Decorative A deliberate attempt is made to adorn the signature.

It speaks of a flashy person who is egotistic and expresses himself in a dramatic manner. Undistinguished The signature is just like the person's normal handwriting. It shows that the person is straightforward, down-to-earth and without any pretensions. Illegible If the normal handwriting is clear and the signature is consciously illegible, the person may be apprehensive and want to camouflage his true personality and feelings. Small When the signature is kept short, though the name may be lengthy, the writer is reserved and humble, but will come straight to the point. When the signature is distinctly smaller than the normal handwriting, it shows the person may not realize his worth and may be humble and timid, or could be suffering from anxiety, depression or other emotional problems. Large When the signature is very large, though the name may be small, the writer is egoistic and ambitious and loves to socialize. When the signature is distinctly larger than the normal handwriting, it shows the person has willpower and confidence. If it is very much larger, the person could be a show-off and not someone very reliable. Expanded The person whose signature goes across the page seeks to attract attention at any cost. If the normal handwriting is also very large, the tendency is more pronounced. Dissected In this case the signature will have a stroke on it, either horizontal, vertical, partial or complete. It shows that the person wants to cancel out his own being. The writer may be dissatisfied with society, depressed or in extreme cases even suicidal. Encircled The circle around a signature, partial or complete, has two meanings. The writer may be protective about his near and dear ones or may be fearful of the environment. The circle is like a protective shield. Abbreviated The person who signs his first name only may be self-centered. This applies to signatures on important documents only and not personal letters or greetings. Bifurcated

Here the surname appears below the first name, which indicates the writer wants to place himself above his family, in a controlling position. Nonconfirmist Some women continue to sign their maiden name after marriage instead of adopting the husband's name. This means she may have trouble disassociating herself from her parents. It could also mean she did not enter into marriage wholeheartedly. All this does not apply to women whose maiden name has earned recognition and fame; where changing it may cause confusion about her identity. Imagine if Steffi Graf were to start calling herself Steffi Agassi after marriage! In general: A youngster may try out different permutations and combinations of his first name, initials and surname. Such signature should be horizontal or slanted upwards. A downward slant shows negative traits. This principle applies to everyone. So the next time you look at a signature you will have a better idea of what the person's mental

The signature gives graphologists a great deal of information, much more than any other part of a subject's handwriting. The signature is the ego, but it goes beyond this point. The body of the writing represents what the writer really is, whereas the signature shows what he would like you to think he is. If the body of the writing is similar to that of the signature, we see an essentially honest and straightforward individual-one that is not trying to impress others or play a false part. When the signature varies from the body of the writing, graphologists first analyze the body of the writing, to discover what the writer really is. Then they check that against the signature to get an impression of the writer's persona-the role he is trying to play. Picture the body of writing that is vertical, showing a cool approach toward people in general. The inclined signature implies anything but coolness. The writer wants you to think that he is warmer than he really is. By contrast, imagine the body of writing to be inclined (warm), whereas the signature is upright (cool). This person is warm and sensitive, but would prefer you to think of him as more indifferent than he really is. Consider simplified writing that displays an artistic signature. The writer, a person of simple tastes, would like you to think he is artistic. Picture the large writing of the main body with a tiny signature. The great capital I would indicate how highly the writer thinks of himself. This writer is far from being humble, but his tiny signature shows that he wants you to think he is. When a person holds an image in his mind of someone he respects or likes, he tends to make that person's appearance larger than it actually is. The opposite is also true: lack of respect for someone makes him reduce the image in size. These images are shown in his writing.

When the writer addresses the addressee and this name shrinks in size in comparison to the body of the writing, this writer has low esteem for this person. When the body of the writing is smaller than the name of the addressee, the writer has a high regard for this person. When the addressee's name is unclear, yet the body of the writing is quite legible, the writer is confused, not sure of how he feels about this person. Should the addressee's name be "wiped out," the writer would love to get rid of this person somehow or other. Picture the writer's own name written much larger than that of the addressee. This writer thinks much more of himself than he does of the addressee. The way a man signs his first name indicates what the writer thinks of himself. The way he signs his surname hints at his feeling toward his family-particularly his father, since the surname does represent him. When both names are equal in size, he demonstrates an equal regard for himself as an individual and for his family. When there is a variation, the writer is portraying how he feels about his relationship with his family. Imagine the first name written larger than the surname. The writer is more involved in his own affairs than concerned with being part of his family. Picture the surname written larger than the first name. This writer considers his family first and thinks of himself as part of it, rather than as an individual on his own. When the capitals of both first name and surname are large and relatively even, it shows a person who is proud of his family as well as of himself: As the following examples explain, a woman's writing often demonstrates her opinion of her husband. When a woman signs herself with the title "Mrs.," and writes her husband's name in a large hand, she is very proud of her husband. When a wife writes her title and husband's last name quite large in comparison to her own given name, she thinks much more highly of her husband than she does of herself. When a wife signs her title "Mrs." and her husband's last name comparatively small to her own given name, she is prouder of herself than of her husband. When a married woman does not write her title of marriage at all, and in addition, she writes her own given name much larger than her husband's name, it indicates she has little regard for her husband.