The Art & Science of Face Reading

Reading the Facial Features

The front-face can be considered a changeable persona. In a way, the front-face is a mask: it changes as you inscribe character traits upon it.

The profile, which reveals the temperament, communicates a great deal about the individual. But when you look at the front-face and you have an “Aha!” moment, you will realize that that is the way a face is to be read—in an instantaneous glance. The aim is not to study. The aim is to look quickly and see what grabs your attention. It may be the nose, the eyes, or the ears. Whichever it is, you will intuitively make an instant assessment. For instance, when you see a roundness of the features, you can say it is expressed in a Moon way. When you see a broadness to the forehead and the features, you can say it is expressed in a Jupiter way. In general, once you know the characteristics that we have described regarding front-faces, you can read the features of any face quickly and accurately.

In this chapter, we are looking specifically at the individual features, which modify the front-face and tell us so much more about each individual.

The Meaning and Shape of the Eyes

We all know the saying that the eyes are the window to the soul. You might also say that they tell us about emotionality. Not only is the face holographic, but every feature is a hologram of the whole being. In fact, some people can become expert at reading one particular feature and can read the whole glyph of the human being in that feature. To begin, we focus on the meaning found in the shape of the eyes.

Fig. 3.1. Eye shapes: almond, round, and crescent

The eyes often reflect what is going on emotionally and internally with an individual. The shape of the eye is either almond, round, or semi-round (see figure 3.1, above). An almond-shaped eye often speaks to intelligence and emotional strength. The round eye might be considered a sign of emotional difficulty. It may also speak to dreaminess and to a lack of focus. A round Moon eye can signify a tendency toward depression. Even so, round eyes can take in a lot, particularly since they have been associated with emotional lability.

The semi-round eye, also known as the crescent or half-moon eye, is associated with the Venus type. Remember that whenever any of the individual features take on the shape of a particular planetary name—for instance, Moon or Venus or Sun—then the qualities that we have spoken about when examining those planetary faces are also part of those features.

Eyes also have a tilt. When the medial portion of the eye is turned up, it speaks to optimism. When the medial portion of the eye is turned down, it speaks to pessimism. The eye that is straight across is regarded as even-tempered. If the outer part of the eye has an exaggerated upward tilt, that individual might struggle with adulterous thoughts. This does not mean only in a sexual way. Adultery in this context can mean not being able to focus on one thing. For example, you might see that people have never cheated on their partners, but that they frequently engage in three-way relationships with friends or family where there is always a side to be taken. If the eye has a downward tilt on the outside, the individual is considered dreamy or seductive and also a little self-involved; this can also indicate depression.

Bedroom Eyes

Sometimes you see “bedroom eyes,” or the eyes that slant upward. I saw this once with a female patient who came in with a blood dyscrasia (an imbalance in the blood). It was an interesting situation. I don’t know why, but when I’ve seen people with blood dyscrasias, they seem to be in adulterous situations in their lives. I can’t confirm that this is the case with every blood dyscrasia sufferer, but it’s an observation that I’ve made. So I brought it up and asked, “Do you find yourself triangulating?” (I don’t say “committing adultery.”) And she asked, “What does that mean?” I said, “You have two friends, and you are the third, and you have to pick one or the other because of a dispute, and you find yourself stuck and not knowing which way to go.” And she said, “As a matter of fact, I’m dating a married man, and I’m married.” The nature is in the face. It opens up all these revelations.

Evaluate the protrusion of the eye by viewing it from the side. If you see the sclera and iris pointing out, and the eye is beyond the lid, this is exophthalmos, which is seen in hyperthyroidism. One may see a protrusion from the front, but this is a pseudo-protrusion. It must be evaluated from the side.

When someone has huge receptors, they may report that they are overwhelmed by sensory input. It is recommended that they squint their eyes to diminish the sensory input from the outside.

Something else to note is the interpupillary distance—that is, the distance between the pupils. When the interpupillary distance is small (the eyes are close together), that often speaks to emotional instability or being focused or narrow-minded. If the interpupillary distance is large (the eyes are far apart), that can also speak to emotional instability but in a different way. The person can be too trusting and without boundaries. It can also indicate generosity, open-mindedness, or even gullibility. An example of a large interpupillary distance is seen in children with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Wide-eyed people are typically slow to react, and when the upper lid hangs low over the iris, it indicates unreliability.

The Color of the Eyes

As we have noted before, eye color is generally associated with a particular planet. Eyes that are considered blue are often associated with the Sanguine type (Mars, Venus, Sun, Pluto). Eyes that are considered to be in the brown family are usually associated with Bilious (Saturn, Uranus, Earth). Any front-face can have any color eyes, but certain planetary types demonstrate notable consistencies: Green eyes with yellow flecks are generally associated with Sun types, but note that Sun-shaped front-faces that come from Scandinavia are typically blue-eyed. When we see very dark clear blue eyes, we associate them with Venus. Brown eyes are also often seen in the Venus type as well as in the Mercury type. Pale blue eyes or even hazel eyes, which are often associated with dreaminess, are considered Moon.

The Moon or the Mars shape can also have ice-blue eyes. And when you see those ice-blue eyes, they generally have a feeling of detachment or coldness. Very dark, deep blue eyes, that almost have the feeling of piercing through, are considered Pluto eyes.

Sanpaku eyes, meaning “three whites,” where the white is visible on the sides and the bottom, can indicate a loss of energy and quite possibly a movement toward death.

Reading the Eyebrows

Each eyebrow is divided into three parts—medial, middle, and lateral. The medial part relates to the bridge that connects the right and left frontal bone and the nose; the middle is in the center, just over the pupil of the eye; and the lateral is the farthest away from the center. When observing the eyebrows, you look at the length of each of the three zones, and from these three pieces you can tell the entire character of the person.

You also look for the amount of hair in the eyebrow, whether it is bushy, thin, regular, or irregular. If the hair has a certain thickness and bushiness, it reveals good stamina. Whenever we see the lateral third of the eyebrow missing it always correlates with thyroid issues. The thinning and loss of hair on this part of the eyebrow may indicate developing hypothyroidism. Also, when one has thick eyebrows and they become thin, consider the possibility that the genital system might have been affected.

It is interesting to note that just as plastic surgery or hair coloring can affect the expression of a type, hair implants can also be used to make corrections to the eyebrows.

Figure 3.2, on the next page, shows the ten basic eyebrow shapes. A rounded or curved eyebrow represents more than ordinary perseverance and endurance and has a female quality. A straight line or angular thrust shows a dissipation of energy. When the medial portion of the eyebrow is angled toward the nose, it is seen as indicating a normal relationship with others. If it is straight and horizontal toward the bridge, you may see that relationships with others are in doubt. If it is angled up and away toward the forehead, the person might manifest suspicion. If the eyebrow is curved and there is a big distance between it and the eyelid, it indicates that that person can be clever.

If the middle portion of the eyebrow is straight horizontal, it is considered balanced. If it is convex with the bow up toward the forehead, it signifies a dissipation of energy. If angled up toward the forehead, it signifies people who take on new projects and plans and who may seek retribution from others. If the middle portion of the eyebrow is angled to look like an upside-down V, this is considered a mercurial eyebrow and indicates quick thought and wit. Also, if there is a stack of hair above the middle portion of the eyebrow, it is said that that person has a lot on their mind.

When the lateral aspect of the eyebrow is angled downward, it is considered balanced. If it is straight across, like a horizontal line, it represents stubbornness. If angled upward, it may indicate irresponsibility. If convex, with an angle down, where the eyebrow goes down to the level of the outer conjunctiva, the person is considered self-absorbed.

As you can see, the outer third of the eyebrow has four directions. When you see the hair of the eyebrow extend down past the lateral corner of the eye, and even past the orbit of the eye, it’s considered an extreme downward position and indicates a person who can be so self-absorbed that they can have trouble maintaining relationships.

Fig. 3.2. Eyebrow shapes

Bony eyebrows, where the bone protrudes, are thought to signify an extroverted person, while flat eyebrow bones are thought to signify an introverted person.

Eyebrows Grew below the Orbit

I had a patient who had eyebrows that grew down below the orbit, which indicates self-absorption, and indeed, the man was completely obsessed with himself. I recommended that he tweeze his brows up, because he was a police officer, and he wanted to have more compassion and not be so concerned about himself. Removing this part of the eyebrow helped. He shaved it, but tweezing was the recommendation.

Bilious Saturn eyebrows are characteristically thick. If they go fully across the head they are known as “synophrys” in the medical field and commonly called “unibrow”—they can create a barrier between the intellectual and emotional zones. When you see this in patients who are having difficulty in relationships, you may advise them—especially men—to tweeze the middle of the brows to open up emotionally by connecting the emotional zone with the intellectual zone.

Unibrow

A patient, when he first came to me, was around thirteen-and-a-half years old and was not able to be in the regular school system due to violent tendencies. Because he had a unibrow, there was no open space between his intellectual and emotional zones, so the intellect could not help to curb the emotions and impulses that were out of balance. So I suggested to the mother to tweeze a gap between his eyebrows. She did so and noticed an appreciable difference.

The Cheeks: Reservoir of Energy

We go from eyes and eyebrows to a short look at cheeks.

The word cheeks comes from the Latin meaning “increased reservoir of energy.” When you see cheeks that are full and nicely shaped, you can assume the person has strength. Full cheeks can represent a search for honor and glory and are often connected with security and personal importance.

Little Balls in the Cheeks

I had a patient who had been coming to me for a very long time. She had little balls in the upper part of her cheeks that puzzled me. I asked Dr. Epstein what it meant, and he said they were cheeks of timidity. I didn’t know that, because when I was with her, she was extremely open with me and very clear about what she wanted done. With time, she revealed that she was very timid with other people in her personal life and at work.

There are three types of cheeks: the full cheek, the flat cheek, and the hollow cheek. Of course, there may be variations.

A person with full cheeks is scared of consequences and only has courage to a point. A big and full cheek often speaks to a degree of sexuality and willpower. A cheek that is full and tight, as can be seen in Sophia Lauren and the young Faye Dunaway, can represent strong will.

A person with a flat cheek is not scared when confronted with something scary. A person with such a cheek, as seen in the older Faye Dunaway, depends on his or her own ingenuity and speed of action and reaction. Due to the lack of power of the flat cheek, such a person tends to use their quick wit. If someone hurts a child with this cheek, it will create a desire for revenge.

A person with a hollow cheek, as seen in Clint Eastwood, is fearless and not troubled by much. Another example is Humphrey Bogart. People with hollow cheeks cannot be led, and one must speak to them gently. Saturn types with indented cheeks—in other words, an indented hollow cheek—like to correct the ills of the world. Sometimes they will take on the whole world.

Dimples in smiling cheeks represent a whimsical and childlike nature.

The Nose: Spine of the Face

The bone of the nose is considered the spinal column of the face, and the entire face is organized around the nose as the body is organized around the spine. When looking at the nose from the front (see figure 3.3 below), since it is in the middle of the emotional zone, the center of the face, it is prominent and easily observed upon a quick glance. So what might stand out to us are things like the concavity or convexity and the broadness or narrowness of the nasal bone; the shape of the tip of the nose; bumps, lesions, freckles, moles, or whatever features or irregularities might catch our attention. These specifics can reveal much about the person’s physical and emotional state. For instance, if one’s nose is broad, one is considered steady and strong. If the nose is a narrow pillar, that person is considered emotionally labile. We come in with these aspects as they are inherited through our genetics.

Fig. 3.3. Parts of the nose

The nose and the bridge of the nose speak to emotionality and tolerance. In the following list of characteristics, you’ll notice that we revisit the space between the eyes because it also has significance when reading the bridge of the nose.

A large space between the eyes, when the bridge of the nose is open, represents tolerance and open-mindedness.
A small space between the eyes that is focused to one point indicates a person who does not see things in a broad way. These people are not typically open and can be considered closed- or narrow-minded.
A low bridge of the nose indicates primitivity and a person who is instinctually driven.
A high bridge of the nose indicates intelligence.
A flat large bridge on the nose means the person is not efficient.
Hollow bridges, where the space between the root of the nose and the glabella is concave, are seen in efficient people.

Since our learning is founded in repetition, this is a good time to recall that when we viewed the profile, we were establishing the person’s temperament. We will do that once more in this process. To see the temperament, we look again at the slope of the forehead, the back of the head, and the angle of the jaw, but now we also consider the profile of the nose. Every nose contains two temperaments because the upper and lower parts of the nose represent different aspects.

As you may remember, earlier I explained that the nose has two main parts: the bony upper part attached to the root (the place where the nose attaches itself to the forehead or glabella), called the nasal bone, and the soft cartilaginous bottom part of the nose, or the bulb, which goes from where the bony part meets the softer lower half to the tip. The nasal bone can be either concave or convex, and the bulb can be either round or straight (aquiline).

If the nasal bone is convex when viewing the profile, like the ones in the two portraits by Leonardo da Vinci shown in figure 3.4, it is a Nervous nose. If it is concave, as it is in the portrait of Winston Churchill on the next page (figure 3.5), it is considered a Lymphatic nose. If it is straight, or aquiline, it is Sanguine. People with a convex nose are concerned with what other people think, which tends to influence their choice of work, while people with the concave nose tend to be more calm and less reactive to the world and what it thinks of them. Remember that the Nervous or Lymphatic nose is a fixity, because it is based on the shape of the bone.

Fig. 3.4. Nervous nose portraits by Leonardo da Vinci

Fig. 3.5. Lymphatic nose—Winston Churchill (1943)

The bulb part of the nose is either Bilious or Sanguine. If the bulb is round, it is considered Bilious. As we noted earlier, this Bilious tip tends to indicate people who are friendly and available to others. It is a wonderful attribute for sociability. Karl Malden had that bulbous tip (see figure 3.6 below).

If the bulb is aquiline it is considered Sanguine. The Sanguine nose tends to indicate a person who is more analytical and less available. Julius Caesar had such a nose (see figure 3.7 below).

The projection of the nose from the philtrum (the vertical groove below the center of the nose) to the tip of the nose speaks to intelligence. When the projected nose is long, the person is considered highly intelligent, especially if the nose is accompanied by long skinny nostrils.

Fig. 3.6. Bilious tip, Karl Malden
(From On the Waterfront, 1953)

Fig. 3.7. Aquiline nose
(Eighteenth-century bust of Julius Caesar, British Museum)

A person with a pointed nose generally has a quest for learning about humanity. Such people are considered searchers and seekers. And when the nose dips low toward the upper lip, it is considered a conqueror’s nose (see figure 3.8 below).

Fig. 3.8. Conqueror nose
(“Profile of an Old Man,” by Leonardo da Vinci, fifteenth century, Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

A Sharp, Long, and Downward-Pointing Nose

I went to the pool and paid the $6.00 entry fee and asked the attendant to please let me have a receipt so I could come back in again later. She said, “No.” But the way she said it was very nasty, like she got joy out of it. I quickly looked at her face, and I saw the Wicked Witch of the West. She had that long, sharp, downward-pointing nose! These people like to be conquerors. I didn’t take it personally and understood it to simply be her way. This is how we can use face morphology to develop compassion rather than to react defensively.

Figure 3.9 provides just a few nose-combination possibilities. When the temperament that is determined by the jaw and forehead does not exactly match up with the temperament that is read in the nose, we look to the nose as a tempering of the temperament. For example, if a Nervous has a Lymphatic bridge (which is often accomplished by surgery) it takes away the Nervous’s ability to pierce the world and adds to their passive nature. If a Bilious (jawline and forehead) has a Sanguine, aquiline tip of the nose, it can take away the congeniality of the temperament and make the individual more analytical and motoric.

Fig. 3.9. Nose types

Type 1: The concave bony part is associated with Lymphatic. The round cartilage is associated with Bilious.
Type 2: The aquiline bony part is associated with Sanguine. The round cartilage is associated with Bilious.
Type 3: The concave bony part is associated with Lymphatic. The aquiline tip is associated with Sanguine.
Type 4: The convex bony part is associated with Nervous. The aquiline tip is associated with Sanguine.

When viewing the nose from the side, if we see a tenting of the nares (see figure 3.10 below), we have a sign of either envy or jealousy. If there is a tent in the front (the part closer to the tip of the nose) whereby the nostrils go up and form a triangle, this indicates jealousy. If the tent is at the back (the part closer to the maxillary bone), it is envy.

Fig. 3.10. Tenting of the nares

Nose: Tenting Nares

A patient came into the office, and as I was looking at her profile I saw a tenting of the anterior part of her nares. I said to her, “Do you have any issues with jealousy?” This person immediately started ranting and raving about how jealous she was in her relationship with her husband and how it interfered with her well-being and normal functioning, because she “couldn’t bear it.” She said that she got too agitated if he got a phone call or any attention from another woman. She just couldn’t control herself.

The Philtrum

Now we turn to the small area called the philtrum, the vertical groove in the central space between the nose and upper lip (see figure 3.11 below). The philtrum can show reserves of strength and amounts of energy. If the groove is deep, there is a good reserve of strength and a lot of energy. If shallow, however, strength and energy dissipate. Lines in the philtrum indicate sexual pride and good humor. A vertical line in the middle of the philtrum represents a sense of humor.

If the distance from the base of the nose to the upper lip is long, these people are motorically active. The projection of the nose from the philtrum to the tip of the nose speaks to intelligence, especially if it is accompanied by long skinny nostrils. If the nose dips low, obscuring part of the philtrum, the people with this nose are conqueror types.

Fig. 3.11. Philtrum types

The Mouth and the Lips

When we speak of the mouth, we include the upper and lower lips and the philtrum. As shown in figure 3.12, mouths can be balanced, forward, flat, or back. Madame Colette Aboulker-Muscat was able to read a person’s entire life by just reading the mouth and lips.

Fig. 3.12. Lip types: side view

Lips: Prankster

Oftentimes, you can see an aspect of personality in the lips. I saw this in a nine-year-old boy, whose lips curled up at the edges. Since that curling can mean mischief, I said to him, “Do you like to play jokes on people?” He totally copped to it and said, “I love doing that!”

Mouth: Brutality or Gut Issue

I was working with a man who had come in for his lower back, and when I asked him if he wanted me to do the morphology, he said yes. His lower lip was larger than his upper lip. I was concerned because sometimes, when the lip is really jutting out, it can mean brutality. That was a cue to me to be careful with this fellow, but it turned out that when I said to him, “How is your digestion?” he said that he had Crohn’s disease. And so, while I wasn’t happy that he had Crohn’s, I was happy that his protruding lower lip didn’t mean brutality, but instead indicated a digestive issue.

When we look at the mouth, we focus on shapes. The upper lip is associated with the individual’s relationship to the outside world, the social life, while the lower lip is associated with the relationship to the self and one’s biological life. The upper and lower lips together represent the union of the social and physical life. The upper lip relates to sexual glands, the lower lip to bladder, kidneys, and digestion. The tissue of the lip is considered to be associated with the sexual life.

Because the upper lip represents the social life, we look to see if it extends over the lower lip. If it does, then these people are unsure of themselves. They feel weak and unable to handle or tackle life. Also, they tend to be tactless.

Figure 3.13 shows just a few examples of lip possibilities.

Fig. 3.13. Lip types: front view

Lips: Cupid

I had another little patient who had beautiful cupid lips, and I said to the mother, “He is very sensitive and somewhat feminine.” She said, “Yes, you’re absolutely right. He loves wearing my shoes, and he loves wearing lipstick, and all that stuff.” Yes, the lips can tell you a lot.

The following lists provide many examples of what the mouth and the lips can reveal in a reading.

Mouth

A pointed mouth is associated with an adroit charming personality. The whole focus of the mouth comes to the center and forward.
A wide, long mouth, as seen in Jackie Kennedy and Carol Channing, speaks of avariciousness. When you see a wide mouth, these people are sociable and want power. With a smile they get what they want without exerting much strength. One most often sees a long mouth in children. If that mouth stays long through adult life, it can represent a lack of educability.
A small mouth indicates a lack of sociability. People with a small mouth are mostly contemplative and have a small group of friends, which they select carefully. You can count on these people.
A contracted mouth, where the mouth is tight or the lips are pulled in, speaks of people who may be retreating from the world.
When the mouth moves forward, it can represent sneakiness.
When the mouth moves backward, it means a lovable, affable nature.
When the mouth is flat, the person can stand up to the difficulties of life. These people also make good bluffers, and they do not have fear. They believe in themselves, and they can be arrogant.
A V-shaped mouth, one where the maxilla (upper jaw) is narrow and comes more to a point anteriorly, signifies people who obtain what they want without using strength and who are considered manly.
A U-shaped mouth, one where the maxilla is rounded, indicates people who have willpower and vigor for glory.
Those with an open mouth are not well-developed intellectually.

Lips

When the upper lip advances over the lower lip, look for sexual disturbances. These people may be very concerned with sexual relationships and may boast about them.
An epicurean lip is seen when the whole mouth moves forward. People with lips like this enjoy the sensual pleasures of eating delicious things. When you see the thick upper lip protruding further forward than the lower lip, that person looks to gain bodily sensation. The epicurean lip, commonly seen in the morphology of the French, includes a slight protrusion of the upper lip with a little crease in the lower part of the philtrum.

Epicurean Lips

One of my patients had a little baby that she brought in for me to see. When I looked at his face I noticed that he had the most beautiful little epicurean lips (forward). So I said to the mother, “This child looks like he is going to truly enjoy and love the deliciousness of the flavors of food.” I explained to her that he had an epicurean lip. Two years later she came back into the office with her little boy and said to me, “I remember what you said about his lips, and boy is it ever true. This kid loves all kinds of food!”

Pursed lips indicate people who want to keep away from social imposition. They want to defend against people.
A combative lip is one where both upper and lower lips are protruding.
Large lips and thick lips speak to timidity.
If the lips are tight and small, you can count on these people. An example of this is Alexander Haig. He is a tough man with thin upper and lower lips, neither of which are showing (see figure 3.14 below).

Upper Lip

The upper lip speaks to sex drive. The need is determined by the thickness of the lip. Increased thickness means increased sexual needs. If thinner, the person needs less sex or the sex drive is diminished. Also, the thinner the upper lip, the less possibility of reproduction.

Fig. 3.14. Alexander Haig
(Circa 1970, US Army)

When the upper lip is Mercury (thin) or Venus (Cupid), there is great communication. A Venus lip, shaped like Cupid’s bow, indicates love and sexuality.
A full upper lip with a thin lower lip speaks to stinginess.
A full upper lip with a fat lower lip speaks to generosity.
Round upper lips are associated with people who will not respect other people’s property. They are ambitious and will use other people.
A straight upper lip indicates a balanced person.
A curled upper lip represents a person who desires power.
A backward upper lip means the person is not attracted to the opposite sex. “Backward” means the top lip is curled around the teeth with no lip showing. These people may have had challenges during their youth.
When the upper lip is forward, it represents aggressiveness and the desire to dominate people.
A long upper lip means the person is slow in action and reaction and tends to be celibate.
Those with a short upper lip are rapid reactors and immediately make contact with the opposite sex.
A mustache covering the upper lip cuts the instinctual zone from the emotional zone and cuts instinct.

Lower Lip

The lower lip demonstrates control over one’s sexual instinct and success in one’s chosen field.
When the lower lip is distorted, whether from birth or by injury, it indicates a change in one’s instinctive nature and can reflect disturbances, indigestion, and prostate difficulties.
If a lower lip is thicker than the upper, the person is a pleasure seeker.
If one either bites the lower lip or has the lower lip turned in, it shows introversion.
If the lower lip is forward, people are unhappy.
The lower lip that protrudes expresses physical needs and a combative spirit. It might also indicate aggressiveness or brutality. If the lip juts out even farther, the person is debased and may exhibit animal-like behavior. A gross projection of the lower lip can indicate sadism.
A straight lower lip indicates a person who wants to fight.
A lower lip that goes backward represents people who want to fight and reach their goals. They are not frightened by blood, and they are not scared away.

Efficiency Lines

When one of my female patients came into my office, I could see that on either side of her lips the commissure (the corners of the mouth where the upper and lower lips meet) was extended and tight creating two horizontal lines. I said to her, “You would be the type of person I would hire for my front desk.” And she replied, “I am the main secretary at a big law office.” When you see these lines extending from the commissure of the lips, it indicates that the individual is a master at executing tasks.

What Teeth Can Tell Us

The teeth can have as many meanings as the mouth and lips. As we know, the teeth have both an upper and lower component. They also follow the rule “as above, so below.”

Crooked teeth in an individual can represent emotional imbalance. Following the law of reciprocity, by straightening the teeth with braces, one can make a person’s emotional life more clearly directed.

The direction in which the teeth point also helps explain an individual’s nature. For example, if the teeth are pointing inward, these people might be gobbling themselves up. In contrast, if a person’s teeth are facing outward, as in buckteeth, they may be gobbling up their neighbors, friends, etc.

By looking at the canine teeth, we can understand one’s appetite for sex and food. If an individual has especially long canines, they might be gobbling up their partner. So you might see sadistic tendencies or biting or slashing attitudes in someone with long canines. Orthodontia or dental procedures would correct this.

Long Canines and Crooked Teeth

There was a patient of mine who was having difficulty keeping a boyfriend. She had extremely long canines. Under advisement, she went to the dentist and had them ground down and now she is married.

Another individual had severely crooked teeth, and he was unable to get an acting job no matter what he did. He invested in braces, which changed his whole face, and he got an acting job soon after they came off. While one might just imagine that straightening the teeth could bring a more handsome smile, we know from morphology that by straightening the teeth we straighten our direction in life, as it did in this case.

While dental procedures can certainly redirect one’s life for the better, it is interesting to note that in France, face morphology is such a part of the culture that they discourage capping the teeth, because they think it can create an imbalance in and around the muscles of the mouth.

Corrections can be made in ways other than orthodontia; for example, with plastic surgery, acupuncture, mental imagery, and muscle massage. As you will see later, muscle massage can become an accessible and specific tool for working with your own face. Now that you know something about face morphology, when you want to change an aspect of your face, you will be able to exercise the specific muscles needed for the change you desire. This will all become much clearer in the next chapter on muscles.

If a person looks in the mirror and notices that his or her mouth is pointing downward, as in a frown, and they have lines of bitterness that come down off the commissures, we have already seen that the person can literally put a finger on either side of the mouth and push the smile up to make a correction.

Smile Exercise

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Here is an exercise to do for twenty-one days. First, put a mirror by the door. Before you exit your home, smile into the mirror and then keep the image of your smiling face with you throughout the day. Second, during your waking day at every chance you have, place your fingers on either side of your mouth by the commissures and lift upward to put your lips into a smile. When you do this every day for twenty-one days, it can bring joy and humor into your life. Consequently, the lines of bitterness will disappear.

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There are mental exercises that can be done using the law of reciprocity to change the muscular structure of one’s face. By working with the inner self on the inner plane, you can see and experience outer changes. (For instance, using the smile example, breathe out and in three times. See, sense, and feel a happy smile on your face, and then open your eyes.)

Here are some morphological observations about three different dental situations:

A gap between the two front teeth represents a disregard for society or an irreverence for authority. When I see the gap, I might say to the person, “Somewhat irreverent, aren’t you?” And they give a little giggle of acknowledgment.
If one tooth angles backward, it can create dishonesty in the individual, both inwardly toward oneself and outwardly toward others. Orthodontia can help this.
If a person loses teeth, it can indicate a health situation. Even dreams of losing teeth could mean an impending health situation. So you want to pay attention to such dreams.

Reading the Chin

In and of itself, the chin means determination. The chin is defined as the area running from the ends of the corner of the mouth to the tip of the bony prominence where the neck meets the face.

The chin is composed of the bone and the muscles that surround the bone. One of the major muscles composing the chin is the mentalis. If the movement of the chin and the mentalis muscle is upward, it speaks to optimism. If the movement of the chin is downward, meaning the mentalis muscle is downward, it represents pessimism. This muscle defines the contour of the chin, whether cleft or ball.

If the chin is pointed, it is considered mercurial and is seen in rapidly acting people with increased power of expression. It is also equivalent to a certain dissipation of energy. Fred Astaire had a pointed chin, and while he was known as a great tap dancer, which meant, in effect, that he was not troubled by a normal dissipation of energy, he was still true to type in that he needed to do short bursts of activity with recovery time. His mercurial chin gave him the speed and intensity that he is famous for, and since a dance lasts only for a limited period of time, he was able to recover as is necessary for mercurial types. Also, his Sun/Jupiter forehead gave him the stick-to-itiveness of the Sun and the visionary aspects of Jupiter. Together these aspects of the forehead gave him the potential to be the creative and dedicated dancer that we know him to be.

A round chin has stability, and a person who possesses this does not impose his or her own will on others.

A square chin represents the power of determination, and a person with such a chin might want to impose his or her will on others and not be considerate of them.

A horizontal line on the chin under the lip shows skepticism or doubt. It is often found in the American culture because we are raised skeptically. The lip turns down, and the more turned down and outward the lip, the more the skepticism is visible.

Even though one can change such a lip in oneself, when you see this lip in another, never try to convince the person of anything that is esoteric unless it is tangible. It is difficult for such people to understand esotericism. They need something tangible to hold on to.

People with a ball-shaped chin consider themselves important, sometimes to an extreme. The ball-shaped chin shows determination and a search for honor and glory.

A short chin looks for more honor in the world and tends to be more organized, while a long-chinned person likes repetitive work. The longer the chin, the greater the lassitude. Stan Laurel had a long chin.

An angle is formed by the base of the chin in relation to the neck. The normal angle is considered to be between 90° and 110° (see figure 3.15 below). If the angle is less than 90°, also called a negative angle, it is considered an imbalance and may indicate an increased desire for self. An angle greater than 90° is associated with the Lymphatic temperament.

A cleft in the chin has been associated with dishonesty. Yet the cleft can cut a person’s inclination and make them fight to become more honest. An example of this chin can be seen on Kirk Douglas and many other actors. The acting profession gives people with this chin the opportunity to turn this tendency into art.

Fig. 3.15. Jaw angles

A double chin is usually Lymphatic and is what is known as a dewlap. The dewlap is the little bag of flesh at the base of the chin that is seen in the portly and is very common in the Irish, English, and Russians.

Encouragement for People Who Think They Are Flawed

Oftentimes, when confronted with a dewlap, people—women especially—would like to have it removed, but I counsel them to be careful and not to do it because the dewlap is a reservoir of energy and removing it would cause the person to lose a lot of energy. It’s like Dr. Epstein looking at my fat and saying, “Nice library,” because the fat, when organized or phlegmatic, holds information. By acknowledging the beneficial aspect of what is usually considered a negative attribute, he brought forward a compassionate quality of face morphology. I like to say to people things like, “Great reservoir of energy.” Or “Good stamina in your eyebrows because they are nice and thick. Don’t tweeze them.” Or “Nice Bilious tip of the nose.” I’m just giving people acknowledgment of their positive attributes. If someone comes in with a nose that juts out far from their face, I’ll tell them, “I love that nose. It shows me your intelligence.”

If only people could see things from this morphological perspective. People look in the mirror and think they are flawed because of standards and ideals that are man-made, and it’s a trap. The qualities of some features are amazing. If a person has a nice full philtrum, I’ll tell the person, “You must have unending energy!” And they acknowledge it and say that yes, they do. It’s wonderful to hear that.

What We Hear from the Ear

The whole external part of the ear is known as the pinna or auricle and it has several parts: the helix, the shell (a.k.a. concha), the lobe (a.k.a. lobule), the antitragus, and the tragus (see facing figure 3.16). The bigger the pinna, the more the intelligence. The more the ears stick out away from the head, the more independent the person is.

Independent Ears

I love the ears, especially the independent ears. When you see the ears really sticking out of the skull, it is a clear indication of independence. I don’t usually bring up the issue of dependency when the ears are very close to the head, but when the ears are really sticking out, the independent ears, I feel comfortable speaking about them. For example, when a mother comes in and asks about her child, I’ll say, “This is going to be a very independent person.” And the mother will say something like “Oh, yeah.” For the child has already demonstrated this independence very early on, at one, two, or three years old.

Fig. 3.16. Parts of the exterior ear

The ear is divided into three zones: intelligence, sociability, and the material world. The top or intellectual zone can be as much as half the ear. The middle or sociability zone is up to one-third of the ear, while the lower or material zone can be up to one-fifth of the ear.

If the ear is vertical, it is considered Sanguine; if it slants back, it is considered Nervous. Small-eared people are more influenced by the world. They do not have as much protection. Ears that are pinned back indicate introverted people, while people with ears that jut out are extroverted and mostly independent. For example, excessively large-type ears can be recklessly independent and cannot bear to be controlled at all. Large ears also equal increased strength and the ability to catch the ear of the world—they can hear the world and have the world hear them. Sometimes hiding the ear with the hair can be effective at removing extreme behaviors associated with the ears.

When a person becomes older, you see organic degeneration in the ear. The first sign of this degeneration is that the helix becomes more transparent. When you see that the helix is wrinkly, it can represent dehydration.

A cauliflower (deformed) ear might be found on someone who has been in a fight.

In the shell, or the concha, you see a lot about sociability. The thicker the rim of the shell, the more sociable one is. Also, the larger the shell, the greater the sociability.

The tragus represents energy levels. If you can see the tragus when looking straight on, the person has a high level of energy and vitality. Extroversion is directly proportional to the space between the tragus and antitragus, which helps determine how much one talks as well. The more space, the more talkativeness. The less space, the less talkativeness. Decreased space can also speak to increased paranoia and suspicion.

The lobe speaks to instinctual and material life. A person with a big, thick, hanging lobe has an increased material desire.

A heavy lobe can also indicate an increased equilibrium and therefore inside quiet, and the heavy elongated lobe can be a sign of deep spirituality as is seen in the Buddha. We must be precise when addressing a heavy lobe.

A horizontal lobe, in which the bottom tip faces forward, is seen as sensual, but a possessor of this lobe might also be combative and represent a fighter. If the lobe movement is diagonal, parallel to the movement of the jaw, we see tension and lack of inner control.

People with attached lobes are excellent with money and are practical, but they do not like money. For this reason, they tend to be the best people to ask what to do with your money because they do not like to have it themselves.

Morphology is so revealing that people for generations, especially in show business, have intuitively understood it and usually cast their characters accordingly. One of the exaggerated versions of this was seen with the fictitious characters known as the Ferengi in the Star Trek series Deep Space Nine. They were aliens with large ears with attached lobes, and their entire emphasis was on money acquisition. One of the expressions used in the show to determine whether or not one had the ability to acquire money was “He’s got the lobes for it.”

Ear Tubercle

A mother brought her son in complaining that he had ADHD to such an extent that he was unable to be in the school system because of his behavior issues. Upon observing his profile, I noticed a tubercle on his ear, which can indicate an interference with his behavior. I suggested the ear tubercle could have contributed to his issue. They had the tubercle surgically removed and as of this writing, he has completed two years of college.

The Hair

While each of the four temperament types can have all kinds of hair, as mentioned in previous chapters the hair tends to appear as follows:

Bilious hair is inclined to be dark, black or brown, thick, and can be straight or curly.
Nervous hair tends to be light brown and thin.
Sanguine hair is inclined to be variations of blond or red and can be thick and wavy.
Lymphatic hair is inclined to be various shades of brown and tends to be fine.

Hair represents strength and sexuality. Factors that affect it are color, thickness, and the amount of curls. The thicker the hair, the greater the strength. The curlier the hair, the greater the sexuality.

General health is fleshed out by hair, nails, and teeth. Similar to what we saw with the teeth, dreams of losing the hair can also indicate an impending health situation. If any of these elements are not growing fully, there could be deficiencies in many ways, but each particular type has a different situation. For example, it is normal for a Moon type to have thin hair because of his or her thyroid. It may not mean the same if, for example, a Bilious type comes in with thin hair, because the Bilious typically have thick, wavy, dark hair that is rich and full.

So to determine if the hair on someone is changing, you have to take into consideration the type. You always want to look at what is in the moment, but if you have an opportunity to see what was (through photos of one sort or another), it will give you an indication of that person’s health. Sometimes you can see a driver’s license photo that is ten years old, and you can see the change over time. Also, patients often ask if they can bring in a picture of their spouse, and you can see the relationship right there in the pictures. When I work with couples who are having difficulty in their relationship, I educate them as to what their temperaments are. I identify the most outstanding characteristic of their morphology that may be interfering with their relationship and offer a possible corrective intervention.

The Haircut That Saved a Marriage

In one particular instance a couple was having trouble in their marriage, as the man was having affairs. Both he and his wife really wanted to stay together. He had thick, curly, Bilious hair. As an intervention, I suggested he cut his hair short to reduce the multiple antennae of his hair attracting women. And it worked.

When the color of the hair is red, the person is usually a Mars type and can exhibit a fiery temper. Yellow hair that is usually associated with the Sun front-face and is seen on Apollo can have a distancing quality. In the United States, it is an American look to have blond hair, and if it is thick and curly, it increases sexuality.

Thick black hair is associated with the Saturn type and is considered Bilious. This hair quality is often seen in people who dwell on their thoughts and are usually careful. They can also be morose, and in the extreme, they can fall into depression.

Thin hair can represent lack of vigor or strength or both. Mercury/Nervous types tend to have thin, feather-like hair, and in general, brown and blond hair tends to be thinner. Thin hair is also often seen in Jupiter, Neptune, and Moon types, who are Lymphatics. Lymphatics are considered the endocrine type, and as you know, thin hair is associated with hypothyroidism. Given their endodermic nature, they tend to be on the heavy side, and can be pudgy, without overt musculature. They are parasympathetic dominant and can tend to have increased cholesterol levels. This can lead to thinner hair and heavier bodies. We contrast this with Bilious types, who have a strong musculature and on whose head one might see thick and curly hair.

Wavy hair, especially hair that is auburn, is associated with Venus. An actress who was known for her attractive, wavy auburn hair was Rita Hayworth. She had the quintessential aesthetic of an attractive person of her time and was considered a sex symbol, all very fitting for a Venus.

Thick, bushy, steel-wool-like hair in Caucasians speaks to increased sexuality and can be seen in the Saturn and Earth/Bilious types.

Based on the understanding of the law of reciprocity to which we keep returning, you can use hair dye to change the outside to make changes on the inside in the same way that you can use plastic surgery and orthodontia.

Fiery Red Hair

One of my patients had fiery red, curly hair. She was a Mars. She kept complaining that she had knock-down, drag-out fights with her husband and was concerned about her violent nature. In a case like this, the person might be able to quell this nature by dying the hair to mute the fiery redness or by tying it back to make it straight or having it professionally straightened.

How well the hair is kept affects personality. For instance, if the hair goes in many directions, especially on a mate, one might consider the relationship to be troublesome. Since the hair acts as an antenna, curly hair that goes in different directions can receive lots of external impulses, and the individual wearing such a style might be distracted.

It is common for Lymphatic males to grow bald with age. Baldness can also be the consequence of troubled thought. When viewing someone who feels increased tension about business or has trouble in a work relationship, you might observe this kind of baldness.

Facial hair, especially a beard on one who is not a devotee or a religious adept, can be a sign of a cover-up. Of course, fashion and style can counter this observation. Men sometimes hide their chin with a beard if they have a sense that they are not strong enough or masculine enough.

A mustache curtails instinctual life and can even halt its full expression. I was taught that the New York City police department, for example, tends to have many officers with mustaches, perhaps as an unconscious effort to curtail their violent expressions.

Hair covering the forehead can change the expression of the underlying morphology. Conversely, since the forehead is measured from the hairline to the eyebrows, when a person has a receding hairline, it gives the appearance that the forehead is larger than it really is. So, when reading this, try to imagine the hairline pre-balding.

The hairline delineates the shape of the face. When it is smooth and regular, the individual front-face is easier to read and can be considered more accurate to that type. When the hairline is irregular and juts into the forehead at the temporal area, this can indicate a person with many secrets.