A hand reader can explore a client's character and personality in great depth; he can also discern many events of the client's past and see trends for his future. This knowledge, added to good counseling skills, enables the reader to advise clients about their future paths and choices. Lines and marks on the hands change from time to time, and they can change quite rapidly when one makes a life-changing decision. It's worth taking a print of your own hand now and comparing it with another taken in six month's time. The easy way to do this is to smear very bright or dark colored lipstick on the hand and then press a piece of paper onto the hand. Peel it off carefully, date the page, and leave it to dry.
There are limitations to palmistry, just as there are with every other form of divination. Palmists have the advantage of being able to look at the whole of a client's life at once, so they aren't limited to one segment of it. However, this makes it impossible to answer questions of an immediate nature, such as, “Will I get a new job soon?” It's often useful to do a hand reading and then follow it up with another type of reading, such as tarot cards.
The dominant hand is the one with which you write. Some palmists say that the minor hand is the one that shows what we want, while the dominant hand shows what we get. Others say that the dominant hand outlines the future while the minor one chronicles the past. In many cases, the underlying personality is on the minor hand, while the dominant one shows adaptation to circumstances. Health matters and things that affect the emotions are often easier to see on the minor hand, while business matters and the parts of our lives that we live outside the house are clearer on the major one.
People with large hands take their time about things. They are thorough and unhurried in their pace of work and they also display perseverance in other areas of their lives, but they can't think on their feet or make on the spot decisions. Small-handed people are much quicker in their responses, either by being speedy in all that they do or by being quick to adapt and change.
Hard hands belong to hard workers, while soft hands belong to those who like to coddle themselves. However, we have to be sure that the hands are not reflecting situations such as illness, pregnancy or vegetarianism. Fleshy hands suggest self-indulgence while a mass of thick, hard-packed flesh belongs on the hands of those who want their own way at all costs.
If the hands are especially hot, cold, wet or dry, the client may have a health problem at the time of the reading and this could affect the internal organs.
Each finger has its own meaning, so you must use your own judgment as to which of the fingers predominates. You should consider for each its length and position.
A well-developed index finger belongs to a subject with a well-developed ego. He is independent, self-motivated and has established views, formed early in life. He may have leadership qualities or he may just be bossy. If the finger is pointed, he has some pretty rigid religious views as well.
If the index finger is short or weak looking, the individual lacks self-confidence and may lean on others, hoping that they will make his decisions for him. In some cases, the finger is actually a good length, but it's set low on the hand, and this shows that the individual develops confidence later in life while retaining a diplomatic and cooperative nature.
Most people have a well-developed middle finger, which suggests strong survival instincts, a need for financial and emotional security and an ability to deal with the practicalities of life.
If the base phalange is full, the subject needs material security and comfort.
If it's thin, he may reach outward for spiritual and intellectual achievement rather than material gain.
If this finger is short or if it looks weak, the subject lacks endurance and he is unable to stick to anything. He is also reluctant to stretch his mind. He relies on others to fulfill his material and spiritual needs.
If the finger is long and well developed, the subject has good taste. He needs pleasant surroundings and beautiful objects around him. He is creative, imaginative and possibly artistic, displaying a good sense of line and balance in all that he does. His home and family are important to him. At work, he needs job-satisfaction as much as he needs material gain.
If the base phalange is full, he may want to work with objects of beauty, whereas if it's thin, he will be drawn to the world of ideals and ideas.
A short ring finger suggests a messy person, uninterested in aesthetics. He may not care about having a nice home, and if he bothers to work, it will be purely for the money and not for the satisfaction of doing a good job of work. He will avoid any form of gambling in business or in life, partly because he lacks imagination.
This finger is associated with all forms of communication, so if it's well developed, the subject will be a good speaker and writer, and possibly a confident salesperson. He will be interested in relating to others both socially and sexually.
If the Mercury finger is stunted, the individual is shy or withdrawn and unable to express himself easily. He may have only one or two basic interests in life, and he may be unable to co-operate with others or to understand their needs. He may be uninterested in sex or too shy and inhibited to form a relationship.
The way that people place their fingers while using their hands gives quite a few clues as to their characters.
Thumbs open at an angle of 90 degrees or more indicate friendly, gossipy types who express their feelings fairly easily.
Those whose thumbs are pitched higher on the hand with a tighter opening angle are introverted and rather shy. These subjects are apt to hide their real feelings, and they can keep the secrets of others.
When the index finger pulls away from the other fingers, the person is independent and he arranges his lifestyle and his environment to suit himself. He will resist anyone who tries to control or dominate him.
Saturn and Apollo fingers clinging together
If the index finger clings to the middle finger, the subject will cling to his family, and look for approval from others. This type of subject has the capacity to learn from experience, so he may well develop a stronger, more independent personality as time goes on. He is also likely to be a hard and dedicated worker—possibly because he unconsciously seeks approval and praise.
A gap between the middle and ring fingers suggests rebelliousness, either openly expressed through difficult behavior or subtly expressed through withdrawal and self-centeredness.
If the two middle fingers cling together, the individual needs a secure home life, job satisfaction and he needs a hobby that gives him artistic or creative fulfillment. Some palmists see this as an indication of guilt feelings, but I'm not so sure about this.
Mercury finger pulling away
When the little finger pulls away from the ring finger, the person likes his home to be quiet and private. He is independent and he likes to make up his own mind and to have his own opinions. He is hard to persuade and influence. He likes to organize his own life and he needs time alone, to think and to recharge his mental batteries. In some indefinable way, he withdraws himself from others in order to protect his independence. This is also an indication of people who distance themselves sexually, and who may choose a celibate life rather than to be encumbered by relationships and all that they entail.
After looking at the general shape of the fingertips, look at the fingerprints and see what you can find.
The most common shape is the loop. This suggests sociability and the ability to work as part of a team, or to co-operate as a family member. The subject needs to give and receive affection and he is kind-hearted and emotional.
The whorl suggests independence. If this only appears on one or two fingers, the subject may have a talent for whatever is associated with that finger. If there are whorls on the full set of fingers, the subject will either achieve great things or he will never get anything off the ground.
Arches show shyness and hesitancy. These are usually found on the index or middle fingers. They show that the subject will have to suffer or struggle in some area of his life. Many arches denote a person who lacks confidence and energy. Much the same goes for arches on the index fingers.
The peacock's eye is a whorl with a kind of elongated tail that curves slightly and it brings artistic or creative ability to whatever finger it's on. I have one on one of my little fingers, and I am obviously a good writer. A palmistry friend called Robin Lown has one on one of his middle fingers, and he is an excellent carpenter.
Double loops or composite whorls show indecisiveness, but they can also show intuition. It's as though the gut feelings and logical mind aren't always saying the same thing.
My palmist friend, Malcolm Wright, once explained his theories to me on the significance of warts on the hands. Since then, I've verified his ideas by chatting to various wart-laden people. The idea is that a wart on the back of the hand represents a problem caused by others, while one on the palm side represents a blockage or a problem that may or may not have been created by the subject, but that only he can resolve. If you have a wart and want to know which area of your life it represents, look at the map of the hand below and then refer to the relevant section in this chapter. For example, a wart on the index finger would imply some blockage affecting your self-esteem and decision-making abilities. Whether this is due to the behavior of someone close to you, or to lack of courage on your part, will depend upon whether the wart is, respectively, on the back or front of the finger.
The map of the hand is divided into locations called mounts. Many of these so-called mounts are more like valleys, but they provide a useful guide to the geography of the hand. Any mount that seems to predominate will show an area of life particularly important to the subject, while lines and marks that touch the various mounts show how the subject's personality, interests, energies and instincts are expressed. The positioning of lines and marks that cross or touch the various mounts offer clues as to the subject's future.
A well-developed Jupiter mount suggests ambition, a strong ego and idealism. A cross here suggests marriage to a successful partner, while a square denotes executive or teaching ability. A very high mount indicates a desire for money, status and power, while a flat one suggests a lack of ambition and a desire for a peaceful life.
The map of the hand
This is usually a valley rather than a mount. This area is concerned with money and security, along with a person's aims and ambitions. It can symbolize the direction of the subject's interests, especially later in life. Lines that reach this area suggest success as a result of hard work, but possibly a slightly dour attitude to life. The old-time books state that a cross here suggests death by hanging, but I haven't found any truth in that idea, although a colleague suggests that the subject might have contemplated murdering someone at some time in his life!
This area is concerned to some extent with one's home and family. It also shows hobbies and interests, especially creative ones. Vertical lines in this area suggests happiness in old age, while a cross can show a win or some other kind of unearned income. I've noticed small crosses here in the hands of writers, because while they definitely earn their income, it can keep coming along for several years in the form of royalties.
A well-developed Mercury mount suggests communications ability, or nursing or healing ability and an interest in people. A cross here shows the ability to deal with machinery, including computers and other communications equipment, while a square will show some kind of misunderstanding or temporary lack of communication with someone close to the subject. Three slightly diagonal lines here, possibly scored through by a fourth, show healing ability. This healing touch may be expressed in normal medical and nursing terms, or in the form of spiritual healing. It can even be expressed by a subject who takes care of animals. The outer edge of this area offers information about relationships and children, as we will see later in this chapter.
Lower Mars (the one near the thumb) shows military or paramilitary interests. I've seen a well-developed Mars Mount on the hands of scout leaders, police officers, paramedical types and even canteen managers. This mount shows organizational skill and the ability to work within a team.
Upper Mars is found on the percussion edge of the hand. If well developed, this mount indicates endurance and the ability to cope with anything, without being shocked or upset. This suggests the ability to recuperate easily from illness and the strength to withstand pressure from others. An over-developed Mars shows an aggressive and hot-tempered nature. Lines and marks on Upper Mars that don't reach the percussion edge can indicate some kind of mental or physical battle with which the subject has to cope at some time during his life.
Lines that curl around any part of the percussion edge, apart from those found immediately beneath the Mercury finger and above the heart line, usually relate to travel or to dealings with other countries for business purposes.
If the mount of Venus is well developed, it shows a love of home and family and a sensual nature. It may show a tendency to over eat for comfort's sake. It also shows a passion for music, art, travel and for life in general. It can show a high sex drive, and a need for frequent sex. It can also show a passion for one's job, hobbies or for anything that the person loves to do.
Lines on the edge of the hand can show help that comes from others, but they can also show obstacles placed in the subject's way. Lines that shadow the lifeline show friends and a strong connection to other members of the family. They also denote physical strength and good powers of recovery from illness.
Horizontal lines that cut through the life line and extend out into the hand suggest problems connected to the home and family.
If this mount is well developed, the subject loves to travel. He may travel around the country with his work, he may travel around the world with his work, or he may just love to travel and explore. He may live abroad at some time in his life. Luna can also denote a fondness for the outdoor life, dancing, sports or some other form of movement.
This area is associated with creativity and imagination, so if it's well developed, it shows good imaginative powers and also intuition, a good memory and the ability to understand other people. An intuition line that runs into this area shows psychic ability.
This is a kind of bridge between the conscious mind and the material world, as represented by the two adjoining mounts (Luna and Venus). If the area is high, the subject will have a good link between these two worlds and he will be able to bring intuition and imagination to bear on his decisions. If the area is more like a valley than a ridge, the subject may be unable or unwilling to consider anything other than what he can see, hear and touch.
This is the aspect of palmistry that everyone understands, as reading the lines is supposed to show what will happen in our lives, and the lines often do just that.
If the life line is smooth, unmarked and unbroken, the subject's life will run smoothly, while interruptions to the course of the line suggest challenges and problems that have to be overcome.
A long “island” or a doubling of the line somewhere along its course means that the subject sets his own immediate desires aside in favor of some other priority, such as the needs of a family or a course of study. When the time comes for the subject to take up the reins of his life again, a branch line may be thrown upward.
Gaps in the line suggest trauma, illness or even a period during which the subject was forced to live among people he didn't like.
A fat, curving line belongs to an energetic person who is both competitive and materialistic. This subject needs a secure emotional base from which to launch himself, which is why he keeps close control of his home and family.
The major lines of the hand
A narrower curve suggests idealism and values that are intellectual and spiritual rather than physical and material.
A line that travels out into the hand denotes a career person. Such a person may also be drawn to people and faraway places, both in terms of actual distance and/or a different outlook from the one that was around him during his childhood.
A setback followed by a fresh start
An island represents some kind of setback or loss, and if it's followed by a small rising line, this shows that the individual will take steps to improve the situation.
A short or broken life line shows some kind of enforced change of direction; it's rarely an indication of severe illness or early death! The lifeline in the illustration below is typical of the kind of enforced change in life that comes from divorce or a sudden change of career.
A short life line suggests major change
The head line runs across the middle of the hand. It may be straight or curved. It shows how the subject's mind works and gives a good deal of information about his career.
Long head lines belong to someone with a range of interests and good concentration.
Short ones belong to those who specialize in one particular interest, and who can only understand the world in terms of that interest. In some cases, this kind of line can be found on the hand of a businessman or woman who is skilled at delegating boring day-to-day tasks to others.
A straight head line denotes a practical and rather selfish outlook, while a curved one suggests an imaginative and more kindly one.
Wavy head lines show uneven progress in career matters with the dips in the line showing periods of depression or times when the person switches off mentally. A course of education or training will lift the head line, as will a time of forging ahead in a job.
Setbacks are shown by bars, islands and breaks in the line, while improvements are shown by branches that rise up from the line.
A long island or a patch of chaining denotes a time when the subject feels trapped in a situation that doesn't really suit him.
Forks on the line typically show versatility and communications ability.
A branch upward shows business acumen that can be expected to lead to success, while a downward branch shows intuition and an ability to communicate ideas to other people. A fork indicates writing ability.
The heart line shows how a subject feels and how he expresses emotion.
A long heart line shows deep feelings and an ability to care for others. If it's curved, the subject will be more outwardly emotional and more inclined to express his feelings, while a straight line suggests someone who broods, sulks and keeps his hurts to himself.
The subject with a curved line will be drawn to anyone who shows him affection, while the person with the straight heart line is cautious and fussy in his choice of partner.
If the heart line is short, the subject is not really a relater. He needs others to fulfill something lacking in his own life, but he isn't really interested in the needs and the feelings of others.
Islands in the line normally show shocks and upsets in the love life. A broken line would suggest a broken heart.
A branched heart line
If the line reaches the mount of Jupiter, the subject will want to be associated with people he can respect and admire, while also wanting to be respected and admired himself.
If the line curves tightly upward to end at the base of the fingers, the subject may be possessive or on the receiving end of someone else's possessiveness.
A triple branch on the heart line suggests a need for love, friendship, companionship and mental stimulation as well as sexual satisfaction. That's not much to ask, is it?
Attachment lines appear on the edge of the hand beneath the Mercury finger, and they offer a good deal of information about a subject's relationships. They can be deceptive though, for they tend to change as the years go by. Hands don't show marriage certificates—they show feelings; therefore a particularly strong line may indicate an important relationship outside, or in place of, marriage, while a marriage that turns out to be unimportant may hardly show up at all!
Attachment lines
The number of lines can usually be taken to mean the number of serious relationships during a subject's life, but I suggest that you go carefully when interpreting this, because it may have more to say about desires and feelings than reality.
One line suggests the type of nature that would be happiest with one strong marriage or relationship. If this relationship ends for any reason, it will be replaced as soon as possible by another equally strong attachment.
Two lines suggest that the subject would certainly consider leaving a partner if things didn't work out. This ability to break away from a partnership often does result in at least two deep relationships during one lifetime.
The very fine lines which cut through the attachment lines vertically refer to children. These can be deceptive, because people who look after children or animals often display these lines even though they have no children of their own. If there are no child lines, it's likely that the person will not have children. Sometimes there are lines but still no children; in this case, there will have been miscarriages or failed attempts to have children through IVF.
There are lines that are similar to the attachment lines on the other side of the hand under the Jupiter finger, and these can tell us about brothers, sisters, other relatives of one's own generation or close friends. Fine lines that cut vertically through these attachment lines may refer to nephews and nieces, but this needs more research.
Travel lines appear on the percussion edge of the hand on the mounts of upper Mars, Luna, and Pluto. If they touch the head or the fate line, they indicate travel in connection with business. If these lines touch the lifeline, the subject will have friends or family in other countries. A skilled palmist can pick out the parts of the world to which a subject is likely to travel by the position of these lines.
If there is no fate line, the subject is probably perfectly happy with his situation in life and under no pressure to make an effort to please others. He may be lazy and unmotivated or simply contented with his lot. If any part of the fate line appears on the hand, there will be a time of striving, achievement and success at that time of the subject's life.
Read the fate line up from the bottom of the hand. Lines that enter the fate line show important people coming into the person's life. If a line enters from the percussion side, the influential person will be an outsider, but if it enters from the thumb side, the person may have been known to the subject and his family for some time beforehand.
The fate line
Lines that cross the fate line from the thumb side show interference by parents, in-laws or other members of the family.
A strong clear fate line shows a strong sense of self. If the line travels toward Jupiter (see line d), it shows ambition, idealism and a desire for political influence.
If it travels toward Saturn (see line c), it shows a desire for material benefits, a love of land and property and an ability to cope with analysis and detail.
Fate line going to Saturn (c) and Jupiter (d)
If the line stops and then jumps to the thumb side of the hand, the subject will make improvements to his career and his financial standing at that time.
The fate line may shift from one side to the other
If it stops and then jumps to the percussion side, the subject will become more interested in his home and social life than career aspirations at the age of the jump.
When the fate line begins close to the wrist on the mount of Neptune, the subject is aware of his ambitions from an early age.
When a fate line starts at the middle of the hand (e), he will be self-motivated.
If the line starts at the lifeline (f), he will be self-motivated, but he will also receive a good deal of help and advice from his family.
If the line starts close to the percussion edge (g), outsiders will give him his opportunities in life and may be responsible for his motivation. He may also have to travel in order to fulfill his dreams.
The late starter
When the fate line begins halfway up the hand, the person is a late starter. This may refer to a woman who can only start to put her mind to a career once her children are off her hands.
The illustration on page 87 shows interference on the line in the form of breaks and islands, and a line that stops short of its destination. All these interferences on the line refer to setbacks, ailments, financial problems, relationship problems or anything else that puts the individual's life on hold for a while. A line that stops short shows that the person stops trying, possibly because things start to work out well for him.
Setbacks and money worries
If the fate line breaks up into a number of small lines traveling up the hand (k), the subject will have many tasks to cope with in life. This is often an indication of a period of self-employment.
Self-employment and self-motivation
A secondary line that rises from the lifeline (l) shows a self-motivated fresh start, and this can often accompany the self-employment marks on the fate line.
A doubling of the fate line (m) shows that the subject is splitting his energies, possibly between the demands of home and work.
Doubling of the fate line
A long stretch of doubling shows dissatisfaction with life. If the doubling is, in effect, a long island, this shows a long period of emotional unhappiness or worry. I remember seeing a woman with a very long island on the fate line. She told me that she had spent years being angry and upset because her husband had left her for another woman, and her hand showed that she had put her own life on hold for years because of it.
