ni to read between the lines, to determine how best to maintain a persona of harmony; experiences self-doubts about one’s ability to navigate in a hostile and sensory “real world” (inferior Se concerns) while often struggling to find strong forward momentum due to inferior Se + 9 low energy levels. This will frustrate them in the long term, because Ni has “visions” it wants to actualize in the real world; needs to acknowledge and weaponize their “anger” at being inert to move forward.
ENFJ: finds it easy to adopt a persona and “become” whatever anyone else needs them to be, and in merging with others, but may not have a sense of self / a true grasp of their own motives, feelings, or needs due to inferior Ti’s issues self-analyzing; uses Ni to read into and draw conclusions about people, in order to help Fe connect to them; may be incredibly indecisive when decisions arise that involve other people, since Ni may get “stuck” considering the many ways this could impact their lives, while Fe wants to keep peace and harmony between everyone, all the time. Struggle also with the same lower-Se “hiding techniques” (escaping from scary things / the outside world / conflict through over-indulgence).
ESTP: would be far less risk-adverse, more prone to inertia, more in touch with their tert-Fe (at least, in the sense of knowing how to establish and maintain superficial connections to others, to avoid conflict; but even less in touch with their own feelings), less blunt, and more considerate of future implications (low Ni wanting to “get it right” + 9’s hesitance in anything new that disrupts their peace of mind) than other ESTPs.
ISTP: would develop a system of rational sharing and/or dealing with others that avoids conflict as much as possible, would often shut up about their logical complaints / be aware this could cause friction, might be prone to “laziness” / over-indulgences, or channeling their Se into video gaming instead of showing ambition in the work force, while also stressing about keeping their loved ones happy (lower Fe).
ESFP: would entirely tune in to other people, in order to read them (using their facial expressions, body language, etc) and put on an amiable, agreeable, good-natured front; the 9 lack of desire to pressure others to conform would fit in naturally with Fi, but Se’s influence might make them more assertive in standing up for others; low Te issues would cause them to postpone decision making and not know what tasks to prioritize in what order.
ISFP: would curb their bluntness and feel out of step with others, but resort to being quiet rather than putting on a false front or mirroring people they cannot stand; if you shut up, no one has ammo against you, and you can keep the peace by just smiling! Like the other SPs, might avoid making decisions (even though Se-users want to move forward / embrace change) through sensory pleasures and temporary distractions.
ENTP: possesses the rapid thought process and intellectualization of the Ne-dom, but also aware that some of their more controversial ideas and analysis’s could cause social upheaval and friction, so more prone to keeping silent about it and/or finalizing their ideas before they share them; could develop physical laziness to cope with fear of their loss of inner sensations, and become fixated on feeling better in their body, more than on an emotional level (tert Fe’s are often out of touch with their feelings); this wonky connection to inferior Si may lead to weird extremes in tastes, hatred for change, etc.
INTP: much more fussy and centered in sameness than other INTPs (Si’s love of routine / inner sensory comforts + 9’s tendency to ‘indulge’ in menial tasks or distractions to escape conflict), less inclined to share their more controversial conclusions, may rely heavily on lower Fe validations and try to mirror others, while feeling insecure about whether they are doing it properly; inferior Fe + 9’s hatred of conflict will make them run and hide when people are upset with them.
ENFP: will face a serious battle between Ne’s big picture thinking, Fi’s desire to care for and guide their friends, and Te’s factual and direct approach falling into conflict with 9’s desire to keep their mouth shut, to maintain stability in their relationships. This ENFP focuses enormously on their relationships and not rocking the boat, continually feeling like a “substitute person” and facing anger issues at being overlooked, taken for granted, etc., and in lashing out with occasional FiTe bluntness. Feels continually out of touch with the world / out of harmony with others, due to Fi’s inability to emotionally “mirror” them, general extroversion’s focus on others, and inferior Si’s detachment from the sensory world. Like the ENTP, may not know what to do when avoiding decisions or hiding from the world, and develop lower Si-based phobias and quirks.
INFP: will be the most conflict-avoiding of all the types, and struggle with reconciling their desire to be true to themselves (Fi) with their desire to keep others happy, so as to maintain their inner peace. May become settled in their ways / habits and not move forward for decades on end, while channeling their Ne toward new concepts / ideas / possibilities rather than external motion.
