If you should ask any reliable psychoanalyst, "What is a man?" he would probably answer that a man is a composition of everything that ever happened to him. Various occurrences occupy different levels of importance in an individual's life, but, at any given point, every one of them plays a role. When a graphologist is doing an analysis, he must gather every fact and subject it to careful consideration before attributing to it the degree of strength he believes it shares in the personality.

Consider the list of traits that the graphologist analyzes (see introduction). It would definitely be helpful to the beginning analyst to use this list until it becomes natural to him, so he no longer needs it and can do the analysis without having to refer to it-although the trained graphologist uses this list automatically.

A word of caution: Let the sample writing under analysis tell you the story. Take as evidence only what can be proved from the writing in front of you-it should contain all the facts you require. Whether or not others agree with you, if your analysis is based on the solid facts of the handwriting, then it will be correct.

Do not, under any circumstances, rely on your personal impression of the person who hands you the writing sample. It may not even be his handwriting.

So on to the final analysis. Imagine that you have in front of you, a letter from an American male, aged forty-eight. The following types of writing are present.
A widening left margin, which indicates haste, impatience, enthusiasm, oblivion to economic necessities and a certain innate lavishness. The lines of writing slope upwards-sign of a pushing, buoyant spirit ambition, optimism, restlessness. The Greek e is coupled with the Greek d, an indication of literary talent. But let us not move too swiftly towards a conclusion that may lack certain important elements. Let us take the analysis stage by stage.

Slant:

A definite right slant. Again, we have optimism, together with spontaneity. Again, we have initiative. We have strong sympathies and antipathies, which go with the firmly rooted convictions indicated by his spacing between words. Courage, ambition, idealism together with a drive for independence. He is courageous, perhaps a little aggressive, with a pioneer spirit. Impetuous and affectionate, he is a humanitarian and an advocate of marriage in the prevailing sense.

The impetuosity indicated by his slant conflicts with the indications of caution in his word-spacing, but this impetuosity is corroborated to a certain extent by the haste and impatience indicated by his left margin. We might, in the final analysis, be forced to discount this pointer to caution.

The zones:

The upper, middle and lower zones are well proportioned. Generally there is uniformity which indicates a certain even, peaceable temperament, a fondness for order, serenity or indifference or rigidity or callousness or apathy-other corroborating signs will tell us which. Re-examine the writing for symmetry. Is there, perhaps, a tendency towards an over-developed middle zone? There may be a sentimental or feminine streak in the writer's make-up. He may have an overcompensated inferiority complex, giving an impression of conceit. Other signs as we go on with the analysis will tell us if this is true.

The "t" bar:

Quite a variety here-which indicates adaptability and imagination. But predominant among them is the slightly weak, garland-like bar, which tells us that the subject follows the line of least resistance. He drifts along instead of fighting obstacles and often takes the easiest way out. There is a suggestion in lines 3 and 8 that the writer is sensitive and may not like criticism.

The "i" dot:

The i dot is high and slightly to the right. The man is imaginative and curious. But several i dots have been omitted, telling us of carelessness.

Direction of lines:

The lines are ascending so the writer possesses a pushing, buoyant spirit, ambition, optimism, restlessness. A few of the lines tend to be arched. Perhaps this indicates a tendency to have too little stamina in achieving an ambition. The writer may lose interest before his aim is reached. However, this is outweighed by the test of the lines on the page. We might reach the conclusion that the writer will probably give up on the way to an ambition if the achieving of it means uninteresting or boring work, but will slog away to the conclusion at work, which really interests him.

Margins:

Upper and lower margins neither wide nor narrow-a balance between the extravert and the introvert. Right margin rather narrow, indicating vitality and the courage to face life, together with certain haste. There is also the ability to be a good mixer. The left margin is interesting. It widens considerably towards the base of the letter. This will indicate to us haste, impatience, enthusiasm. The writer is innately lavish and oblivious to economic necessities. Probably his attempts at thrift often fail because of that innate lavishness.

Beginning and End Strokes:

For the most part, the beginning strokes are missing, indicating directness. The end strokes are quite short, reflecting a general lack of generosity and sympathy.

Connected and disconnected writing:

This sample is largely connected writing, which reveals the writer using logic in his decision-making. Yet some breaks between letters are noticed, indicating some intuition. He will rely on his logic and use the intuition as a backup.

Angles:

The angles are there joining the letters and, indeed, in the letters themselves. The m, the n and the h are all quick but firm, which indicate a certain reliability and imperturbability in working habits.

Pen pressure:

This is neither fine script nor a heavy one. There is no pressure that makes the writing shaded. There are no smears. The pressure is medium-heavy-which by itself tells us little.

Loops:

There is a habitual absence of loops in both the upper and the lower zones--many of the formations are concealing strokes, others are non-existent, which will indicate a certain uncluttered thinking.

Some of the g's and some of the y's are written like numbers--and the q, too. They indicate good judgment and mathematical ability. The f has the return stroke to the left, which tells us that the writer is quick in mind with fluent thought.

The letters:

The Greek e here coupled with the Greek d---which indicates literary talent.

The a's and o's stand out. They are fortified with a double wall and in some cases, new circles are invented. The writer has the habit of hiding his feelings and his most treasured thoughts for egocentric reasons. The m and the o with the pointed top indicate an easy adaptability to circumstances. The printed small s shows that the writer is talented and capable of constructive thinking.

Space between lines:
The spacing between the lines is a little wider than average--but not too much so. The writer possesses an analytical mind and the capabilities of a good organizer and executive. He has the capacity for clear presentation of complicated facts, is well mannered, clean, reasonable, considerate.

Space between words:

There is sizeable, even spaces between the words. Here we have the man who is interested in literature, who is fond of music and poetry, who may have deep feelings and firmly rooted convictions, who is at times cautious and rather critical, and who is an introvert. This latter characteristic clashes rather with our previous analysis of the right margin. But the upper and lower margins tell us that the subject is balanced between the extrovert and the introvert. We can accept that provided we get corroboration as the analysis proceeds.

Signature:

The body of the writing and the signature are alike in size, pressure and angle, indicating that the writer is a true-type. Whoever he may be on the inside is what he is on the outside. He does not try to put on airs.

Examination for Lesson 17

1. Regarding the sample that is being analyzed, information that the writer is an American male and forty-eight years of age is being supplied. Why?

Answer for Lesson 17

1. Age, sex and country of origin must be provided. They can not be accurately determined from one's writing and are necessary for an accurate graphological evaluation.

Joel Engel is the author of Handwriting Analysis Self-Taught (Penguin Books). For more information, please click http://careertest.ws or http://www.learngraphology.com

If you would like to view the images to this article, please send a blank email to engraph@netvision.net.il