Palm Reading - The Life Line

 

 

The life line is one of the most important lines in the palm, revealing among other things, your physical constitution and your current state of health.

The life line originates at a point above the thumb between the Mars and Jupiter mounts (see section on Mounts) and curves downwards following the outer edges of both mounts encircling the ball of the thumb. The Life line basically represents the quality of life in terms of physical well being.
 

 

      I heard that the life line reveals the length of life. My life line is short so does that mean I’m going to die prematurely?

 

What a pity that some ‘palmists�?still scare people by telling them that because the life line is short, they are going to die early! Nothing could be further from the truth. The Life line reveals the quality of life and the quality of the physical constitution, not the actual length of life. A short life line does not indicate a short life.

---

Quality of the Life Line

The strong, deeply etched line reveals a strong nervous system. In addition to a strong nervous system, the strong and deeply etched life line will reveal an equally strong physical constitution. The stronger the life line, the stronger the overall constitution, ensuring that there is stamina, vitality and good health plus excellent immunity with the ability to shake off illness easily.

The thin, weak and brittle life line reveals a lack of physical strength and endurance, less stamina and a weaker immunity system in general. This person will succumb to illness more easily and take longer to recover. With the nervous system being more sensitive and finely tuned, mental or emotional stress will play a large part in the overall physical well being.

---

The tightly curving Life line

The sweep of the life line reveals more about the personality. Sometimes the life line hugs tightly around the thumb as it curves around the Venus mount. As the life line follows the outside edge of the Venus mount the implication is that the mount is lacking in muscular development allowing this tighter curve of the life line. The Venus mount represents certain qualities in the nature, physical stamina and endurance, physical passion, warmth, sympathy, friendship and love so that when the mount is undeveloped, these qualities may well be somewhat lacking in the personality. The tightly hugging life line reinforces this lack in the Venus mount and therefore points to a person who lacks energy and vitality, preferring emotional and mental experiences over physical experience. Little stamina ensures that this person does not seek out bold new adventures, preferring quieter pursuits. The person may even be self centred, selfish, lacking warmth and sympathy for his fellow men.

---

The wide sweeping Life line

The life line which swings out into the palm, covering around one third of the palmar surface, implies a well developed muscular Venus mount. This person has warmth, sympathy, plenty of stamina and endurance and a passion for life in general. He will be keen to get out into the world, to find out what the world has to offer and make the most of his experiences. He will try to broaden his horizons, looking out into the world to see if there is anything there he can achieve. The more the life line swings out into the palm, the more determined is the person to explore all that life has to offer. To him, life is meant for living and he is prepared to set out and discover it.

---

The Final Destination of the Life Line

A person who feels strongly attached to home, family, or perhaps the area he grew up in will have a life line which curves inwards, ending actually under the thumb. There is a strong pull or tie which makes the person prefer to stick to what he knows and feels most comfortable with. Although he may travel away from home, he will always be pleased to be back at home. It is unlikely that he will ever move away from his friends or family, and if forced to move away, will never he happy, but will pine for what he has left behind. When the life line swings out into the palm with the Luna mount as the final destination, the person does not feel the same ties and is more prepared to travel or move away from the people or area that he grew up in. Luna is associated with travel and the sea, so the life line which points towards this destination has a strong pull to travel. This is a person who wants to explore as much as he can. He may spend much of his time travelling away from home or he may move his home to another place, even another country. Any life line that points in the direction of the Luna mount reveals a person who will have an urge to get out into the world. The further out the line swings towards Luna, the stronger the urge will be. Occasionally the line splits, which branches going in both directions, revealing a person who spends plenty of time away from home but also feel tied to his roots

.

---

Small Branches at end of life line

Sometimes the life line will end under the thumb but will have small branches leaving the life line, pointing in the direction of the Luna mount. These are called travel lines and reveal a person who occasionally has a need to get away from what he knows. This may
indeed indicate travel such as holidays abroad but may also indicate a person who has a strong need to escape from certain people or situations. Rather than revealing travel, he may just feel a need to get out of a situation or a need to get away from people who are making him feel pressured or uncomfortable.
 

---

It is preferable not to see an island on the life line because it marks a time of divided energy where the flow of the line is split. Although energy continues to flow for the duration of the island, the strength of the flow is reduced. An island in the passive hand can reveal a
period of depression or lowered energy and resistance, a potential health related problem or possibly even a predisposition to a certain illness. In the active hand the island can be an event marking, where something happens in life which reduces the overall physical well being, reducing resistance and immunity at the time the island appears. It is important to remember however, that many hands have defective lines in the palms, being a natural characteristic of the Water Hand type. See In your element.

The position of an island on the life line has been associated with certain specific health problems. For instance, occurring early in the life line it can reveal a predisposition to problems with the respiratory system such as bronchitis, asthma and chest infections. However, during this early stage of life it can also reveal childhood illness such as measles or mumps or even some kind of difficulty or unhappiness which occurs during the early impressionable years. Problems at home or school as well as worries concerning exams can all be revealed by the presence of an island occurring early in the life line.

When an island appears approximately halfway down the life line it can indicate problems with the spine with associated back trouble. It must be remembered that not all islands in the life line are created as a result of ill health. While an island may appear as a result of lowered resistance, this may be due to other events occurring in life, which bring with them, a slight depression in the overall well being. A trained analyst will look to other features of the hands to assess what may be contributing to the lack of well being.

As a person ages he becomes more prone and susceptible to the various illnesses associated with old age. An island appearing further down the line may indicate any of the various illnesses that can strike at this time of life. During the later years a person is also more likely to suffer the loss of a partner, parent, friend or relative so that sometimes the island can reveal a time of depression and sadness that temporarily creates a loss of well being.

As with any defect of the life line, it is very important to look at the quality of the line after the island. If the line continues strongly then any problem associated with the island will be overcome. If, however, the line is weakened in any way, either by thinning out, chaining, or even breaking, then the effect of the island takes longer to heal. The duration of the problem can be seen by applying a timing gauge to the part of the line revealing the defects. As soon as the quality of the line improves, the health regains it’s former strength.

Lines can and do change and the appearance of an island does not guarantee a problem with health. For instance, in studying the life line of a smoker, the line was found to be weakening and thinning out, and gradually forming islands and chains, indicating possible future health problems. After giving up smoking, the life line gradually returned to it’s former state, eventually running clear and smooth, free from the islands that had been threatening the health. The person’s change in behaviour allowed the future health problem to be averted.

---

Effort Lines on the Life Line

Any branch line that splits off the life line pointing upwards in the direction of the fingers is known as an effort line. An effort line may point in any one of four directions, towards the mounts of Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo or Mercury. It must be remembered that lines appear in the palms as a direct result of an event or situation that has left a particular impression on the person. The effort lines may point to times when the person has tried or will try very hard to achieve something, with that sense of achievement making an impression so great that it is highlighted in the life.

---

The final destination of the line, or the area that the line is pointing towards, reveals what form the effort has taken. The length of the branch line reveals how far reaching the effort is, so that the longer the line, the more the achievement is felt. Shorter, weaker lines reveal smaller, but nevertheless effective achievements. Any branch towards Jupiter (index finger) indicates some kind of achievement which has brought with it a feeling of pride and self worth. Personal ambition drives the person on to make this kind of effort but the effort will exist within a person’s own realm of existence. Generally it can mean some kind of academic study such as passing an exam or winning a place at university, but many who are not academically inclined will also be found to have a branch leading to Jupiter. Whatever the person has achieved, his own ambition pushes him sufficiently forward in order to achieve something which resulted in gaining extra confidence in his abilities, and with it a feeling of self worth and pride.

An effort line pointing in the direction of Saturn implies some kind of effort or achievement that involves taking on some extra responsibility, such as buying a house or taking on a new job

---

Lines pointing in the direction of Apollo hint at efforts towards some kind of creative effort, or towards something that brings with it a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. Many people who have a creative bent will be found to have an effort line to Apollo, but these lines are frequently seen in those who are pursuing something that they really enjoy, or that brings a little sunshine into their daily life.

Effort lines to Mercury hint at those who are channelling energy towards Mercurial qualities, such as shrewdness and intuition, a strong ability to communicate, and/or interest in business, scientific or health occupations..