(Second Edition)

by Rose Rosetree

Here's a hint about what you'll be seeing: Face reading does NOT mean looking at expression, which most folks assume is the ultimate insider's view. At this point, let's simply make a distinction between expression reading and face reading; in the next chapter we'll explore the difference more fully.

Does it shock you to think of reading the physical face itself? Face reading has been practiced for thousands of years. Its formal name is physiognomy (fizzy-OG-nuh-me), which means interpreting the face to learn about the inner person.

When you do this, a side benefit is that you discover new things about your own face you never noticed before, like ear position and the degree of overlip definition. Since 1986, I've done thousands of face readings for people like you. And most have made surprising discoveries about their physical faces. How could this be? Before they didn't pay close attention. Why should they? Most face parts weren't meaningful.

But they will be now. So I recommend you keep a mirror by your side while you read this book. Discoveries about your face are part of the fun of face reading.

You're going to learn more than that, though. This how-to will teach you how to do face reading, why to do it, everything except when to do it. (That part you'll have no trouble figuring out for yourself.)

Face reading knowledge is power. In the coming pages, we'll emphasize three practical ways it can increase your personal power.

Developing better skills for sales excites many of my face reading students, and not only the sales professionals who want to earn more money. All of us find ourselves in situations where we need to sell ourselves and negotiate with others. Most of us would like to do it better. For instance, Mickey Kantor, our U.S. trade representative, is no slouch in the persuasion department. But he has reportedly found himself at a loss when dealing with his 10-year-old daughter. "I have to negotiate with her every day and I usually lose," he has complained.

Maybe you don't have to psych out a crafty kid or a foreign government, but better communication skills still could come in handy. On a job interview--for any kind of job--wouldn't it help if you could get inside information about your prospective boss? Once hired, couldn't you serve your clients better if you knew more about them? And if your company should downsize, might your ability to read people help you to survive as one of the fittest?

A great Peanuts comic strip delivered this punch line: "I love humanity. It's just people I can't stand." Face reading helps you to deal with people. You learn about one person at a time, one cheek at a time, one sale at a time.

Personal admission here: Some people's eyes light up at the thought of how their insights could bring sales. Other people (myself included) are more likely to cringe: "What, use my insights to manipulate people? Heaven forbid." The best sales people, though, will tell you they don't coerce their customers. They communicate. They educate. Only after this do they ask to redecorate.

Therefore, even if you don't stand to gain a nickel from reading faces, you'll profit inwardly when you explore this deeper human knowledge. Which is your priority for now, the material side of life or the spiritual side? Either way, face reading will enrich you.

The power of face reading shows in relationships, especially those situations where people normally feel the opposite of powerful--like singles events; meeting your prospective mother-in-law; wondering about your grumpy new next-door neighbor with the rottweiler.

What do all these situations have in common? Lacking an abracadabra wand, you're stuck with people. They are stuck with you. How can both of you make the best of it? Without power, you're left wishing these strangers would be nice. You hope they'll see the real you (which is, of course, magnificent). You wish. You smile. And, mentally, you cross your fingers.

But your mind doesn't have fingers! That's just the most obvious reason why this sort of stance won't ever make a person feel, or be, powerful. Knowledge is power. If you're wise, you'll wish you could see the best in all the strangers who enter your life. And I don't mean reminding yourself of a cheery slogan, like "God is in this person; so as long as I can ignore the rest, we'll get along fine."

Nor does seeing the best in a person mean slapping on a quick label. Some folks assume face reading means you decide in 30 seconds whether a person is "good" or "bad." Aw, come on. We're mixtures. If you want to learn about problems as well as the pretty stuff, don't worry. When you read faces, that can be arranged.

Face reading informs you of practical things, like how a person makes decisions, spends money, works most productively, handles details. Who has a goofy sense of humor? Who won't laugh unless the humor is wry and dry? Who is a deep-down nonconformist? Who uses body language to convey the exact opposite of what she is really feeling?

Maybe I should mention right now that your ability to use my system of Face Reading Secrets does NOT require that you be observant about how people look. You don't have to remember people's faces or otherwise be visually oriented. (I'm not.) To read the Secrets, all you need is curiosity, plus a willingness to look at human face parts when they are right in front of you. It's simple. You've heard of doing things on a case-by-case basis? Well, you're going to gain your new level of knowledge on a face-by-face basis.

The face parts you'll investigate are richly varied. And the Secrets they'll tell you go far beyond the stereotypes you're probably expecting. In fact, face reading is guaranteed to smash all the stereotypes that keep you from seeing people as individuals. That is part of what brings you more power in relationships.

Another part of relationship empowerment is that face reading gives you license to climb out of ruts. Bored with someone you see on a daily basis? Let face reading help you to appreciate that person in an entirely new context.

And why not claim your power by letting face reading help you to avoid burnout? Do you come into contact with so many people that their faces are starting to blur together? Sure, a vacation might help. But the cheapest and best vacation could be a few hours with this book. Give yourself a deluxe vacation--from limited ways of looking at people.

It's the dirty little secret of my face reading classes: We don't respect our own faces enough. True, nobody yet, not one of my thousands of clients, has come to me pleading: "Help, I've fallen out of love with my face. When I see my face in the mirror, it no longer thrills me with its perfection. Something must be wrong." When my son was three, he loved his looks so much he'd make little kiss marks on the mirror. When was the last time you or I did that?

Enthusiasm over your looks should not be confused with vanity, excessive pride in one's appearance. No, it's a matter of self-esteem. We have the right to thoroughly like what we see. But now that you're no longer three years old, much of what you see in life--in the mirror or elsewhere-is covered with layer upon layer of interpretation. Symbols, memories, fears, and habits of criticism all distort that face in the mirror. Not the least important of these associations is how your view of your face links up to your opinion of the rest of you. Bad face equals bad self. And alas, nearly nobody likes his or her face enough. American society at the turn of the millennium has seen to that.

Daily we're bombarded by innumerable images of celebrities and models who have been cosmetically enhanced, possibly surgically altered, and definitely wearing identifiable hairstyles; next, photographers have placed flattering lights around them and then (the final indignity for the rest of us) these unnaturally beautiful people have been airbrushed. Even they don't look as good as their photos.

All this is mighty discouraging. And we take this discouragement so deep, we take it for granted.

Face reading helps self-esteem even if you don't come right out and admit you could like your face more. How come? You'll discover that every detail about your face means something wonderful-the angle of your lips, the chunkiness of your cheeks. Face Reading Secrets is based on this premise: God don't make no junk.

Find out how this applies to your face, the faces of your loved ones, and the faces of those you think might be loved-one material. Chapter by chapter, I'll show you what to look for and suggest what it means.

If an ear could talk, what would it say?  Look Inside The Power of Face Reading to find out.

Find out more about Face Reading.

INDEXES

Three indexes at the back of this book are included to triple your enjoyment.  Check them out! 

Index I contains references to the famous people whose faces are used as examples.  Look for your favorites, be they the good, the bad, or the ugly.  Then go back to find what I had to say about that person’s face.  The Power of Face Reading contains over 500 people, and the vast majority of them are famous because they actually did something significant, not just because they were popular as performers.   

Why did I choose my examples that way?  I wanted a change from today’s vanity culture, where people are famous for being famous and actors are praised as the highest ideal.  Don’t get me wrong, I love movies.  But I also love great humanitarians, inventors, politicians, scientists, composers, athletes, writers.  They’re underrepresented in print these days, aren’t they?  

Not in this book, though. And this index helps you find them.

It wasn’t practical to include photos to go with every reference, but you can easily go online to find photos of anyone in Index I. 

Index II is my favorite.  Here’s where you look up the quirky things you notice about faces.  Yes, different items of face data are listed according to facial feature.  So if you see someone with interesting cheeks, pull out your book right on the spot.  What is the meaning of those close-set cheeks?  Look under “Cheeks, close-set,” and be amazed.  

Index II turns your how-to book into a birdwatchers guide for people.

Index III is the “normal” index, where you can research a variety of topics where face reading brings unexpected insight. For instance, where in a face do you look for street smarts, grace under pressure, or talent at golf? 

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