Age As Indicated On The Lines

UP to this time, there has not been discovered any way of positively telling from the hand the present age of a subject.

There is no marking in the hand or on the lines which will, independent of everything else, indicate this. But by close observation of the general appearance, color, and skin, you can approximate the correct age within a few years.

Youthful skin is fresh looking, elastic, generally well colored, and has the appearance of vitality.

As age comes on the skin grows less fresh looking, takes on a satiny, glossy appearance, and gets darker, often becoming brown in spots.

This satiny appearance:

• begins at about 50 years old
• grows more pronounced from that time on.

From the 20-50 there is greater difficulty in reaching accuracy, though proficiency can be acquired by a close observation of skin, consistency, color, and general appearance.

It is desirable to acquire skill in this matter, for knowledge of the present age of a subject will enable you to tell what events seen in his hand have passed, and about what point the subject has reached in the life map of the hand at the time your reading takes place.

Until you have gained some proficiency in this respect, it is much better to ask the subject what age he has attained, and use his answer as a basis.

Not everyone will be truthful.

They will be within reasonable distance of the correct age. You will have to use your own judgment, based upon the appearance of the hand, as to how much they are misleading you.

There is a way to tell the age of a subject from the lines, and have been experimenting with it for some time, but the results do not as yet warrant me in giving the method as an absolutely correct one.

If the temperature of your room is exactly right, and the subject in perfect health, you will often find by pressing the Life line quite hard from the top downward so that you force all of the blood out of it, repeating, if necessary, this pressure several times, that there will sometimes appear, only for a second, a white spot in the line.

In about half of the cases on which I have tried this experiment, this white spot has shown itself at the correct age of the subject. It has been successful so often that I believe if the conditions of health in the subject, and temperature of the room were always just right, that the results would be astonishing in their accuracy, but we encounter such varying conditions that I do not feel justified in making the positive statement that age can always be discovered in this way. It will be valuable to Palmistry if this possibility can be fully established.

If our hypothesis that the lines in the hand are a map of the natural course of the life is correct, then the different portions of the lines must show to which parts of the life they refer.

Experiments have clearly shown that the beginning of a line (remembering always from which end the line in question is read) records the first years, and that, as the line continues, it records the advancing years of that life. The degree of proficiency possible to attain in reading the age at which events occur depends entirely upon the keenness and good judgment of the practitioner. 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 an event occurs if he relies entirely upon the rules of Palmistry.

To fix scientifically a month or specific day for any event is impossible.

Neither is it possible, relying solely on the hand, to tell the name of a subject, the initial of his name, or that of a friend or relative. In every case when you are asked to write these things on a paper, no matter what is apparently done with the paper, you may be absolutely certain that the practitioner is relying upon sleight of hand to enable him to read what you have written. There is no possible method either of locating “lucky days,” and nothing should more quickly give the stamp of fraud than such a statement from a practitioner.

Neither does a scientific palmist confine himself entirely to the future, telling of wonderful things that will happen after he is gone. Such practitioners succeed because there is just enough credulity in our human nature to make us hope these things - which are always made to be pleasant - will come to pass. Any palmist who understands his art can tell past events, and if he cannot deal correctly with your character, health, temperament, and a good deal of your past life, do not put faith in his skill. Trifling events are not shown in the hand. The mere routine of living does not appear in the life map, so any claim to trace your life from day to day is a false one, intended merely to deceive. Only important events, serious illnesses, changes of condition, severe trials, great joys or dangers, will be seen, or those things or persons who have greatly influenced and have produced strong brain impressions upon you, or have made marked changes in the course of the life. To be correct in reading age on the lines, we must consider how long the average human being lives.

Those age measurements of the Life line which continue the life up to one hundred years and over are manifestly incorrect, for people do not often reach such ages. The tables of expectancy used by insurance companies are certainly near the facts, for they are the result of large experience, and are considered sufficiently reliable to form a basis from which the companies are willing to assume great financial risks. These tables place the length of the average insurable life at sixty-five years, but, for the purpose of allowing extra time to our subjects, it is better to assume that the human life, except in rare cases, will not greatly exceed seventy years.

Thus we start a line at zero and end it at 70. The intervening space we divide into sections mathematically exact, which point out the intervening years of the life.

The division of the Life line (19) begins at the starting of the line under the finger of Jupiter and ends at the rascette; the intervening sections recording all the various years of the life. For convenience and to facilitate quickness in reading the line, I divide it in the centre, fixing that point as the age 36, which is approximately one half of 70. The space above this central point I divide into the ages 4, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and the portion of the line after the central point to read as ages 43, 51, 60, and 70. To reach a date as close as a year, it is necessary to subdivide the line between ages 4 and 70 into periods, each representing one year, and mark the space on the line, as few can so accurately gauge it with the eye.

With a little practice you can recognize where the ages 4, 6, 12, 18. 24, 30, 36, 43, 51, 60, and 70 are marked on the line, and learn to read these ages quickly and accurately. In a case where the indication you are reading does not come at one of these ages, you may, if you wish to be very accurate, mark off the line into years and arrive at the exact date as indicated above. In reading offhand, without marking the line with a pencil, always consider whether the hand is long or short, and, after first noting the central point on the line, which indicates the 36-year division, mentally mark off the several spaces in proportion to the length of the hand. A long hand will have wider spacing between each 6-year period, and in a short one they will come closer together.

The above division of the Life line I have found more accurate than any I have ever used, and, while the results obtained depend entirely upon the correct judgment of the practitioner, they can be made very accurate if sufficient pains is taken.

Reading periods of time on the lines of the Heart and Head is often useful in order to see whether events marked on them fit into conditions seen on the Life line. To estimate time on these lines the same rules must be observed, and the same remarks and reasoning apply to these lines as to the Life line. They begin under the finger of Jupiter and their course is across the hand. As these two lines have many variations in the direction they pursue, I have found it best to use an imaginary line beginning in the middle of the Mount of Jupiter and running across the hand to the percussion as a guide to measure by. On this imaginary line (20) I lay out the periods of 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 43, 51, 60, and 70, and when anything is to be read on the Heart or Head line, note under which of these periods it lies, and this is found to be the proper age. If closer dates are desired, mark the Heart or Head line into spaces representing single years, and proceed as directed in the use of the Life line. The above tables of measurements I have used with much success, and believe them to be correct if properly applied.

Age on the line of Saturn is read from the bottom upward (21), the space from the rascette to Head line covering the years from o to 30, from line of Head (normally placed) to line of Heart 30 to 45, and from line of Heart to finger of Saturn 45 to 70 years. By remembering these three general subdivisions, you will soon accustom yourself to quickly read the principal periods. If you wish to read within a year, mark off the line and proceed as with the Life line. The different directions in which the lines of Head and Heart often run across the hand make the location where the line of Saturn crosses them not always the same. If they are misplaced, producing a wide or a narrow quadrangle, do not rely on the space between them as covering the ages from 30 to 45, but at once measure the entire line of Saturn for correct dates.

The line of Apollo (22) is read from the bottom upward as is the line of Saturn, and the same rules and measurements apply to it as to the line of Saturn, and also the same methods of arriving at exact dates. The line of Mercury (23) is read from the bottom upward, the same scale and rules applying to it as to the other lines, except that the spaces on this line are closer together, inasmuch as the line is shorter. It is often desirable to read age on this line, as it is such a valuable line in connection with the line of Life. It is not necessary to read age on chance lines.

These lines will either cross the Main lines, start from them, or so near, that age on the chance line can be read from the Main line. These chance lines, which are the changes or possibilities in the natural map of the life, run in so many directions, and start from such unexpected places, that no rule can be made for reading age on them. You will, however, never have trouble in arriving at the proper dates with these lines by computing from the Main lines. No part of Palmistry requires more practice than the reading of dates, and time can be valuably employed in gaining this practice. At first you will record many failures, but it is your judgment and not the rules that is at fault. This you will prove for yourself as you become careful and deliberate in making up your mind before you speak. No one reads dates so fluently as the beginner. The older in experience he becomes, the more carefulty he works and the better results he achieves. Some disappointment in line-reading comes to beginners from the fact that they do not look in the right places for events.

At present few look for illness anywhere but on the Life line, while the Head, Heart, and Mercury lines and the Mounts all record health afflictions, their date to be read from these lines. The Apollonian may have a defective Heart line, but it will not be found entirely absent with him; neither will it be with the Venusian, as these two types have too much sympathy and feeling ever to be absolutely deficient in heart. The Lunarian may be found with the line absent, or badly deficient, as he is naturally cold and selfish. Fortunately, you are not likely to meet many Lunarians. So the absent line of Heart will tell you that the subject lacks heart in a moral way, is cold and selfish, and that he will also be cowardly and sneaking in his disposition, though sometimes a great “bluffer.” The line of Heart generally rises from some point on or near the Mount of Jupiter, sometimes extending over and rising on the Mount of Saturn. Sometimes the line has forks at its beginning, all of which may start from Jupiter, and sometimes these forks spread like a fan, extending over as far as Saturn. The Line Of Heart Part 2 182 No. 26. There are three well-verified readings attached to three starting points, and these should be used as a basis for your work, modifying and changing them in accordance as you see the starting points vary. 1. Rising from Mount of Jupiter (25) we read the development of the sentimental side to the affections.

The subject is one whose love is ideal, to whom love is an adoration, and to whom love, even with poverty attached, is attractive. 2. Rising between Jupiter and Saturn (26) the line shows the common-sense, practical, “middle ground” with the affections, indicating one who is not carried away with sentiment, but who views love from a practical standpoint; is not “soft” or “spoony,” but who is inclined to think that love in a cottage without plenty of bread and butter is a myth. This person is never carried away by sentiment, and while strong in affection is sensible and not foolish. 3. Rising from the Mount of Saturn (27) the marking shows the sensualism in the affections of one whose love is tinged with the idea of pleasures from sexual relations. This is infallible if with it is seen a large Mount of Venus of pink or red color, and with strong Life and Mercury lines. These will tell of physical desire by the point at which the Heart line starts, and of physical strength sufficient to carry out these desires by the other indications.

Where the Heart line rises from all three of these sources (28) we have indicated the union of sentiment, common-sense, and passion, showing that heart is the strongest factor in the make-up of your subject, and a very fine Head line and a strong thumb must be present to prevent heart from ruling head. With this strong formation you can, by noting which of the three lines is the deepest at the starting point, tell whether sentiment, common-sense, or passion is the strongest force.

This always produces an affectionate person, who has a warm heart, a great deal of it, and loves friend, relation, and mankind in general. His danger is too much heart, and he does not always look after his own interests when considering those of others. This will be increased if the fork from Jupiter is strongest, and decreased if the middle branch is strongest, because the practical side will then be prominent. The fork of the Heart line will not always be so pronounced as that shown in the illustration, but every variation of it can be read based upon the full indication here given. Sometimes the line will start in several forks on Jupiter alone, in which case it increases the sentimentality of a single line starting from that point. The same rule applies to the other starting points. The general rule applies that a single line tends to make the affections more self-contained, and the subject loves family and friends strongly, but does not reach out to everybody as does the one whose Heart line forks at the start.

The deeper and clearer the line at the start, the deeper, but more likely to be selfish, are the affections. The more the branching, the more they go out to many people. The line beginning with a fork makes a successful subject, for he has many friends. Sometimes the line of Heart inclines to fall toward the line of Head at its start (29). This shows the head to be powerfully in the lead, and that when it comes to a choice between sentiment and utility the heart will be second best. Sometimes the line starts from the line of Head (30), in which case it will show that head has control of heart and completely dominates it.

This is especially true if the Head line be deeper and clearer than the Heart line. If it is so marked, read with confidence that the head completely rules. If the lines of Head and Heart are marked as in the above two cases, there will be a continual struggle between them for supremacy, with the chances in favor of the head as the Heart line droops or takes its source from it. The constant effort in our study of the hand is to discover what forces are strongest in the subject, and what ones will most influence him. In this battle between head and heart, reason and sentiment, minutely inspect the source of the Heart line and with it the comparative strength of the two lines, Head and Heart, in order to tell which will rule. Note in practice that the Heart line when rising from the Head line does not always do so just at the start, as in the illustration, but may rise farther along in the course of the Head line (31). In this case the time at which the Head line obtained control of the Heart line can be read by the point on the Head line from which the Heart line starts; the age at which it occurred being read from the line of Head according to the rules laid down in Chapter 4.

In the above examinations you will be much assisted by having first classified your subject into his proper type. The Saturnian will be most apt to be ruled by head, followed by the Lunarian, the Mercurian, the Jupiterian, and the Martian, named in the order as this tendency is found.

The Apollonian and Venusian incline to have heart lead them. With the above markings base the strength of your statements of the indications upon the type as well as the indications of the line itself, and you will arrive at absolute accuracy. The length of the line should next be noted, for it will tell of much or little heart.

If the line rises normally but runs only a short distance and stops (32), it indicates that the subject will have serious difficulty at the time at which it ends, even if all the other lines go on to their normal length. This abrupt termination of the Heart line means either that the heart will stop beating, or else that the subject has little heart or affection for others. You can judge which by the directions given later in this chapter. It is, in either case, a poor sign. If the Heart line crosses the entire hand (33) it shows that the subject has too much heart and will allow sentiment to guide him in everything.