Palmistry International is committed in its promotion of the value and benefits of modern hand analysis in a society where even today, palmistry remains under a rather mystical umbrella!  With palmistry being so widely and seriously researched over the last hundred years or so, why does palmistry continue to conjure up pictures of fairgrounds, tents, and fortune telling?

In the New Collins concise English Dictionary, the term palmistry is referred to thus:

Palmistry �?the process or art of telling fortunes, etc., by the configuration of lines and bumps on a person’s hand. Also called chiromancy

Little wonder why so many still view palmistry as being a subject belonging purely in the realms of the occult. But is this a fair hearing for modern hand analysis? While it is true that the art of reading lines within the palms does hint at a more progressive, spiritual view of life, the actual art, or science, of modern hand analysis incorporates far more than merely reading the lines within the palms. Modern hand analysis has come a long way over recent years, leading to the extra study of chirognomy, which involves the study of various formations including the hand and finger shape, colour, consistency, texture, etc., and dermatoglyphics, which is the genetic study of skin ridge formations found both in the palms and the fingers. Over recent years, there has been a breakthrough in how certain skin ridge patterns can be related to various health and psychological conditions.

For many years, it was commonplace to associate gypsies with the art of palmistry and fortune telling. Around the turn of the twentieth century William Benham (best known for his very successful book, The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading) became fascinated by palmistry.

Benham states " No help was found from professionals, for nearly all proved to be ignorant, unlettered, and trying solely to gain money, without any effort in the direction of scientific investigation. During most of this time the word palmistry was so buried under a mass of public disapproval, that a self respecting person dared not say that he was even interested in it. Fully persuaded that it had a scientific foundation, I set about to discover it."

After years of extremely detailed research of the hands William Benham made the following comments

"That there is so much information in the hand will be a surprise to many, and when it is seen how logical, rational, and even commonplace, hand reading is, perhaps it will then be taken out of the occult class to which it distinctly does not belong, and placed among the other rational means at the service of mankind, whereby they may be enabled to gain a better knowledge of themselves�?.My ambition has been so to present this matter to the public, that they would see if from a novel point of view, and by disclosing the logical basis on which it rests, presented without a vestige of mysticism or occult halo, lift it from its position as an effete superstition, and place it among the modern sciences. My ambition has been to make palmistry not an amusement, nor a centre around which cranks might congregate, but a study worthy of the best efforts of the best minds."

There are three main aspects of Palmistry:

Chiromancy: A study of the lines within the palms. From ancient times until the 19th century this was basically the only aspect of palmistry which existed

Chirognomy: A study of genetic hand shape, finger shape, finger nails, texture, consistency, gesture, etc. Used by hand analysts in order to gain insight into aspects of the inner workings of the personality.

Dermatoglyphics: A study of skin ridge patterns and formations found on the fingertips and within the palms themselves. Much research has and continues to be done with regard to how certain patterns may be indicative of genetic problems.

Many modern analysts combine these aspects of palmistry into what is now known as a study of Chirology or Cheirology.
 

The lines in the palms are formed in the womb during the first few months of foetal development, long before the foetus is able to open and close the hands. This would seem to imply that the lines are, to a certain extent, genetically created and/or created as a result of life energy
manifesting within the palms.

Many casual observers of the hands argue that the lines are merely flexure creases, allowing the opening and closing movements of the hands. While it does appear to be true that the lines do in fact aid these movements, palmists have discovered through continued research that there is far more to the palmar lines than this.

 After years of close inspection of many hundreds of thousands of hands, palmists have discovered that the lines are continually changing and rarely constant. Observation has shown that the lines can and do change in appearance, length, quality and quantity and that no two hands ever reveal the same formation. Palmists have discovered that not only does the line structure reveal certain clues about the personality, but that the lines also represent a living, visible part of the brain. The electrical impulses of brain messages and signals are for some reason recorded in the lines of the palms and to the trained eye, can be translated like a secret code.

No-one really knows why the lines record these signals but observation has proved beyond a shadow of doubt that impulses from the brain directly influence the formation of the lines in the palms. From this palmists conclude that the hands are a genetic blue print of the personality and a visible part of the brain.
The diagrams above show the main lines found within the palms

Most people will have a life line, but sometimes the head and heart lines merge together to create a single transverse crease across the middle of the palm. This is called a Simian line. The fate line can develop as we mature, some will have a strong fate line, while others will have a broken, wavy line, or possibly no fate line at all! The Apollo and Mercury lines can be found in many hands, sometimes barely formed, while in others, very strongly etched in the palms. The lines reveal behaviour patterns as well as events or feelings which have made an impression on the person. Not only do past events which have affected the person leave a mark on the lines, but the present condition of the person is also revealed. For reasons not yet fully understood, it appears that future possibilities are also mapped out within the lines. Palmists now accept the fact that the lines are a living map of a person’s life, his past, present and for unknown reasons, his potential future. They believe that after conception, the behaviour patterns of the personality create future possibilities and trends available to the person, this being revealed in the formation of the lines.

 

It is then up to the individual as to whether he chooses to follow this ‘life plan�?or instead, use his free will and alter the natural, expected course of his life. Should he exercise this free will by adopting different behaviour patterns, future possibilities and trends will be altered, with the result that the lines in the palms also change to reflect the new and altered behaviour patterns.

If the lines aid the opening and closing movements of the hands, then surely a person who uses his hands more than most will have more lines in the palms?

Not so! There is absolutely no relationship between the number of times the hands are flexed with the number of lines found in the palms. In fact, the lines have shown instead to be related to the sensitivity of the nervous system. When there are few, very deeply etched lines in the palms, the person has always been found to have a strong, robust constitution with an equally strong nervous system A person with a finely tuned highly strung nervous system will always have many fragile, tiny lines criss-crossing the palms like a spider’s web.

Every thought, emotion, feeling, and action is based on the movement of some kind of electrical impulse from the brain, although many believe that this energy source can also be received from an external energy source which intermingles with body energy. There is no doubt that the palmar lines react in accordance with these electrical impulses.

As the lines represent currents of energy passing through the hands from one area to another, it is obvious that the stronger and deeper the line, the more powerful the current. The very strong deep line is able to contain a huge force of power and is associated in palmistry with people who have extremely strong nervous systems, so strong in fact, that they may be totally unaware they have a nervous system at all.

The strong line is like a strong cable which is easily capable of containing the force of any power surge. These strong, deeply etched lines reveal people who are physically and emotionally robust.

In contrast to the strong lines, the weak, fine lines belong to highly strung, delicately balanced people. These lines are not designed for strong, forceful power surges. Should one occur, the whole nervous system is overloaded with too much power, resulting in energy spilling out into others areas of the palm. In this way, the delicate balance of the whole personality becomes affected.

Knowing the direction of energy flow within the lines helps the palmist to determine which area of the palm the line originates from and what destination it is going towards. The mounts within the palms allow the palmist to understand the qualities of each area of the palm, giving understanding of where energy is not only coming from, but also where it is being directed towards.

The palms can be seen as a road map, each line representing a road that the thoughts from the brain have decided to follow. The area of the hand where the ‘road�?originates, gives a clue as to where the personality is coming from, and the area of the palm to which the road is leading gives a clue as to the expected destination, or what is actually trying to be achieved.

If the lines reveal a living road map, then it follows that the stronger the line, the easier the route. The highest speeds can be achieved on a motorway, assuming of course there are no road works to slow down the speed! Straight, strong lines allow the strongest energy flow where the fastest progress can be made, whereas weaker lines are like the country lanes, slowing down the speed of progress.

The meandering roads are the scenic routes, where there is less hurry to reach the final destination. Progress can be made on any of these ‘roads�?albeit at different speeds, but the appearance of road works on any road will hold up the traffic, or even stop it completely. So it is with the lines. As long as a line runs smoothly, energy will run smoothly and progress will be made towards the final destination. However, a block in any form will obstruct the energy flow, causing a temporary slowing down of progress or actually stop the brain message reaching it’s final destination.
 

Chirognomy

During the 19th century research began into a new aspect of palmistry: the ability to read character and the inner workings of a person through the shape, texture and consistency of his hands. The genes are responsible for every inherited aspect of the personality, apart from personality changes occurring as a result of life experience.

Not only do the genes create the colour of the hair, eyes, the shape of the nose, the build of the body, the talents, weaknesses etc. of the human personality, but they are also responsible for creating the hand and finger shapes, as well as the skin ridge patterns within the palms and fingertips.

Continued research has caused hand analysts to consider whether certain hand shapes reveal certain clues about the person. They have been concerned as to whether the various distinct hand shapes actually correspond with the various personality types. Many palmists have researched this aspect and come up with various classification systems of the personality types. Some palmists use the element system, which incorporates the elements earth, air, fire and water; others depend on various hand shapes such as pointed, conic, spatulate and square hands. Other still talk of intuitive or philosophical hand types, etc. Each system has its own merits and many modern palmists incorporate all these classifications within their readings.

When faced with a ‘bare canvas�?in which to start a reading, or to assess a personality, the classification system allows the palmist to form a quick sketch of the overall personality from which he can later build.

Dermatoglyphics - literally derma - skin, glyphics - carvings - a study of skin ridge patterns

This began in the 1900’s, and was continued by Francis Galton who researched fingertip skin ridge patterns, eventually leading to the introduction of fingerprinting criminals. Much research has and continues to be done in this area, At conception the genes determine the formation of the skin ridges. In the average hand, the skin ridges tend to form a similar pattern but often the formation of the skin ridges will be different, pointing to alterations in the genetic makeup. Certain formations have been observed which reveal certain genetic or chromosomal abnormalities. It has been found that if three or more unusual patterns appear in the palm and/or fingers it is highly likely that some genetic or chromosomal abnormality is present, which could manifest as a physical, mental or emotional problem.