The Psyche Knot

The Psyche Knot was an extremely standard way of dressing the hair during the late Victorian and Edwardian era -- in fact it was so common that it's actually hard to find instructions for how to do it, since it seems to have been so well known. Many period hairdressing books simply state to "make a psyche knot" and that's that. It could be placed just about anywhere on the head and often made up an aspect of a more complicated Edwardian era hairdo.

A "new" style circa 1916 of wearing a psyche knot at the front of the head.

Happily, Woodbury's book Hair Dressing and Tinting provides, at least, some instruction on this:

For the Psyche Knot coiffure the hair is parted into four sections, [...] and waved. The front and side sections are gathered at the top of the head, pompadour fashion, as already fully described; but the back hair is divided into two strands which are combed out and rolled over the finger into two long curls. These are gathered into a cluster knot, pulling the center section or curl outward. The distance this part of the curl is pulled outward depends, of course, on the amount of hair to be worked with, or on the taste and desire of the patron. A switch may be used to fill out the back hair sufficiently to accomplish this. A back comb is used and celluloid pins and hairpins to fix the whole into place.

The whole coiffure is then gone over with deft touches of the comb to give it neatness and evenness.

For those who were still unable to follow the technique, psyche knot foundations were available -- just like the bun-bases we have today. It was basically just an oval-shaped hair rat that you pulled a loop of hair through, then wrapped round with more false or real hair.