Beyond Power: Type 8 Subtypes
I’m fortunate to have taken a training on Instincts & Subtypes with Peter O’Hanrahan. He shared theories on how we develop a dominant instinct for either Self-preservation, Social belonging, or One-on-one relating. Said theories exceed the scope of this post, but Peter used a poignant metaphor I’d like to adopt—a 3 legged stool. He spoke of one’s dominant instinct as a “short leg” that throws the stool off balance. The key is to balance the stool by evening out these 3 legs—but how?
The first step is to know your Subtype, a.k.a your dominant instinct, so you can “check” the tendency to invest more energy in that instinctual arena. If you don't do this, you're pretty much sunk as far as working with these instincts (at least from my somewhat opinionated point of view).
Once you've learned to “check” the instinct you rely on most heavily/automatically, some energy starts getting “freed up.” Now you can redistribute that energy towards the other two instincts. I like to think of this as juicing up the secondary and tertiary instincts by “using them on purpose” - making conscious efforts to go forth and relate to the world through them.
With this in mind, let’s explore the subtype energies as they manifest for Enneagram Type 8s:
If you are an Enneagram 8, it can benefit you to understand how your protectiveness, justice-seeking, focus on strength, autonomy concerns, excessiveness, anger, and literally ALL components of your type structure get channeled primarily through a particular instinctual drive!
Where are your strength and autonomy concerns “aimed?”
Are they aimed at obtaining physical satisfaction, and protecting/controlling your territory (and everything in it)?
Are they aimed at empowering the disadvantaged, removing abusive authorities from power, and cultivating groups of trustworthy friends who share your vigor for life?
Or are they aimed at taking charge, expanding your zone of influence, and finding individual others who can match your personal intensity?
These are three very different ways of “living out” the Type 8 passion of Lust. Your Subtype not only affects how others perceive/experience your “Eight-ness,” but also the kind of self-work that will be most effective for you (and your specific expression of the type). Let’s dive a bit deeper:
Self-Preservation 8: Satisfactory Survival
These are the hardy, “solid as a rock” 8s. They are excellent at surviving in difficult situations. In these 8s, the passion of lust gets expressed through meeting survival needs. It’s all about obtaining physical and material satisfaction. So their excessiveness is likely to play out through food and drink, "fully enveloping" sensations and experiences, and controlling the territory that they have “staked out” as their own. They don't want anybody invading their space or messing with their possessions. These 8s also place a premium on immediacy. They want what they want and they want it NOW—often expressing a great deal of frustration if they have to wait. These 8s don’t have to say much to obtain the satisfaction they’re after. They have a “quiet strength” which allows them to make their presence known with very little effort. Helen Palmer states that for these 8s, "A mislaid shoe is upsetting. The discomfort might escalate. If someone else has moved the shoes, it can feel like an invasion, a domino effect where unpredictable events could escalate. If it's the shoes now, what next?" Don't tread on these 8s.
Social 8: Solidarity/Friendship
These are the “pack leader” 8s, who use their strength to protect the group. The fact that their “toughness” also offers self-protection could be considered somewhat of a byproduct. When acting on behalf of their community, these 8s may indeed have a sharp edge. But within said community, they can show quite a bit of softness. There is a “Mama Bear” mentality here—as long as you don’t mess with her cubs, she’s likely to leave you alone. But if you threaten those she protects, prepare to get torn apart. Social 8s are focused on justice-seeking. They primarily use their strength to enforce fairness, and to “check” the power of abusive authorities. Their anger isn't all that evident. However, engage them on the topic of how society/authorities treat the disadvantaged, and you’ll see their anger in spades. Social 8s like trustworthy friends around whom they can let down their guard, and know they won't get taken advantage of. If those friends can hold their ground in an argument, then all the better. Respectful conflict and trust-building are a natural pairing, they go together like wine and cheese.
One-to-One 8: Possession/Surrender
These are the “in your face” 8s. They are intense, provocative, and openly rebellious. They show you who they are in an up-front manner—no fear, no guilt, no pussyfooting around. They might even try to “test your metal” within five minutes of meeting you. The message is “I’m in charge here, and I know it.” Their energy communicates the notion that a challenge to their authority would be more of a delightful thrill than a genuine threat. These 8s work outside of accepted social structures, or perhaps use the power of their will to reshape those structures altogether. There’s often a sense of pride surrounding their “Wild West outlaw” mentality; they may scoff at rules, norms, and mainstream ways of doing things. One-on-one 8s are all about testing boundaries, exploring new frontiers, and expanding their sphere of influence. They create their own reality. You might even say they push the limits of reality—making the impossible possible. At their core, these 8s seek one-on-one connections that will allow for sweet surrender. Their hearts melt over a partner who can match their own strength, somebody they can trust to "take the reigns" once in a while.
To explore more about Type 8, join us at our next monthly workshop! You can see all of our upcoming events here. You can also work one-on-one with us by emailing us here.
*Shoutout to the Enneagram masters: I owe my understanding of Instinctual Subtypes to a long list of authors and teachers, but extra special credit goes to Peter O’Hanrahan, Helen Palmer, Beatrice Chesnut, and Ginger Lapid-Bogda