Dear Elsa,

Thank you very much for writing, but I’m sorry to tell you I have no idea if you will marry your present boyfriend or what kind of future you will have.

Handwriting analysis is not a tool for predicting the future. It is not like astrology, fortune telling, or any other of the occult sciences. Graphology is a method of determining your personality and character from your writing. It works because when you write something down you are really drawing a picture of what you are thinking.

Although handwriting analysis does not allow me to make predictions about your future, it does help me know some things about you. Based on these graphacological observations, I might be able to make some educated guesses about your future.

For example, your handwriting tells me you are enthusiastic, aggressive and optimistic. You are ambitious and want to escape the demands of routine, and are excitable.

Elsa, your writing slants to the right and is fairly heavy. This means that you are compassionate, empathetic and generous. The fact that you press hard on your pen indicates that you have a lot of energy available for action. You are strong-willed, firm and are easily excited to action. Your appetites, including your sexual drives, are strong.

Look at your printed capital I. This type of I shows clear, constructive thinking, independence, and a desire to stand out. In short, it means you have a good self image. You like yourself!

The right margin on your paper is wider than the left. This tells me that even though you like yourself, you have a certain fear of the future, are overly sensitive to criticism, and are reserved and self conscious. The fat loops on your small d tell me that you are touchy and vulnerable to both criticism and flattery.

Elsa, look at the large opening on your capital D. This shows that you are generous, open-minded, and open to new experiences. It also means that you have an open mouth, and sometimes talk too much. You are an open person in many ways.

Although you are usually very practical and realistic, your “cradle-like” y strokes make one believe you have some unresolved emotional ties with your mother. It is these unresolved emotional issues, I suggest, that make you so uncertain and insecure regarding the future.

So even though I can’t predict the future, your many good qualities would certainly make success a very likely prospect for you.

Good luck to you and I hope you have a very Happy New Year.

Dr. Murray is a certified writing analyst, graduate of the International Graphoanalysis Institute and a member of the American Association of Handwriting Analysts. He is also an experienced educator, school social worker and family therapist in Forest Park.

If you would like to have your handwriting analyzed, send a sample of your writing on unlined paper. Please state your age and sex and any specific questions you would like addressed in the analysis. Send to: James Murray, Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302. Your name will not be used.