TrueSelf’s Perspective on Masculine and Feminine Energetics — Part 2
In Part 1 we explored a foundational understanding of where the Masculine and Feminine come from fundamentally (at a cosmological level) and how philosophies, cultures, traditions and religions all over the world recognize its importance.
In part 2, we are going to synthesize the Masculine / Feminine Lens with the Enneagram by looking the Masculine & Feminine qualities of each of the 9 Enneagram types.
The 9 Enneagram Types are organized into 3 triads: The Instinctive Triad {8,9,1}, The Feeling Triad {2,3,4} and the Thinking Triad {5,6,7}. We each have one type in each of these triads — which is the core structure from where the 3 Types in your TrueSelf profile comes from.
Here is the Enneagram Symbol with each type identified as Masculine, Feminine or Hybrid.
Let’s explore more deeply why each type has the following Masculine/Feminine/Hybrid label.
As we discussed in Part 1 of this series, it is important to remember that all humans have both Masculine and Feminine attributes -- so even though I am identifying the Masculine/Feminine qualities within each of the 9 Enneagram types, the 9 types are not localized within man or woman nor does one's Enneagram Types capture the totality of what makes up their Masculine and Feminine essence. In other words, even a very Masculine TrueType can strongly develop their feminine side and vice versa.
The Enneagram 8 — Masculine This is the most archetypally Masculine type of all the Enneagram Types. Type 8s represent the fierce, physical strength of the Warrior and seek to impose their will upon reality as they move aggressively with their instinctual impulses.
The Enneagram 9 — Hybrid The Type 9 possesses a very archetypally Feminine energy. The Type 9 wants peace, harmony and connection and is very relationally attuned to the needs of others. The instinctual triad {8,9,1} has a subtle masculine undertone which makes the Type 9 less Feminine in its energy and affect than the relationally attuned Type 2. The rooted strength and often stubborn disposition that comes from the instinctual triad makes the Type 9 a hybrid Masculine and Feminine type.
The Enneagram 1 — Masculine The Type 1 is a masculine type but in a different way than the Type 8. The Type 1 wants to bring structure and order to their inner and outer world, but it does so through the suppression and sublimation of instinctual energy in order to be in service to its ideals. The Type 1 is often known as embodying Archetypal Father energy.
The Enneagram 2 — Feminine The Type 2 is a very feminine type. The Type 2 of all the types most represents the energy of the heart and loving connection. Enneagram 2s are deeply attuned to the needs of others and love supporting and nurturing other people. The Type 2 is often known as the Archetypal Mother.
The Enneagram 3 — Hybrid The Type 3 possesses primarily Masculine energy due how it asserts itself on the world in attempt to achieve well-thought out goals, but due to the Type 3 being in the Feeling triad it does have more feminine undertones than the assertive energy of the Type 8 which is in the instinctual triad. The vibrant, colorful, showmanship energy of the Type 3 is a more feminine flavor of assertiveness in contrast to its masculine drive for goal-oriented achievement. The Type 3 is often known as the Golden Child. These competing energies make Type 3 a hybrid Masculine/Feminine type.
The Enneagram 4 — Feminine The Type 4 is a very feminine type. Type 4 energy withdraws inward to explore the vast inner world of the psyche and its emotional landscape. The energy of the 4 is very artistic, unstructured and flowing and often has a challenging journey finding structure and learning to assert its presence on the world.
The Enneagram 5 — Masculine The Type 5 is a very masculine type though in a different way than the Type 8. The Type 5 retreats into the mental world and analyzes and explores it with depth and precision. It is the least emotional and relational out of all the Enneagram types giving it a very strong Masculine tone and flavor through the Mental Gates.
The Enneagram 6 — Hybrid The Type 6 is known as being a complex type of contradictions. Accordingly, it possesses a mix of both masculine and feminine features. While this type is in the mental triad, which possesses a strong masculine undertone, the Type 6 often expresses its energy with a great degree of emotionality often rooted in anxiety as it scans the environment for potential problems.
The Enneagram 7 — Feminine The Type 7 possesses a strong feminine energy, with slight undertones from the Mental triad. The Type 7 is very bright, colorful and vivacious. It loves movement and excitement and generally lives in a chaotic flow and avoids being pinned down by rules and order. Types 7 are the most colorful type of all the Enneagram types.
TrueSelf has written very detailed profiles on all the Enneagram Types here. And if you don’t know your own Type, we encourage you to take our free 7 minute test.
In advanced Enneagram study and courses it is common practice to explore many triadic patterns that are found throughout the Enneagram Symbol. There are the Harmony Triads, The Hornevian Triads, The Centers and many others. In this post, we're essentially introducing a new Triadic Pattern: The Polarity Triads.
Harmony Triads
As it turns out, though it should not be surprising, there is an equal mix of Masculine and Feminine Energy amongst the 9 Enneagram Types, with 3 strong masculine types, 3 strong feminine types, and 3 Hybrid types, which correspond to the Enneagram’s triadic construction.
When one looks at their TrueType, if you sum up the Masculine/Feminine energy of the respective 3 types, this can give you a pretty good sense of where a person falls on the Masculine/Feminine Spectrum.
For instance, my TrueType is 5,8,3 which is the most archetypally masculine of all 27 triadic combinations. This is accurately outpictured in my life, as I have both pursued and been drawn to primarily Masculine activities, expression and embodiment.
In contrast, my girlfriend Gillian’s TrueType is 4,7,1 which is a very potent feminine TrueType due the 4 and 7, with a solid tertiary pinch of Masculine order from her Type 1. The Type 1 allowed her at one point in her life to be a successful producer but she’s now found her home as Jungian trained Psychotherapist guiding women on the path of Feminine Awakening through teaching them how to love and respect Men and the Masculine.
Her life’s work sounds strikingly relevant to the new direction of TrueSelf don’t you think? I will be introducing Gillian more formally to the TrueSelf community very soon both in offerings we will be delivering and co-teaching together as well as her sharing her own offerings and work directly.
Predicting Relationship Success
Many people ask if the Enneagram can predict who will be most successful in a relationship. The Enneagram can beautifully describe the relational patterns between all the different Enneagram types — and as such we have articulated the Enneagram Relational patterns in greater detail than anyone else on the web at present in our Relationship page here— but other lenses and frameworks from a Multidimensional Consciousness perspective are far more predictive of who will be successful in a relationship. Looking through the Masculine/Feminine Polarity lens, we believe is one of the most important illuminative lenses for understanding relationships, and why romantic relationships work or don’t work in particular.
Masculine/Feminine Polarity is maximized when the man fully occupies the Masculine pole and the woman fully occupies the Feminine pole. However, not every level of consciousness seeks to maximize polarity. In fact, the post-modern level of consciousness in many ways has a drive towards experimenting with minimizing and diluting polarity as the Women at this level of consciousness take on and develop more Masculine qualities and the Men at this level of consciousness take on and develop more Feminine qualities.
In the next post, we will explore in more depth how Masculine and Feminine Polarities arise at different levels of consciousness and what that means for fulfilling relationships and its effect on the energy behind bland or blatantly electric sex.
We will introduce David Deida’s 3 stage model of Masculine/Feminine relating and describes its relationship to the Enneagram, Spiral Dynamics and TrueSelf’s Multidimensional Model of Consciousness.
Going forward you can expect Archetypal Masculine/Feminine polarity to be a fundamental lens through which we explore the world at TrueSelf.
