Physiognomy Divination Text

Two sets of two hairs in one spot, or two sets of three and the rest . . . are individual hairs. Whoever has thin hair, and his shin is thick above and thin below, near the sole of his foot, he will be a great person and praised among men. And whoever has shins like the shin of a dog or the shin of a banat1 . . . he will become poor and be in need of charitable assistance. . . . and the place of the signs of manhood and the thighs, about which it says that anyone who does not have a gap between his two thighs—so that when he spreads them, they are attached to one another—will grow rich and enjoy life, and anyone whose knees are separated from one another when he spreads them will become impoverished and be in need of others. And anyone who sleeps on his member, and when he spreads his legs, his knees and thighs rise higher than the rest of his body, will grow rich and enjoy life. And anyone whose “tail” is large and very thick will not be very rich and will be loved by women. And anyone whose tail is bent to the left side will become impoverished and be in need of others. And anyone whose tail is bent to the right side will become a rich and great person. And anyone whose skin above the corona is cut like its edge, this is a good sign for him, and he will be beloved, and he will ejaculate his semen quickly. . . . And anyone who has one small testicle and one large one will be an adulterer . . . , and whoever has two testicles of the same size will enjoy riches and other goodness. And anyone whose testicles become displaced will die before his time, and whoever has thick skin over his testicles will live a long life. And whoever has red lips will increase his wealth. And anyone who has the shape of a cloud above his forehead will be in need of others and become impoverished. And whoever has an odor similar to the smell of fish will have many children. And anyone whose semen is thin will father daughters, and anyone who has much semen will live a long life.

Source: CUL T-S NS 252:2.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

Notes

[The text is corrupt here; it is unclear what animal is meant.—Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Engage with this Source

This text, preserved in the Cairo Geniza, enables a diviner to read an individual’s fate from a person’s physical characteristics. The fields of physiognomy and chiromancy (palm reading) were closely connected to magic circles in the early medieval era and in later centuries made their way into the circles that produced the Zoharic corpus. Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.

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