The Enneagram Symbol of All & Everything | Date: 14 April 2011, 00:43
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Introduction
A symbol is worth the counterpart of reality it conveys. Through symbols we associate the near with the far, the concrete with the abstract, what is at the bottom with what is at the top. The word symbol comes from Greek1 and it designated a terracotta stamp split into two halves which, when fit together, identified as authentic the bearer of a message. Coincidence was the key. Without a key for its interpretation, the symbol passes unnoticed and cannot be profited from. With the correct key, it acquires life and talks — in a language beyond the simple rational logic, a language akin to the higher worlds, suitable to abstract realities.“When talking about the Enneagram, G. said that it postulated the whole teaching of the Work and the better we understand it the more we understand the Work.”2The enneagram, the pure expression of the Overall Universal Law, was left to us by Gurdjieff, who never completely revealed this symbol, even to his closer disciples. The key to decipher it is in the totality of the master's teachings, which forms a very special school, the Fourth Way, also called simply “The Work.” Gurdjieff’s teachings, passed on essentially by oral tradition in the circles of initiates, consists of a unique system for man's understanding of the universe; and the inner Work he professes leads the individual to awaken and to develop his infinite possibilities of evolution. This book is my way to share a study that has as its objective to connect, to organize, and to interpret information from three sources. The first is Gurdjieff’s writings themselves: his words, the underlying structure, and mainly the implied sense and allusions that appear to be innocuous. The second consists of significant fragments transmitted by his followers, and also the vast inheritance of old symbology remaining from several esoteric systems, that was not only
written but also built-in, in works of art, stories, and traditions. The third and last source, which worked as amalgam in the synthesis and understanding of the first two, were many years of Work, observation of outer and inner phenomena and processes, meditation, and
revelation. However, to put oral tradition in writing is the same as to imprison a bird in a cage: it will simply not be the same without an open space to fly, nor would its song sound the same. It is like filling a glass with water to try to keep the river — but to bring a jug of water to a thirsty prisoner may lead him to take a first step towards freedom. To write about the enneagram is a difficult task: at the same time that each word reveals, it also limits. It feels like we are turning gold into lead, in a reverse alchemy. Besides, an explanation such as this does not have a linear sequence. There are crossed connections of meanings at several levels and directions. Many things are said before they can be explained. Therefore, this book is not for ordinary reading. It will be necessary to be patient and to have a certain amount of experience for any understanding to crystallize. However, the effort should be welcomed, because the study of the enneagram brings in itself enormous power for self-transformation and personal improvement. In the beginning, I actually feared that putting into words the meaning that I have found in this symbol could crystallize it in the reader, preventing him from acquiring a deeper, direct, more correct, or even just a different perception. However, after many years in this study, I have observed that the enneagram is so special that the more we study it, the more new interpretations flourish from it. It is like a magic cornucopia, always flowing with more and more relations and meanings. It is like a bottomless well, which the more we dig the deeper it becomes. Therefore, today, no longer having any concern, I dare to write about this symbol. A true seeker will not be satisfied with the written word only, but will want to apply this knowledge in his life to find the truth himself. “For an exact study, an exact language is needed.”, I have also written this book to stimulate interest in the main works of the Fourth Way; hence, the use of many quotes and footnotes. The first two parts present basic concepts on the nature and the structure of man and the universe, as a means to forge a language with which we can communicate. Only later is the enneagram approached: first in its theoretical aspects of sacred mathematics and esoteric symbolism, and finally through several examples of practical applications.
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