Nine Types
In the current Enneagram of personality types system there are nine different types represented by the nine numbers on the Enneagram symbol. Although the numbers have different values, the types are not ranked or sequenced in any way (e.g., type 9 is not better or worse than type 1, an individual doesn't become a type 2 after they've been a type1).
The nine types are always represented by their numbers (i.e., personality type 1, personality type 2, etc.). Many authors include labels as alternatives to the numbers (i.e., type 1 - perfectionist, type 2 - helper, etc.). The problem with using labels is that they can be misleading because they only represent one characteristic of the type or require further clarification of what the label means.
There are many variations of each type that are not evident when just looking at the nine types. These variations within each type are accounted for using additional features of the system such as wings, subtypes, variants, etc. To fully understand the variations within each type requires an understanding of these additional features beyond type.
