12.PHYSIOGNOMY

CHARACTER ANALYSIS FROM THE FACES HEADS,

AND OTHER FEATURES

The art of studying heads and faces as a guide to individual personality is of very ancient origin and rather obviously so, since facial expressions can register every mood from kindliness to ferocity; and facial formations are frequently responsible for such expressions. As for head shapes, modern anthropologists have typed the skulls of mankind from prehistoric ages up to the present, finding them indicative of various stages in human development.

From the occult standpoint, physical appearance has long been linked with the various signs of the zodiac as studied in astrology; and persons have been classed as planetary types on a similar basis. But, like palmistry, which also was once closely allied to astrology, the subject of physiognomy has branched off in its own right, it is from physiognomy that modern methods of character analysis have developed.

The pioneer in this field was a Swiss mystic, Johann Kaspar Lavater, whose keen power of observation convinced him that the deepest of human traits could be determined from individual faces. He worked out a system of physiognomy which was published at the beginning of the American Revolution. Others took up the work during the century that followed; and modern character analysis, which developed during the early 1900s, was the result.

There is one strong keynote in the study of physiognomy, giving it a special value today. In Lavater’s time, famous portrait painters were skilled at bringing out the characteristics of the subjects of their paintings. This is apparent when you view the masterpieces of that bygone era. Now, skilled photographers are doing the same thing a thousand times over, often capturing momentary moods far more revealing than any that would be possible with the painter’s brush.

Through the medium of movies and television, it is possible to study many facial types and other details of persons who appear upon the screen, even to the matter of minor mannerisms. Thus, once the basic points of character analysis have been learned, they can be applied immediately, not only through observation of friends and acquaintances, but through a study of photographs in newspapers, magazines, and other media.

The first important factor to consider is: