2023-07-26
Young offers a new method for reading the cosmic circumstances of personality.
In 2023, many young people use their astrological signs, their Myers-Brigg types, and their status as an introvert or extrovert to help make sense of their identities, bond with others, and chase their aspirations. In the interest of helping readers better understand themselves (and, by extension, their life goals), the author details a lesser-known, two-pronged, math-adjacent model employing The Law of Three (more broadly, the role of trinities) and enneagram personality types and signs. Enneagram signs were created by the Armenian-born Sufi mystic and philosopher George Gurdjieff and function much like astrology signs (only there are nine versus the Zodiac’s 12); each is essentially composed of two Zodiac signs, a combination that creates a trinity—for example, the first Enneagram sign, or type, is composed of both Aries and Taurus, but is “neither sign by itself”; the unity of Aries and Taurus creates a third element. These “cosmic-centered” types give every individual soul a collection of traits identifying it as “an original creation, seed, and literally one of a kind.” This structure works in tandem with The Law of Three as Young draws connections using multiples of three as markers of the human life cycle. Diagrams included throughout provide a visual language for understanding how the enneagrams work and guides for applying mathematical principles to psychological and spiritual concepts. The author writes that every society and religion has a foundational trinity that guides people to spiritual understanding, whether it be the “father, mother, and child; conscious mind, creative mind, and manifestations; yang, yin, and the Tao; light, matter, and energy.”
This is not a book for the casual astrology fan, nor for those who struggle with math. The text is fewer than 200 pages long, but attempts to pack many concepts, some of which appear to contradict each other, into each chapter; some require multiple re-reads. For example, there are enneagram signs as well as enneagram types, the latter of which aren’t tied to birth dates, but are determined through surveys of “ego-centered personality preferences” —Donald Trump, for example, is an enneagram sign of three based on his June 14 birthday, but his enneagram type is eight. The sections on the Law of Three break down the life cycle into nine-year phases that coincide with enneagrams, but their relation gets muddled. One section connects the Enneagram to the alphabet, exploring how names (and changing one’s name) affect one’s personality, which seems to contradict the previously discussed strategies for identification. Young offers a bibliography but does not include footnotes or clear citations that might better contextualize his teachings. The most actionable way to use these types, signs, and laws is found in the “Autobiography Summary.” Young provides a template at the end, where readers can lay out major life events and align them with significant points in their life cycles; by doing so, Young aims to help the reader “discover your purpose for existence and assist you in keeping track with your authentic self.”
A nuanced system for reading the stars and numbers that many may find overly convoluted.
