SAN MARINO - President Bush is wood. Hillary Clinton is earth. Barack Obama is water.
"Woods like to trample boundaries," face-reading expert Charles Yarborough explains to a class of eager students of the ancient Chinese art of face-reading, which warriors once used to size up opponents in battle.
"Bush is smart, he's just not good with language," the licensed acupuncturist says. "People underestimate his intelligence. That's why he's successful: He's canny, very clever and likable."
Those are all sure signs of a wood personality, insists Yarborough, who has spent years studying the faces of the famous to find correlations to the ancient tradition. And while politicians' words often don't match up with their actions, their faces never lie, he said.
Take Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is metal, and his wife, Maria Shriver, who is fire.
"Fire controls metal," said Yarborough, who believes that could explain why the conservative governor has tempered his views during his time in office. "He's changed from a conservative Republican to one that's more middle-of-the-road. He was once asked why and said he was tired of sleeping on the couch."
Based on five elements - water, wood, fire, earth and metal - Chinese face-reading began as an ancient medical diagnostic tool, said Yarborough, who learned the technique from a teacher, by studying English-translated literature and from numerous interviews with older Chinese people familiar with the art.
Each element represents a face type: round-faced people are represented by water; long-faced people are wood; people with triangular faces are fire; earth people have square faces; and those with oval faces are metal.
Each of these types is enhanced or diminished by the shape and size of the eyes, eyebrows, brow, nose, mouth, cheeks, chin and ears, he said.
For hundreds of years, Chinese warriors read the faces of their foes to determine their strengths and weaknesses, spouse-seekers used it to determined the compatibility of potential mates, and Chinese businesses even today incorporate face-reading in hiring and promoting workers, said Yarborough, who recently wrapped up a class on face-reading at San Marino High School.
He also regularly gives face readings at Hamptons Health Circle on North Lake Avenue in Pasadena and has taught the skill to singles groups and trial attorneys, who have used it to "read" the faces of potential jurors, Yarborough said.
Yarborough claims many U.S. firms secretly employ face-reading, but they don't like to talk about it.
"They will not say so publicly because it's considered a form of profiling," he said. "The Chinese are open about using it. In the past, if a man failed a government civil exam but had what was considered a good face, he often got the job or promotion anyway."
Barbara Weeks of Pasadena took Yarborough's class and said it changed the way she looks at people.
"It actually makes me look at people's faces a little differently than I did," she said. "I'll be dissecting them and looking for the different things that we learned about in the class and the different meanings of each personality type."
While some scientist might balk at the theory, Yarborough believes every human face can be tied to one of the five elements, and each element has certain characteristics.
Water people, for example, make good salespeople. People tend to trust them, he said. Barack Obama is a water person. Wood types are long and lanky and make good attorneys. Attorney Gloria Allred "is the quintessential wood person," he said.
Fire types have pointed features, flushed cheeks and exude joy. They're impulsive, enthusiastic and generous with money, and they enjoy life. They make promises but often fail to keep them, although not intentionally, and tend to have trouble with relationships.
Yarborough said fire-faced people attract other people, but they often are envied because they exhibit so much joy. Annette Bening and Shriver are fire people, he said.
By contrast, earth people are heavy, slow moving, sure-footed and deliberate. They tend to think things through, but they like to control others and will invade people's personal space. They also hold grudges.
On the positive side, earth folks are truthful, are good producers, look out for others and make people feel safe. Hillary Clinton is an earth person, he said.
Metal people are often "easy on the eyes," Yarborough said. In addition to being good-looking they are good communicators. They are very self-aware, often stylish, have a strong sense of what is socially correct and are often empathetic.
Many entertainers and models are metal people, he said, including Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey.
And, in the yin and yang world of Chinese face-reading, metal and earth control water, water and metal control wood, wood and water control fire, fire and wood control earth, and earth and fire control metal.
Bill Clinton, a metal person in Yarborough's estimation, has a bulbous or onion nose, he said, and actor Warren Beatty, also metal, has long side nostrils. Both traits are "signs of sexual energy," he said.
The "American Idol" judges run the gamut of facial types, he said.
"Randy Jackson is water. He looks out for the feelings of others," he said. "Paula Abdul is metal, and considering all of her physical problems and the medications she takes, she's really a remarkable person.
"Simon Cowell is wood - tall and lanky," said Yarborough. "He tells the truth and doesn't care if it hurts. Ryan Seacrest is earth, and he's a little bully."
