The Lines of Influence

The Lines of Influence are those that are on the Mount of Venus and inside the Life line.

• Some of these run parallel to the Life line
• others which run across the Mount (277).

These tell about factors outside of the subject himself, forming a part of his “environment.”

Only those indications which my own experience as well as that of other careful investigators has fully verified are here considered, and all matters which are traditional or hypothetical have been left out.

I depend mostly on the elaborate system of the Hindus for using these lines of Influence.

Only the lines which run inside the Life line are properly lines of Influence.

I have found that they indicate persons who have strongly influenced the life either for good or ill, and that they generally represent members of one’s own family or the closest of friends.

If the latter class, and blood relationship is not present, they are those who have grown into the life and have become a part of it. In all cases they have strong influence, hence their name. In some hands few of these lines are seen, in others there are many, and the more there are the greater the number of persons who have exerted strong influence. The less the number the more self-contained is the subject ; he makes few close friendships, and even blood relations do not greatly influence him.

The reason these lines are seen is because the influences have made strong impressions on the mind of the subject, and these mental impressions have shown themselves in the hand. The Lines of Influence, both vertical and horizontal, form what is commonly called the Grille on the Mount of Venus. This generally indicates an increase of Venusian qualities, particularly the sexual appetites.

This general reading of a large number of Influence lines on the Mount of Venus is correct, as has been clearly demonstrated in the hands of subjects known to have strong sexual appetites.

Every line of the Grille represents an influence which has affected the life, and the more of these there are, the more the Mount will have Currents which excite it, and consequently fire its qualities.

The absence of lines on the Mount of Venus shows an absence of electrifying Currents, and this calm Mount expends its energy in a love of beauty, gayety, color, art, and dress, instead of in sexual desires.

The line of Mars is a sister to the line of Life, running inside of that line and parallel to it (278). This is really an Influence line, but it is an influence upon the health of the subject, sustaining and strengthening it, and does not relate to the influence of other persons. The line of Mars is comparatively a rare marking, and the greater number of lines seen alongside the Life line are simply Influence lines.

The Influence line which runs closest to the line of Life is the closest influence. This may be mother, father, a brother or a sister. I have noted that a line starting near the beginning of the Life line and running close to it is generally the mother (279), as a mother’s influence begins earlier in life than that of any one else. Next to this line, counting from the Life line, comes a line representing the father, and the line which represents this parent is usually found to be deeper than the others. Next follow other relatives, grandparents being generally the fourth line.

The length of these lines tell the duration of the influences as factors in the life of a subject. In most hands a new Influence line is seen to appear at some age between 20-30 (280).

This is generally the husband or wife, as it is at about this age that most marriages occur.

This line becomes the dominating influence of the subject from the time of its appearance if the marriage is happy, but it only shows faintly if the marriage has made no more than a passing impression on the subject.

In many cases there is a fine line connecting this Influence line with the Life line, showing that the influence has merged into the life of the subject. On the Mount of Venus, then, are congregated the close influences of a subject’s life.

Many things which happen to the persons who influence the subject are also shown on the lines of Influence, but they are events which have made a considerable impression on his mind.

A star on the end of a line of Influence (281) will indicate the ceasing of that influence, whatever it may be; and, while you cannot state definitely who the person is, yet by noting the distance between this Influence line and the line of Life, you can determine whether the line represents one closely connected with the subject or a more distant relative.

This is an important indication to master thoroughly, for the death of a relative will often change the course of a life, and if some indication be encountered which cannot be explained in any other way, a line of Influence with a star on it may give the clew.

In connection with the lines of Saturn and Apollo it is of constant service. The death of relatives also seriously impairs the health of some subjects, and thus in all directions Influence lines are valuable indications.

When lines of Influence are deep, strong, and well colored, the influence is powerful; when they are thin, shallow, chained, uneven, or broken in any way (282), the influence is not strong. When an Influence line begins deep and then grows thin, until it gradually fades away, the influence was strong in the beginning, but has gradually grown weaker until it has no effect (283). If this line should be revived and gradually grow stronger, the influence will return into the life of the subject and grow in power (284).

If an Influence line draw away from the Life line and grow thinner at the same time, the influence gradually grows away from its nearness to the subject, and finally disappears (285).

This is an indication of the estrangement of some near one. The ages of each one of these occurrences can be read from the Life line. If an Influence line, beginning early and ending in a star, have beside it a line more distant from the Life line, which grows stronger after the star, it indicates that the mother or father has died at the age shown by the star, and that a distant relative has come into the life and taken the parent’s place (286).

If an Influence line begin thin and grow stronger and break, and is replaced by another line, and this by another, it shows that, one after another, relatives have replaced each other as the leading influence with the subject (287).

If the Life line be very defective, being thin, chained, broad, and shallow, islanded or broken, and a line of Influence be strong (288), it indicates that while the subject’s health has been delicate, some relative has been his mainstay in life.

This line just described has the same effect on the subject as a line of Mars, and the influence may, by constant nursing, have kept the subject alive. I incline to this opinion rather than to the idea of the line being a line of Mars.

If the Head line be poor early in life, and gradually grow stronger, and an Influence line be strong in the beginning and grow farther away from the Life line or become thinner, the weak mental condition of the subject in early life is sustained by the strong influence of someone during the time such help was needed, and, as the head grew stronger, the influence was no longer needed and faded away (289). The rising branches from the Life line indicating an upward tendency in the life of the subject are sometimes cut by Worry lines (290).

This marking shows an impediment to the career of the subject, a check to the upward tendency. These Worry lines frequently start from an Influence line (291), and this will indicate that the influence has caused the check. In a large number of cases these Worry linescutting an upward branch from the Life line have been verified as indicating a legal difficulty. Older palmists used this marking as an indication of divorce.

The single indication must not be given this reading, but with this marking and other confirmatory signs it can be so interpreted, viz., if the line cutting the rising branch from the Life line cross the hand and cut a line of union which is forked (292), this reading will be found correct. If the Worry line start from an Influence line, the influence has made the trouble. By itself the marking indicates a check to the upward career.

If a Worry line start from a star on the end of an Influence line and cut a rising line from the Life line (293), it indicates that the death of a relative caused the trouble.

If the Influence line is deep, then thin, and alternates in this way, the influence is strong, then weak, and only exerts its power spasmodically (294).

If an Influence line begin away from the Life line and gradually come toward it, growing stronger as it progresses (295), it indicates that the influence of some distant relative is gradually coming nearer to the life of the subject and growing stronger. This line may cut through other Influence lines lying closer to the Life line, showing that it is becoming more powerful than they.

If a line of Influence break and after a short space start again, and this be repeated, it shows that the influence of the person on the life of the subject vanishes and then begins again, having disappeared and returned several times (296).

If inside of a broken line of Influence, starting at twenty to thirty, there be another line which begins early in the life of the subject, and continues uninterrupted past these breaks, it shows the intermittent character of the wife or husband’s influence, strengthened by the constant influence of the mother or father. Often such a marking will heal and correct a poor marriage (297).

Islands on Influence lines parallel to the Life line indicate a delicate condition of the influence, and such a line ending in a star, cross, dot, or cross-bar (298) will indicate that the delicate influence dies, the age to be read from the line of Life. Horizontal lines on the Mount of Venus (299) are persons or events which have crossed our lives and impeded them.

Parallel lines are not impediments, and while they may be weak or defective, they are not influences strongly hostile to our best development. Cross-lines both impede our influences and worry and harass us. This is why these cross lines cutting the Life line have been called Worry lines.

If deep and red, they are serious impediments; if thin and puny lines, they are only annoyances. These Worry lines which continually cross the Life line must be regarded as more or less serious, according to their depth and extent. When deep, they indicate illness of a serious nature. If these horizontal lines cross the entire Mount of Venus and Life line, from top to bottom, they are continuous worries. If only short lines, they are temporary annoyances. If they cut some particular Influence line repeatedly (300), that influence will have a continual life of worry and impediment.

If a line of Influence, cut by a strong cross-line, show after this cut an island and end in a star (301), some disaster has happened to the influence which has brought on delicacy and ended in death. If the cutting line be a deep one, and the cut line begin so early that you judge it to be a parent, the cause of the cut has often been verified as the father.

I have seen several cases of this kind ; the father having died, or been injured, has so shocked the mother that she never recovered. If a number of Influence lines run parallel to the Life line, and these are cut by numerous small lines, the family life of the subject has in many cases been found to suffer constant interruption and be unhappy (302).

If a cross-line have an island in it, there will be something most unpleasant connected with this impediment. It will be a bar to the subject’s life owing to no. 300. some fault not his own (303). If this line only cut the lines of Influence inside the Life line, it will be expended on the relatives, but if it cut the Life line it will affect the life of the subject.

Do not confound this marking with the island from Saturn indicating rheumatism. If an island on a line of Influence have running from it numerous small bars cutting the Life line, the delicacy of some relative will prove a constant worry to the subject (304). If on the Life line an island appear after this point in life, these cares or worries will seriously affect the health of the subject.

Probably close nursing of some invalid relative breaks the health (305).

If an Influence line deep at the beginning gradually grow thinner and end in a star, and Worry lines cross from it to the Life line, which grows thin and has a dot on it, the increasing delicacy of a relative ends in death, and the worry over this case brings on delicacy of the subject ending in a severe illness (306).

If the Life line end on this dot, the subject will not recover ; if it go on, he will regain his strength.

If an Influence line end in a star, and a Worry line connect this with a dot on the Head line, the death of a relative will bring on a severe illness of the brain (307).

If a line of Influence end in a star, and this be connected by a Worry line with an island on the Head line (308), the delicacy and death of a relative produce a weakened mental condition of the subject. In each one of these cases it is understood that you are to try and discover how near a relative has died by the closeness of the Influence line to the Life line. If lines rise from the lines of Influence and run to, but do not cut, the Life line, it shows that relatives will uplift the subject, but if lines droop from the Influence lines to the Life line, the subject will be continually pulled down by his kin (309).

If a line of Influence which has been diagnosed as the wife or husband have a line rising from it to the Mount of Jupiter, it indicates that this relative is most ambitious (310).

If the Saturn line be more than usually good after this period, it indicates that this ambitious partner has spurred the subject on and increased his success.

If a Hue of Influence rising early be supported by one which rises at about the time of marriage, the wife or husband has supplanted the mother completely (311). If the marriage influence be thin and the mother influence deep and strong, the wife is under the domination of the mother, maybe her own, maybe her husband’s (312).

The general principles which must be applied to lines of Influence are the same in all cases as those which apply to other lines. Remembering that these lines represent other people, and by discovering who these persons are in relation to the subject, you can estimate very closely what effect they have on his life.

Defects on Influence lines, connected by Worry lines with defects 011 other lines, will show that the influence has caused the defect. Changes in the Life line, following defects or changes in Influence lines, show that the influences have affected the life in a harmful manner. In all such cases the character of the Life line will tell what this bad effect has been.

In estimating the Influence line which represents the husband or wife, it should be borne in mind that in women’s hands it will begin at from 18-25, and in men from 25-30, these years representing the average years when marriages occur.

In reading Influence lines always proceed slowly until you have gained practice enough to work out the combinations. As students, do not hesitate to ask questions, and find out where you have made mistakes.

Acquire the general principles, and apply them with good methods of reasoning to the Influence lines, and they will prove to be an increasing source of benefit.