The Mother’s Enneagram
Me with my daughter, channeling my Type 8 Strongman 😂
In the Enneagram world, the archetype of the mother is most often represented by Type 2 (often called “The Helper.”)
Enneagram School of Awakening Core Faculty member Valerie Wanamaker teaches this archetype in all of its iterations, from the compassionate nurturer—who gives love freely and abundantly—to the devourer—whose consuming, possessive love ultimately works as a force of destruction.
Motherhood and mothering, regardless of gender, are deep and complex parts of the human (and non-human) experience. While Type 2’s Essential quality of Compassion is clearly connected to mothering, I am often struck by the connection many Enneagram points have to the mother. Often in our trainings, people are struck by how Type 8, the powerful body point known as “The Challenger,” is activated in the experiences of birth and protecting offspring.
Facing the mother in all her forms has been a key part of own work with the Enneagram. As a Type 2 who is also the daughter of a Type 2, I have faced the shadow of my own type repeatedly throughout my life in both her and myself. The fixated 2 qualities of resentment, martyrdom, and compulsive giving, even when my own reserves have been totally exhausted, echo in our relationship. But the Type 2 Essence of Compassion also becomes more present the more I do this work.
My own mother and my daughter
One of the greatest gifts of the Enneagram is that another person doesn’t need to be working deeply with it for you to receive benefits. Greater attunement to myself and my understanding of how these fixated qualities show up in me helps me as I navigate through tumultuous moments with my own mother – and in my role as a mother myself.
This Mother’s Day, reflect on how the archetypal mother shows up for you – and how your relationships with the mother figures in your life (including yourself, if you are a part of this category!) might illuminate not only the shadows, but also the gifts of these connections.
Where can you open to more compassion in these relationships, including – and above all – compassion for yourself? Where can you bring the open-hearted, abundant, and replenishing love of the mother into your life and bathe in its nurturing warmth?
Want to learn more about the relationships of the Enneagram’s nine points and archetypes? Join us for our Level 1 Certification in the Embodiment Tradition. We begin in August. Registration is open now and spots are limited.