Nine mounts of the hand
The palm is divided into nine mounts—raised or puffy sections that contain information about natural abilities, traits, or personal characteristics. If you want to know where a person’s primary or dominant energies are directed, look for the most dominant raised area of his or her palm.
To examine the peaks and valleys of your hand, raise your hand, palm up, to your eye level—you will notice that some areas of the palm stick up, some more distinctly than others. For instance, the cushion closest to your thumb may be especially puffy, or the cushion nearest your wrist might be more noticeable than the others on your hand.
Whatever the particulars on your own hand, you should know that in palmistry those cushionlike developments on the edges of your hand and near your fingers are called mounts. The interesting thing about mounts is that no matter what else changes in your life or in the actual lines on your hand, your mounts will not change. Even if you make a major shift in your career, love life, or personality, your mounts will be exactly as you see them at this moment.
Nine mounts of the hand
Your mounts represent the focus of particular energies in your life, and a dominant mount on either the palm or a finger means that more of your energy is focused on that aspect of your life. The mounts of the palm correspond to planetary energies—each of which, not surprisingly, is associated with a particular character trait.
Because it is so closely associated with your capacity for love, affection, desire, and romance, the mount of Venus is the most popular area of scrutiny by a professional palm reader. When they have their palm read, most people want to know what kind of lover they are, who would be the perfect match for them, and other details pertaining to their love lives. The mount of Venus, which is located at the base of your thumb, can be a good indicator of how deeply or passionately you love others.
If your mount of Venus is overly puffy, it can indicate a tendency toward promiscuity as well as fear of commitment. Just being aware of this tendency can go a long way toward averting its potential for negative consequences.
The exception to this rule is when the head line and the thumb are both strong and steady; in this case, your passionate nature will be tempered by a sound, moral ability to size up sexual situations for what they are—and to escape the emptiness of one-night stands. Instead, you will likely focus your passionate energies into providing a life of luxury and fulfillment for your perfect mate—turning your physical passions into material ones with real and achievable goals behind them.
Of course, love of material pleasures comes at a price: You might find that in your quest to provide a wonderful life for your spouse or significant other, you are less inclined to remember those sweet little gestures that keep the flames of love alive. If you find yourself overlooking romantic love, you need to work harder at keeping a balance between material and physical pleasures!
If you don’t have a well-developed head line or thumb configuration, an exaggerated mount of Venus can indicate a callous, uncaring tendency toward instant gratification.
In general, people with a predominant mount of Venus fall into a physical type with round faces dominated by large “doelike” eyes and voluptuous lips, while other facial features tend to be smaller than average. They are usually slightly taller than other types, and most often have a very robust, healthy outlook on life. Venusians are, of course, the most sensual and socially outgoing of the mount types. They know how to live passionately—and well.
Do you have a love of the finer things in life? Is your home filled with lots of soft, sensual accessories mixed with very special works of art? Take a look at your mount of Venus—more than likely, you’ll notice a predominant mount. Since they have such a keen understanding of human emotion, Venusians make excellent psychologists, teachers, and even politicians.
What if your mount of Venus is not well developed? A nearly smooth Venus mount can indicate a calculating and overly critical disposition. For these types, beauty is almost offensive, since they are acutely aware that it is only skin-deep. Still, if you have other positive aspects to balance out your palm, you will probably be more of a kindhearted lover than a hot-and-heavy one. Is this a bad thing? No, especially when you consider that physical passion wanes after a time.
If your palm places you in this category, look for a partner whose mount of Venus is similar to yours; though opposites can attract, they don’t always stay together for the long haul. A couple with small mounts of Venus can find lasting love together simply because neither sees physical passion as a requirement of the relationship.
While Venus represents the forces of love and peace, the mounts of Mars represent the energies of aggression and courage. By examining these mounts, you can find out if a person’s primary response to challenging situations is fight or flight.
There are actually two mounts associated with the action planet of Mars: the mount of Upper Mars (located on the outside area of your palm, just under your little finger) and the mount of Lower Mars (that area in between your thumb and index finger). Lower Mars shows your capacity for physical strength or endurance, while Upper Mars tells the story of your moral code. The mounts of Upper and Lower Mars are sometimes referred to as the mount of Mars Positive (Upper) and mount of Mars Negative (Lower).
A well-developed mount of Upper Mars indicates that you are somewhat confrontational. Fortunately, that negative quality can be turned into a positive one when a crisis arises. And an overdeveloped mount of Upper Mars can mean that you are a bit of a bully—someone who uses physical force to get a point across. You are especially competitive when playing games or participating in sports. Watch out for this tendency—try meditation or yoga to balance this kind of negative energy, and remember that words can hurt as much as physical force.
If the opposite is true and the Upper Mars mount is smooth or not well developed, you dislike confrontation and look for ways to escape stressful situations. Since your strategic and survival skills are superior, you are very good at defending others and can make an excellent defense attorney. Fighting injustice suits your personality and mount type well.
People with a mount of Lower Mars that isn’t well developed tend to have a cowardly nature or may simply be afraid of confrontation. This is not inherently a bad thing, but it could make you much more cautious than you should be in certain situations, and definitely less assertive than you need to be in life. If, on the other hand, your Lower Mars mount is overdeveloped, you may have an overly confrontational and even combative personality. Ideally, your mount of Lower Mars is well developed and more evenly balanced than these two extremes.
In general, hands sporting a predominant mount of Mars (whether Upper or Lower) can signal a personality type that’s quite forceful and dominant in heated discussions—you wouldn’t want to find yourself on the bad side of a Martian. Still, even if they are difficult people when they are challenged or frightened, Martians can be fun-loving individuals. Martian types love to engage in lengthy discussions about any hot topic of the day, and are usually intelligent and social.
Martians typically do well in business and commerce; however, those with predominant Upper mounts have an easier time climbing the ladder to success than their Lower-mount counterparts. Physically, Martians are distinguished by their long, angular bone structure combined with a large mouth and a beaklike nose set between strong cheekbones.
The mount of Luna is symbolic of imagination, intuition, and creativity; it is located directly across the hand from the mount of Venus. The normally developed mount of Luna shows a well-developed imagination and a passion for nature, travel, poetry, art, and literature.
If your mount of Luna is overdeveloped, you might have some difficulty in dealing with reality because your imagination gets in the way. If your Luna mount is underdeveloped, you are perhaps just as likely to process every new experience purely from a sensual, feeling standpoint—keeping logic and clear decision-making at bay.
If your mount of Luna is larger toward the wrist area (as opposed to near the thumb), you possess much in the way of intuitive power and can see well beyond the physical reality of life. You know things before they happen and are adept at planning your life accordingly.
In general, people with strong Luna mounts on their hands are dreamy, imaginative, creative, and giving. They are very compassionate and helpful to others; often, they are quite protective of the people they care about. The Luna folks especially love to share their special creative gifts as writers, painters, or speakers. They make terrific psychics, artists, writers, or composers. And if a large Luna mount is coupled with a prominent Venus mount, the person is destined for world renown and acclaim.
Since the Moon rules the tides, those with predominant Luna mounts love the water and anything associated with it. If you have this Moon mount type, you probably live near the ocean or frequently travel there.
If your mount of Luna is not well developed or is smooth or unnoticeable, you prefer to stay near home and have a tendency to live in your own little shell. If you do have any imagination, it’s a secret that only your private diary will reveal!
Mounts of the palm often display auspicious and/or inauspicious markings. Mount markings are cloudlike in the sense that they form symbols or pictures but may not be as perfectly formed as an artist’s rendering. Although these same formations can occur all over the palm, it’s important to note that, on the mounts of the palm, these marks have distinctly different meanings.
There are five main markings that typically occur on the mounts of the palm. Generally speaking, crosses and grilles represent negative signs, while stars can indicate good luck (especially with money) and squares lessen the impact of negative signs. A triangular mark on a mount of the palm shows wisdom.
In general, the mounts of your hands (which lie just below your fingers) represent the stores of energy that you have to dispose of regarding the particular attribute of that finger. A well-developed mount shows that you have a healthy amount of a particular quality as well as a healthy amount of interest in that area. An overdeveloped mount means that you may have too much of a particular attribute or too large a fascination with it. A flat or poorly developed mount means that you are lacking in a particular quality or that it holds little interest for you.
Actually, the mount of each finger is part of that finger, as you can see if you examine your hand closely. That is why we consider the finger mounts as a separate category from the mounts of the palm. The mount of a finger will represent the same attributes as that finger does, but will tell you where that action takes place, whereas the finger tells you of your own temperament in that area and your portrayal of that characteristic in your life.
First, look at the size of each mount. To tell if your mount is too small or too large, compare it to the other three finger mounts on the hand. The size of your mounts will be relative, with a slender hand showing smaller mounts overall than a large, fleshy one; so, you must be willing to judge a particular mount against the others. Slightly cup your hand and then look at it sideways from the wrist upward to the fingers to see if one of the mounts dominates your hand, or if it is smaller and your hand dips down in that area. A mount that is closer to the base of the finger shows an even greater manifestation in the hand of the attributes of that finger. For instance, the higher the Jupiter mount, the more the leadership potential.
The area below your forefinger, also known as the Jupiter finger, is called the mount of Jupiter. Named after the Roman god who ruled all other gods, the finger of Jupiter represents the way in which you portray yourself to the outside world and the way you are perceived in that world. It shows your sense of self-esteem and your air of authority and control, as well as your idealism, sense of honor, courage, and nerve.
A well-defined Jupiter mount indicates a strong sense of justice and optimism, as well as charisma, outgoingness, skill in managing others, and ambition. A healthy Jupiter mount in a balanced hand shows a sense of justice and willingness to help others. However, if this mount is far higher than the others, it shows a sense of ambition to rule and the desire to control and dominate others, as well as inordinate pride and self-centeredness, perhaps even bigotry. Beware of greed, a need for power, and arrogance.
If the mount is a widespread fleshy mass, but not a high one, it shows that you are an outward-directed person, are interested in society and social activity, enjoy the company of others, and expect fair play and justice for all.
If your Jupiter mount is low or weak, it means that you lack ambition, self-confidence, and a social presence. You may be strong in body, but your personality will lack forcefulness. You may also just be diverting your leadership energy into too many areas, so that none of them gets the full attention needed for successful accomplishment.
Your Saturn mount is located underneath your middle finger, also known as the finger of Saturn. The Saturn mount is named after the father of Jupiter, who was deposed by his son as ruler of the gods, but went on to found the golden era in Rome. Saturn is a symbol of success later in life, and his story is both a positive and a negative one.
Those with a predominant Saturn mount may be described as saturnine—gloomy and depressed. A person with too much of Saturn’s influence will be too conservative, distrustful, rigid, and unwilling to bow to others. Too big a mount of Saturn means that you are too solitary, introverted, and aloof, too introspective and thoughtful. You may even become ungenerous and cynical, unable to trust anyone.
A level mount of Saturn offers a better prognosis—you are a friendly sort and think everything is for the best. You are independent enough to think for yourself, and you can balance trust and suspicion, new ideas and old values, the love of solitude and the love of friends. The person with a midsize mount of Saturn is one who exhibits just the right amount of common sense and responsibility without going overboard and becoming obsessive and moody. He is a leader in the sense of a manager or a company director, one who brings leadership qualities to an organization.
If you have too small a mount of Saturn, you lack Saturn’s positive qualities: the need to look beneath the surface, the need to ponder and reflect, a sense of responsibility and organization, and the search for and love of wisdom. You may be flighty, irresponsible, disorganized, and superficial.
The mount of Apollo, located at the base of the ring finger, rules those attributes given to Apollo, the Roman god of the Sun who represents light and truth, poetry and art, healing and beauty. A good-sized Apollo mount means that you are outgoing and enthusiastic, talented and creative, lively and positive—a sunny and shining person. You are versatile, logical, and understanding, but your need to take the lead may sometimes make you unpopular. Your love for beauty, creativity, and self-expression may also be seen in your skills in crafts, cooking, and fashion, if not in the high arts, or at least by a deep interest in aesthetic subjects.
Too big a mount carries these things to extreme, and you become opinionated, affected, and loud, showing off your skills and possessions. You may care too much for the surface rather than the substance beneath it and become too impressed by position and fame. You may tend to overspend and burn your candle at both ends, maintaining a hedonistic lifestyle.
If your mount is too depressed, you may be dull, talentless, and insensitive to the finer things in life, willing to settle for a sterile existence; or, you may just lack energy due to illness. You hate being in the spotlight and are secretive, and you tend to cling to your in-group rather than face the outside world.
Mercury, the fastest of the gods, was their winged-footed messenger, and he ruled commerce and business. The mount at the base of the Mercury (small or pinky) finger controls your love for communication, expressiveness, and travel, as well as your abilities in business, teaching, and practical matters. Mercury also rules the sciences, healing arts, and even close relationships with friends and children.
A well-defined mount of Mercury shows that you are a speedy person with many interests, a good communicator, and confidant. You are versatile and flexible, and you respond well in emergencies or when action is needed. You may make a good salesperson or businessperson, public speaker, or politician. You love family life, are skilled at a number games, and are good at observation, so you can read others easily.
Too large a Mercury mount, and you talk too much, perhaps not always truthfully, and may use your gift to influence others wrongly. In any case, you will use your communications skills to advance in life. On the other hand, a flat mount can mean you are a quiet or shy person, one who does not easily understand what is going on around you, or one who is too caught up in your life with little interest in others. It may be hard for you to communicate with a mate. You may also be impractical and confused. Many people with an underdeveloped mount of Mercury aren’t successful in science or business.
Now that you understand the finger mounts and their significance, you can begin to look there for the markings that will give you further clues to the personality of the person whose hand you are reading. The following are six basic marks that can appear on the mounts of the fingers:
These marks show a particular influence or quality; most finger mounts have more than one type of mark, so read the one that seems most dominant first.