The Enneagram and The Odyssey

(from The 9 Ways of Working (c) Michael J. Goldberg, 1999)

In The Odyssey, Odysseus travels through each of the Enneagram realms in exact reverse numerical order. Here is his itinerary:

2. Calypso, the Two nymph who nurses Odysseus back to health, offers him every worldly good,  dresses him like a god, cooks him mouth watering delicacies,  and even offers him immortality if he will but stay with her.

1. The Phaeacians, quintessential One menschen, who are centrally concerned with their duty, not expedience. They agree to take Odysseus to his home not for money or fame but because it is the right thing to do. In Phaecia, honor, respect and fair play count most.

9. The Lotus Eaters, true Nines who just go with the warm-and-fuzzy flow; but getting started in a new direction, especially toward home takes considerable effort and intention.

8. The Cyclopes, giant, powerful, vengeful Eights; "Each one dwells in his own mountain cave, dealing out rough justice to wife and child, indifferent to what others do." The Cyclopes want what they want when they want it, and they take it. They are forces of nature, unrestrained, uncultivated and unfettered. They don't suffer shame or guilt or reservations. They're not worried about what others think.

7.The whimsical Aeolus, a Seven whose island has no fixed location; it floats on the sea to where the winds blow it. The Aeolians live lightly, playfully, spontaneously. Each day they enjoy an elegant party with food and music. Aeolios offers Odysseus an extraordinary picture of what-could-be, what Ithaca would be like in his best imagination.

6. The paranoid, well defended Laestrygonians, Sixes who by nature feel persecuted and who attack Odysseus without provocation.

5. The solitary Circe, the cunning Five sorceress.who holds the secret knowledge that Odysseus needs to continue on his journey.

4. The visit to Hades, the psychic underworld, a land of Fours filled with longing, despair and what might have been.

3. The passage between Scylla and Charybdis, a monster and a whirlpool, where Three's skillful sailing full speed ahead is the only way through.

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