Logan's World: Succession, The Enneagram & Transformation
Fr. Richard Rohr says, “If we don’t transform our pain, then we will transmit it.” After watching and rewatching HBO’s hit show Succession, I think this quote must be posted up somewhere in the writers room. These writers have created a show that has no truly likable characters, only people who are tripping over themselves to put someone else down. They are ruthless. They will destroy their siblings, their kids, their family, their spouses - all for power and money. They are not in the business of transformation, only the business of themselves - which in turn is also killing their souls.
Succession is centered around a billionaire media mogul, Logan Roy, and his adult children. It’s all about who will take over the company. In each season we watch Connor (the eldest/half-sibling), Kendall, Siobahn (“Shiv”) and Roman along with the other C-suite members do Logan’s bidding all in the name of more money and power and ultimately a chance at the big chair.
Here’s the thing that this show captures more than anything else: the center of this world is Logan Roy - an enneagram 8 whose orbit is huge. Because of his success, Logan’s truth is the only truth that matters. The way he wants it is the way he gets it. We are reminded of this over and over again from boardrooms to helicopter rides to yachts. The characters of Succession trust in him because “he always wins;” truly, father knows best.
When Control Becomes A Problem
More than any other energy on the circle of the enneagram, the 8 is highly concerned with control. This control is often misunderstood as bossiness, aggression or a need to be in charge all the time. In reality it is a protection technique that young 8s learned early on. It is as if they were told that their innocence would not be safe out in the world, so they create layers and layers of protection over their most vulnerable parts. In order to be safe, they often push other people to operate the way they want them to - control.
From an energy perspective, however, they are not trying to be the boss for boss’ sake, but rather because of their early split from “holy truth.” The 8 is redefining truth for themselves and is often found imposing that truth on others. Each enneagram type is tied to a holy loss so I am not just picking on 8s here. Much of this work has been brought to life by Sandra Maitri in her great book “The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues.” These holy losses drive a passion, which leads to a fixation and this is often where we find the type structure fully expressed. For an 8, their loss is expressed as a loss of holy truth. Their ego is a projection of their truth and they begin operating as the strength, the leader, the justice-maker - anything that reinforces their role as protector for their lives and others they deem worthy.
The ego of an unhealthy enneagram 8 is not in the transformation business, they are in the transmission business. For Logan, his most emotional moments are when he is arguing with one of his kids. When they don’t trust him he really escalates with anger because from his point of view he is doing his best to protect them even if they aren’t receiving it that way.
The Harmony Triad and Control
The enneagram recognizes several triads amongst the types. There are head (5,6,7), heart (2,3,4) and gut/intuition (8,9,1) people. Most people know this way of understanding themselves. Additionally, there are two other key triad groupings: The Hornevian groups or triads may be familiar as well - aggressive/assertive (8,7,3), withdrawing (4,5,9) and dependent (1,2,6).
But there’s a third way to group the types that is important here: The Harmony Groups. Originally developed from Dr. David Daniels’ teachings. These groups are broken into the Frustrated Idealists (1,4,7), the Pragmatists (3,6,9) and the Relators/Rejection (2,5,8) groups. Each of these groups finds a footing in head, heart and body (imagine a three-legged stool sitting on a circle with one leg in each grouping. A common factor for the relator group is control.
While this control looks very different for each of these numbers, they all work to be in control of their situations through various techniques - some might call it coping. It also influences how they move in the world. It has been said that everyone needs the voices of the relator group in their lives. They need someone to care for them (2), someone to be an objective voice (5) and someone to tell them what to do (8) in an unvarnished way. The challenge for each of these three numbers is to embrace the blessing of all of the types and to live in balance. An 8 needs to embrace the open-heartedness of the 2, while the 2 needs to use the rationality of the 5 to keep themselves grounded, and on and on.
How Does An Enneagram 8 Do Transformation?
The language of the twelve step programs is likely the truest way of transformation we know today. We all believe we have power. Our experiences, egos and the corresponding somatic responses lock us into patterns. The twelve steps teach us that we are powerless and there is something larger than us which can help us re-locate and overcome. The steps also offer us a chance to engage with a higher power or “the holy.” If we know our type’s holy loss, then we can also know our type’s virtue and use this as a guide back to the holy. In Succession, we don’t see Logan aspiring to be transformed.
The biggest spiritual growth challenge for an eight is vulnerability. Due to what is likely a pre-speech realization as a child that being vulnerable was risky, little 8s shut that down and become the protector of themselves, leaving them with under-exercised hearts. They become risk-averse, or as Logan would say - “we need to find a position of strength.”
In season three there is a moment of honest conversation between Logan and Kendall. Kendall wants to do the right thing and believes that by telling the truth (there’s that holy idea again) that the family can once again become a force for good in the world. And that is when we get to hear Logan’s honest take on the world:
“Life is not knights on horseback. It is a number on a piece of paper. It is a fight for a knife in the mud.”
Logan is always willing to get in the mud and fight for his life and the life of those he means to protect. Is it honorable? Is it deplorable? Has it made him successful? Do the ends justify the means? Even at his weakest moments, when his body is failing him, Logan is still fighting to win at all costs.
For an 8 to see an ego deconstruction they must address vulnerability in their life. We haven’t yet seen Logan do this. And in the world that is dominated by an aggression-driven person, no one around him is motivated to make any change because he will just kill them off. In fact, he takes pleasure in it.
Making A Spiritual Change
Our brains and bodies don’t like change. We aren’t predisposed to make changes, especially when we feel protected. From a spiritual growth perspective, change comes when we know that our ego is not serving us well. When we wake up to this idea we begin discovering invitations. The end of our physical capability is the beginning of our spiritual invitation. It is us recognizing our higher power and gaining access to it. To do something that is supernatural we must move beyond what our natural self is able to do.
There isn’t a logical reason for Logan to wake up. But there is a spiritual reason. Logan’s world is solidly planted in his 8 energy, but opening up to his 2 and 5 energies could bring spiritual balance into his world and allow him to truly connect with people. It will take vulnerability and he will be afraid, just like he should have been allowed to be as a child. To return to his essence, who he was before that ego took over, will help him find a new connection to his true self. This is the spiritual work of transformation.
READ NEXT: Enneagram Typing The Roy Family
More Reading: Who Are Today’s Modern Spiritual Teachers Of The Enneagram?
