The Length of the Mercuty Line

The length of the Mercury line adds to the power of the line and its usefulness.

If the line be long, running from the base of the hand to the Mount of Mercury, its influence will be felt during the subject’s entire life. If the long line be also a good one its influence means good health and success during the entire life. If this long line be a defective one, it will indicate ill health and attendant indifferent business success during the entire life.

By the length of the line and its character during the different periods of life, you can tell what years will be blessed with the greatest strength, best action of the liver, good digestion, and consequently the most productive periods in a business way. If the line starts deep, then grows this, and then is deep again (488), there is a period covered by the thinness of the line when the health is impaired, and at such a time the subject must use great care, take much sleep, and avoid dissipation.

If this be done, with the good ending of the line, trouble may be avoided. If (reading, of course, from its source upward) the line begins deep and grows chained (489) the good health of the first years on the line is followed by some serious affection of the liver and consequent stomach derangement will impair the health and success of the subject; the age of all periods to be read from the line, reading, of course, always from its source upward. If with this marking the Life line be defective after the chaining begins, the case is serious (490).

If after the chaining of the Mercury line begins the Head line shows islands or other defects, the liver trouble will affect the mental strength of the subject. This will often account for sudden attacks of temporary insanity, especially if a star be seen in or near the Head line (491).

If the Mercury line runs to the Head line and is absent or defective during the space between Head and Heart lines, but runs again on the Mount of Mercury (492), the subject will need to do as much as possible before the age of thirty, for at that time the powerful allies of the good Mercury line will for a time desert him, and as the years between Head and Heart lines are among the most important in his life, he will lose these supports at a critical period. The line running again on the Mount will show that he may recover himself if care be used. If bars, crosses, dots, islands, or other defects terminate or are near the ending of the line, he is not likely to recover.

By following the line from its source, noting its length, any changes in its character, during which parts it is good or deficient, all the changes in the conditions of the subject arising from a good, bad, or indifferent operation of his liver and digestion can be read. Knowing the effect of these upon the possibilities of successfully conducting business operations, you can gauge his material success.

In the absence of a Saturn or Apollo line, the Mercury line will often give indications which could be obtained from those lines if present. Sometimes the Mercury line is very short, hardly more than a chance line, in which case it is entitled to no more consideration than such a line. Often mere chance lines are incorrectly read as Mercury lines, owing to the large number of hands in which this line is either absent or wofully deficient.

In this part of the work great caution should be used lest mere chance lines be mistaken for and read as Main lines. A line of Mercury cannot run to the Mount of Apollo, or anywhere but to the Mouut of Mercury, and to be diagnosed as this line must at least show that it is heading in that direction, even though it may not be quite long enough to reach the Mount. Before any line is called a Mercury line it must be enough of a line to entitle it to be classed among the Main lines. Color in the Mercury line should increase or diminish the estimate of the strength of the qualities it indicates.

If the line shows biliousness and defective liver conditions, yellow color will generally be present as a strong confirmatory indication. The type of the subject will, however, greatly affect color, and you should not fall into the way of expecting yellow color with all bad Mercury lines.

A Jupiterian, Apollonian, Martian, or Venusian subject, even with pronounced biliousness, rarely has any color but pink or red, though blue is sometimes seen.

These warmer types have bad Mercury lines occasionally, but they take more exercise, are more cheerful, and consequently throw off many of the ill effects arising from improper action of bile. The Saturnian first, Mercurian second, and Lunarian third, will show yellow color easily.

On a Saturnian subject we expect yellow, for he is always more or less impregnated with bile, while the Mercurian has bile enough to give him an olive complexion.

The Lunarian may be yellow, but white more often.

A Saturnian who has a bad Mercury line will be doubly sure to be gloomy, pessimistic, and disagreeable, and with such a subject all defects in a Mercury line must be given their full interpretation, for a bad Mercury line on a Saturnian is an exceedingly unfortunate combination.

If yellow color be seen with the warmer types, it shows that the defects in the Mercury line are most pronounced, for when the natural red or pink of these types has been overcome by yellow, the poison has taken serious hold.

In all estimates of color with the Mercury line, take full account of the type of the subject, and the natural color he should show, from which it can be judged how seriously he is affected. If the Mercury line shows indigestion, and yellow color be likewise present, the latter indicates that the subject has also liver disorder, even though it is not marked in the Mercury line. If perfect health were always possible, we should find perfect Mercury lines, but as a large part of the human family have bodily ills more or less in evidence, we find a very large proportion of these lines defective.

A wavy line (493) indicates chronic biliousness. This subject will have attacks of bilious fever, malaria, and various liver complications, often ending in enlargement of the liver and jaundice. There is a very frequent complication of rheumatism with biliousness, and with wavy Mercury lines the indications of rheumatic difficulty should be looked for. If the subject be a Saturnian with a wavy Mercury line he will have serious bilious attacks. When this is seen on other types, the liver trouble often brings out those health defects of the type that are influenced by an excess of bile.

• The Jupiterian will have gout
• The Saturnian will have bilious fevers, gout, rheumatism, and nerve disorders
• The Apollonian will have functional heart derangement
• The Mercurian will have indigestion, nerve difficulty, and grave liver disorders
• The Martian will have intestinal inflammations
• The Lunarian will have gout or rheumatism
• The Venusian will have acute attacks of bilious fever.

With a wavy Mercury line the business career of the subject will be unsteady and subject to many vicissitudes.

An uneven line of Mercury (494) indicates a fitful condition of the stomach and liver.

There will be periods when the subject has excellent health, and at such times will do well. These will be followed by periods when the liver does not properly perform its functions, the digestion will be poor, and life becomes a drag.

These alternating intervals of good health and weakness mar life’s steadiness and prevent the accomplishing of much result. When the line of Mercury rises in the form of a ladder composed of broken fragments (495) it indicates the worst form of stomach trouble.

Dyspepsia, with its train of ills, gastric fever, catarrh of the stomach or intestines, or inflammation of the bowels are among the acute disorders which are likely to attack the subject. If in the course of such a line there be a highly colored dot (496) an attack of severe stomach disorder has occurred at the age indicated by its position.

If this dot be highly colored, red or purple, it has been very severe. Dots on the Mercury line (497), wherever seen or on whatever kind of a line, indicate acute attacks of bilious or stomach trouble at the age at which they occur on the line. If red they indicate fevers, if white some disorder arising from a chronic disease. When a dot is seen on the Mercury line note whether a chance line from it points to a health defect on some line or Mount. If none be seen, the lines and Mounts should be scanned for markings indicating chronic or acute attacks that may be referred to the dot on the Mercury line for an explanation. Health defects on the Mount of Jupiter (498) will mean the natural stomach delicacy of the Jupiterian which has caused this trouble.

If the third phalanx of the Jupiter finger be large and full, this is certain, for this subject will abuse his stomach. If the third phalanx of the Jupiter finger shows that it has been full, but has become flabby, the subject’s stomach has become so delicate that he has had to limit his diet to the simplest kind of food, and a chronic state of dyspepsia is probably present. A health defect on Saturn with a dot in the Mercury line will indicate an acute attack of bilious fever if the dot be red; if it be pale or yellow an attack of gout or rheumatism.

This will be more certain if a chance line runs from Saturn toward the Life line, and one from the middle of the Mount of Moon to the Life line (499). If the Heart line under Apollo shows an island, break, or dot, and a dot appears on the Mercury line, a severe attack of heart trouble, brought on by derangement of the digestive organs, will occur at the age indicated by the dot on the Mercury line.

A grille on Apollo with blue color and heart-disease nails will intensify this reading and indicate that the trouble is chronic (500). If, with a dot on the Mercury line, the line be broken or otherwise defective on the Mount of Mercury, a severe attack of bilious or gastric fever has occurred at the age indicated by the dot in the Mercury line (501

If, with a dot in the Mercury line, the Upper Mount of Mars shows a grille or bars, especially if on its lower third, a severe attack of inflammation of the intestines, appendicitis, peritonitis, or some other acute intestinal disorder has occurred at the age denoted by the position of the dot on the Mercury line (502).

If, with a dot in the Mercury line, the middle third of the Mount of Moon be grilled, gout or, more likely, rheumatic fever has occurred at the age shown by the dot in the Mercury line. If the upper third of the Mount of Moon be grilled the same character of intestinal disorders which are peculiar to the lower part of Upper Mars are indicated (503). Cross-bars cutting the Mercury line (504) indicate illnesses at the age at which they are seen. These bars will vary from the finest little lines which seem to run over the top of the Mercury line and only fret it, to deep bars which cut the line in two.

The extent to which they cut the line must indicate the severity of the attacks. If they be only fine fretting lines, they indicate bilious or sick headaches. If they are deep-cutting bars they are severe illnesses, and you should look to the lines and Mounts in the usual manner for an explanation of them.

If there be only one or two bars crossing the line there will only be that many serious illnesses caused by the peculiarities indicated by the line, but if they continually cut the line during its entire length, they will indicate continuous sickness if deep, or headaches if fine. There are often seen a series of fine bars crossing the Mercury line, and also fine bars crossing the Head line (505). This indicates great suffering from nervous, bilious, or sick headaches, but they all arise from imperfect action of the stomach and liver.

Such a marking often results in an impairment of the Head line after the bars are seen, showing that the headaches have weakened it. With every form and variation, and every defect in the Mercury line, the Head line should be at once consulted.

An island in the Mercury line (506) indicates a delicacy of health during its presence. This may arise from the liver and stomach, or from appendicitis inflammation of the intestines, or it may be a difficulty of head, heart, or any other organ, which one, can be located by the examination of Mounts and lines.

The peculiarity of the island in the Mercury line is that its detrimental effect upon the health is not always confined to stomach and liver disorders, but relates equally to other kinds of illnesses or delicacy. A single island must be read as a delicacy to health just as is done in the Life line, and its cause located in the usual manner.

If the Mercury line be islanded during its entire course, showing two, three, or more islands of good size, it is an indication of great delicacy of the throat and lungs (507). These islands are not always perfectly formed, but whether so or not, they will be most accurate indications. When this marking is seen at once examine the nails for any approach to a bulbous condition, and also see if the upper Mount of Mars be grilled or cross-barred. If these confirmatory markings be present, the case is a strong one, and will be easily verified. The Line Of Mercury Part 5 657 No. 506. If, in addition, an island be seen on the Mount of Jupiter (508), the subject will need to use the greatest care to avoid any exposure which might induce the development of consumption, bronchitis, pneumonia, or any disease of throat, bronchia, or lungs.

I have recently seen this marking on a patient suffering from cancer of the throat. An old reading of the Mercury line when islanded was as an indication of “Bankruptcy.” This came from the fact that the health of those with such a marking was precarious and precluded the likelihood of enough effort to produce success in business, This old reading, while it has a strong foundation, will not be accurate if applied to your clients. You will find many islanded lines of Mercury in the hands of those who are by no means financially Bankrupt, but who are Bankrupt in health. Such subjects, if in business, must spend so much time in the care of their health that business will probably be neglected. Certain it is a delicate subject cannot push business with the vigor of one who is well, and these reasons led to the interpretation of “Bankruptcy” by older palmists. When the Mercury line is broken (509) it indicates that the subject’s health will be impaired, at the time of the break, and, consequent upon this, his business career will suffer.

If the line have only one or two breaks and is good the rest of the way, find the cause of the breaks in the usual manner. If the line be continuously broken, it shows extreme delicacy of the stomach, and has the same effect as a laddered line. The more the line be broken, the more continuous will be the succession of illnesses, and such a line will show a subject to be in a continual state of dyspepsia. Such a subject will have many headaches, and will have to use constant care not to disturb his digestion. With broken lines repair signs may be seen and squares will be most beneficial. If a serious break be seen in the Mercury line surrounded by a square (510), a danger to the life of the subject has been averted. The cause of the trouble may come from several directions. You may be able to locate it by a defect in the Head line, or find health defects on the Mounts, or serious delicacy or danger to life in the Life line, all of which should he brought to bear upon the repaired break as a location of the cause for it.

Sister lines are useful in repairing breaks, and all markings which help to continue the Current in the line must be considered as benefiting the broken condition just that much. If the Mercury line runs deep onto the Mount of Mercury and branches rise from it (511), the subject will have excellent health and great success in business. If from a deep line branches droop downward, the subject will succeed, but will have to work harder to accomplish these results (512). If a branch leave a strong Mercury line and run to the Mount of Jupiter, the subject will be successful in business, aided by his ambition and his ability to lead and control men. If a star be seen on the Mount of Jupiter influential acquaintances and friends will greatly assist him (513).

If a branch rise to the Mount of Saturn (514) the subject, aided by soberness, wisdom, frugality, carefulness, and because he looks on the dark as well as the bright side in undertakings, will be successful in business. This is a good marking for a banker. If a branch from a strong Mercury line rise to the Mount of Apollo (515) the subject, owing to great shrewdness and business ability, aided by brilliant mind and agreeable manners, will be most successful. This is an ideal marking for a merchant. The long Mercury line in these cases will show that this type will lead and the branch lines show which type will aid him.

In all these instances place the subject in his proper world by the phalanges of his Mercury finger. If he have the third world strongest he will have business success. If the second be strongest he will have success in the scientific or professional world. If the first phalanx be strongest he will succeed as an orator or writer, and this latter indication will be increased if a branch from the upper third of the Mount of Moon merges into the Mercury line (516). A branch from the Mercury line rising and merging into the Head line (517) will indicate success due to the subject’s mental powers. Such persons will be best adapted to literary or scientific careers, especially if the Head line be deep and strong. Note here the formation of a triangle, which, in this position, always indicates mental brilliancy and power.

The termination of the Mercury line will indicate the general outcome of the career of the subject, as regards the health qualities of the line and the success of the subject in the directions peculiar to the Mercurian type. The Mount of Mercury has so many markings that some of them may be confused with the termination of the Mercury line if care be not observed. If the line ends on the Mount, the lines of Affection may cross it (518).

If there are a number of these lines, one of which is deep and cuts the Mercury line sharply, there will be one affection which will be a bar to the best interests of the subject. If the Mercury line ends in a bar or a cross (519) the career of the subject will be hampered, and if the type of hand be bad, with crooked fingers, and the Heart line thin or absent, the deceitful or tricky qualities of a bad Mercurian will cause the lack of success. If a grille terminates the line, even worse ill-success is indicated, resulting from either poor health or dishonesty. If with this marking a dot be seen on the Mount of Apollo, the subject will lose his reputation. If the line terminates in a star (520) the career will be successful in the world indicated by’the phalanges of the fingers, and if the lines of Apollo and Saturn be present and good, this indication will be strengthened.

If the Mercury line terminates in a fork (521) the subject will divide his energy among several talents, and will not achieve as great success as would be possible by concentration. If the line terminates in a tassel the efforts will be so scattered that no great success can be achieved. If the Mercury line has a star at the point where it crosses the Head line it is, in a woman’s hand, an indication of serious female trouble. In the hand of a man it indicates, if on a good line, an added brilliancy, and if on a defective line, danger of serious brain trouble, even insanity. If in the woman’s hand the lower third of the Mount of Moon be grilled or cross-barred (522), the female weakness will be very serious. Such subjects will have great difficulty in child-bearing, and with a Life line which runs close to the thumb and restricts the Mount of Venus, they will probably be childless. This is valuable as a pre-roarriage indication. Whenever this marking is found the woman is nervous and highly strung. She will at times become depressed, and then recover her cheerfulness, alternating between exaltation and despair.

These subjects should receive the greatest care, and ought always to be the recipients of very tender treatment They often magnify or even imagine ills, but they suffer just as much as if these were real. Hysteria and hypochondria are often thus indicated, and pronounced mental unbalancing frequently occurs.

If the star should not be exactly on the line it still gives the same indication. The combinations of the indications contained in this chapter are innumerable, but the general principles governing them are always the same.

If a good Mercury line shows defects it is not so bad an indication as when a defective line has these same flaws. If a wavy line be also full of islands it is a worse condition than when a straight deep line has them. Often there are two different defects seen in a line, and each will refer to a different cause. These can both be found in the usual manner. The Mercury line should be used continually in connection with the Life, Head, Heart, and Apollo lines, and the type of each subject should never be overlooked.

The value of the line is largely its use in combination, and especially is this true with the Life and Head lines. Health and brains are essential to successful lives, and the Mercury line, in connection with the Life and Head lines, will always enable one absolutely to estimate these elements. By keeping in mind for what the line stands, what each change in its character and each defect means, and by following the line from source to termination, noting every change and working out its meaning, the Mercury line will yield a fund of confirmatory evidence which will sustain the testimony given by other lines and signs, and enable you more completely to understand your client.