The twinge of guilt lasted as long as it took the Kindle edition to download to my tablet. “Yet another book I will never find time to read,” I thought.  But I was pleased that the knowledge I desired was now safely in my library, if not yet in my brain. Besides, it was an important resource for my novel.

I had heard Jean Haner speak several times about her expertise in Chinese face reading, an ancient branch of Chinese medicine. Based on an issue of her excellent newsletter, I knew that my facial features indicated the personality type of Metal—the Perfectionist. The other four types are Water (the Dreamer), Wood (the Pioneer), Fire (the Fun-Lover), and Earth (the Nurturer).

Haner’s The Wisdom of Your Face remained unread for about a day. I went straight to the Metal chapter and was amazed to discover that I possessed all eight of the defining qualities presented for that element. Haner says, “If you have all of these characteristics, which is rare, you’ll know that you’re a very Metallic person!” These features included

• Large nose
• Prominent upper cheeks
• Fine bone structure, small wrists and ankles
• Pale complexion for racial heritage

If you don’t know how accurate these descriptors are, check out my photo on the About page.

Sample observations of Metal that resonated for me:

• “Your precision and care also create success in professions such as surgeon, software designer, accountant, editor, and artist.” (I am an editor.)
• “The worst thing someone can do to you is to offer some ‘constructive criticism.’ You’re already so tough on yourself that knowing someone else noticed when you did something wrong can be too much to bear.” (Excruciatingly true.)
• “Metal is more affected by visual clutter than any other Element, but this doesn’t mean that you’re a total neat freak. Open any drawer or closet, and you may find a chaos of confusion.” (It’s like she has a camera in my house!)

The book goes into depth about the meanings of various facial features. For example, the major indicator of Metal on the face is the nose, which represents the capacity for power. Furthermore, the larger your nose, the more you’ll feel driven to achieve in your 40s—and the more powerful a decade it will be!

What a great spin on having a big schnoz.