The Enneagram's Occult Roots: What Christians Need to Know
What Churches Aren't Telling You About the Enneagram
Are you seeing the Enneagram being used in your church? This increasingly popular personality system has dark origins many Christians aren't aware of. Scripture warns in Acts 20:29-30 about "grievous wolves" entering the church, "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples."
The Occult Origins You Should Know
The Enneagram isn't just a modern personality assessment—it began with George Gurdjieff, a Russian occultist born in 1866. Gurdjieff called it the "Cosmic Reality Diagram" and taught:
- People exist in "hypnotic waking sleep" needing "higher consciousness"
- The diagram contains occult numerology (the "law of three" and "law of seven")
- It was designed for "cosmic consciousness"—not personality typing
From Occult Schools to Church Conferences
How did this symbol end up in Christian settings?
- George Gurdjieff → taught occult philosophy to students including P.D. Ouspensky and Oscar Ichazo
- Oscar Ichazo → founded an occult school in Chile (1968), claimed knowledge from an "archangel" called Metatron
- Claudio Naranjo → New Age psychiatrist who added personality traits to the Enneagram and brought it to Esalen Institute
- Richard Rohr → Catholic priest who introduced the Enneagram to the Emerging Church movement
The Bible warns in 1 John 4:1: "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
What Does Scripture Say?
Jeremiah 17:9-10 reminds us: "The heart is deceitful above all things... I the LORD search the heart." Only God truly knows our hearts—not a symbol from occult teachings.
Churches embracing the Enneagram often follow Emerging Church patterns that:
- Prioritize experience over doctrine
- Incorporate contemplative prayer (repetitive mantras with mystical roots)
- Downplay biblical standards
- Embrace broad ecumenism
Jesus warned: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
Responding Biblically
- Test everything against Scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
- Warn others in your church community
- Choose biblical counsel instead of personality systems with occult roots
- Study God's Word for true self-knowledge
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 is clear: practices rooted in divination are "an abomination unto the LORD."
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