From Lust to Innocence: The Path of Type 8

Ask a Type 8 what it means to feel alive, and they’ll likely describe something visceral. Power in the body. A challenge worth wrestling with. A sense of their full life-force moving through them, uncontained.

The passion of Type 8 is Lust. But not just in the narrow, sexual sense—it’s more accurate to call it a passion for excessiveness. There’s a tendency to lean into sensational, high-octane experiences that envelop the physical self, flooding the senses and confirming their vitality.

I like how Riso and Hudson put it: “Eights are ‘lusty’ in that they are driven by a constant need for intensity, control, and self-extension.” It’s a lust for feeling one’s own power, for taking up space, for getting satiated. For 8s, to be alive is to be in motion—pushing, pulling, resisting, building. They live through instinctual impulses felt in the body, which is why they’re such natural mountain movers. They are constantly seeking a bigger challenge, something massive to push against (and overcome).

But this intensity-seeking does more than just fuel achievement. It also helps 8s keep feelings of vulnerability out of awareness. Vulnerability leaves you open to getting hurt. And for 8s—often early in life—it seemed far safer to become the strongest person in the room than to risk the pain of powerlessness. Strength became a shield. The irony of this self-protective armor? It can unintentionally intimidate the very people they are trying to empower. Their larger-than-life presence sometimes invites resistance instead of trust—an outcome most 8s deeply wish to avoid.

At their best, 8s embody the virtue of Innocence. Ginger Lapid-Bogda describes it as “…a willingness to be vulnerable, open-minded and open-hearted so that the need to protect self and others is no longer present.” This is what lies beneath the surface of the 8’s powerful exterior—something tender, open, and profoundly human. But that part of them is often fiercely guarded. The true nature of 8s is hard for others to see, not because it’s absent, but because it’s so well protected.

When 8s contact the virtue of Innocence, we finally see them for who they really are: the deeply loyal, loving, even “teddy bear” types who want nothing more than to offer strength on behalf of others. When driven by Lust, they might try to support the vulnerable by teaching them to be tough. But when they move from Innocence, they hold others' hearts, not just their burdens. They stop trying to control outcomes and start letting presence do the heavy lifting. They discover that real strength doesn’t come from pushing against the world—it comes from letting life move through them.

Evolved 8s understand: Innocence is not an “unprotected” state. Nothing is more protective than being rooted in present-moment awareness. From that stance, there is no need to fight for leverage. Power simply is—and they are free to use it gently.

So here’s some questions for the Type 8s reading this post:
Where are you still equating vulnerability with weakness?
And what happens when your power comes not from force, but from presence?

If you want to further explore themes and growth for Type 8, check out our next monthly workshop. Learn more and register here!