Face reading — where to look, and what is read there
updated · 6 min read
Face reading takes the features of a face and its proportions and reads from them the tendencies of a person's nature and fortune. It was systematised in China and spread through Japan in the Edo period; the writings of the eighteenth-century physiognomist Mizuno Nanboku are the best known.
Judging people by their faces may sound uncomfortable. What face reading looks at is not whether a face is handsome but the accumulation of how someone has lived and what expressions they have worn over years. That is why a face changes.
Dividing the face into three: the santei
Face reading begins by dividing the face into three horizontal zones. These are called the santei.
| Zone | Extent | What it is taken to show |
|---|---|---|
| Upper (jotei) | Hairline to brows | The circumstances of youth, what came from your parents, thought |
| Middle (chutei) | Brows to under the nose | The working years, will and capacity to act |
| Lower (katei) | Under the nose to the chin | Later years, settledness of life, relations with those around you |
The more even the three are in length, the better the balance is said to be. Where one is noticeably longer or shorter, the events of that period are read as showing more strongly.
Reading feature by feature
The eyes — the core of a person
The eyes matter most in face reading. As the saying has it that the eyes are the window of the heart, they are taken to show how feeling is shown and how strong the will is. Wide open eyes are taken to show a rich sensitivity; narrow, contained eyes observation and caution.
The distance between the eyes is read too. Set wide, a generous type not caught up in detail; set close, someone with strong concentration who looks deeply at one thing.
The brows — how you relate to people
The brows are taken to show the swing of feeling and the habits of company. Thick, definite brows are read as a capacity to act and to assert; fine, tidy brows as sensitivity and a gift for smoothing things over. Brows that fall at the outer end are read as calm and inclined to let others lead; brows that rise, as a strong competitive streak.
The nose — how you hold yourself
The nose sits at the centre of the middle zone and is taken to show will and a relationship with money. A straight bridge is read as someone who keeps to principle; full nostrils as a capacity to accumulate. What is read is the proportion to the whole face rather than the height of the nose itself.
The mouth — living and expressing
The mouth is taken to show eating and speaking — that is, vitality and expressiveness. A larger mouth is read as active and expressive, a smaller one as sensitive and careful. Whether the corners turn up is given weight, as the mark left by years of habitual expression.
The outline — the foundation
A rounded outline is taken to show an easy manner, a square one persistence, and a long narrow one a turn toward thought.
Face reading assumes that faces change
What makes face reading interesting is that it assumes a face changes. Long displeasure marks a line between the brows; frequent laughter moves the corners of the mouth. A face is not a verdict on the features you were born with but a record of how you have spent your time.
On this service, a face reading never comments on whether someone is attractive. It is also built never to say anything about health or illness.
Common questions
- Should the photograph be with or without make-up?
- There is no particular rule. Since the reading works from the features, an ordinary state is easier to read than heavy make-up.
- Can a face reading tell me about my health?
- It cannot. Traditional texts on physiognomy do contain passages about health, but they have no medical basis. For any concern about how you are, please speak to a qualified professional.
- If my face changes, does my fortune change?
- Face reading takes it that changes in expression and in how you live show up in the face, and that this changes how people treat you. The order of cause is: how you live, then the face.