Myth Monday [13]:

 

“The Enneagram must be a spiritual tool, because it was designed as one.”

 

It is true that the Enneagram of personality grew out of a strongly spiritual context.

Oscar Ichazo, founder of the Arica School, developed his system as a path to higher states of consciousness, combining meditation, ritual, and “protoanalysis” in an explicitly esoteric training aimed at enlightenment, not at coaching or HR workshops.

 

He mapped ego-fixations, passions, holy ideas and virtues onto the enneagon and, over time, created a very large number of enneagram-based schemas (Arica speaks today of 108 enneagrams, most of which were never part of mainstream personality teaching).

 

The first problem is that “spirituality” is a very murky concept. For some people it means mystical practice, for others religious faith, for others a sense of meaning and values, and for many it simply means “woo-woo stuff I do not trust.” 

 

Treating the Enneagram as inherently spiritual assumes a shared definition that does not really exist and quietly excludes anyone who comes to it for psychological clarity, relationship work, or personal growth without wanting an esoteric path attached.

 

The second problem is the idea that the original intent locks in correct use. History does not support that.

WD‑40 was created to prevent rust on missiles and is now a household lubricant for squeaky hinges and bike chains.

Viagra was developed as a heart drug before its now-famous use.

Many tools, theories, and inventions end up being used very differently from what their creators imagined, because people discover other, often better, applications. 

 

The fact that Ichazo framed his enneagrams as a “science of the soul” does not mean the only legitimate use today is in a spiritual school.

 

In practice, the Enneagram is often at its strongest as a psychological tool for observing concrete strategies, changing behaviour, and improving everyday life and relationships.

 

You do not need to believe in higher states, inner masters, or metaphysical maps to notice how your favourite patterns keep creating similar problems and to work on doing something different. Insisting that the Enneagram is “really” or “only” a spiritual system, or that it must include spiritual elements to be valid, is not just unnecessary; it is also detrimental. It pushes away people for whom “spiritual” means magical, religious, or unscientific, and risks getting the Enneagram filed mentally next to astrology instead of next to useful frameworks for self-awareness and change.