Enneagram Type 5

Enneagram 5s idolise the innate quality of guidance, also called discriminating intelligence. The personality constellates around manufacturing this quality. How do we embody guidance in the world? We are curious and observant, we ask good questions, and we take our areas of interest to the deepest depths, perhaps sometimes isolating ourselves from others in the process, and certainly always minimising intrusions. This characteristic feature of Enneagram 5s, Avarice (a fearful withholding of the self), is most evident in the domain of the dominant instinct.

Names given to Enneagram Type 5

The Observer (Narrative Enneagram), the Investigator, (the Enneagram Institute), the Wise Person (Jerry Wagner), Striving to be Detached (Mario Sikora), Involved Wisdom (Khaled ElSherbini).

One of the Head Center Types

Along with types 6 and 7, Enneagram 5 belong to the Head triad. If you care about inner development and transformation, you want to ensure that you understand the significance of the Centers. If you intend to self-study, I recommend getting a copy of something like the Wisdom of the Enneagram or the Enneagram Triads.

Because each triad share characteristics, this aspect of the Enneagram can also help you to know whether you are the type you think you are, or whether you have mistyped. Below are some general characteristics that have been associated with the Head types.

Enneagram Type 5 Subtypes

As discussed on the instincts page, ‘subtype’ is the name given to what happens when our Enneagram type intersects with the instinctual part of us. Some teachers prefer to simply name this situation as a ‘type/instinct’ combination, versus giving it a special name

Remember that descriptions are approximations. The descriptions below are from Dr Beatrice Chestnut, whose work built upon the teachings of Claudio Naranjo, and Russ Hudson, who has slightly different descriptions (which he shared over a series of Tweets once).

Self-preservation 5

‘Castle’ (Ichazo, Naranjo and Chestnut

• Focus mainly on maintaining good boundaries with others.
• Focus on minimizing needs, finding refuge, and having all they need within their place of safety.
• Limit needs and wants because every desire is seen as compromising their independence.
• Avoid conflict with others and attachment to them, but do experience a strong sense of attachment to a few places or people.
• Strong inhibitions against showing aggression.
• Warmth and humour are both genuine expression of internal sensitivity and defensive construction/social shield.

‘Solitude’ (Hudson)

• There is the tendency to isolate and to create a fortress-like existence in the home.
• Stockpile the castle, they have a tendency to hoarding.
• Most 5s collect things and the Self-preservation 5, especially so.
• The most introverted and the most needing solitude and space. Can easily feel drained by interaction.
• Take pride in their ability to not need much in the way of comforts.
• Highly protective of their energy levels.
• A space that feels like my domain, a place to think, to explore without interruption, to have my resources around me, is vital.
• When troubled, can become eccentric or even delusional through extreme isolation. May cut off from friends and allies, and descend into mental illness without reality checks.
• At their best, they follow a different drummer, and combine original thought with human warmth and humor.

Sexual 5

‘Confidence’ – the countertype (Ichazo, Naranjo and Chestnut)

• Have a passion for finding a special person they can connect with deeply, sometimes a person they cannot find or have yet to find.
• More in touch with their emotions inside, though they may not show it on the outside.
• Often have a romantic streak that they may express through some form of artistic expression.
• Can be difficult to pass their test for consistency if you’re in a relationship with them (it is very easy for them to be disappointed).
• Can look like a Type 4.

‘This is My World’ (Hudson)

• Can be avoidant of those they are most attracted to.
• Love the freaky, sometimes disturbing elements of life, finding some of it also funny.
• Caught between the sexual drive to become deeply involved and the 5 drive to pull back.
• Tends to be more imaginative and creative rather than purely intellectual.
• Test others to see if they can handle their strange inner worlds.
• Like to explore the strange and forbidden.
• Risk emotional connection, but when hurt they also can withdraw for a long time, perhaps staying single for years.
• When troubled, Sexual 5 become nihilistic, withdrawing into a world of nightmarish fantasies and becoming overtly self-destructive.
• At their best, they invite others to see the strange wonder of existence and may create artistic or scientific innovations well ahead of their time.

Social 5

‘Totem’ (Ichazo, Naranjo, Chestnut)

• Don’t need the nourishment that relationships provide because their passion for knowledge somehow compensates.
• Enjoy becoming experts in the specific subject areas that interest them.
• Like acquiring knowledge and connecting with others with common intellectual interests and causes – may be more connected to people they connect with through a social cause or are of expertise than the people in close proximity in everyday life.
• Need for the essential, the sublime or the extraordinary instead of what is here and now.
• Look for meaning to avoid a fearful sense that everything is meaningless.
• Can become spiritual or idealistic in a way that is actually counter to spiritual attainment because it bypasses empathy and compassion and the practical way people connect to each other in everyday life.
• Mysterious and inaccessible or fun and intellectually engaging.
• Can look like Type 7s.

‘The Specialist’ (Hudson)

• Need to develop in-depth expertise in particular subjects.
• Often feel they have something special to convey to the world and seek to connect with others who have ‘done their homework.’
• The most friendly 5s, but seek the company of those who like them, have mastered something (they feel validated by being in such company).
• May spend much time devoted to studies or developments of skill, but they grow as they learn to see how such knowledge and skill serve others.
• Okay with being in social settings as long as there is a role to play that employs their expertise: being a DJ or a bartender or a teacher. Without such roles, they can feel overwhelmed.
• May lack capacities for bonding and reading situations, but are loyal friends and are sensitive to others being treated disrespectfully.
• Curious about people.
• When troubled, can be quite anti-social, isolated, and angry at society.
• At their best, they excel at communicating challenging ideas and inviting others to explorations of reality.

Types connected to 5 (and how connected)

Arrow point: Type 7 – the ‘Stress’ (Hudson) or ‘Resolution’ point

The inner lines are important when it comes to a growth path. As a general rule, the more dynamic movement between the arrow points and core point, the less fixated we are in our types. And the more conscious the movement, the greater our depth of presence (and freedom from the patterns).

The lines can also help us to know for sure that we have typed correctly. Following Russ Hudson’s teaching on the lines, moving to this style helps 5s who have been ‘5-ing out’ too much. It’s called the stress point because we tend to go there because the strategy of the core type has been over-exhausted.

When Type 5 moves to Type 7 unconsciously, they may be nervously social, express anxiety through humour, seek escape through many interesting ideas and speak more superficially about a greater amount of ideas and plans.

When the movement is positive/conscious, Type 5s experiment more with ideas, become more adventurous, quick-witted and fun, search for pleasure and stimulating contact, are more spontaneous and experience greater happiness and joy (distinctions from Paes/Chestnut).

Type Eight – ‘the Security’ (Hudson) or ‘Energising’ point

Many of us struggle to own the behaviours we see at the security point for our number, in particular the ‘low’ behaviours. However, as discussed elsewhere on this site, the integration of the security point becomes a way of knowing if we’re making progress in our inner work.

When Type 5s move to Type 8 unconsciously, they can “become angry in defense of boundaries, get more arrogant and dismissive of others; may confuse their truth with the truth; express intolerance for those who don’t agree with their point of view; and express power in service of energetic withdrawal” (ideas are from Paes/Chestnut).

On the conscious/positive side, when connected with the 8 they are “more grounded in the body and have a physical sense of power; quieten mental focus while getting more in touch with sensations; develop more assertiveness and leadership ability; get more in touch with self-confidence and power; experience less of a need to hide; and connect with others more through ‘positive’ conflict” (Paes/Chestnut).

Centre Integration Point – Type 2 (Paes/Chestnut)

5s can be incredibly giving, thanks to a heartfelt generosity. They just want to know for how long they need to give, essentially, that there is a beginning, middle, and ending to the emotional claims (in particular) being made upon them.

The ‘Wings’ or types on either side – Types 4 and 6

The presence of the attributes of the types on either side of our core type is another way of knowing whether we have typed correctly. They may be important from a growth perspective too, although they are not as important as the connection points (above).

Enneagram teacher and direct student of Naranjo, Micheal Goldberg, teaches that each Enneagram type is formed out of a reconciliation of the forces of the Wings. 

For a 5, they are caught between the melancholy and abandoned feeling of the 4 and the doubt and cowardice, survival anxiety of the 6. It is a stretch between longing for authentic connection and fear, self-doubt and insecurity, to which the 5 responds with stinginess, developing a strong need to know to scout the territory and gain knowledge staying at a safe distance from the experience.

In terms of practical interventions, 4 wing development for a 5 “supports them in balancing observation with 4’s passionate involvement in life, connecting thoughts to feelings, creating energy and expression, and engaging both intuition and analytical ability”. 6 wing development means “cultivating the ability to weigh the evidence and take/defend a point of view; develop faith in self and others to enable commitment; and connect more with groups and teams” (Integrative Enneagram Solutions).