@ElleG What an excellent post with many, many good insights and resources! I'm looking forward to more opportunities to talk tritype with you. Plus, it's cool to see an 854 around
@Sinny if you're still interested, I have some more info that I hope might help:
I used to HATE tritype because I thought it messed with the overall enneagram system. Turns out, I was just overwhelmed by the complex interactions between the types. One thing I found helpful was to look at the enneagram institute's type interactions (I don't know where to find it so I haven't provided a link, sorry!). Understanding how the types harmonize and clash can speak to ideas of conflicting inner motivations, and help you understand how they would play out in heirarchal order.
I've been working on condensing enneagram and other type theories into smaller components that make it easy to see all the parts of the typology at once, in combination.
Here's a general overview I created to simplify the process of finding a tritype, while upholding the subtleties of wings. Every tritype with wings will definitely have a 1, 2, 4,5,7 and/or 8 somewhere in it, but might
not have a 3, 6 or 9. While it is more common to have a 3, 6 or 9 somewhere than not to have any of those three. Thus, a non-369 type would be an especially rare combination that I would call a "fringe type" - uncommon and challenging to societally normative roles as opposed to cooperative with them, like 3's. 6's and 9's.
To get my tritype, I just paired one of these 8:
125-
"Mentoring" Temperament (+ve: edifying/ -ve: pedantic)
127-
"Promoting" Temperament (+ve: optimistic/ -ve: demanding)
145-
"Sophisticating" Temperament (+ve: nuanced/ -ve: fastidious)
147-
"Visioning" Temperament (+ve: visionary/ -ve: fussy)
258-
"Training" Temperament (+ve: realistic / -ve: autocratic)
278-
"Emancipating" Temperament (+ve: encouraging/ -ve: pushy)
458-
"Subverting" Temperament (+ve: inventive/ -ve: resistant)
478-
"Disrupting" Temperament (+ve: unhindered/ -ve: provocative)
With one of these 8:
Contains 3,6 & 9-
Mediating/Normative (has a completely
Contains 3 & 6-
Dedicated/Reliable (has a non-mediating gut type- 8w7 or 1w2)
Contains 3 & 9-
Smooth/Charming (has a non-mediating head type- 5w4 or 7w8)
Contains 6 & 9-
Amicable/Accessible (has a non-mediating heart type- 2w1 or 4w5)
Contains only 3-
Driven (only mediates with 2w3, 3w2, 3w4 or 4w3)
Contains only 6-
Ardent (only mediates with 5w6, 6w5, 6w7 or 7w6)
Contains only 9-
Mellow (only mediates with 8w9, 9w8, 9w1 or 1w9)
Doesn't contain 3,6, nor 9- Firm (only has non-mediating type combination)
As for stacking, I like to differentiate the stackings like this:
Gut-Head-Heart ► Intentional: decides how to advantageously interact with their environment.
Gut-Heart-Head ► Impactful: emphasizes what kind of emotional resonance they want to create.
Heart-Gut-Head ► Passionate: wants their presence to convey to others how they see themselves.
Heart-Head-Gut ► Discreet: carefully plans how they wish to come across to others.
Head-Gut-Heart ► Deliberate: decides what impact they want to make on their environment
Head-Heart-Gut ► Proficient: wants to be perceived of as competent, and presents self as such.
So in my case I could have found my tritype like this:
1. Pick a "fringe temperament." I identified mostly with the "subverting" temperament- (inventive/resistant), which gives me 458.
2. Pick a "balancing temperament" I identified mostly with the "mellow" temperament- (only mediating my physical presence, not my thinking or self-image) which gives me 9.
3. Fill in any "fringe" type wings: So, my tritype would have 4w5, 5w4, and 8w9/9w8.
4. Sort out ambiguous wings: I decided I identify more with 9w8 than 8w9 (retreating as opposed to dominating)
5. Determine stacking: This is still tricky, but maybe adjectives/descriptions might help? I identify with the "Discreet" stacking.
6. Finalize: 4w5, 5w4, 9w8.
Other helpful characterizing factors:
Realistic Self-Image (Service): Two (
controls shame)
Mediated Self-Image (Achievement): Three (
denies shame)
Idealistic Self-Image (Individualism): Four (
acts out shame)
Realistic Strategy (Investigation): Five (
controls anxiety)
Mediated Strategy (Loyalty): Six (
acts out anxiety)
Idealistic Strategy (Novelty): Seven (
denies anxiety)
Realistic Presence (Dominance): Eight (
acts out anger)
Mediated Presence (Placidity): Nine (
denies anger)
Idealistic Presence (Reform): One (
controls anger)
So, my tritype would be a Discreet type that primarily presents an idealistic self-image. That idealistic self-image is made manifest through a realistic strategy: I investigate ways to ensure my individualistic image remains intact. Practically, this means that I spend a lot of time learning new things so that in my day to day life I can be that odd person that does things differently than other people based on my wealth of knowledge (in my case, about social interaction and intellectual discussion). How I interact with my environment is almost least important, because I only apologize for my imposition and try to keep the peace if people have a problem with my intellectual strangeness, which causes me to physically avoid people who don't understand me or the things I'm interested in, and gravitate toward people who are easier to talk to.
Discreetness (heart-head) also describes me better than Proficiency (head-heart) because I care more about people seeing me as "aesthetically" unique than as intellectually competent. I'm about refining an informed style first (4w5), then eventually mastering obscure knowledge (5w4), then finally providing a protective sanctuary for myself & others when I can (9w8).
The so/sx/sp stacking adds a whole other layer of depth, too- as it frames all of the above points in a "making strong social connections by getting involved" context.
