The Lines of the Palm

IN the superstitious, fortune-telling uses of palmistry, the lines of the hand are regarded as a sort of key to the future, the various directions and signs being given somewhat arbitrary significance. This point of view I have entirely discarded. I have found no basis at all in my studies of thousands of hands for the declaration that given signs definitely foretell events in the lives of men and women.

What I have found is that the human hand, connected to the brain thousands of sensory and motor nerves, registers on its surface a by kind of summary of all the messages which pass through the brain. Thus, the hand gives us an index to the personality.

There is another notion I wish to dispel.

The amateur in chirology usually things that activity makes for many minute lines.

This is incorrect.

Undirected and wasted nervous energy cause those myriad purposeless little lines which weave over the surface of some hands.

The person whose activity is purposeful and useful usually has a few, well-defined markings telling the entire story.

But the absence of lines shows, a phlegmatic temperament on which events make little impression, not of concentration in activity.

I claim no powers of prophetic hand analysis. I do not believe such powers exist.

I have on occasion made predictions about certain persons which have, with amazing accuracy, been realized. My explanation of this phenomenon is that, given complete understanding of all the factors in a situation, one can foresee a probability which is tantamount to almost certain prediction.

Of course, in considering only the factors of a personality we do not allow for the action of outside circumstances which do not show in the hand until after they have made an impact on the personality. But we can judge with great accuracy what that impact will be on a person whom we completely understand.

When, therefore, I speak of danger of one kind or another threatening a person, I mean danger to which the weakness of that particular individual leaves him open. Such a danger may even be evaded through the use of more complete understanding gained from the study of the hand.

One of the most striking evidences supporting the claims of chirology to some share in the name of science is the fact that hands do change. No line or sign is at any time immutable. As the person to whom the hand belongs undergoes certain experiences, or changes his attitude, his ambitions, his thoughts; so do his hands register those changes.

COLOR

The lines should be well-marked and pinkish in color.

A reddish line indicates an active, energetic and sanguinary disposition.

Pale lines go with delicate health and lack of energy. Lines which are very dark show a melancholy, brooding temperament, vengeful and unforgiving.

There are 7 principal lines

1. The line of life

This bounds the mounts of Venus and Mars positive (see number 1 on plate 27)

2. The line of head (number 2)

This begins on the inner side of the palm and runs across it

3. The line of heart or emotions

This pursuing a path across the hand above that taken by the line of head

4. The line of fate or destiny

This ascends the palm of the hand from the wrist towards the finger of Saturn

5. The line of sun or brilliance

This follows a path roughly parallel to that taken by the line of destiny, directing itself towards the base of the Apollo finger

6. The lines of marriage or sexual influence

These are short, horizontal lines on the outer edge of the palm under the little finger

7. The line of health or Hepatica

This runs up the hand at an angle, ascending from the line of life toward the mount of Mercury.

There are a number of minor lines in the hand.

All the lines are not always present in every hand, and their absence is frequently of even greater significance than is their presence.