Timing on the Hand
For thousands of years palmists have argued about how to time events on the hand. I remember a heated discussion I had with several palmists in New Delhi thirty years ago, during which one gave another a black eye as they argued about how to time events. The rest of us agreed to differ, since we all had different ideas on the subject. In fact, there are a number of fundamental differences between Eastern and Western palmistry, and they were just as surprised to learn how I timed events on a hand as I was to learn their methods.
In practice, you have to look at both hands to determine the timing of important events. It is best if you can locate an important event that happened to the person in the past, and then measure backwards and forwards from that date.
Unfortunately, there is no automatic method that works every time. In the course of my practice, I have experimented with all of the methods that are described here.
However, I also use my intuition. I believe it is possible to become a capable palm reader without using any intuition at all. If you want to become an outstanding palmist, though, you must trust and act on your intuition.
I have a good example of this. Many years ago, shortly after I became a professional palmist, I was invited to read the palms of all the guests at a private party. I thoroughly enjoy bookings of this sort. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, and I have the opportunity to examine many hands in the course of the evening.
Unfortunately, this night I was not feeling well, and arrived at the party with a bad headache. I was placed in a dark corner to do the readings. I have learned to be prepared for any eventuality, and had a flashlight and magnifying glass with me.
However, when I began the first reading, I found that the concentration required made my headache worse. I thought that I would never get through the evening, but, far more quickly than I had expected, I had read everyone’s palms, and was back home again. I managed to get rid of the headache in my sleep.
The next morning, the lady who had hosted the party phoned me. She was ecstatic about the readings I had given. Apparently, I had been incredibly specific and accurate about events that had happened in the past, and everyone had been extremely impressed. I was amazed. The whole evening had been a total blur for me. I was unable to focus and concentrate, and had done all the readings by saying the first thing that popped into my head.
Obviously, I was tuning in to my intuition, and by doing so had given better readings than usual, even with a bad headache. Ever since then, I have always said whatever pops into my mind, even though it may not make any sense to me. I may tell the client that it is an intuitive flash, and not something that I see in his or her palms. However, as I am holding and examining their hands, it is quite possible that I am obtaining the information through some form of psychometry.
It takes a great deal of practice to become good at timing events on a hand. Be patient. Try all the methods described here. Ask questions of your clients to determine how accurate you are. Gradually, you will find that you are becoming better and better at timing events in your clients’ hands.
Be cautious of anyone who claims to be able to determine the actual month and day of a certain event. It is hard enough to determine the year accurately, and it is impossible to determine the day and month without using intuition. William G. Benham wrote: “There are some who can tell of an event and fix the time within a year, but those who have reached such skill are few. Others are successful within two, three, or five years. No one can do more than fix the year in which such an event occurs, if he relies entirely upon the rules of Palmistry.”1
Destiny Line
By far the easiest way to determine timing is to use the destiny line (figure 31). It takes the first thirty-five years of the person’s life for the destiny line to reach the head line. It takes the next fourteen years to reach the heart line (at age forty-nine), and the rest of the life is taken up with whatever part of the destiny line remains. Consequently, the first part of the destiny line, up to where it meets the head line, can be divided into three, giving the approximate ages of twelve and twenty-four. Likewise, the section between the head and heart lines can be divided in half, to give the age of forty-two.
Figure 31: Timing Using the Destiny Line
Figure 31: Timing Using the Destiny Line
It may seem strange that the first thirty-five years of life take up the bulk of the destiny line. This is because it is the time when we are growing up and working out what we want to do with our lives. By the age of thirty-five, most people have a reasonably clear idea of what they want to do. However, I have a friend of eighty-three who is still trying to work out what he wants to do with his life!
Between the ages of thirty-five and forty-nine the person is usually following a stable path. He or she is likely to be in a permanent relationship and progressing in a career. Obviously, if this is the not the case, there will be changes in the destiny line between the head and heart lines.
It may seem strange that most people’s destiny lines stop at around the age of forty-nine. It certainly does not mean that they have no destiny after that age. All it means is that most people are set in their ways by that time, and, consequently, there are no great changes of direction in their fifties, sixties, or seventies.
People with a destiny line that carries on well beyond the heart line will experience new and different activities in later life. This could be a sign of a late starter, in many cases. It is often an indication of longevity.
Head Line
The head line usually shows about seventy years of life (figure 32). Naturally, if the person gets beyond that age, the head line will grow to reflect that. However, if you are reading the palms of someone who is less than, say, sixty years old, you can divide the head in life in half, to give the age of thirty-five. Naturally, each half can be divided again and again, to make the measurements as precise as you wish.
Figure 32: Timing Using the Head Line
Figure 32: Timing Using the Head Line
The most accurate timing can be done using the life line. The simplest method is to divide the life line in two, by imagining a line running down the middle of the second finger and down the palm until it touches the life line. This is approximately the age of thirty-five. In fact, this system can also provide two other ages. An imaginary line running down the middle of the first finger and onto the palm reaches the life line at the age of ten. A similar line beginning from between the first and second fingers reaches the life line at the age of twenty (figure 33).
Figure 33: Timing Using the Life Line
Figure 33: Timing Using the Life Line
You can use these basic divisions for more precise timing. For instance, the age of seventy is where the life line curves back around the thumb at the base of the hand. The distance between the imaginary line marking the age of thirty-five and the position where the life line starts to go back around the thumb is a period of thirty-five years. If you divide this part of the life line in two, you will be at the age of fifty-two and a half. Dividing it in three gives you the ages of almost forty-seven and fifty-nine. You can keep on dividing indefinitely to get more and more precise with your timing. In practice, if I wanted to be absolutely specific, I would take a palm print of the hand and then use mathematical dividers for total accuracy.
In the past, people died much younger than we do today. The biblical age of “threescore and ten” is not considered to be old nowadays. Consequently, this has to be taken into account with any method of determining time from the life line.
Desbarrolles’ Method
Using mathematical dividers is similar to the ancient method described by Adolphe Desbarrolles (1801–86) in his influential book Les Mystères de la main.2 He suggested placing one point of a compass in the center of the base of the Jupiter finger, and the other at the center of the base of the Apollo finger. Describe a circle until the compass point reaches the life line. This marks a period of ten years. Now place the compass point that was on Apollo between the Apollo and Mercury fingers and describe another circle. This one marks out twenty years. After this extend the compass out to the outermost part of the base of the Mercury finger and make another circle. This one marks forty years. Next the free point of the compass is placed on the heart line at the point it reaches the top of the palm. The circle created marks fifty years. I have found that this system works only with people who have average life lines. If the life line either hugs the thumb or comes well across the palm, this system is worthless. This method also devotes far too much space for the first ten years of life.
Desbarrolles learned this method from the Gypsies and used it for some forty years, before deciding that it was not accurate enough. In his monumental book, Révélations complètes,3 he was brave enough to admit that this ancient method did not work. It is interesting to reflect that perhaps this system did work thousands of years ago, but the shapes of our hands have altered so much since then that this method is no longer valid.
Life Line Two
Another method of timing is to measure the length of the life line from where it begins to where it starts to turn back around the thumb. The age at this point is about seventy. Once we have this length, we can determine any age we want. For instance, half of that length will be thirty-five.
Some people have life lines that go right around the thumb and finish only because the skin patterns end. This is generally considered to indicate one hundred years of life. However, you must remember that by doing this we are only measuring periods of time. A long life line is no guarantee that the person will live to a ripe old age.
A third method is to mentally divide the life line into three equal sections from where it begins to about the age of seventy. Each section marks out twenty to twenty-five years.
Another method is to determine an important event on the person’s life line. A serious event, such as an illness or accident, is usually shown clearly on the life line. By asking when that occurred, you will be able to date past and future events using it as a guide.
Some palmists feel that they should “see all, know all,” and consequently do not ask questions. However, if by asking a question I can be more accurate and precise, I will certainly do so.
Occasionally, people come for a reading determined not to say a word, because they do not want to give the palmist any clues. I find this attitude rather strange, since we all reveal volumes about ourselves everywhere we go just through body language, and the palm itself invariably gives me all the information I need. I am happy to give readings to people who remain absolutely silent, but it takes longer to do a reading this way, and may not always cover the subjects they are especially interested in in great depth. By asking a few questions, I can both save time and be more helpful.
In India, it is common to use a piece of thread to determine timing. Some palmists in India prefer to use a hair from an elephant’s tail—but these are not easy to find in the West! The thread is used to measure the distance from where the life line begins on the side of the palm to where it crosses on to the palmar surface. This represents seven years. The thread can then be used to measure seven year cycles all the way up the life line. This is similar to a method used by Cheiro, who also divided the life line into seven year periods.
The Henri Mangin Method
Henri Mangin was a famous French palmist, who published a number of books in the 1930s and 1940s. In his most famous book, La Main, miroir du destin,4 he explained his system for determining time.
An imaginary line is drawn from the middle of the base of the Jupiter finger vertically to the life line. This indicates the age of ten. Another line, drawn from the middle of the Saturn finger reaches the life line at the age of forty. His system then becomes extremely complicated since it involves an imaginary line drawn from the start of the heart and life lines, and other lines going off this at an angle of forty-five degrees. I sometimes use his system for determining the ages ten and forty, but have had no success at using it to determine other ages. However, Henri Mangin used it successfully, as have several generations of French palmists.
Julius Spier
In Germany, many palmists date events from the wrist end of the life line. This is due to the influence of Julius Spier, the man who was responsible for Carl Jung’s interest in palmistry. Julius Spier had an interesting method of determining time. He divided the life line into two. The first half (nearest the wrist in his system) represented the first twenty years of life. The other half was divided into two again, and the first half of this represented the ages twenty through to thirty. The remaining half is again divided into two to provide up to the age of forty, and the rest of the life line shows the remainder of the person’s life. Unfortunately, Julius Spier died without explaining why he chose to date events from the wrist end of the life line.
I have had no success at all with Julius Spier’s method, but include it for completeness.
As you can see, no one method is 100 percent accurate. However, even though these different methods sometimes seem to contradict each other, they have all worked for different people. Consequently, you should experiment with these different methods with an open mind. Ask questions and evaluate the results. You may find that one of these methods works perfectly for you, or you may find yourself using portions of a number of systems. It does not matter. Experiment, find the method that works best for you, and then practice until you become an expert.
In practice, I begin by dividing the life line in half (using the imaginary line running down the second finger). I then look for any important events that are shown on the life line to help me date things more accurately. Finally, I use the seven-year measurements that are used in India. I seldom use thread, but use my thumb and first finger to gauge the distance approximately. If I need even greater detail, I will use a piece of thread.
Finally, if I am trying to determine an event with as much accuracy as possible, I will take a palm print of the hand, and make all my measurements and calculations from that.