Luc: Lucifer ben Yahweh
Enneagram 6w5
Luc is a Nephilim- and one of the original generation- not born but created. He is a passionate charismatic idealist. He has a twisted concept of loyalty, right, and wrong. He is driven, determined, and single minded to the point of recklessness.
Using the Enneagram for Character Development
If you’ve read previous posts in this series you can skip this section to Lucifer’s Enneagram.
One of the reasons I love the enneagram over other personality typing systems for character development is its inherent ability to make characters more complex and dynamic. People don’t fit and stay in boxes like INTJ (of which I often peek my head out of). We have different facets of our personalities and different situations and people may bring out healthier or unhealthier sides of us. That doesn’t mean we are acting “out of character”- in fact it could be perfectly within our character to do some out of the norm things- depending on how we fluctuate from mindsets of stress and growth- or slip into and out of our wings and tri-types.
For those not familiar with the enneagram I’ll give a brief overview. The enneagram chart is a circle of numbers 1-9, all with arrows pointing from each core number toward where they move in stress, and in growth. So right there each person has three numbers they regularly function within the scope of. The numbers on either side of a person’s core number is a potential wing. I am a 3, so I could have a wing 4 or a wing 2 but I can’t have a wing 7 for example. Now personally I have a pretty strong wing 4 but I joke that my 2 wing is broken and gimpy. I don’t move that direction often, comfortably, or particularly well (in my own self-critical opinion lol). Then, that circle chart is comprised of three pie slices called triads. One for the head (5 – 6 – 7), the heart, (2 – 3 – 4) and the gut (8 – 9 – 1). Each person will have their main number from each triad.
(For more information on how the Enneagram works visit the Enneagram Institute.)
So to illustrate I am an Enneagram 3 the “Achiever”, I have a strong wing 4 the “Artist”, I move to 9 in stress and 6 in growth. Which means when I am stressed, I am more likely to distance myself and shut down- and when I am healthy, I will have back up plans for my back up plans lol- which really helps me in planning and achieving my goals. My tri-type is 3 (because the core number comes first)- 5 – 1. So, I tend to be analytical and a perfectionist in my “Achieving” ways. I also am not great with emotions, since all three of those numbers tend to have feelings on the back burner or tucked away in the back of the pantry collecting dust lol. So unlike fitting into a box- you can see that there’s a little of most of the numbers that comprise my personality- the only numbers I don’t ever go to or touch on are 8 and 7.
Now, let’s use these tools I’ve used to create Luc, to take a closer look at him!
Lucifer Enneagram:
Core Number: 6
Wing: Strong wing 5, wing 7 when he’s in a good mood
Movement: 9 in Health (so never)/Growth, and 3 in Stress (always)
Tri-type: 6 – 1 – 4
Luc’s Core:
Enneagram type 6s are “The Loyalist” they are known for being engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious. But the thing about Luc as our villain is that he is supremely unhealthy. So though, this is his core number- he rarely acts like what you would expect from a 6.
His level of mental instability is what makes him a fascinating Character study- and a really great example of how it isn’t necessarily “out of character” for someone to really go off the rails. In fact, we will see how it makes perfect sense how he went from a perfect angel, to Prince of Demons (in The Kingdom Come Series).
Some of the characteristics of a 6 we do still see are his anxious and suspicious nature- we especially see this with Shael and the constant dance of him being “loyal” to his old friend and still wanting him around while not trusting him in the least. He is incredibly engaging and responsible toward his vigilance in his schemes (he never misses a beat) however, this is not the best use of this trait… So basically he takes all the could-be positive traits and puts them to the most toxic use.
I’ve had to give Luc some serious thought, because at first glance with all his charisma and the emotional roller coaster that is his presence, you might think he was a 4 (I did at first) but the deeper down you dive, and when you look at HIS MOVEMENTS that is how you can know for sure he is a 6. Because in his unhealth- he most decidedly moves to 3.
Luc’s Movements:
Which leads us to Luc’s movements. Now, Luc being Luc, he is never healthy and therefore never moves to 9. At least not anymore. But this tool has been so wonderful with helping me to map out Luc’s backstory and how and why everything played out the way it did. The 6 being naturally suspicious, when Luc felt that God was hiding something from them, and then discovered humanity within creation and saw they were made in God’s image- where some other number may have thought “oh cool!” Luc immediately jumped to the worst conclusions.
In stress Luc moves to 3- which at their best are achievers who get things done- but they can also be very image conscious and works based self worth drivin. We see Luc with seemingly inexhaustible energy doing everything he can to save face. To prove that he was right, or prove himself, in some twisted way, better than humanity.
We also see Luc really utilize his wings (angel pun not intended lol). Luc is extremely analytical and strategic in how he goes after his enemies. He knows them, and breaks down both their strengths and weaknesses to find a way to use both against them, as Naphtali reminds Shael in the Prologue of Transgression– this all stems from his 5 wing. But we also get glimpses of what he may have been like before the fall when he is in one of his rare good moods. Wanting to throw a party for Shael (Transgression), or having a one man dance party (Penance)- this is his 7 wing at work.
Luc’s Tri-Type:
Now that we’ve covered Luc’s core number and it’s movements- let’s address what truly makes Luc a complex villain- his tri-type.
Since Luc’s core number resides in the fear triad he has two other numbers, one each from the anger, and image triads. From the numbers in the anger triad- Luc most strongly associates with the tendencies of the 1. He is an idealist who has a very clear picture in his head of what things should be like. This is based on his perception and belief of what is right and wrong (not necessarily what actually is right or wrong.) This perfectionist drive is ironically what leads to his fall- when he has a difference of opinion with God over how things should be. He ardently believes that he is right, and desperately needs everyone else to perceive him as such- in his mind making him the good guy- who has been misused and misunderstood. This is what makes him so dangerous and so diabolical. As a 1 in the anger triad Luc steeps in his anger and boils in resentment- he also tends toward self-righteousness. He will never admit that he was actually the one who was wrong all along- so he has to convince himself that he is right and the rest of the world is wrong- thus digging himself deeper and deeper.
In the image triad Luc strongly aligns with the 4. The romantic, or the artist. He certainly is creative (though he doesn’t necessarily use that skill for good)- he is also more than comfortable stewing in his feels, and feeling everything deeply. However, he isn’t the best at picking up how other people are feeling and can be a bit oblivious to others and especially how they have been hurt or negatively impacted by him. This again aids in his self righteousness- hyperfocusing on how others have inflicted pain on him without owning that he has probably done worse by others, 100 fold. He is stuck in the mindset that he alone is unique and can alone see the situation clearly- where everyone else is either ignorant or actively against him. Obviously, this is where we get the misunderstood-victim mentality that Achaia gets a taste of in Penance as he desperately seeks her sympathy and validation.
I think we usually expect villains to be 8s or maybe even 3s- and it certainly surprised me to realise that Luc was a 6 (the loyalist!). However when you take a close look at his motivations- and the way he reacts to certain stimuli- this makes absolute sense, and actually, to me, makes him more terrifying.
If you liked this post and want more like it, check out the one I did for Shael! And if you’re interested in seeing how my own enneagram composition shows itself in the series, you can check out the first post in this series Me, Myself and I.
What do you think about using the enneagram for book characters as opposed to other typing systems? Do you know your enneagram number? Let’s chat in the comments!
Until next week… Happy reading!
brandyange.me 