Original Post: Ember, April 28, 2018
Hello! I hope that all of you have had a beautiful April and are looking forward to the warmer summer ahead. This past month on the website has been chock-full of action, from drama at the gathering, to prisoners in several clans, and finally to several changes in leadership. For a more in-depth recap, see the History Page. Plot planning has slowed down in the past two weeks or so, but we’re beginning to reach the end of our specifically planned plot points and should be discussing where we want to head from here, particularly in regards to future battles and the future of The Deliverance. To share your thoughts, check out the Plot Planning Pages.
Unfortunately, the part two I promised for last month’s Monthly Meow didn’t work out the way that I’d hoped and I’m uncertain of how much actual information I can draw out of the data and due to finals, I didn’t have the time to start from the beginning. Over the next month, I will re-examine it and if I find a way to get more substantial information, I will publish it either as a Monthly Meow or as a stand-alone blog entry. In place, River has written a Monthly Meow using Oscar Ichazo concept of “The Enneagram of Personality” and the data from March’s Monthly Meow to compare the clans’ theoretical personalities to each other and to the actual personalities of their members. From here onward, this Monthly Meow was written by him.
The Enneagram of Personality is a comprehensive personality typing system, which divides personality into nine types, each with a loose archetype. Each type is, of course, much more than its label, and the labels don’t begin to do each of these types justice, but they’re good for a basic understanding.
Reformer/Perfectionist
Helper/Giver
Achiever/Performer
Individualist/Romantic
Investigator/Observer
Loyalist/Loyal Skeptic
Enthusiast/Epicure
Challenger/Protector
Peacemaker/Mediator
These nine types are also divided into three “centers of intelligence” - the heart center (2, 3, 4), the mind center (5, 6, 7), and the body/instinct center (1, 8, 9).
The enneagram also provides individuals with a tritype, consisting of three number-types, one from each center - in order of your use of the intelligence centers. For example, one’s tritype could be 296. Their primary type, in this case, would be a 2, in the heart center. Secondarily, they make use of the body center, with their 9 type being dominant out of the three (1, 8, 9). In a tertiary function, they use their mind center, the 6 being their dominant type.
Applying this to the provided personality demographics and the clans themselves is difficult, considering the personality demographic categories don’t line up perfectly with the enneagram types. However, in a rough estimate, I’ve assigned them as follows:
(Body) 1 - Reformer/Perfectionist - Aggressive - not necessarily in the physical way, but could be considered aggressive in their approach to seeking perfection
(Heart) 2 - Helper/Giver - Warm - it can be imagined that the caregiver type would exemplify the trait of warmth
(Heart) 3 - Achiever/Performer - Dedicated - Threes revolve around achievement
(Heart) 4 - Individualist/Romantic - Spirited - this was hard to type, but Fours are confident individualists, in search of origin, which could align with being a spirited soul
(Mind) 5 - Investigator/Observer - Sharp - sharp of the mind
(Mind) 6 - Loyalist/Skeptic - Secretive - always seeking guidance, thus their own opinions may be kept secret
(Mind) 7 - Enthusiast/Epicure - Entitled - fear deprivation
(Body) 8 - Challenger/Protector - Dominant - Eights are also known by the archetype of “Leader”, and hate being controlled
(Body) 9 - Peacemaker/Mediator - Reserved - Nines tend to be non-confrontational
Based on these assignments, the clans seem to hold a majority of type Twos, Fours, and Nines. This doesn’t surprise me too much. The Twos seem to be a common type on this site - in day-to-day roleplaying, I always notice a handful of caregiver types of characters. An abundance of Fours (that is, individualist/romantic) would also make sense, with the type of character centered around being “unique” or “different” being a popular choice. The abundance of Fours could also be due to the assignment of Four to “spirited” being perhaps the least accurate of the nine. The type Nines aren’t too uncommon either - quiet, shy, or reserved characters are rather common on this site.
To assign each clan a type, I feel, would generalize the clans too much. However, a tritype and intelligence-center-stack could provide some insight.
From the previous MM: “for instance, MoonClan was expected to have higher than average percentages in aggressive, dedicated, and dominant, SunClan was expected to have higher than average percentages in dedicated, reserved, and sharp, EarthClan was expected to have higher percentages in spirited, warm, and entitled, and EclipseClan was expected to have higher than usual percentages in aggressive, dominant, secretive, and sharp.”
These personalities don’t align perfectly with the tritype format, with the exception of SunClan. So, in another rough estimate, I’ve assigned the clans as follows:
MoonClan - 836 - The 83 is derived from the above quote. However, the direct traits Ember suggested would amount to a 138, comprising a tritype of body, heart, body. The Eight and Three both make sense to me - the Eight would account for MoonClan’s traditionalism and adherence to the code - type Eights value justice, truth, and self-sufficiency, among other things, and a fear of being controlled, while type Ones value perfection, goodness, integrity, and balance, and fear corruption - I feel the type Eight’s need for justice and truth represents MoonClan’s honor and nobility better than the type One’s perfection. The Three, meanwhile, would account for MoonClanners’ dedication. I feel the Eight represents MoonClan slightly better than the One in the body center, so I’ve removed the One from the tritype and plugged in a Six for their tertiary mind type - the “loyalist” archetype seems to fit this clan, often described using the word, quite well - although my assignment of “secretive” to the Six type (to honour its skepticism and reliance on guidance) may not align too well with MoonClan’s ideals. This would amount to an intelligence-center-stack of body (instincts), heart (feelings), mind (logic), which I don’t think strays too far from MoonClan’s intended identity.
SunClan - 539 - This is taken directly from Ember’s typing of “dedicated[3], reserved[9], and sharp[5],” as it aligns with the tritype format - I’ve just changed around the order of these a bit, to better match my impression of SunClan. The Five type seems to align with SunClan’s traits well - observation, intelligence, etc. The Three type, meanwhile, fits with SunClan’s value on dedication and resilience - SunClanners must be achievers, striving for everything, if they wish to survive. The Nine, meanwhile, I imagine would be a very weak tertiary type, but distinctively present. SunClanners are calm and level headed, by definition, and I’ve always perceived them as quite diplomatic - all these traits could fit into the Nine’s archetype of the peacemaker or the mediator. This tritype would fit with a function stack of mind (logic), heart (feelings), body (instincts), which I think fits SunClan well enough, especially with the weak tertiary Nine - SunClan is described as the “think before you leap” clan, which wouldn’t be very conducive with the instinctual, commonly impulsive body center being dominant at all.
EarthClan - 478 - From Ember’s definition of “spirited[4], warm[2], and entitled[7]” comes the 47 of this - I’ve chosen Four over Two for the heart center, in favour of the individuality route we’ve chosen for EarthClan - the type Four values individuality and knowing oneself. The secondary Seven of this tritype is from Ember’s definition [entitled=7] - I think this fits rather well with EarthClan, considering their conditions and values. EarthClanners are known to lead rather easy lives, given their luxurious territory. Additionally, with our plan for them to act more defensively than offensively in the war, they could be considered (most likely by the other clans) to be a clan that doesn’t understand fighting for what is theirs. All of this would lend to the trait of entitlement. The Eight of the tritype, meanwhile, is a bit of a stab in the dark on my part - given that EarthClan’s identity is so uncertain at the moment, much of this is speculation, but the Eight type seems to suit the general layout for EarthClan better than the other two body-center types of the enneagram, the One (reformer/perfectionist, which wouldn’t align with EarthClan’s tolerance values), and the Nine (peacemaker/mediator, which could align with EarthClan, but strays a bit close to DawnClan’s traits, which I think we’re trying to clear distinguish as different from EarthClan’s). The type Eight is considered the “challenger/protector”, and has also been called the “leader” - I aligned this trait with the “dominant” category. Although this may seem a bit off for the common EarthClan impression, the “challenger/protector” definition could suit the plan for EarthClan to be a firm sanctuary (defending anyone who sets foot on their territory, for example) - a defender, certainly. This tritype would comprise an intelligence-center-stack of heart (feelings), mind (logic), body (instincts).
EclipseClan - 853 - Ember’s estimation of the EclipseClan personality types was “aggressive[1], dominant[8], secretive[6], and sharp[5]”. From these, I’ve taken just the 85 for the tritype, seeing as all four traits align with types in the body or mind centers. The type Eight (typed with “dominant”;), I feel, works as EclipseClan’s primary type - especially in its location in the body (instincts) center. Although the type Eight’s need for justice and truth may not perfectly align with EclipseClan (for example, this could clash with their belief that “the ends justify the means”;), their fear of being controlled and their need for self-sufficiency does line up rather well with EclipseClan’s values, as well as my placement of the type Eight alongside the trait “dominant.” The type Five (sharp) of the mind center is also derived from Ember’s definition of EclipseClan’s traits, and I think it fits well enough - the observer/investigator, that fears incapability, incompetence, and helplessness - this would also correlate with EclipseClan’s type Eight need for self-sufficiency. Finally, EclipesClan’s heart center type would likely be the Three, giving to EclipseClan’s drive to accomplish their ambitions. This tritype makes up an intelligence-center-stack of body (instincts), mind (logic), heart (feelings).
To recap, the clans and their intelligence center stacks are:
MoonClan - 836 - BHM
SunClan - 539 - MHB
EarthClan - 478 - HMB
EclipseClan - 853 – BMH
This is a rather balanced distribution - the only types missing entirely from the tritypes are the type One and Two. The primary centers of intelligence, meanwhile, are also distributed well - with two body types, one mind, and one heart. In relation to this, it’s interesting to consider the body center’s distribution of two primaries, two tertiaries - all or nothing, on the extremes.
Looking at the clans in this manner, it’s interesting to draw observations from certain similarities and differences between their types - both MoonClan and EclipseClan have the Eight as their primary type, though this is in very different ways - MoonClan shares the Eight’s value on justice and truth, while EclipseClan shares the Eight’s value on self-sufficiency and some other aspects I didn’t go into in the typing description - such as the Eight’s fixation on vengeance and their tendency to forcefulness. Both clans share the Eight’s basic fear - to be controlled, and both clans fit the the instinctual intelligence center adequately.
Another interesting comparison can be found in SunClan and MoonClan’s intelligence center stacks - exactly opposite of each other. However, where SunClan and MoonClan are the same is in the placement of their heart center, and furthermore, the type of that heart center - both Threes. Dedication and achievement, on a variable spectrum.
Comparisons between the clans’ current personality demographics and their theoretical personality demographics can also be drawn through the enneagram system. According to the clans’ tritypes, their demographics should show a loose resemblance to:
MoonClan - 8>3>6
SunClan - 5>3>9
EarthClan - 4>7>8
EclipseClan - 8>5>3
However, analysing the statistics collected by Ember and I, the clans tend in a pattern favouring characters of the Four, Nine, and Two types, as I mentioned near the beginning of this article - these types only appear once throughout all the clans’ tritypes. Through Ember’s statistics, the clans currently resemble a pattern closer to:
MoonClan - 9>4>2
SunClan - 4>2>9
EarthClan - 2>4>9
EclipseClan - 9>5, 2, 1
Of course, these types are expected to differ, seeing as they’re based on not entirely accurate data aligned with traits, which I only loosely aligned with enneagram types - however, they do provide a bit of insight into how the clans differ from how they should be.
For more information on the enneagram, this trusty, 100% credible source is a good start for a basic understanding: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality#Nine_types
If you would like to write a Monthly Meow of your own, you can find more information here.
MoonClan
Apprentices:
Canopuskit, Flamekit: Early May
Fighterkit, Ashkit, Clerickit, Bardkit, Roguekit: Mid May
Warriors:
Silentpaw, Bravepaw, Tsarpaw, Spiderpaw: Early May
Valleypaw, Meadowpaw, Plateaupaw, Vermilionpaw, Rainpaw, Summerpaw, Snowpaw: Mid May
Inkypaw: Late May
Medicine Cat: Forestpaw (Mid May)
Elders: Silversnow, Autumn-night, Crimsonsky, Foxfang, Lionheart, Lichenfrost, Batear
Deaths: Ghostfang, Stillpool
SunClan
Apprentices:
Bastet, Mirekit, Sagekit, Heatherkit, Osiris, Setekh: Early May
Burdock-kit, Macawkit, Gullkit, Ashenkit: Mid May
Blossomkit, Eaglekit, Acornkit, Shadowkit: Late May
Warriors:
Flintpaw, Oakpaw, Glacierpaw: Early May
Wasp Buzzing, Magpie Song, Stars that Fall, Sarospaw, Tidepaw, Eocenepaw, Eternitypaw, Omnipaw, Pepperpaw, Redpaw, Sparkpaw, Lostpaw: Mid May
Blazingpaw, Swanpaw, Kingpaw: Late May
Elders: Apep, Daisybelle, Eaglefrost
Death: Driftpetal
EarthClan
Apprentices:
Fightingkit, Gentlekit, Gallentkit, Guardiankit, Honorkit, Couragekit, Resilientkit, Dovekit, Plashkit: Early May
Blue-eyes, Black Feather, Broken Eggshell, Bleachedbone, Eagle’s Throat, Ashenkkit, Lionkit, Fallen Birch: Mid May
Smudgedkit, Cloudedkit: Late May
Warriors:
Skypaw: Early May
Alderpaw, Viperpaw: Mid May
Aspenpaw, Icepaw, Tempestpaw, Kelpiepaw, Maplepaw: Late May
Medicine Cat: Axolotlpaw (Late May)
Elders: Mercilesswinds, Hawkmoth, Midnightscream
Deaths: Brokenclaw, Brokenfang, Rivertwist, Pondstep
EclipseClan
Apprentices:
Dragonkit, Echokit, Bluekit, Enzio, Emmy, Monroe, Oshun: Early May
Cider, Sake, Mead, Jack, Kraken, Jager, Busch, Eris: Mid May
Anteros, Eros, Phobos, Slykit: Late May
Warriors:
Pricklypaw, Foxpaw: Early May
Remember, Brimstone, Cerberus, Erebus, Mistpaw: Mid May
Coldpaw, Warmpaw: Late May
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