Three Enneagram Centres: An Earth Trinity
Recently, I have been in a study group where we have been invited to reflect on our Earthly “I”, our Soul “I”, and our Spirit “I”. (“I”, as in “me”.) In the Earthly I, we are “clothed in an earthly garment, in a mortal frame — bound by the natural laws of the universe and by a world of dualities.”[1] We wear a cloak woven from the three strands of our Enneagram Centres of Intelligence, our Earth Trinity.
Three Centres of Intelligence
The Enneagram is divided into three triads referred to as Centres of Intelligence, each representing a different way of knowing . Types Eight, Nine, and One belong to the Gut or Body Centre. Two, Three, and Four make up the Heart or Feeling Centre. Five, Six, and Seven comprise the the Head or Thinking Centre.
This is controversial, but some Enneagram schools teach that everybody has one primary type in a dominant centre of intelligence and also a secondary type in each of the other two centres. Óscar Ichazo described this as a tri-fix, or a fixation in three centres, rather than just in one. (Fixation is Enneagram-speak for the key mistaken idea each type has about itself.) Katherine Chernick Fauvre has extended this work considerably and has described the system as Tritype.
Personally, I never knew there was another way. When I learned the Enneagram from David Walsh and Carol Ann Gotch, they always taught with the understanding that everyone has a type in each of the three centres of intelligence. David came to this conclusion independently, by self-observation at first, then by confirmation with others. There was no test involved; everyone was encouraged to discern the types in each of their centres, with support of their teachers and in the context of the Enneagram learning community.
Three-Centred Language
The language David and Carol Ann created was, “I am a [type number] in my [centre].” So, for myself, I am a Nine in my gut, a Four in my heart, and a Six in my head. My primary space, ever and always, is Nine, but I mostly act out of Four and Six in the other two centres.
The three types are always in different centres. For example, you can be a Nine-Four-Six (Gut-Heart-Head), but you can’t be a Nine-One-Six (Gut-Gut-Head). If you see this or a similar pattern in yourself, it’s some other dynamic at play. [2] In this example, perhaps you are seeing a One-wing to your primary Nine and you have yet to discern your Heart type.
My Earth Trinity
As I considered the three centres I work from — my Earth Trinity — a question arose from each one. Curiously, the question from each centre seemed to point to one of the others and no two questions pointed to the same centre.
My primary question at Nine was “Who AM I?” This pointed in direction of the Heart Centre, whose urge is to be.
At Four, my question was “Why?”, following the urge to know that resides in the Head Centre. At Four, this is an experiential understanding, a knowing in one’s bones.
At Six, the search for an external authority is paramount. The authority will tell me what to do, fulfilling the body centre’s urge to move or act. My question for the authority at Six was, “What do you want me to do?” Ultimately, at Six, we must become our own authority.
| Nine | Who AM I? | (Gut asks a heart question.) |
| Four | Why? | (Heart asks a head question.) |
| Six | What do you want me to do? | (Head asks a gut question.) |
I haven’t worked much with the questions that arose for me at Four and Six yet, so they might still be evolving. For now, let’s follow the question at Nine and see where it leads.
Nine — Body Centre
The body expresses itself in movement, from the gut, the limbs, and the nervous system.
Movement — so little
When there is so much to choose from
(and I see it all!)
it seems simplest not to choose,
not to act.
Maybe it will go away.
Perhaps the most important part will reveal itself.
I might not need to make the effort of discernment.
No choice,
no action,
only happenstance.
Gut — Who AM I?
Whom shall I say that sent me?
I AM who I AM.
And who AM I? Who do you say that I AM?
You will know in the fullness of time. Who do YOU say that you are?
Limbs — Called to action
I am called to action. In the fullness of time.
How will I know what I must do?
You will know.
But how?
Be still. When it is time, you will know.
Nervous System — A Wake-Up Call in the Kitchen
- Ptt-CHEW!!! An eruption of chaos!
- Move right in — don’t think about it.
- Stop!!
- What!?
- Wake up! Come back to myself.
- The kitchen was returning to some semblance of order — until now.
- Be more conscious, more considerate of a companion whose main approach is to consider.
- The moving-in, done unconsciously, is a bull in a china shop.
- It can steamroll over the carefully-considered plans of a heady partner.
- Stop, listen, breathe, consider.
- The body knows what the head and heart do not, but it cannot act alone.
- All are right; none is right without the others.
- Take time to check gut reaction against the other centres.
- Pay attention.
- Align the centres.
Life in the Body Centre
I wrote these words just before I went to bed the other night. The absolutely next thing I did was to go to the kitchen and reach in the dark for where I thought I had left a full glass of water. I missed and knocked it right over. A full glass of water goes a long way! I scooped up the papers and books from the counter, grabbed a towel, and mopped up the mess. I wrung out the towel and placed it back on the counter. My whole system was jangling, fueled by the adrenaline rush of reaction.
Only then did I remember that we had used the towel to dry some tomatoes after washing them to prepare them for freezing. We still had another batch to wash, but having just used the towel to wipe up a spill on a dirty counter, we couldn’t use it for that now. I might have let it slide, but the towel was still damp in the morning, so I had to confess my sins.
My sins! How I frame that! It was a careless move in a tired moment. Not a sin. (Just get another towel!) But not all my centres were online either. I was trying not to be found out, acting out of shame.
Joan asked me, “Were you ever shamed as a child for being clumsy?” Sure, lots of times. It was even a family joke.
Joan: “That action of moving straight in, that’s literally life energy! Don’t block it!”
Me: “I had no guidance in how to use and direct that energy. It was not honoured and valued.”
Three Centres Together
Gut response is good and necessary. The body moves into action to do what must be done. I do what I do because of who I am, who I have become, and who I am becoming.
Heart energy is good and necessary, motivating us to follow our desires and validating our reason for being.
Head energy is good and necessary, suited to a time when care can and must be taken for the best outcome. Its authority comes from an inner knowing.
The three centres work best in a healthy balance where one centre leads, then another, as in an elaborate dance. They are always in motion, never static, and all are valued for what they bring.
Footnotes
[1] Gotch, Carol Ann; Unpublished workshop notes; September, 2020
[2] The model of having a type in each centre does not negate the other, familiar dynamics of the Enneagram. The Law of Three, Law of Seven, wings, harmony triads, stress and security points, and more are still valid and useful constructs. We determine their use by context and discernment.
Thank you Bob for both the information and your candid transparency reflecting your life experience.
Hi Jane, thanks for the comment. I got your other email, too, and will send you a longer reply. Just wanted to acknowledge that I’d received it.