Is handwriting analysis universal?

This past year I have had a chance to work with a lady in India as well as a gentleman in Indonesia who are fairly new to graphology. So I can say from experience this has held true. I had a chance to cruise as a guest-lecturer one spring and was worried about running into foreign writing and if I could correctly interpret it. Luckily I did not run into any at that time but after working with these graphologists I have seen first hand that the rules do work even for foreign writing as long as it is based on the Latin alphabet.
The writing in other countries may have more upright slants but this is becoming true in the USA as well. As people print more than they use cursive the whole world is becoming a place of disconnection to one another. People try to hide their feelings in an effort to not be hurt or hide themselves in work often shutting out family as well as the world.
My great grand daughter's school has a big sheet hung in the hall and each year all of the children and teacher's write their names upon it. I love looking it over as you see the personality of so many of the children just in the placement of the name. There is Victorio whose parents have made practice his handwriting so it is very clear and legible but to be different he wrote in such a way his name is upside down. Or Elizabeth who managed to be near the very center of the sheet. She's the one who wants to be a rock star and the center of attention. Then there is timid little Karrie Ann who signed in the corner. So even with this big sheet you get a feel for how placement of your writing on a page can say a lot about your personality.

Grapho-therapy

Lately there has been much discussion on the use of grapho-therapy. This is a very serious topic because while you can make some changes to yourself through graphology it can be hazardous as well. To change things willy nilly can make you jumpy, anxious, argumentative and a host of other things depending upon what you are changing. For example: we often tell a child with low self esteem or very timid to underline their name every time they write it even if they only write their first name. A child who was aggressive with excess pride or vanity would be even more nasty because they would be enforcing in their mind that they are as great as they think.
Handwriting can identify the defences in the writing as well as the fears that create these defences. It is the fears that need work. Once they are addressed then the defences will disappear or alter. Like psychoanalysis it is a balancing act of finding a fear, realizing why it exists and working to get rid of it. Do the wrong thing or go too fast and the fear might surface elsewhere or get worse. So grapho-therapy should only be done by someone with credentials and knowledge of psychology or psychiatry. Even then therapy should go slowly with weekly checks on progress and problems and the only time to change slant would be if the writer's slant was all over the place. The best thing at this point would be to see if one slant was prevelant and if not pick a slant that would be positive for this person. Are the connections garland? Then a slight right slant would fit. Angle connections, then an upright slant would allow them to be logical and analytical.
One change should be done at a time for 30 days writing an affirmative message that would apply to this person's goals. This should be written for 15 minutes a day and if they only finish 1 or 2 while another person writes 4 or more in the same time, fine. It wouldn't hurt to write 2 lines of a focusing pattern before starting. A focusing pattern would be one that rhythmically changes direction like a series of u's connected with a straight line or a wave pattern.
The personal pronoun I also should not be changed except under special circumstances. Then usually it will be changed to a Roman numeral I for independence.

Psuedoscience or not? What do you think?

Once again I have been reading about graphology being a pseudoscience and my biggest question is how would you "scientifically" prove what we term the signs in writing. For one thing, one sign may change the meaning of another making the second sign more or less likely to be acted upon. Also your writing is affected by the way you feel. Do you have a headache today, is your health good, did you sleep well, are you angry with the person you are writing to, angry about a product they make, etc. Did you start out angry and then calm down and become more reasonable. All of these will make changes to your writing so how do you "scientifically" prove anything about handwriting?
There is a handwriting recognition program that is supposed to be quite remarkable but I do not believe it analyzes handwriting for personality or character. Though I believe it has been deemed able to detect forgery. I also knew of one graphologist who was working with a computer programmer to measure many points of the writing in an attempt to be more consistent and accurate. Accurate at what? There also is a professor in the Phoenix AZ area working with a program and a computer tablet to analyze writing. I have seen samples of how the tablet works and it even will show the air strokes when the pen is moved above the tablet. These air strokes can be amazing at times. One man who had to sign his legal name actually wrote Bill in the air between his first and last name and it showed on the tablet. It is scientific but what is it proving about graphology?
Graphologists through observation and sharing of experience have found that certain letters relate to different aspects of a person's life and personality. The slant of the writing and types of connections used indicate the openness and friendliness or if you will how outgoing they may be. Open ovals how talkative, though you may be talkative and have closed ovals. It's been found that the upper zone relates to the mental activity, middle zone to the day to day, baseline to the line of reality and the lower zone to the physical, sexual, instinctual and material. When the writing is messy, tangled, and varies in size, pressure and letter shape the writer is as confused as you are. They either don't know what they want or don't know how to go about getting it. They may want friends but are so intrusive they push people away. Want education or a better job but feel everyone looks down upon them so they act negatively. If they do get a chance they may not take full advantage because they feel unworthy. Humans are complicated and by-products of their individual life, personality and experiences that's why I ask how do you prove graphology scientifically?

Mixed printing

Printing that mixes upper case and lower case letters should give you more information than the other two styles because you do have zones. It is also more likely this style could have a slight slant to the writing.
Any style of printing can have a superfluous stroke acting as a lead-in, connected letters, or a slant but it is most likely to appear on mixed printing. Even in printing when letters connect it is an indication the writer is able to connect his or her thoughts together. Also that they are friendly and outgoing needing contact with other people.
As with cursive writing the three zones and their size show the focus of the writers life. If the upper zone is larger they have more mental activity and often use this as a defense that keeps other people at bay. They steer clear of personal discussions preferring to talk business, philosophy or other non-personal issues.
A large middle zone indicates the writer focuses on the day to day life. They seldom have plans beyond the immediate future.
The large lower zone indicates a person who is more physical. They may watch sports if unable to participate, crave more material possessions, and be more in tune with their instincts.

Manuscript and mixed upper and lower case printing

Manuscript style printing does have three zones so will reveal more than block printing. Actually the size of the writing and any anomalies give you the most information. Extra strokes on the beginning of a letter act as a lead-in and indicate a person who thinks before acting. One who is cautious until they know what is going on and what is expected, especially of them. T and D stems that go above the rest of the mid zone letters will indicate pride, vanity or conceit while short stems will be indicators of independence, low self-esteem or wanting to be "special".

The lower zone unlike typing has no serif on the p and the g is normally straight rather than the connected double oval. As for the y it may be done like the typed y with the right side going into the lower zone for the tail or as a v with a tail. Again deviations from this will give you more information than one made in the usual manner.

So far I have only seem three writings done in true manuscript and I have been studying and analyzing writing since 1993. One was a librarian, one a researcher and one a CPA. In each I was amazed that writing so miniscule could be so totally legible.

A p longer than the rest of the lower zone that tapers off so it looks like an ice pick could be a signal of hostility or a problem in the sexual or instinctual area. The g or y going straight down especially if it has a blunt end would indicate agression or determination. A club ending would be a warning sign of cruelty. While a ladle or cup like ending indicates an unfulfilled need.

Pasty or muddy writing which looks thick or has filled ovals such as an e will indicate the writer's five senses are fully active. They enjoy the pleasures and comforts of life some even too much. They especially like material possessions, luxury, color and textures.

Printing

Recently I asked a friend what she needs help understanding in graphology. The reply was printing. It really seems as if more and more people are printing around the world. While some educators worry that not only will handwriting (cursive) become a lost art there may come a day when only a few specialists will be able to read cursive. I certainly hope this is not true because it would be a shame to regress as human beings.
Technology has brought many changes that, in my opinion, are not good. People have good hand-eye coordination from video games but little finger and wrist dexterity needed for writing. As well as new repetitive motion injuries. Spelling has been trashed by texting especially among the younger generation. Each stroke costs money so either any letter considered unnecessary is left out or only initials are used. You must learn the code to participate frustrating many parents I must add. Changes are coming about so fast products are obsolete by the time they hit the market. It has been said there have been more changes in the last twenty years than in the hundred years before.

But I digress, the first thing you know if your subject is a printer is they will not reveal as much in their writing as a cursive writer would. Also printing should be vertical so give more credibility to any slant they may have.

Next consider the style of the printing. There is block printing where all letters are capitals, manuscript where they look like typewritten letters and finally a mix of upper and lower case letters. Luckily you do not often see the manuscript style because the few I have seen were so tiny and precise they almost looked machine made. The mixed style will give you more information than the block printing or manuscript.

As with any writing the first thing to do is hold it at arms length. Is it pleasing to the eye? If not, why not. Does it seem rigid and inflexible, inharmonious in some way, have heavier pressure in some areas making it darker, or maybe it bounces along the baseline. Does anything stand out? Do the letters touch? If so how much? Does one letter connect to another in some way but not lean into it? Do they appear to hold each other upright? Is there a slant to the writing? Does the slant vary? Is there a lead-in stroke that doubling of the first stroke that is really not necessary to the letter. Feel the back of the page. Was there enough pressure used to feel the letters on the paper? These are all questions you would ask if the writing were cursive so you can now see there is much to be learned from printing.

With block printing notice where the center of letters such as A, B, E, F, H, K, P, R, touches the stem. If it is in the center of the stem the writer is balanced, not placing more emphasis on any one part of their life. When the stem is touched high up the stem making the lower portion largest you will find the writer lives for the day to day world. They normally have no long term goals and prefer instant gratification. While the joining to the stem lower than center creates a larger upper portion. This printing belongs to the individual who is the thinker and planner. They intellectualize to the cost of the every day world.

Relationships

There are ten clues to what a person is like that you should pay attention to when entering a relationship be it personal or business. I will give you five of them today.
1. Jealousy or envy - two sides of the same coin. Envy shows best on the letter c when it starts with a tiny circle. While jealousy shows mainly in a tight circle on the lower loops of the letters g, j, y. This is also considered to be a clannish person who has few close friends but that is because they do not trust others. Are jealous of what others have and fearful of losing what they have. They do not share.
2. Dual personality - the slant of the writing changes even within a word. Their mood can change in a heartbeat. They are insecure so always on the defensive and quick to take offence at little or nothing but an imagined slight.
3. Excessively sensitive - this is shown in looped T's and D's. The bigger the loop the bigger the sensitivity. If the loop also leans to the left they can become paranoid and if it leans to the right be manic and out of control.
4. Hot temper - quick to lash out at others be it physically or verbally. This is seen in slashed i dots and punctuation and in t bars starting at or right of the stem. If it narrows to a point like a javelin they will be sarcastic and cutting. If it ends with a club like thickness they may get physical when mad.
5. Domineering - this shows in downward drawn t bars. If the bar ends in a point they are very sarcastic but more likely to be a whiner while if it ends with a thick, solid look they are the ones who can become physical.
We all may have some of these ten traits because we are human with all sorts of emotions and problems. It is when too many show up in the same writing or in excess that you should be aware there will be a rocky road in the relationship and maybe you should keep on looking.

Directional pressure or not?

Sorry, I've been gone so long but about 4 months ago my personal world fell apart and there is no sign of real improvement in the near future. Most days I have little or no time for what I want to do.

Today I want to talk about directional pressure seen in the writing. One of the groups I belong to have been discussing this topic and splitting hairs on what constitutes directional pressure. This type of pressure is seen when any normally straight line like the stem of a b, d, f, h, l, p bends instead of being straight it is an indication of pressure from either the past or family or of the future. One of our disagreements was on the bent t-bar. Technically when the t-bar is convex or concave it is directional pressure but I was not alone when I said I did not consider it as such because the pressure is placed upon the individual by himself and not by outside sources.
When you see a stem that bows to the right it indicates some pressure the individual feels from the past or family. Maybe they have always been unfairly compared to a sibling, feel they do not measure up to what their parents expect, or feel they failed in the past and are afraid of repeating the experience. If it bows to the left it would mean pressure from the future or fear of the unknown. They may be starting school, a new job, or something they have never done before and have cold feet. As always you would search the rest of the writing for clues to what caused this displaced pressure.
In contrast, the convex t-bar would look like an umbrella and it is a self-protection. It was argued this was pressure from authority but I argued it was an attempt at self control. Pressure from authority would normally be seen in writing that crawls along the baseline like it was afraid to stand up straight, to stick out the neck for fear of getting hurt.
The concave t-bar can take on the look of a crucifix, a badly formed Y, or in rare cases a pitchfork. These people feel they are always the victims, the outsider, or the martyr. Nothing that happens to them is ever their fault and they will continue to make the same bad choices and wonder why things keep happening.