ENNEAGRAM TYPE 5W4

ENNEAGRAM TYPE 5 — the investigator: thinkers who tend to withdraw and observe

• people of this personality type essentially fear that they don’t have enough inner strength to face life, so they tend to withdraw, to retreat into the safety and security of the mind where they can mentally prepare for their emergence into the world. fives feel comfortable and at home in the realm of thought. they are generally intelligent, well read and thoughtful and they frequently become experts in the areas that capture their interest. while they are sometimes scientifically oriented, especially with the six wing, just as many fives are drawn to the humanities and it is not at all uncommon for fives to have artistic inclinations.

ENNEAGRAM TYPE 4 — the individualist: identity seekers, who feel unique and different

• people of this personality type tend to build their identities around their perception of themselves as being somehow different or unique; they are thus self-consciously individualistic. fours tend to see their difference from others as being both a gift and a curse—a gift, because it sets them apart from those they perceive as being somehow “common,” and a curse, as it so often seems to separate them from the simpler forms of happiness that others so readily seem to enjoy. thus, fours can manage to feel superior to others while also secretly harboring some degree of longing and envy. a feeling of being a member of the “true aristocracy” alternates with deep feelings of shame, and fears of somehow being deeply flawed or defective.