What are enneagram wings?

Wings are a topic that is often discussed in the enneagram community, as they can provide a helpful guide as we try to work out our enneagram type.

In simple terms, wings are the types either side of your enneagram type, which can have an influence on how your type shows up in the world.

Wings are an especially helpful concept when considering how two people with the same type can look so different, as are subtypes. Our type often shares similar values to the types either side of it or focuses attention in a similar direction, so it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish our enneagram type from our wings.

As I’ve shared in this blog about my journey to work out my enneagram type, I recognised a lot of the characteristics of type two (one of my wings), and I regularly find that people resonate with themes from the types that form their wings in enneagram typing interviews.

The impact of wings

Enneagram teachers often talk about how wings add a different flavour to our type. Let’s look at how the wings affect how a type nine may show up. 

In simple terms, the type nine focuses on the agendas of others and the external environment, and is driven by a desire to avoid conflict. 

However, a type nine has type eight and type one wings, which can lead to this type presenting a little differently.

A type nine recognising an eight wing will present more of the characteristics of the type eight, such as being more bold and direct and comfortable getting in touch with their authority and power as a force for bringing about the peace they seek.

A type nine recognising a one wing will present more of the characteristics of the type eight, such as being more structured, principled and focused, move into action with purpose and certainty.

It’s also important to note that some people may not recognise a particularly strong influence from their wings, and there’s nothing wrong with that - after all, the aim is just to learn more about how you show up in the world!

What should I do once I have identified my wing?

The answer to this question varies depending on who you talk to, but here are a few of the steps I’ve heard different enneagram teachers recommend to use wings as a growth tool:

Work to balance your wings

Most people tend to recognise one wing more than the other and enneagram teachers often advise that we should work on leaning into the gifts of our less dominant wing. For example, if I was a type nine who recognised an eight wing, I might work on taking on some of the gifts of the one in trying to be more structured and form and keep to stronger principles.

Use your wings to help you move along the arrows

Another approach is to lean into your wings to help you move along the arrows towards your resource points.The idea is that intentionally trying to take on the gifts and perspective of another type can make it easier to access your resource points (i.e., the types that offer you the biggest growth stretch on the enneagram, key to transformational growth). For example, leaning into type eight as a nine may help this person to get into action more easily and place more focus on getting things done over keeping the peace.

Ignore them!

Finally, some just say to ignore your wings and not get focused on them. I fully understand the temptation to want to know all the ins and outs of my type, but in the same way that we can’t change how much of an extrovert or introvert we are, perhaps our wing is just another aspect of our personality to grow to accept and appreciate. 

Winging it

However you approach wings, this concept can provide a helpful guide on our journey to work out our enneagram type. As the example demonstrates above, wings can help us to understand why two people who lead with the same type can present differently - even if they share the same motivation. 

As with all things enneagram, it’s important to remember this is just a framework you can use for transformational growth, and the aim of the inner journey is to cultivate awareness of your inner world and relax your type patterns, so you can show up in the world as freely and authentically as you can.