CHAPTER XXXI
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THE HAIR AND THE EARS
Black hair which is perfectly without any wave or curl and which lies in lank, lifeless masses, shows a melancholic disposition; a black beard which grows sparsely gives the same indication.
Black hair which is wavy or curling and very thick, shows force of affection and a certain ardour in love matters; so also does a thick and crisp-textured black beard and moustache.
The lank, thin and uncurling black hair is one of the signatures of Saturn alone; the crisp, curling and thickly-growing black hair is the combination of Venus and Saturn. The united influence of these two planets on a life gives force of character, for the warmth and impulse given by Venus is tempered by the distrust of Saturn into prudence; thus people with the crisp dark hair get the ardour, combined with prudence, which produces success in life.
Chestnut hair of a soft and silky texture and not very thick, gives romance of character. This is not the sort of hair which is ever seen on very commonplace, realistic persons. Men having this soft chestnut-coloured hair are somewhat effeminate in their tastes and are wanting in energy and decision. Both men and women having it are incapable of strong affection: they are attracted by the opposite sex, but they are more given to having a series of small interests than one strong love. If this hair is found in combination with the golden coloured eyes it is indicative of coquetry in the nature; if with pale blue-grey eyes we have languor and caprice--a sentimental and inconsistent person.
Bright golden hair of a rich deep colour and of a crisp and waving texture growing thickly on the head and somewhat low on the brow, shows an ardent, poetic and artistic temperament. It is the signature of the Sun. Such people are generally fond of music, painting, or poetry. Both men and women having this sort of hair are intuitive in their judgments; they do not reason about things, they feel them; they are a little quick of temper, that is, easily ruffled, but they are quickly appeased; they are gay and interest themselves in art, even if they are not artists themselves.
Persons with red hair are ardent and vivacious, especially if, with it, they have hazel eyes, in which case they have a bright and quick intelligence, for reddish hair and bright brown eyes are the signature of Mercury. They have a great deal of natural facility for study and good memories, but they are selfish and rather cruel.
Red hair, with blue eyes, shows the same warmth of character, but not so much intelligence, and if, with blue eyes and red hair, the eyebrows and eyelashes are white--as is often the case--it is an indication of a weak and capricious nature.
People with red-brown hair, which is very thick and redder over the ears and at the temples and on the beard than on the head, are courageous and hot-tempered. This coloured hair is the signature of the fiery planet Mars, and (unless the other indications in the face are widely different) shows activity and energy in all things. It augments the indications of force and power given by other features and in art gives sense of colour in painters--force of language and eloquence in poets--and power in musical composition.
Hair of that colourless, fair colour which French writers call _blond cendré_, or ash-coloured, denotes persons of an indolent and dreamy temperament. It is the indication given by the dominant influence of the Moon at birth. Persons with this sort of hair, in combination with large blue-grey eyes, with fair, long, but straight eyelashes and very slightly-defined eyebrows of the same blonde colour and white, soft skin, are capricious, languid, imaginative and somewhat melancholic. The imaginative and excessively indolent Théophile Gautier, the French novelist, was of this type in combination with Venus, giving a sensuousness amounting to sensuality.
Women having this sort of colouring of skin and hair are romantic and devoted in a resigned, but not active spirit--that is, they are more generous in words than deeds, for they are incapable of exertion and still less of perseverance.
Persons with soft, wavy brown hair are affectionate, gentle and loving. Their first instincts are always good and kind. They like society and are gracious in manners and, though they are not quite as indolent as those having the soft ash-coloured hair--indicative of the Moon's influence--they are still lovers of repose and elegant comfort.
People with this soft brown hair (which is one of the signatures of the planet Venus) are very open to the impressions of beauty and they abhor noise, discords and quarrels; men with this sort of hair, like those with _pale_ golden hair, are somewhat effeminate and are easily moved to tears.
Large, fleshy ears (especially those which have the lobes of the ears red) show coarseness of nature and sensuality.
If the ears stand forward so as to show their entire form when the face is seen from the front, it denotes rapacity and cruelty.
Long-shaped but small ears indicate refinement; a very small ear, close to the head, shows delicacy of perception, refinement, but also timidity.
The ears should be so placed as not to be higher than the eyebrow, or lower than the tip of the nose; if set in too sloping a direction they show timidity; if too upright, animal instincts, courage, amounting to cruelty, especially if they obtrude from the head.
A thin ear shows delicacy and poetry of feeling; a thick ear the reverse.
Middle-sized ears, rather close to the head, are the signature of Jupiter; large ears of Saturn; delicate, long-shaped ears of the Sun and also of Mercury, only those bearing the signature of Mercury are more coloured, whilst those of the Sun are pale.
Very upright ears, standing forward, are the signature of Mars; small, round ears, delicately tinted pink and close to the head, show the influence of Venus; whilst middle-sized round ears, of a very pale colour, are indicative of persons born under the influence of the Moon.
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