Enneagram Insights: The Law of Seven, How Things Unfold

I began these Enneagram Insights discussing the Law of One and the Law of Three because these overarching concepts are part of the wisdom contained in the Enneagram. Today we move to the Law of Seven represented by the six inner lines that begin and end at point One called the “hexad.” Recall the previous Insight in which we observed two opposing views reconciled and a third view emerge, the Law of Three (see the previous post, below). It is at this point that the Law of Seven comes into play highlighting what unfolds in the life of a thing does not do so in a straightforward way. Instead it will do so in a way the breaks that straight line and move up, down, this way and that, jump, pause, circle back, or go off in a new direction all together. The hexad lines illustrate visually that nothing is free of change; quite the opposite, change is a certainty.

How does this Law of Seven help us navigate personality? It suggests we ready ourselves for the distinct possibility that real outcomes many depart from what we have planned, either in a positive or negative direction. Warned by this law, we can comfort ourselves that whatever is happening now will not continue forever—or we can brace ourselves for that same reality. This invites us to recognize and accept that—beyond our effort or manipulation— things will change, something new will be introduced, and we will need to let go of something else.

It invites us to move with our lived experiences. We can develop practices that help us cherish what we have and experience as we hold them loosely. It invites us to create practices of intentionally marking situations and stages in life that will come to their end. It reminds us that difficult seasons will give way to less difficult ones. This is a truth we have encountered in life. The Enneagram is simply adding this truth to the wisdom it brings.  -Sali