SIGMUND FREUD Founder of Psychoanalysis
Freud reasoned that the mind falls into three realms – the id (our base desires), the ego (our day to day self) and the superego (the controlling parental voice). This trinity made has made its way into graphology, with the lower zone (descenders) of the writing revealing information about the writer’s libidinous urges and desires. The middle zone speaks of day to day concerns such as family, friends and work. The upper zone reflects cerebral and spiritual preoccupations, as well as everything else that goes on ‘in our heads’.
A powerful signature is a strong self-image
Freud’s writing is intense and dark, echoing his passionate obsession with his own psychoanalytical theories. Look at how powerful his signature is, the writing implement pressing almost aggressively into his writing surface: the signature is powerfully executed, revealing an immensely strong self-image. Strokes are sharp throughout, surging into the upper zone, reflecting his absolute insistence on his own rightness: look at the ‘M’ like formation in the fifth line down, which resembles a jagged lightening strike. That quick, critical mind shows up in the sharp points of many of his letter formations (including the ‘m’ in the shortened ‘Sigm’ of the signature).
AMY WINEHOUSE Singer
Amy Winehouse’s songs are full of regret for unrequited love . . . and so is her handwriting. Look at her signature, which even features a heart. More subtle signs that she longed for affection lie in the backward curl of the ‘y’: an up and back-to-the-left stroke is a key sign of someone hungry for attention.
Spot the heart and two kisses
The huge loop of the ‘y’, which lies under the baseline in the subconscious, lower zone of the writing, is exaggerated and seeks to scoop up and hold onto any emotions coming her way. There’s even a kiss hidden on the left hand side of the ‘y’ descender. A generous hook on the left of the capital ‘A’ of Amy reaches back to the past to hook into and hold onto relationships. And yes, there’s yet another kiss lurking to the top left of that ‘A’.
the zodiac SERIAL KILLER
The self-styled Zodiac evaded police detection for decades. His writing is small and neat, reflecting someone who keeps themselves to themselves and doesn’t attract a lot of attention. Instead, he works away quietly towards his aims. The consistency of the script shows he’s methodical and surprisingly predictable in the way he goes about everything too: his actions are pre-planned in detail; nothing happens on the spur of the moment. How else would he manage not to get caught?
The Maniac ‘d’ is like an emotional geyser
You’ll see his Maniac ‘d’ at the end of line 6 on the word ‘punished’. , This ‘d’, with a rightward slant so strong compared with the rest of the writing that it almost falls forward, is so often seen in the writing of people whose emotions remain completely under control until the very last moment - when they gush out like a geyser. The heavy writing and stabs down into the lower zone reflect emotions that run subterraneanly deep.