Face Reading, also known as Physiognomy, is the art of reading a person’s character through the features of the face.
Face reading holds a fascination for people from all walks of life. I can understand why… it’s mysterious and intriguing, but Face Reading actually has quite an illustrious history.
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The History of Face Reading
Most commonly associated with Chinese culture, face reading has in fact be utilised in many cultures around the world.
Working with the belief system that there is a strong relationship between your outer appearance and your inner character, face reading has been mentioned in early greek poetry, by ancient Indian Sidhars and by famous people such as Aristotle. In his addendum to History of Animals, Aristotle discussed how to read a person’s character from his face. He also wrote a treatise devoted entirely to the study of face reading.
Over the centuries, many noted western scholars have studied and valued physiognomy, including Galen, the famous first-century physician, Chaucer, the author of Canterbury Tales, and Roger Bacon, the author and poet who many believe used the pen name of Shakespeare.
In China, Mian Xiang (the art of face reading) goes back to the Northern Song Period (960-1127).
I came across the art of face reading when I attended a spiritual festival and saw a person there offering face readings. Intrigued, I had my face read and wow – I was completely blown away by the things the face reader could pick up about me. Needless to say I developed a huge fascination with physiognomy and began studying it – both from a personal characteristics and also a health point of view.
In Chinese medicine, there is the believe that the face represents the energies, health and characteristics of a person. Face reading can tell you about each of these values.
A face is not just a face…
Your moles, lines, set of your eyes, if your ears sit below or above your eyebrows, the shape of your nose – every aspect of your face tells a story. Your face maps your internal body providing insight into both your physical and mental health as well as revealing your own quirks and unique traits that make up your personality.
Whilst face reading is often done to assess a client’s health in Chinese medicine, there is a branch called Five Elements – a philosophy that describes the interactions and relationships between the outer appearance and the inner personality.
People’s face shapes are categorised into the 5 elements of water, fire, earth, metal and wood which in itself provides a lot of information into the type of person you are.
For example, people with a soft, round face are compared to the element of water. A water personality is a compassionate, empathetic soul who can be a little over-sensitive at times. But they can also be kind, wiling to change and are very determined.
A fire person is characterised by a triangular shaped face. Fire people are full of enthusiasm, creativity and energy. But as a fire quickly burns out, so does the passion of a fire person. Consequently they are not known to follow through with activities, projects and commitments.
Wood people are prone to having long faces. Wood people are resilient, persistent and driven, especially when healthy and balanced, but if they are out of balance they struggle to cope with change.
Earth people are characterised by a square face shape. They are the ‘family’ of an organisation, they love everyone to be happy, they remember everyone’s birthdays. They are also the worry-worts of a business, finding many reasons to stress throughout the day.
Metal people are often prone to colouration in the skin. They are the structured, rigid perfectionists that like everything to be….just so!
In addition to your dominant element, each individual feature of your face (nose, eyebrows, shape of your jawline etc) also tells a story about you and how you interact with the world.
Face Reading for Health.
Different areas of the face relate to different organs and systems in the body. Where there is an internal imbalance, the skin will show this through redness, pimples, dryness and other imbalances within the skin.
For example our forehead is linked to the digestive system. IBS can show up as lines or breakouts.
The temples relate to the kidneys and bladder. Medications that aren’t agreeing with your body can have an effect here, showing up as acne or blemishes.
The space between the eyebrows links to the liver. The liver is the main organ within the body that deals with detoxification. Bad eating and lifestyle habits often make a habit of showing up here in the form of lines, wrinkles, dryness, blemishes and discolouration of the skin.
Funnily enough, the liver is also the seat of our emotions and people that feel angry, worried or anxious a lot usually have some mark or line in the space between the eyebrows.
A Business Advantage Through Face Reading
Aside from the obvious health benefits of understanding what is happening internally, face reading can also provide many advantages in the business world.
Keeping a cohesive, and flowing workplace with team members that compliment each other can be achieved if you understand what facial features to look for when hiring a new person.
Did you know a person with a turned down nose is a good business and finance person?
A great work team usually consists of a mixture of the 5 elements.
You need the creativity of a wood person to fuel the passion of a fire person. A metal person to make sure that processes are being followed, and an earth person to connect with customers and be the bridge between staff. A water person will guide the overall direction of an organisation and keep things flowing.
Want to know what your face says about you?
Get a face reading done online for an in-depth analysis or take our quick quiz to determine your dominant element.