Love Potion Number 9 by Eleri Grace

 I was momentarily stumped by this month's prompt until I remembered Enneagram. At first glance through the top-level Enneagram traits, I was convinced I would be a 1 -- I'm ambitious, a type A over-achiever, and prefer structure and order. No one loves a run to Container Store more than me!  I also thought I might be a 5 -- I'm a bookworm and brainiac, an investigator, and I place a high premium on knowledge. Imagine my surprise when Enneagram assessments -- over and over again -- told me I am a . . . . 9.  A what? 

Despite my initial skepticism (and indulging my perfectionistic type 1 motivation to take multiple versions), it turns out 9 is exactly me. 

Yet that isn't the end of the story. I was still convinced that I had so many qualities of a 1 and a 5 that I continued to explore Enneagram. I happily discovered that each type does commonly have a "wing" that is one of the adjacent numbers to your primary Enneagram number. So as a 9, I could either be a 9 wing 1 (9w1) or a 9 wing 8 (9w8). Well that was definitely clear-cut, because I am certainly no 8. 

But how about that 5 element that I was so sure I also had? Well, your Tritype is another way of delving more into Enneagram. The Tritype theory, in short, posits that each person has 3 types -- one of the heart types (2, 3 or 4), one of the head types (5, 6 or 7) and one of the gut types (8, 9, and 1). Typically, your primary type remains the first number in the Tritype -- it's your go-to innate response. There are free assessments online that can give you a Tritype reading -- mine is 954 (which can be expressed as 459, 495, 549, 594 or 945 as well) and has been named the "Contemplative" tritype. So I will typically respond with a gut response (9), then go to my head (5), and finally my heart (4). 

I love Enneagram insights for my own personal development and self-understanding, but I've also been using it in character development too. Mining their Enneagrams is a solid way to add more depth to your characters, particularly their goals, motivations and conflicts. 

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