Let’s face it; masks are going to be with us for a while. A weird reality of the Covid 19 pandemic is regularly interacting with people without having ever seen their whole face. For me, this includes grocery store workers, bank tellers, physical therapists, my new dentist, and a surgeon who operated on my broken elbow twice.
It’s amazing to me to think that a year ago, wearing a mask felt awkward and extreme. Fast forward just twelve months, and we now live in a world where most people wear masks and don’t think much about it. What we’ve lost, however, is being able to see the complete range of emotion and expressions on each other’s face. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “A man finds room in the few square inches of his face for the traits of all his ancestors; for the expression of all his history and his wants”.
According to Lillian Bridges, a leading authority of facial reading and diagnosis, your face is considered to be a road map to your emotions, personality, past experiences, and even your future possibilities. That’s because over the course of your life, your face develops characteristics and lines, based on predominant emotions and facial expressions that you regularly make. Even during this time of Covid 19, Chinese face reading can give you some clues to the personality behind the mask. Here are a few examples:
- Your eyes are considered to be the doorway into your soul. They reflect the nature of your spirit or inner light. Large eyes reflect an open heart and honest emotions. Small eyes are associated with holding the emotions closer, difficulty expressing feelings, and someone who
thinks carefully before acting. - If you become sick, your eyes may offer up indications as to the course of your illness. Clear bright eyes suggest that the illness hasn’t penetrated your body too deeply, and that you’re likely to recover. Dull and lifeless eyes suggest that the illness is severe, may be prolonged, or that you may not recover.
- The predominant lines in your face also tell something about you. If you have two vertical lines that create the number 11 right between your eyebrows, it indicates that you can be irritable, impatient, and can become frequently annoyed when things don’t go your way. If those lines are particularly long and reach toward the bridge of your nose, your predominant emotion is more likely to be worry than irritation.
- Who knew crow’s feet had something to say? If the crow’s feet at the outer edge of your eyes turn upward, it’s an indication of a life full of joy. If they turn downward, there’s more sadness. And if the crow’s feet turn downward and are particularly long, it indicates that you’ve had deep sadness and grief in your life.
- Those horizontal forehead lines above and parallel to your eyebrows? They’re the sign of a skeptic; made by repeatedly saying or thinking,
“Really?” and raising your eyebrows. - Diagonal lines across your forehead are less common, and are a sign of transformation. The person with these lines has endured prolonged suffering, but has emerged with newfound wisdom and a different outlook on life.
- Strong or prominent brow bones are a sign of leadership. However, the downside is that strong brow bones can also indicate dominance and rigidity. This person may like to be in charge and resists being told what to do.
Wearing a mask covers much of a person’s face and personality, to be sure. I’ve had the experience of being surprised by seeing someone’s entire face when they briefly removed their mask, because it wasn’t what I expected. That’s because I’ve unconsciously filled in the blanks. That said, you can tell when someone is smiling at you, even if their mouth and nose are covered. You can see the light in their eyes, and you can tell just a little more about their emotional makeup from the clues found above their mask. You just have to look.
