This ended up being relatively well received elsewhere, so I figured this would be the first post in my pseudo-blog revival.
The way 9 has been understood throughout the varying iterations of the enneagram has heavily developed as we’ve come into into the modern enneagram system (which I assure you is not just Riso Hudson or Enneagram institute). Naranjo made his assessments, enneagram institute made theirs, and while they each got part of the picture the whole is missing in both. Here I’ll address common misunderstandings about type 9, why they are made, and what aspects of the theory are being misinterpreted. As a warning I'm not shitting on 9 or Naranjo. Some of my examples are fairly negative because those are just what I happened to think of as an example and of course some of them kind of point out that the one of many enneagram books that Naranjo wrote that people focus on exclusively has a very limited description of type 9.
1) 9 is an exclusively oriented on the real and tangible and avoids the inner world: Many tend to misinterpret 9 as a thoughtless and exclusively sensory sort of type for some reason while failing to acknowledge the subjectivity that is someone's sense of comfort in addition to confusing what the inner world truly is and contains. Many would consider chronic daydreaming or story making, for example, a trait of someone who has a deep inner world because it is primarily inwardly focused. This, however, actually pairs very well with the 9 tendency towards narcotization. Living in a fantasy world certainly narcoticizes self in the same way that indulging in physical comforts might for those so inclined, as it separates a person from the more unpleasant or draining aspects of reality as well as the more unpleasant aspects of the inner/true reality such as the thoughts you might be left with if not actively abstracting or concocting story-lines or scenarios to capture attention instead. Habitual study and consuming the self with constant analytics, abstractions, or generating a mind numbing activity level with work or tasks is also a form of narcotization in this sense because it is used as an escape tactic (rather than as a distancing/control seeking strategy like in type 5, a structure seeking activity as seen in 6, etc).
Hence, by some merits 9s can have a vivid inner world and often you can have very intellectual, intuitive, and thoughtful 9s. Mental sloth specifically pertains to avoiding the mentally taxing or unpleasant aspects of reality or self. So yes, 9s can very much be "intuitive types" by mbti and jungian standards because narcotization can be an abstraction process. And yes, 9s can be Fi doms, especially when the emotional and ethical focus of Fi lands on focusing on the more palatable sides of self (be they flaws used to disconnect from more powerful and disturbing flaws of the self or positive self traits over shame bringing traits), a sense of morality that generates pleasure or more peace than or for others, etc etc. Yes, I am oversimplifying. Yes, this also applies to sp and so 9.
2) 9s are deeply connected to sensation and the body: Many authors quote 9, being the center of the enneagram, to have the propensity to be the most grounded and bodily of the gut types. In the same sense, many will quote them with one of the highest propensities for disconnection. Consider 6 and 3, who have similar problems with their triad. 3 is incredibly connected to shame and will often reconstruct self to be valuable to whatever goals they are pursuing, yet they will bolster their self image and seek affirmation for their greatness. 6 is deeply connected to thought and anxiety with a near constant level of mental chattering, yet they as a ping ponging type will push back and assert certainty and strong reactions in the counterphobic sense when they know that action is necessary. 9 is no different, at times being overly rooted in the body and sensations but even over connecting to spirituality or self numbing,
3) 9 is entirely conflict averse, anyone who shows violence or aggression is not a 9. Anger is entirely repressed: 9 is discomfort averse, not conflict averse. The two often go hand in hand, however, because actually generating conflict is an energy draw/annoying and reveals that indeed a 9 can be bothered. But sometimes, reducing discomfort and avoiding problems like a 9 might is not traditionally conflictless. Having a hissy fit because someone is disrupting the tone of a group conversation and passive aggressively pushing them to stop that is conflicting. Getting even physically aggressive when someone challenges your way of life or the comfort that you and those dear to you have because changing that way of life would ruin your sense of comfort and the habitual patterns you've built and attached to in your life is incredibly aggressive and conflicting. Refusing to share opinions irl and seeming sweet and simple but actively being aggressively opinionated, contradictory, and vocal online is also a style of aggression that avoids taking responsibility. All of these, however, are also very aligned with the core traits of 9 which is sloth and comfort/simplicity seeking and are only small examples of 9 style aggression.
In a similar light, 9s can be very very aware of their anger despite 9 at it’s core seeking to be and seem impermeable and unaffected by most things (this does not necessarily mean it is uncommon of 9s to not be aware of their anger however). Expression and an outwards reveal of that anger or that they are, in fact bothered, is where the difficulty truly lies. There are many 9s who feel internally filled with turmoil and wrath and may even think that this is something that they radiate, however the gut influence of 9 however often dulls this expression without them knowing this is the case.
4) 9, like the other positive outlook types, are entirely averse to morose and dark subject matter: Again, there is a lack of understanding on the subjectivity of comfort (and also a lack of understanding of what positive outlook means; as a hint, it is not optimism by necessity). People who grew up in chaos will seek chaos because it’s comfortable, people who grew up in traditionally comforting environments will seek comfort because it is comfortable. What is challenging or disturbing to some, in the same sense, is really not something that remotely moves others. Dark and morose subject matter frankly does not make a lot of people uncomfortable. Consider Junji Ito, a person near constantly quoted to be a 9 core and how “disturbing” people find his art to be as a mere example of this. It is not uncommon for 9 to indulge very heavily into dark and upsetting subject matter even as a means to avoid or distract from their own turmoil or if it is something that they find to be engaging or has an engaging effect on them.
