The word “Deconstructing” is a powerful word especially in the Christian world. Deconstructing means to analyze something in order to expose it’s hidden or internal assumptions. In the Christian world, “deconstructing from faith” means to question, doubt and ultimately reject aspects of the Christian faith. With this term defined, its leads me to my main point. I am writing to expose the Enneagram for what it really is. I am writing to share my “Enneagram story” and how I have come to deconstruct it. Ultimately, I am writing to help others see the truth about the enneagram and pull the wool from their eyes.
I’ll begin with my story. About 3 years ago was when I first heard about the Enneagram. I have always been interested in personalities and how and why people behave. Psychology and human behavior was a subject that I easily understood and was fascinated by. In school, we would take personality tests and read books on how to grow as a better person, or a better Christian. However, the enneagram was never one we did in school. That was something I found on my own. So, by nature, I gravitated towards this new personality test. I quickly identified as one of the numbers (9w8) and started down a 3-year long path of research, teaching, and persuading everyone I knew that the enneagram would change their life.
The thing with the Enneagram is that it claims to show you what your identity is. It also claims to show you how you can grow as a better person. As someone who is hesitant to accept challenge but loves growing in all areas, I dove headfirst into the enneagram. I read almost every enneagram website, article, book, and took almost every test online just to make sure I was correctly identified. I followed enneagram experts on social media, posted tons of enneagram content on my pages so everyone would know what my personality type was, and obviously downloaded all of Sleeping At Last enneagram music. I went around classifying people as certain numbers based on little to no interaction with them. One would say I was obsessed with the enneagram.
However, the overarching concept that drove my love for the enneagram was that there was a “Christian perspective” of this personality test (Notice to quotations”). All I had to hear was that one person wrote a book about the enneagram from a “Christian perspective” and I was sold. No questions asked, I took the enneagram as gospel. This might seem over the top, but I was not the only one who thought this way.
So, after a few years of gaining all the knowledge that I could about the enneagram, I sort of forgot about it. What was there left for me to learn? I stopped “following” the enneagram. Not because I didn’t believe it in anymore, but just because I wasn’t obsessed with it like I was at the beginning (#Honeymoon phase over). About a year ago I started to see some posts about the enneagram and how it wasn’t what it seemed. This is where my deconstructing started.
If you know me, you know I love learning about different religions, cults, churches, and anything occult like. I regularly listen to a podcast called Cultish where they talk about things that are “cult like” and give a true Christian perspective (notice my lack of quotations) on topics. In 2020, Cultish released a podcast series called “Decoding The Enneagram”. I avoided listening to this podcast for almost a year. I knew that if this podcast was talking about the enneagram, I would find out that I was wrong, and that the enneagram is not what it seems. While avoiding this podcast, I was convicted. I knew that I was avoiding it because my precious enneagram would disappear. All my years of research and pushing the enneagram on others would soon be one of my biggest regrets.
Over the past month I have finally deconstructed from the enneagram. I listened to that podcast (which will be linked below) and have read other articles on how the enneagram is not what it seems. It is not a personality test. There can be no “Christian perspective” on it because it was never meant for Christians to use to grow in their faith and grow to become more like Christ. The enneagram fad that has taken the world and the Christian church by storm is a lie and is deceiving all who align with it. The only way I can explain my reasoning is through the history of the enneagram. Below is information that I got from an article written by Cultish. (The article is linked below)
The enneagram was created by George Gurdjieff who was a Greek-Armenian mystic and spiritual guru. He is credited for his work in self-realization and the one-ness with the self. Gurdjieff claims that one is asleep to “self” but can be awakened through meditation in which you can be able to analyze your various “egos”. Gurdjieff was an esoteric (having an inner or secret meaning) teacher who was interested in diagrams and symbols. He created the first nine-sided diagram inscribed inside a circle (sound familiar) but did not contain “personality types”. To Gurdjieff, this enneagram diagram contained all knowledge that was held within the cosmos. He believed that all knowledge was held inside the enneagram and with its help, it can be interpreted. Secret laws of the universe could be seen in his diagram. The enneagram was created by an Esoteric Mysticism/Spiritual Guru.
As the enneagram was passed down to his followers, there was still never personality types or temperaments detailed in the writings. However, in 1956, a student of these teachers linked personality types to an enneagram. They took the view that personality is fixed by the positions of the planets at birth, but they arranged them around the enneagram. It was claimed that once you know your planetary personality type, you can improve yourself. This leads us to how the enneagram took on personalities.
Oscar Ichazo was a man who ran an occultic school is Chile. He took on these enneagram teachings and added different concepts to the enneagram. Ichazo’s influence on the enneagram came from his encounter with two spirits. Oscar was involved in psychedelic drugs and during one of his trips guided by a spiritual master, he came in contact with these spirits. Ichazo’s origins of ego fixations are from a higher source, from inspiration, and from revelation. Not from any historical or factual evidence. I won’t go into any detail about this but linked below is an article where this information is from. So, what are Christians to do about this?
The historic origins of the enneagram are esoteric, Gnosticism, and occultism from channeled material gained from automatic writing and psychedelic trips. Satan brings sin in quietly. He knows how to work the church. And now, the enneagram is loved by churches and devout Christians. I was one of those who fell for Satan’s tricks. Once he got to me all he had to do was sit back and wait for me to do all the work for him. Now I am standing up and calling out the lies of the enneagram. I am calling out those Christians who are aligning with it. It took me years to get here, and I am praying that the Holy Spirt convicts you like it did to me. There is no need for the enneagram, the word of God is all we need to be complete. Christians shouldn’t be trying to find their “true-selves”, we are told to die to ourselves. So Christian, find yourself in the identity of the Lord, and not the identity of this world.
