Enneagram Type Four Wings and Subtypes – An Overview

Enneagram Type 4 refers to those individuals who focus on creating an identity for themselves and take pride in being different from others. There is much more to this personality type than what seems apparent to people around them. There are Enneagram Type Four Wings and SubTypes that help offer insight into this personality prototype.

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All those who possess Enneagram type four personalities are reserved and sensitive. Fours are aware of whatever is happening around the world. They have a deep desire to discover and understand who they are. Their primary focus is to create something new and not concentrate on consumption. These people invest a lot of time looking back at their past and using their experiences to create new stuff.

The Enneagram Type four wings and subtypes discuss different dimensions, which exist in a hidden form inside this personality. They offer additional information regarding their various ways of dealing with life’s challenges.

Read on to know more –

Enneagram Type 4 Wings and Subtypes

SUMMARY
Enneagram type 4 wings and subtypes help add new aspects to the personality. They remain embedded under the characteristics of the core type. Even then, they play an equally important role in creating the dynamics of these people.

In this part of the article, we will give an overview of enneagram type 4 wings and subtypes. Wings in a personality provide some additional flavor. They enable individuals to experience various perspectives for understanding society better. These belong to the two adjacent personality types. They exist on two sides of the primary Enneagram Type.

They can positively influence the core Enneagram 4 personality and the challenges that this combination brings along with it. Hence, these wings help fours make the most of the chances that come their way. Wings also help overcome challenges to achieving their goals in life.

Enneagram 4 SubTypes refer to how the vitality emerges from their passion in several directions when it integrates with the dominant wing. When this combination occurs, it gives rise to various core motivations.

These motivations offer an extra incentive to focus on adopting behaviors linked with security and safety. They even pay attention to attaining recognition, belongingness, and forging relationships in social settings.  People with this enneagram type concentrate on building and creating attraction for one another.

Enneagram Type 4 Wings

The two adjacent types that lie on two sides of the basic Enneagram 4 personality type refer to the wings of the Enneagram 4 personality. There is a reason why it is known as basic. Human beings carry various complexities that add different shades to their lives.

That is why only considering the features of the core Enneagram4 personality would never give us the real picture of the overall personality. Therefore, wings help to explain different shades of personality.

The wings allow people of this personality type to become aware of the dimensions present within them. Unfortunately, they do not pay heed to them. If one places the nine Enneagram types in a line within a circle, its wings will be the two numbers lying on either side. Thus, for the enneagram type 4, the wings are 4w3 and 4w5. They help complement, counter, and evolve a versatile aspect of the core enneagram type.

Some claim that wings are the second side of an individual’s core personality type. People will carry various qualities of the adjacent types inside their personalities.

Enneagram 4 wings 3 characteristics

An individual carrying an enneagram type 4 personality with wing 3 manages to identify themselves the most with 4s. They might even share some characteristics with the enneagram type three.

All those with Enneagram 4 personality type always intend to add creativity to their life. They see things from various perspectives. Fours do everything possible to make themselves stand out. These people focus on creativity while undertaking different kinds of responsibilities.

Wing 3 makes an enneagram four conscious of their image. It lets them become far more productive. These individuals become better at hiding the emotional problems that occur from time to time. They always find ways to socialize and convert their dreams into realities. Their sole purpose is to become the most unique among all other individuals. They even wish to become the most accomplished ones.

• 4w3 drives this personality into doing things they love. It makes them outgoing. Fours tend to pull these things from the characteristics of type three.
• These individuals are far more emotional, competitive, and uninhibited in nature. They become even more prominent in their thought processes and behavioral patterns.
• Wing 3 can influence type four to work hard. It can help them convert their dreams into reality. Hence, they receive the motivation to think of achieving better things in life.
• Fours have the habit of making themselves noticed for being unique. There is always a tendency on their part to remain true to their nature. Due to the influence of type 3 on their personality, these people become conscious of their image. They aim for social acceptance and gaining success.
• Enneagram 4w3 uses their emotions for making decisions in their life. They tend to suffer from the fear of people not treating them with importance. These individuals also hate anyone calling them unworthy.
• These people desire to be one of a kind, genuine, and the best of the lot. 4w3s are known as the aristocrats due to their elegant style. They also get this tag due to the success they achieve from their work.
• All those who identify themselves with 4w3 happen to be imaginative and artistic on type four’s side. They become confident and ambitious from wing three.
• Fours can be shy and introverted. Still, they enjoy communicating with others more as they get the influence from wing three. They can project themselves with sophistication. These people could even behave courteously for validation.

Enneagram 4 wings 5 characteristics

A person having an enneagram type 4 wing 5 personality tends to identify particularly with type four. They can also contain several traits of enneagram type five. Wing 5 appears in a four when this individual becomes more unconventional, private, and introverted.

These people show little interest in status and converting all their ideas into action. They generally feel much happier undertaking unique activities for themselves and not for anyone else.

• Enneagram 4w5s are eccentric people. They do not care much about what other people think. When type 4 comes under the influence of wing 5, they can develop some attributes that help intensify their usual personality traits. Those attributes can even pose a serious challenge to them.
• Their emotions motivate them to make choices. On the other hand, when they lack awareness about the happenings around them, it can adversely affect their lifestyle. They can start feeling subdued out of shame.
• An enneagram 4 with a wing 5 carries the urge to find its true self. They wish to receive admiration for who they are. These individuals suffer from the fear of being insignificant and staying uninformed. 4w5s need to know various aspects of life.
• These people possess creative minds. They can think intuitively because of the four characteristics. On the other hand, there is always an inclination toward attaining academic knowledge from the five’s sides.
• People with enneagram 4w5 personality type think of themselves before considering others’ welfare.
• Those with the enneagram 4 personality type are artistic. It enables them to develop the vision of undertaking new projects. Now, with the help of direction from five, these people spend more time thinking over projects than taking concrete action.
• They have the skill to think creatively. It enables them to solve problems. No amount of complexity can deter their confidence level.
• The guidance these individuals receive from wing 5 offers a deep and passionate urge to gain knowledge. It also keeps them engaged as they learn a lot about specific topics. They can be of immense help to them while carrying out their professional responsibilities.
• Wing five can help an enneagram four by making them look deeper within themselves. Hence, it will let them understand life better. Fours can also find out the missing links in their life.
• It will become beneficial if enneagram fours avoid bottling up their emotions and express them in an uninhibited way. This can go a long way toward maintaining a healthy mentality. A healthy mentality would automatically result in a healthy life.

Enneagram 4 Subtypes

We all know that nine enneagram personality types make up the enneagram model. Now, each of these types contains three instinctual subtypes. These subtypes are fundamental tendencies based on one’s body. Hence, they stay with enneagram four, manage to connect with its core personality type, and then act cohesively.

It helps determine how they form their personality. Subtypes allow individuals to get in touch with their primary enneagram personality type. The subtypes point toward a combination of an individual’s core enneagram type along with their instinct.

Following are the instincts of all Enneagram types –

1. Self-preservation (SP) – Tenacity

2. Social (SO) – Shame

3. Sexual (SX) – Competition

It is now time to discuss how Enneagram 4s are connected. We will also see how they keep their focus on these inherent tendencies.

Self-preservation (SP)

The self-preservation subtype of enneagram 4 feels jealous like other Fours. Even then, these people tend to communicate their suffering and jealousy toward others far less than what the two subtypes of Four do.  Rather than discussing their drawbacks, these individuals tend to stretch their suffering. It enables them to learn ways to sustain pain without any grimace.

These types of enneagram fours are mentally and physically strong while dealing with their pain. Moreover, jealousy is much less apparent in this Self-Preservation instinct of Four. It is so because rather than expressing their jealousy, these Four work hard to acquire what others possess but lack in their life.

Rather than longing for things they do not have in their life, which prevents them from taking necessary action, they attempt to get those under their control. It makes an enneagram feel as if they will manage to redeem whatever they have lost.

Social (SO)

People having Enneagram 2 with Social Subtypes tend to undergo more suffering. They feel greater shame and are much more sensitive than the remaining two Fours. Jealousy allows them to pay attention to shame and suffering. It happens because these individuals adopt a strategy to lure others into fulfilling their requirements by going through a phase of intense pain and suffering.

These people get a sense of comfort while feeling melancholy. Jealousy even manifests itself when someone laments a lot in their life. They feel as if they are a victim. Thus, they tend to put their whole focus on being inferior to others. Social Fours do not compete with others. Rather, they compare themselves to people and find things that do not exist for them.

Sexual (SX)

These Enneagram Fours make other people suffer unconsciously. They do so to make themselves get rid of their painful emotions of deficiency. While trying to deny their sufferings and acting shamelessly, fours express their requirements more. They can even start demanding much more from others.

The jealousy of these people is present in the form of competition. They may not always consciously experience envy. These people tend to work against it by competing in whatever activity they do.

This sexual subtype of Enneagram 4 suffers from an inferiority complex. Then they overcompensate for the same by showing their arrogance. It adversely affects their personal and professional relationships. Fours can openly express their hostile nature. These people also show assertion, demand, anger, hostility, and emotionally intense features in their personalities.

Conclusion

In this post, we have discussed how wings and subtypes play crucial roles in making up the complete personality of an Enneagram Type 4 person. Wings help provide something extra to these individuals. They enable them to develop various perspectives in their life. 4w3 and 4w5 are the two wings of Enneagram 4.

Subtypes point toward fundamental tendencies within one’s body. They develop a link to the core personality type and carry out their actions in an integrated manner. There are three subtypes of Enneagram 4. These include the Self-Preservation Subtype (Tenacity), Social Subtype (Shame), and Sexual Subtype (Competition).