When I was asked to take part in the amazing Vigour Festival I wasn’t quite sure what I could do that would be interesting and engaging for the average Joe soap. Not everyone is into acupuncture and treating someone in the middle of a park just didn’t sit right with me. However, one thing I thought might interest and excite people was Face Reading! Face reading has a venerated history in China that dates back thousands of years. It was originally part of ancient Taoist alchemical practices that involved understanding and returning to “the Original Face,” best described as an individual’s true nature. Chinese Medicine began using face reading as a diagnostic tool to diagnose deficiencies in Jing (our inherited constitution), to evaluate the flow of Qi or life force energy and to assess the quality of Shen (our spirit/soul).

Our face is an intriguing combination of genetic structure, environmental influence, and markings caused by repetitive expression. It shows the world who we are, how we have felt, and what we are likely to feel again. It also shows what we have done and where we are likely to go. We take in more about a person from their face then we even realise. For instance, we inherently consider a symmetrical face beautiful. Have you ever wondered why? Our face can be split between the left side and right side. The right side of our face is the public side, while the left is the private side. Our brains instinctively recognise that the more symmetrical the face the more parity between who we really are and who we are presenting to the world!

Reading the faces of some of the people at the festival revealed some very interesting things. Many people had markings showing frustration and repressed or misdirected anger. I think this is indicative of our fast pace of life now and also that we tend to be a nation that bites our tongue. Other nationalities do not have these lines on their faces. I read the face of a lovely lady that carried markings that showed that she had given up everything for her children, at the expense of herself. There was a man that suffered a severe loss during his childhood, it was there to see on his ear. He was a triplet and his brother died when he was 7! I warned another man that he had a propensity to addiction and to exercise caution. His father was an alcoholic. I diagnosed back and neck problems, diabetes and blood pressure problems. All from people’s faces.

The shape of our face, the set and size of our ears, our hairline, each one of our features and the spaces in between all reveal information about who we are and our journey in life. Reading a person’s face is an amazing thing. It is a window into a secret world, a world that the owner knows intimately but sometimes even they have yet to access it. What does yours say about you?