What Are the Instincts?
The realm of subtype and instinct is one of the more controversial areas in the Enneagram community. Debate rages about what each instinct really is and how it informs our Enneagram type.
For the purposes of this work, the most valuable thing to recognize is that we have instincts that are unconscious and are core motivators to how we exist in the world. These instincts are self-preservation, sexual, and social.
Nature or Nurture?
One theory is that each one develops early in life, based on the environment we were raised in before the age of three. Others claim our instinctual patterns arrive with our type, which many Enneagram teachers believe is something we're born with. The nature vs. nurture debate is an interesting one, but suffice to say we all have all three of these instincts, and one of them is a little out of whack.
The Three Instincts
The self-preservation instinct is the most basic instinct of all living things. It motivates us not only to survive but to thrive. It drives us to experience the vitality of life, and the way we do that is by taking care of our body and the environments it tends to inhabit. The self-preservation instinct focuses on our own strength, security, and safety. This instinct, when pressed, is looking to ensure our survival by staying safe and healthy.
The sexual instinct (sometimes called one-to-one) focuses on a sense of connection with key people around us. It motivates us to connect, build relationships, and yes, to procreate. But the sexual instinct is not about being sexually aroused; rather, this instinct desires a sense of merging with another, of trust and love. This instinct, when pressed, is looking to ensure our survival by being loved, connected, and bonded with others.
The social instinct focuses on a sense of belonging in a community. It motivates us to pay attention to the herd and make sure we maintain our place. The social instinct allows us to pay attention to the impact we have in wider society and the communities we're a part of. A misunderstanding of this instinct is that it means being social and extroverted. The social instinct is the attunement we all have to where we fit in the network of people and structures around us. This instinct, when pressed, is looking to ensure our survival by belonging, staying in community, and not being left behind.
When One Instinct Takes Over
We all have all three instincts, and all three are essential to our survival in the world. However, what happens early in life is that one of these instincts, due to a sense of deficit, becomes overdeveloped. Maybe a sense of safety and the right to be alive doesn't feel guaranteed. Maybe the ability to love and be loved in return doesn't feel secure. Or maybe belonging in a family or community feels conditional rather than innate. In response to these perceptions, one instinct becomes dominant.
How Subtypes Form
This is where the Enneagram comes in. As an instinct becomes a focus of our energy, the emotional drive (the passion, in Enneagram terms, meaning the core emotional habit of each type) becomes the engine to activate that instinct in the world. This is how a subtype comes to be. Across nine types and three instincts, this creates 27 subtypes. A self-preservation Eight channels their lust through the desire for material security, accumulating property, wealth, and objects that ensure stability. A sexual Three channels their deceit through a primary relationship, believing that managing an image of a successful relationship is more important than their own identity. A social Six channels their fear into loyalty to rules, roles, and authority, finding safety in knowing exactly where they stand within the group.
In each type, one subtype actually runs counter to its passion, which can make it look like a different type entirely. A self-preservation Four, for example, suffers quietly rather than expressing envy outwardly. Subtype can shape how a type shows up so strongly that two people of the same type can look very different, which is why exploring instinct often clarifies type.
Balancing the Instincts
With practice, the intention is to balance the instincts. In having a dominant instinct, we naturally have one that we neglect. When working with instincts, the path to freedom is to recognize that each instinct is focused on attaining something we already have. We are already safe, we are already loved, and we already belong. All three are innately true of every human being.
To relax the dominant instinct, we focus our attention on that which has been repressed. Often, when you begin this work, you'll recognize that the repressed (sometimes called the blind) instinct has created a lot of difficulty in your life. A repressed self-preservation instinct might mean you've neglected your own need for care, stability, or well-being. A repressed sexual instinct might mean you've neglected intensity, attraction, or the depth that comes from one-on-one intimacy. A repressed social instinct might mean you've overlooked the importance of caring for your family network, or missed the influence you have on more global issues.
Attending to the neglected instinct can start small. For someone with a repressed self-preservation instinct, for example, it might begin as simply as regular sleep, meals, and rest. For someone with a repressed sexual instinct, it might open up through making more eye contact and focusing on intimacy with another person. For someone with a repressed social instinct, a practice of creating community and initiating gatherings might spark a new way of being in relationship.
With time, the intention is to balance the instincts and see that thriving, loving, and belonging are essential ingredients of a well-balanced life.
This text is directly influenced by the teachings of Beatrice Chestnut and Uranio Paes, who build on the work of Claudio Naranjo. I also credit the Narrative Enneagram, founded by Dr. David Daniels and Helen Palmer, for their work on subtypes.