The Enneagram is a personality typing system that has gained popularity in recent years. Its origins are somewhat unclear, but it is believed to have roots in several different spiritual and psychological traditions.

The Enneagram has been attributed to a variety of sources, including Sufism, the Kabbalah, and ancient Greek philosophy. However, the modern Enneagram system is often traced back to the work of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher and mystic who lived in the early 20th century. Gurdjieff's teachings included the concept of "types," which he used to describe different aspects of human psychology and behavior.

Another key figure in the development of the Enneagram system was Oscar Ichazo, a Bolivian spiritual teacher who founded the Arica Institute in Chile in the 1960s. Ichazo's teachings incorporated the Enneagram as a tool for self-understanding and personal growth.

In the 1970s, Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean psychiatrist, brought the Enneagram to the United States and began developing it as a psychological tool. Naranjo's work focused on using the Enneagram to help individuals better understand their underlying motivations and patterns of behavior.

Today, the Enneagram is used in a variety of contexts, including personal development, counseling and therapy, leadership and team-building, and spiritual growth. The system is based on the idea that there are nine distinct personality types, each with its own set of underlying motivations, fears, and desires.

The Enneagram system works by identifying patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion that are characteristic of each of the nine types. Individuals are encouraged to identify their own type, as well as the types of others they interact with, in order to better understand their own motivations and those of others.