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Enneagram 4w5 - An Overview of The Bohemian

Summary of what is an Enneagram Type 4w5? illustration of the individualist type four

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Type Fours are connected to their own rich, inner life and are concerned primarily with proving their uniqueness and pursuing the Ideal. Fives are similarly content with their own internal experience, but pursue their curiosity without a necessary regard for its relation to the Ideal. Type Fours are adjacent to Type Fives and therefore share some behavioral tendencies. These are known as Type Fours with a Five-Wing, or Type 4w5


What is an Enneagram 4w5?

What is a Type 4 wing 5 on the Enneagram?

Type Fours are known as “Individualists” due to their desire for uniqueness, connection to their own and the world's melancholy, and their pursuit of the Ideal in life, love, and work. Type Fives are the “Investigators” - innovative individualists often seen as detached and dwelling primarily in the realm of ideas. The five-wing enhances the already considerable inner-life of a Four but, when healthy, allows them to more readily detach from their emotions, rather than identifying with them. A 4w5 is content to keep to themselves and their own internal dialogue, which often comes across as aloof, eccentric, or avant-garde. For this reason, the 4w5 is known as the “Bohemian.”

Unlike core Type Four “Individualists”, or the 4w3 “Aristocrat”, a 4w5 is more likely to cease pursuing the Ideal and fall into nihilistic defeatism. They may despair in being understood and accepted, and so retreat into themselves, appearing almost stoic, despite the swirling emotions under the surface.

 

Type 4 Primary Enneagram type
4w5 Type Four with Type Five wing

Type Fours default toward an internally-focused posture, meaning they are deeply connected to their emotions, but they often desire to prove their uniqueness. However, an Enneagram 4w5 still has such individuality whilst not needing validation from others.


enneagram circle with 9 points with type 4 highlighted in green and green arrow pointing to type 5
Type 4w5 Type Four Wing Five

Here are some of the key traits to a Type 4w5 personality.

  • Deeply engaged with own interior dialogue
  • Emotions and intuition fuel investigative impulse
  • Long bouts of silence followed by extensive “brain unloading”
  • Silence misinterpreted as anti-social or aloofness
face reading open book

Did you know: When unhealthy and stressed, an Enneagram TYpe 4 Wing 5 will retreat even further into themselves, and fully inhabit their feelings of lack and brokenness.


Type 4w5 Fears and Desires

A list of the core fears and desires of Type 4w5

Enneagram types have fears and desires - things to avoid and things to seek.

Fears

Things Enneagram 4w5 Types should avoid

Core fear: Their silence will be taken for a lack of unique contribution to the world.

  • Perceived as eccentric but lacking an impact
  • Never producing anything due to a lifetime spent in thought
  • No one will understand them and they will be alone

Desires

Things Enneagram 4w5 Types should seek

Core desire: Discover their true, unique selves through deep inner-exploration

  • Opportunities to engage in the world
  • Remain in touch with their curiosity
  • Using their deep interior connection to create tangible work

Type 4w5 Strengths and Weaknesses

A list of the main Enneagram 4w5 strengths and weaknesses
strengths and weaknesses illustration
Every Enneagram Type, even types with wings such as 4w5, has strengths and weaknesses. Here he will list the strengths and weaknesses of the Enneagram Type 4w5:
Info Table
Type 4w5 Strengths Type 4w5 Weaknesses
More likely to explore, rather than identify with, emotions Often fail to produce tangible work
Uniqueness exists for own self-expression rather than others’ approval Lack of engagement with others
Feelings and intuitions tempered by investigation Unable to appreciate others’ contributions
Engages when they are sure there is something to contribute Become self-absorbed without exterior input
blue star

Note: A five-wing of a 4w5 helps accentuate the Four's interiority, but tempers the emotional storm by interrogating the sources of emotion. However, they often will retreat into an endless cycle of self-analysis.


Data: Distribution Between Core Type 4 vs Type 4w3 vs Type 4w5

Is one wing type more common than the other?

Some Type 4s do not exhibit wing traits significantly enough to say they have a wing. When this happens we say they are a 'core' Type 4. Not all Type 4s have a wing, as we see in our research results below.

Figure 1: Type 4 vs Type 4w3 vs Type 4w5

wings

What this chart shows

This chart shows that 74.1% of Type 4s do not have a wing type, in other words they are 'core' Type 4s. And 2.2% of Type 4s are 4w3 and 23.8% are 4w5.

Notes:
  • 1. n=27985
  • 2. Population: global
  • 3. Dataset last updated:

Enneagram Type 4 Wing 5 Career Choices

What are some of the common career choices for Enneagram 4w5?

Although people with other types find themselves in these lines of work, and those identified as 4w5 may work outside these areas, here are a few likely spaces in which this type will be successful (or not):

Career choices

  • green tick Journalist or Writer
  • green tick Architect
  • green tick Artist
  • red cross Politician
  • red cross Sales
  • red cross Manufacturing
face reading open book

This is not a definitive career list. There are lots of Enneagram 4w5 Type careers that are happy and successful which do not fall into the 'recommended' category. These are just suggestions of some of the best careers for a 4w5.


Famous 4w5 Celebrities

Which famous people are Enneagram 4w5?

Here we will list some of the famous 4w5 people you may have heard of. Are you also 4w5? Do you recognize any personality similarities you can relate to?

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Fydor Dostoyevsky

Russian novelist, most famous for his work 'crime and punishment' among others. His work ponders many philosophical ideas thoroughly, you can sense how he thinks deeply about such thoughts. One of his most famous quotes 'Beauty will save the world' gives an insight into his being.

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J.K Rowling

One of the most popular writers of the 21st century. Her Harry Potter series reached worldwide popularity with millions of 'Potterheads' around the world today. She has since ventured into thrillers under the pen name 'Robert Galbraith'.

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Kurt Cobain

Lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt was an icon for the punk rock scene. In classic 4w5 fashion, he was a true individual and battled with deep emotiions and a sense of inferiority. Sadly, he was an unhealthy 4w5, and committed suicide when he was 27.

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Vincent Van Gogh

One of the most famous painters of all time. Van Gogh never experienced his celebrity during his lifetime, he spend most of his life in poverty and struggled with mental illness. He was a deep thinker, an individual, who, in his letters to his brother, revealed his sadness and melancholy.

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George Harrison

Guitarist for The Beatles, and later, a singer-songwriter on his own, George has many qualities of the 4w5. A very introspective individiual, George's 4w5 qualities are on display in The Beatles single he wrote called 'While my guitar gently weeps'

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Albert Camus

French philosopher, Albert Camus was extremley popular during the 1900s and was one of the most important figures in philosophy at that time. His work 'The Stranger' and 'The Fall' have high regard in the world of ethics.

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Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was a poet and writer, her most famous work being 'The Bell Jar'. Depressed and struggling with mental illness, her diaries reveal the thoughts and life of a 4w5.

 

letter i in grey circle for information point

Have we missed anyone?

Our research is always ongoing so please let us know if you think we've missed a noteworthy Type 4w5 worth highlighting.

 


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Chloe Yarwood, MSc

University of Chichester, Advanced Applied Psychology

Chloe Yarwood, MSc in Advanced Applied Psychology from University of Chichester. Specialist in personality type theory and developing valid personality questionnaires.