Redeeming Type 6

A look at how this "least favorite" type shapes our humanity...

Human beings are diverse. Even just in terms of the Enneagram, there are 9 core types and 3 instincts, creating 27 subtypes. Then there are 27 distinct trifix archetypes (irrespective of order) and 162 possible trifix combinations when type order is accounted for. Together, the subtype and trifix produce 972 unique configurations—the greatest variety to be found in any personality system. And yet even with so much diversity and nuance, there are still universal human themes that apply to all of these type possibilities. One of the oldest and most prevalent archetypes in known history is the Everyman, a character found in everything from ancient myths to modern screenplays, embodied by the most complex and dynamic type on the Enneagram: Type 6.

If types like 4, 7, and 8 are the most romanticized and elevated by online communities, then the most reviled is easily 6. This contempt is misguided, but not surprising. Look at any mainstream description of 6, and you’ll find the same handful of stereotypes over and over again: 6s are loyal, fearful, anxious, and steadfast. 6s are doomsday planners, 6s are crowd-followers, 6s like authorities. This vision of 6 is narrow, shortsighted, and insultingly simplistic. In what is perhaps the greatest failing of popular Enneagram dissemination, the most complicated type of the entire system has been made the most boring and least desirable. It’s truly an ironic marvel, especially when considering how much of our modern culture is derived from qualities that the Enneagram attributes to Type 6.