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The cyclical enneagram

The cyclical enneagram analyzes cyclical processes – processes that repeat through time. It illustrates and clarifies the concepts contained in words and phrases like ‘key moment,’ ‘point of no return,’ ‘back a stage,’ and ‘forward planning’: once again, the enneagram becomes ‘a picture worth a thousand words.’

The process itself is represented by clockwise movement around the outer circle of the diagram. This sense of a clockwise progression around the outer circle is the key feature differentiating the cyclical enneagram from the static enneagram.

The analysis of a cyclical process begins with the identification of the ‘steady state’ – the central or neutral or resting state, which represents the beginning and end of each cycle. This is represented by the point at the top of the diagram – point NINE.

The first key moment to identify within the cycle itself is ‘the point of no return’ – the moment when the option to retreat disappears, and the only way to return to the steady state is to complete the cycle.

‘The point of no return’ goes at the foot of the diagram, in the center – diametrically opposite the beginning and ending point.

We now have a sense of an ‘outward’ journey, away from the steady state toward ‘the point of no return,’ and a ‘homeward’ journey, by a different route, back from ‘the point of no return’ to the steady state.

The next part of the analysis is the identification of the two ‘energy points’ in the cycle – the two key moments or energies in the cycle that dictate its sense of direction and purpose. These become points THREE and SIX.

Energy point THREE represents the energy that gives the cycle momentum – taking it out of the steady state toward ‘the point of no return.’ It represents ‘outward bound,’ ‘risk taking’ energy.

Energy point SIX represents the energy that carries the cycle safely back from ‘the point of no return’ to the steady state: ‘homeward bound’ energy.

Points THREE and SIX and NINE now define the nature of the cycle as a whole. In particular, each dominates its own ‘phase’ – its own third – of the cycle.

Sometimes it is easier to identify the two energy phases or energy points first, and then identify ‘the point of no return’ which lies between them.

The point of no return is the point at which ‘the balance is tipped’ to move from the outbound phase into the homebound phase. It is the high-energy, high-risk point in the middle of the cycle – quite the opposite of the steady state.

Detail is now added by identifying intermediate stages in the cycle – six altogether: one at the beginning and one at the end of each phase.

ONE and TWO are intermediate stages beginning the cycle, on the way toward the main outbound energy point THREE.

FOUR and FIVE are intermediate stages in the high-energy section of the cycle, immediately before and immediately after the point of no return.

SEVEN and EIGHT are intermediate stages concluding the cycle – on the way back toward NINE from homebound energy point SIX.

The arrows that make up the THREE-SIX-NINE triangle now represent the concept of ‘going back a stage.’

The arrow back from THREE to NINE represents a retreat: deciding against completion of the cycle before ‘the point of no return’ is passed.

The arrow back from NINE to SIX represents a repeat of the last part – only – of the most recent cycle, rather than a whole new cycle.

And the arrow back from SIX to THREE represents a high risk, high energy repeat of the most intensive part of the cycle, without first returning to the steady state phase.

The hexagon represents a series of more complex ‘alternative moves’ within the cycle.

On the right hand side of the diagram, before the point of no return, it gives the option of a confident leap forward, almost as soon as the cycle has begun at ONE, all the way out almost to the point of no return, at FOUR. It also suggests – just before the point of no return – the option of a short retreat, back from FOUR to TWO, spending more time in this energy phase before passing ‘the point of no return.’

On the left hand side of the diagram, the extra links suggest a small jump forward from FIVE to SEVEN, and the option to repeat this entire phase with the loop back from EIGHT to FIVE.

Across the top of the diagram, a jump is suggested directly from the end of the homebound energy phase – at SEVEN – right into the beginning of the next cycle, at ONE; and at TWO there is the option to postpone the present cycle in order to tidy up the end of the last one by going back from TWO to EIGHT.

In total there are six ‘alternative moves’ on the hexagon – three forward and three backward, at various stages in the cycle – but their relationship with ‘the point of no return’ is unique. They allow no way of avoiding it going forwards, and they offer no way back once it has been passed.

Even the THREE-SIX-NINE triangle offers no way of avoiding ‘the point of no return’ going forward – although the ‘back a stage’ principle of the triangle does allow a loop back from SIX to THREE, to run the entire ‘high energy’ part of the cycle again.

Some practical examples of cyclical processes will show all of these features in action.

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