Ruth Madoff, a woman with no sense of self

On first glance Ruth Madoff's signature looks normal which makes sense because that is how she appeared in real life, too. However when looking at the signature closer, there are some warning signs to be noted. As stated in my previous analysis of Bernie Madoff's signature, it is important to get a first impression and see stands out. In this case the name Ruth is completely illegible while the second name Madoff is crystal clear. The first name represents one's personal identity and the core self, whereas the second name represents one's relationship with the external world including family, social standing and business etc. So, here, we have an identity problem because the name "Ruth", when looked at by itself, is completely unreadable. The R is a strange form resembling an A more than an R with a towering point on it. Interestingly, her husband uses the same the "made up" letters Ruth does, but hers only occur in regards to her self identity, while his permeate his signature from start to finish. Strange letters that don't look like what they are supposed to are the sign of some form of dishonesty on the part of the writer, whether they are concealing something from themselves or others. The difference is that in Bernie's handwriting the illegibility occurs in every aspect of the signature, whereas here it is is on her own personal identity alone. She is very clear about her role in society, her work, and her role in her marriage, and that clarity is reflected in the readability of her last name.

She harbors deep resentments from the past which affected her at the time of the writing, as evidenced in the lead in stroke of the R, which starts way below the line. This always reflects some held on emotion of resentment that is affecting the writer now. The lead in stroke happens in her first name, so the resentment has to do with something on a very personal level, as opposed to be angry about something in society.

She likes to fly "below the radar" and has the capacity to be underhanded in her social and business dealings, which is seen in the way her signature starts out below the baseline. When people write underneath the baseline, it suggests that they are hiding and that they don't want you to see what they are up to. This feature is seen in a number of criminals, by the way.

She is highly secretive which is seen in the 'a' (which, in graphology, along with the letter 'o' represents the mouth and one's personal expression.) Instead her 'a' having a circular loop it is crushed and forms an 'x', which indicates a rather severe form of personal suppression. Please note that the 'a', 'd', and 'o' all have closed loops, which further define her secretive nature.

The two f's at the end have also been crossed through with a stroke that swings to the left. Leftward strokes have to do with the past, fear of going forward, or regression. The fact that the stroke crosses through in the middle area of the handwriting also suggests health problems with the corresponding area of the body, examples being stomach problems, ulcers, low blood sugar or some kind of autoimmune disease. For example a lot of diabetics have small crosses somewhere in the middle zone of their scripts, indicating the "crossing out" of the body by an autoimmune disease. I don't know her health situation, but if I was reading this signature for a client, I would definitely ask them about the middle area of their body, especially the stomach, pancreas or liver.

Finally, it is interesting to note that the letter R reaches up and exactly touches Bernie's signature - it doesn't go too far or too short - it is quite precise in that regard. It is the highest stroke in the signature and therefore of great importance to her. I am quite amazed with what precision she reaches up and touches his name with her signature - beyond anything, she wants to stay connected to him.

So, now there are several things that we can discern about Ruth Madoff. She has definite confusion with her personal identity (her first name is completely illegible), her role in society and family is clearly defined, her personal expression is stifled and she is secretive (the 'a' has turned into an x and the 's' is also closed), she conceals herself and can deceive others (illegible writing, made up letter forms and writing below the line), she likes to hide (part of signature is below the line), and she very strongly strives to be connected to Bernie Madoff (her signature exactly and precisely touches his.) The clarity shown in the manner with which she touches his signature is contrasted by the utter confusion in her own name - for me, this contrast is the most interesting thing about Ruth Madoff's signature.

Deception can be seen Bernie Madoff's signature

Bernard Madoff’s signature above clearly displayed his deceitful nature, so much so, that even a second rate graphologist could have easily figured him out. By taking a look at his handwriting now, you, the reader, can get a better idea of how to spot deception in others. This is a particularly useful skill if you are in business and it can save you a lot of trouble in the future because with a little observation, you can learn volumes about the people with whom you do business.

The first thing to do when looking at a signature is to get a “hit”, a feeling of its overall character to allow something to grab your eye as the dominant expression and/or problem of the script. In Madoff’s case, my first impression is that it is illegible and that has an abnormal movement to it, a strange spinning quality. The spinning is hypnotic and inn his case helps to deflect your attention from engaging with the actual signature. Illegible signatures mean the person doesn’t want you to see who they are. In this case, Madoff is amazingly elaborate and consistent about maintaining the illegibility, and so he is a person who works at it harder at not being seen than most. (Illegibility is often seen in the autographs of celebtities who strive to maintain privacy while living in the public eye and to see more of these go to uglyautographs.com).

Madoff’s signature noticeably slants to the left, meaning he is more “in his head”, detached from others and out of touch with his feelings. The backward slant suggests a cold, calculated personality. The letter shapes have been altered, so they do not form real letters, and to graphologists is always a danger sign. Notice how the B looks like a D and how the f’s look like t’s. The letter B stroke also is broken at the top, another sign of deceit by the way. Also notice how the manner in which letters are made completely varies from the first and the second sample. He changes forms in an arbitrary manner which most graphologists would find disturbing. Most people maintain the same letter forms throughout their lives, but here the shapes are ever changing and shifting, which connotes shiftiness on the part of the writer. Another classic sign of deviousness is the letter 'o' that is done as a single loop in a clockwise manner instead of the classic way taught in school. When this sign is present, it suggests underhandedness on the part of the writer, and when seen in conjunction with other negative signs becomes a red flag. There are a number of other revealing signs in his handwriting, including the very sharp hooks at the ends of strokes, but here a few examples were chosen to show how warning signs are discerned in graphology. In the case of Bernard Madoff, if an investor had simply had a graphologist look at the contract before signing, a fortune could have been saved. If you learn nothing else from this blog, remember this: never invest your money with someone with a signature is 100% illegible and looks like a hornets’ nest.