I used to love the Enneagram. Dare I say, I was obsessed. I might have introduced you to it or at least asked you about your type at some point.
Earlier this year my perspective on it completely changed.
I had heard some Christians say the Enneagram was “evil” and had such bad origins that we shouldn’t be engaging with it at all.
I was finally curious and brave enough to research it.
I listened to both sides of the argument for two months, and I found the anti-enneagram arguments to be more compelling, honestly.
I feel inclined to finally share what I learned.
Let me say right now: If I lead you on to the enneagram, I am sorry. I was totally and innocently unaware of the origins.
Why I Haven't Wanted to Talk About This Publicly
I’ve been nervous to share this because of how popular the enneagram is among my friends and because of how hard it is to make a mental shift away from this belief system. At least, it was for me.
I once believed the enneagram was true and could complement my Christian faith. After learning what I’m about the share, I actually had to grieve over the fact that I may have been wrong, deceived, and/or accidentally dishonoring God.
But I feel like it would be unloving for me to not share this.
So here is a summary of what I found in my two months of research.
The Origins
It all started with Oscar Ichazo.
Oscar Ichazo was "a hardcore occultist".
Occult: “of, involving, or relating to supernatural, mystical, or magical powers or phenomena.”
He claimed that he received the wisdom of the Enneagram "in a seven-day divine coma". He said that during these seven days an angel (a fallen angel = demon) named Metatron came to him and exposed to him 108 different Enneagons.
(The number 108 has spiritual significance in several religions and occult systems.)
The enneagons were supposed to grant "complete map of the human psyche," and give "the basis to discover our entire ego process and to know how to transcend the lowest levels into the Highest State of Mind." These enneagons were essentially supposed to reveal special knowledge about people's mind and spirit so that they could become perfected.
The Enneagram movement in America has been based on a few of the enneagons but primarily on four of them: The Enneagram of the Passions, the Virtues, the Fixations, and the Holy Ideas.
Ichazo went on to found the Arica Institute, where he taught the system he called the Protoanalysis. This system was to teach a comprehensive understanding of the “fully enlightened” human being. (Sounds very new age, huh?)
Would-be students of the institute had to sign an agreement not to reveal what they learned there.
Where the Types Came From
Now comes one of Ichazo’s students: Claudio Naranjo.
After attending the institute, Naranjo developed the nine personality types (i.e., Enneatypes) within the Enneagram.
Naranjo came up with the Enneagram Types via automatic writing, which is a witchcraft practice where a demon takes control of your body and writes through you.
So, to be clear: A demon revealed to him the majority of what we know as the enneagram types.
I have seen a video of Naranjo saying he came up with the types partly by observation of people, but “mostly through automatic writing.” He is on video saying this.
And the types were not made to assess personality types, but rather to figure out which of the “nine paths to God" each one must take to reconnect with their true self.
Why this Matters: Especially for Christians
Christians are warned about spiritual teachings from demonic spirit contact:
“The Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe. They will obey spirits that tell lies. And they will follow the teachings of demons.” - 1 Tim. 4:1-2
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you . . . Don’t let any of your people become a medium or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. . . The Lord hates anyone who does these things.” - Deut. 18:9-12
“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” - Leviticus 19:31
“A man also, or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death.” - Leviticus 20:27
In case you don't know, familiar spirits are demons that people call upon to help them and give them answers. These demons sometimes re-visit and become familiar to a person. It sounds like Oscar Ichazo had some familiar spirits. Apparently "his group was guided by an interior master.”
This is relevant because God condemns calling upon and communicating with demons. Demons tell lies. Thus it follows that he condemns the teachings of demons. the Bible predicted that in the last days people will "obey spirits that tell lies. And they will follow the teachings of demons.”
So, if these are the true origins of the enneagram, it is a big deal. If Icahzo and Naranjo received the enneagram from demons, we should have nothing to do with it.
It basically means we are letting demons tell us about our identity rather than God. The enneagram is not Scripture.
But What if I'm Wrong About the Origins?
Now, I heard someone defend the enneagram by saying Ichazo wrote a letter to the “Transpersonal Community” (whoever that is) saying that he did not actually receive the enneagram from the demon Metatron. I tried to find this part of the letter, but I could not.
But, for the sake of argument, let’s say Oscar Ichazo did NOT receive the enneagram from a demon. Even if this is true, we still know that Claudio Naranjo received the now popular-in-America-types from a demon. He said it himself.
And just for the sake of argument, let’s say Naranjo was lying too. Even then, I ask myself: “Is this worth being wrong about?” Am I going to cling to the enneagram in hopes that both Ichazo and Naranjo lied about their sources? Personally, it is not worth it to me to hope that maybe the researchers got it wrong.
I don’t want to potentially be following the teaching of demons who wish to distract me.
Deception: What Seems True can be False
Satan masquerades as an “angle of light” (2 Cor 11:14), which means he can come up with things that deceive us and that seem true—even good and beautiful. We can be deceived.
To be honest, the enneagram still kinda feels true to me...And that is hard to reconcile with. But then I remember that Satan's main tactic is deception.
I also think about how so many people believe in astrology (I never have); yet when I read about me and my husband's star signs, the majority of it does not sounds like us, but a little of it does. I think that if we want to see ourselves in something, we can. That is what ex-astrologer Marcia Montenegro says. She used to read people's birth charts to them and see how true the predictions seemed. But now she firmly believes that all of astrology is bogus, and that it is easy for vague predictions and personality descriptions to feel true to people.
We want to know that we are like other people. We want to know that there's a reason for our behaviors and feelings. We want to be able to explain ourselves to people. And I think that is why we want the enneagram (and astrology for some of you) to be true. And I think that is why it is easy to believe.
And you know what? Maybe the enneagram does correspond to reality. But if God condemns the teachings of demons, it is still wrong for us to engage with it.
Bad Fruit from the Enneagram, in My Life
When I think back, I actually see many ways in which the enneagram produced bad fruit instead of good fruit in my life. I actually had a worse view of myself than I do now that I don’t obsess over being a 1 w 2. I have noticed that I am more at peace with myself now that I don't constantly think, "Ugh, I'm such a 1" or "because I'm a 1, I'm going to be/do [x, y, z]," or "It's so hard being a 1 with this loud inner critic."
I used to study my enneagram type to tell me “what I need to work on” or what to “watch out for in my stress tendencies” when I could have been letting the Holy Spirit guide me day-by-day.
Even though I tried so hard not to stereotype people negatively and maintain a fair and good view of ALL people, I used to make assumptions about people. (i.e “I can’t date a 4. I had a bad experiences with a male 4…8’s are hard for me to be around sometimes…I can’t date someone who is the same type as me” (good thing I ignored that since my husband is the same “type” as me).
These are just some examples I've thought of as I've reflected for the past 4 months or so.
Final Points
Another point worth mentioning is that, despite what I had been told, the enneagram didn’t originate from any psychological research or profiling. According to many people, including Marcia Montenegro, It has no validity in the world of psychology.
So, to wrap it all up.
I remember when I had known about the enneagram for a little while, and I felt so enlightened. I thought, "I'm so glad I have this knowledge now. I can't imagine if it didn't know all that I know now! Everyone would benefit from this self-awareness and awareness of others."
In hindsight, this feels wrong in my Spirit. I was essentially saying "the Bible is not enough." God doesn't need us to know our enneagram type. He gave us everything we need in order to think about ourselves properly in the Bible. It's not Bible + Holy Spirit + Enneagram = complete understanding of self and others. It's just the Bible + Holy Spirit. That's all we need when it comes to thinking about ourselves and others.
Friends, let's stop using the enneagram. Let's stop making proclamations about ourselves and others based on a potentially demonic system. Let's Let's get in our Bibles and ask Jesus what he thinks of us.
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