Picture a man standing bolt upright–the very image of independence,
separateness. In Figure 1, look at line AD-it is straight. When one writes in such a fashion more or less consistently, we say that his writing is vertical. In line AE, however, we have a picture of a man reaching out to speak with someone, as though he were trying to meet the other person part way.
In line AF, we see the same as line AE, only St Hubert Medal more so. Now there is almost desperation in his urge to communicate with the other party, his need for other people. AF is quite a dependent person, all but leaning on the other man for support.
In line AC, on the other hand, we see someone withdrawing from communication, cooling off, a certain amount of rebellion present.
And in line AB, we see a kind Saint Hubert of super AC, strongly defiant, a person who wants and demands to be alone. AC leans so far away from the other person that he is nearly falling on his back. The slant of writing is one of the most basic and important points in graphology.
When you write, your intention is simple-to tell the other person what is on your mind, to communicate. When your approach is “cool,” your head (as opposed to your heart) is in control. The vertical writer may indeed have intense emotions, but they are held in check.
When writing leans to the right, we call it inclined writing. The inclined writer moves toward the party he is dealing with. The wider the degree of inclination, the stronger the urge to communicate and the stronger the feelings in general. When the writing angle is so forward that it moves into the area marked “acute,” we see a person whose emotions are almost out of control, the sensitive one who blows up at the least little thing. His line of reasoning is quite off at times, for he is too emotional to evaluate situations properly. Often he becomes jealous, sentimental, and moody, and may be in desperate need of help. His warmth makes him a likable person, but his temper can easily rage. He is also a very romantic individual.
Writing with a leftward angle of inclination Saint Hubert is called reclined writing (or sometimes backhand). Left-hand writing (by which graphologists do not mean something written with the left hand but an angle of writing that pulls toward the left) is caused by a situation in the writer’s childhood-usually a relationship with his mother. The left-hand side in writing represents the past, and the fact that a man still writes with a leftward reclination show that, in one way or another, he has not grown. It may be something slight (and a slight reclination), or it may have been a very powerful experience. But whatever it was, it stunted his growth to some degree, and he now withdraws, is cool.
