If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for people who can tell you more about yourself - people who can read you without having to know you for too long, or be predisposed to your mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. We all need help understanding who we truly are, as I believe that certain aspects of our character are only objectively viewed by someone from the outside. Or maybe we just need people to reinforce what we’ve come to embrace as our strengths and weaknesses, in order to know where to put our energy as we continually strive to be better people, albeit in subtle ways at times.

Graphology is a truly a remarkable science. Countless people find solace in journalling, writing letters, or even writing notes on the fridge. It is through these instances that a graphologist is able to analyze handwriting samples to determine anything from the emotional state the person was in while writing the selection, to what dubious intentions they had that may have otherwise gone under the radar. Employers can evaluate employees or candidates and determine where there best fit would be within the company, based on character traits exhibited from their writing. Psychologists can keep up on patients, scrutinizing their scrawling to the last detail to determine if progress is being made. The possibilities are nearly endless.

There are a few common principles that are used by most graphologists when they are practicing; techniques that may seem simple enough at first glance, yet require an incredible amount of patience to truly master. A graphologist will examine space between words, to determine if they are headstrong and focused (small spaces), or unstable and unsure (consistently large spacing between words). She will look at the writing and determine if it is spontaneous or not spontaneous, and conclude that the writer displays either ambition or caution.

There are countless ways that a graphologist is able to draw from the writer’s handwriting personality. All of them are interesting, and in most cases you will be presented with a new view of the writer that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. If the writer is you, then you should thank your graphologist, because it’s not everyday you discover self truths from the chicken scratch you left on the desk while you were running out for groceries.