Wilhelm Reich's five personality types — refined by Pierrakos and Brennan with aura observations, chakra configurations, brain activity patterns, life tasks, and healing approaches for each.
What Is Character Structure?
Character structure describes certain physical and psychological types. Reich found that people with similar childhood experiences had similar bodies, similar basic psychological dynamics, and similar chakra patterns.
The dynamics depend on the age at which the child first experienced life so traumatically that it began blocking feelings and developing a defense system. A trauma in the womb is blocked differently than one in the oral stage, toilet training, or latency — because the individual and field are so different at each stage.
The Basic Malady: Self-Hatred
The basic malady Brennan found in all people she has worked with is self-hatred. Just how that self-hatred manifests is shown in the different character structures.
Each structure is a model of a transformation system gone awry. We block energy, it becomes clogged, and we live according to negative beliefs. This creates pain. Sooner or later we hear the message and change. Your character structure crystallizes your personal task — the lesson you came here to learn.
Life Task & Illness
Each person has a personal task (learning to express a new part of identity) and a world task (a gift to give the world). The character structure is the crystallization of the personal task — held in the body so the individual can easily see and work with it.
"You are sick because you are not following your deepest longing. Find how you stop yourself. Clear away those blocks. Do what you wish to do, and you will get well."
Your illness is directly related, through your energy system, to your deepest longing.
The Schizoid Structure
Arrest
Before or at Birth
Pattern
Hold Together
Fault
Fear (no right to exist)
Complaint
Fear/Anxiety, Fatigue
Trauma
Hostile mother, not wanted, birth trauma
Double Bind
"To exist means to die."
Mask
"I'll reject you before you reject me."
Lower Self
"You don't exist either."
Higher Self
"I'm real."
Physical Body
Tall/thin or heavy, ring tension, weak joints, uncoordinated, cold hands/feet, hyperactive, ungrounded
Energy Field
Discontinuities, imbalances, breaks. Energy frozen at core. Etheric thin with leaks at joints. Spiritual bodies strong/bright. Silver egg, not fully inflated, narrow at feet.
Chakra Configuration
Open: rear sexual (2B), solar plexus (3A), forehead (6A), crown (7). Many counterclockwise. Asymmetrical when open.
Brain Activity Pattern
Brightest at occipital (rear), least at frontal. Third eye active. Bulge toward back of head.
Defense Systems
Withdrawal, Porcupine, Beside Himself
Life Task & Higher Self
Face inner terror and rage that blocks creativity. Materialize spirituality in the physical world. Build doorways between the beautiful rooms of the mansion.
Healing Approach
Identify and strengthen boundaries. Confirm spiritual reality. Charge the aura and teach how to hold a charge. Stop energy leaks.
The Oral Structure
Arrest
Babyhood (Feeding)
Pattern
Hold On
Fault
Greed
Complaint
Passivity, Fatigue
Trauma
Abandonment — mother withdrawn, death, illness
Double Bind
"If I ask, it's not love; if I don't ask, I won't get it."
Mask
"I don't need you" / "I won't ask."
Lower Self
"Take care of me."
Higher Self
"I'm satisfied, fulfilled."
Physical Body
Thin, flaccid muscles, collapsed chest, shallow breathing, doesn't look adult/mature, cold depressed chest, sucking eyes
Energy Field
Depleted, calm, quiet. Energy in head. Etheric held tightly near skin. Emotional body held in, not much color. Mental body bright yellowish. Egg not fully inflated, silvery, depleted at feet.
Chakra Configuration
Open: crown (7), forehead (6A). Mostly closed or de-energized. After process work: front sexual (2A) opens.
Brain Activity Pattern
Most energy at frontal and side lobes. Least at occipital. Centered on intellectual/verbal activity, not physical.
Defense Systems
Verbal Denial, Oral Sucking, Verbal Arrows (for attention)
Life Task & Higher Self
Learn trust in the abundance of the universe. Reverse the grabbing — learn to give. Give up victim role. Find the void within teeming with life. Stand on own two feet.
Healing Approach
Charge the aura, open chakras, strengthen boundary. Teach what 'open' feels like. Lots of touching. Like a Stradivarius — finely tune the instrument and compose your own symphony.
The Psychopathic (Displaced) Structure
Arrest
Early Childhood
Pattern
Hold Up
Fault
Untruthfulness
Complaint
Feelings of Defeat
Trauma
Seduction/betrayal by opposite-sex parent. Parent wanted something from the child.
Double Bind
"I have to be right or I die."
Mask
"I'm right; you're wrong."
Lower Self
"I will control you."
Higher Self
"I give in."
Physical Body
Inflated chest, top heavy, lack of flow between upper/lower half. Pelvis undercharged, cold, tightly held. Severe tension in shoulders, base of skull, eyes. Weak legs, not grounded.
Energy Field
Upper half energized, lower half depleted. Egg distorted (top heavy). Etheric darker blue. Mental body protrudes forward. Will center (4B) between shoulder blades extremely enlarged.
Chakra Configuration
Open: will centers at shoulder/neck base (4B very large), frontal center (2A), crown (7). Most others closed, especially feeling centers.
Brain Activity Pattern
Strong and bright at frontal lobes. Decreases toward back. Very still and dark at occipital. Intellect serves the will.
Defense Systems
Hook, Mental Grasp, Verbal Denial, controlled volcanic rage (not chaotic like hysteria)
Life Task & Higher Self
Find true surrender by deflating the upper half and letting go of control. Give in to deeper being and sexual feelings. Make contact with friends, feel like a human being. Lead others to their honesty through integrity.
Healing Approach
Charge the lower half, open lower chakras. Live through the heart, not the will. Be very tender with sexual issues. Never touch lower body without care and sensitivity.
The Masochistic Structure
Arrest
Autonomy Stage
Pattern
Hold In
Fault
Hatred
Complaint
Tension
Trauma
Control, forced feeding/evacuation, conditional love, dominating/sacrificing mother
Double Bind
"If I get angry, I'll be humiliated; if I don't, I'll be humiliated."
Mask
"I'll kill myself before you kill me."
Lower Self
"I will spite and provoke you."
Higher Self
"I'm free."
Physical Body
Heavy, compacted, overdeveloped muscles, shortening of neck and waist. Strong tension in neck, jaw, throat, pelvis (tucked under). Cold buttocks. Energy choked in throat. Head thrusts forward.
Energy Field
Internalized, hypoactive yet boiling inside. Fully inflated field. Etheric dense, thick, coarse, gray. Emotional body full, multicolored, evenly distributed. Mental body large and bright. Egg fully inflated, dark golden, oval, slightly overweight at bottom.
Chakra Configuration
Open: forehead (6A), solar plexus (3A), possibly partial rear sexual (2B). Functions in mental, emotional, and will aspects.
Brain Activity Pattern
Active at frontal, parietal, and ventricle areas. Small central occipital activity surrounded by less active area.
Defense Systems
Tentacles, Silent Brooding, Verbal Arrows
Life Task & Higher Self
Free from humiliation by freeing aggression. Express actively whenever suits fancy. Creative force is like filigreed silver and gold — delicate, intricate designs. Natural negotiator with big heart and deep compassion.
Healing Approach
Learn to move and release all blocked energy. Respect boundaries above all — never touch without permission. The more self-healing, the faster and better. Healing always related to creativity hidden inside.
The Rigid Structure
Arrest
Puberty/Genital
Pattern
Hold Back
Fault
Pride
Complaint
No Feelings
Trauma
Rejection by opposite-sex parent — betrayal of love (erotic pleasure, sexuality, and love are all the same to a child)
Double Bind
"Either choice is wrong." (Sex over love doesn't satisfy; surrender will hurt)
Mask
"Yes, but..."
Lower Self
"I won't love you."
Higher Self
"I commit. I love."
Physical Body
Harmoniously proportioned, highly energized, integrated. Plate armor (steel plates) or mesh armor (chain mesh). Pelvis tipped back and cold.
Energy Field
Energy on periphery, away from core. Hyperactive. Strong, bright, evenly distributed aura. Etheric strong, wide, even, bluish-gray. Emotional body calm, balanced, larger in back (will centers open). Mental body developed, bright. Egg strong, resilient, golden-silvery with gold predominance.
Chakra Configuration
Open: rear will and sexual chakras, mental chakras. Lives by mind and will. Crown and solar plexus may or may not be open.
Brain Activity Pattern
Lots of activity on sides and central rear. Frontal lobes vary by life focus. As people grow enlightened, activity becomes balanced — bridges form a cross viewed from top.
Defense Systems
Power/Will Display, Boundary Containment, sometimes Hysteria
Life Task & Higher Self
Open the feeling centers and allow feelings to flow and be seen. Share feelings. Connect heart to genitals. Inner landscape: adventure, passion, love, mountains to climb, causes to champion. Natural leader capable of deep contact.
Healing Approach
Soften the aura. Open the heart chakra, connect to love and feelings. Activate the second layer. Do slowly — allow feelings for short periods. Reach deeper core energies through laying-on of hands. Lovingly accept the personality.
Beyond Character Structure
As each person works on themselves psychodynamically, physically, and spiritually, the aura changes. Chakras open more. Images and misconceptions clear. The field becomes more resilient, fluid, and creative.
A beautiful golden-silvery point of light grows in the center of the head, extending beyond the body. This seed kernel develops the celestial body into a brighter organ that perceives reality beyond the physical. Located near the pituitary and pineal glands, it transforms us into living transformation systems — spiritualizing matter.
Self-Review
From Chapter 13:
Character Structure Assessment
Question 1 of 5
When under stress, my first impulse is to:
Which character structure resonates? How does understanding your formation years explain your current patterns?