Is your future at your fingertips? Palmistry basics for the psychic in you

Palmistry is the act of reading someone’s palms, fingers and hands, supposedly to analyze the person’s character and predict his or her future.

The practice dates back several thousand years, with roots in ancient Indian and Chinese culture, but has been met with skepticism for almost as long as it has existed. During the Middle Ages, for example, palm reading was outlawed by the Catholic Church as pagan black magic.

Today, it’s a multibillion-dollar industry with practitioners who run the gamut from so-called experts with years of expensive training to self-taught “seers” who work from their living rooms. Here’s a basic guide to what palm readers look for and how they analyze what they see. Keep in mind: This is for fun, not proven science.

Which hand do you want read?

In women, the right hand is thought to indicate the attributes you are born with, while the left indicates the experiences you have accumulated. For males, it’s the opposite. Some palm readers also think the dominant hand represents a person’s past and present, while the other hand indicates what could be.

Hand shape and proportion

• Earth: Wide, square palms and fingers; palm length equal to finger length

People will earth palms are practical, stubborn, responsible, sometimes materialistic

• Air: Square or rectangular palms with long fingers and low-set thumbs; palm length shorter than finger length

People will earth palms are sociable, talkative, witty, sometimes shallow or spiteful

• Water: Long, oval palms with long fingers; palm length equal to finger length; palm length narrower than palm width

People will earth palms are creative, perceptive, intuitive, sympathetic, inhibited, emotional

• Fire: Square or rectangular palms with short fingers; palm length greater than finger length

People will earth palms are spontaneous, enthusiastic, optimistic, sometimes impulsive or insensitive

Mounts

These are the fleshy mounds below your fingers, opposite to your knuckles (shown in pink at right). Cup your hands to make them visible.

• Venus mount (under thumb): A high mount indicates that a person is sympathetic, hedonistic and prefers instant gratification. Low means they are cold-hearted and have low energy.

• Jupiter mount (under index finger): A high mount indicates that a person is ambitious, dominant, aggressive, honest and career-minded. Low means they are clumsy, insecure and timid.

• Saturn mount (under middle finger): A high mount indicates that a person is intelligent, stubborn, independent and cynical. Low means they are superficial, disorganized, lonely and superstitious.

• Sun mount (under ring finger): A high mount indicates that a person is quick-tempered, clever, extravagant and prideful. Low means they are unimaginative and materialistic.

• Mercury mount (under pinkie): A high mount indicates that a person is talkative, quick-witted and bookish. Low means they are shy, lazy and negative.

Reading the lines

Life line: Indicates physical health, vitality and general well-being. Its length is not associated with length of life, although palmists say there is a correlation between the life line and mortality because it indicates health.

• Runs close to thumb: Often tired

• Curvy: Lots of energy

• Long and deep: Good health, stamina, balance and vitality

• Short and shallow: Easily manipulated, anxious, high strung

• Swoops in a semicircle: Strong, enthusiastic

• Straight and close to the edge of the palm: Cautious in relationships

• Faint: Cautious, low energy

• Multiple life lines: Extra vitality, great stamina

• Circle: Hospitalized or injured, susceptible to illness or emotional problems

• Broken: Struggles, loss or sudden change in lifestyle. A break in one life line may signify an illness with a quick recovery. A break in both life lines may signify a serious illness or disease.

• • •

Fate line, also known as the line of destiny: Indicates the degree to which a person’s life is affected by external circumstances such as people or events. Also believed to correlate to career and job. Not everyone has a visible fate line.

• Deep line: Strongly controlled by fate

• Breaks or changes of direction: Prone to influence by external forces

• Shallow: Lack of stability, career full of twists and turns

• Forked: Destined for fame and riches

• Starts joined to the life line: Ambitious at an early age, self-made

• • •

Head line, also known as the wisdom line. Represents a person’s intellectual aptitude, curiosity, memory and intuition

• Long: Intelligent, good memory, thoughtful and reflective

• Short: Practical, direct, more physical than mental

• Straight: Realistic, practical, structured

• Curved: Creative, spontaneous, intuitive, idealistic

• Separated from life line: Adventurous with an enthusiasm for life

• Wavy line: Short attention span

• Deep: Focused, sensible, excellent concentration and memory

• Faint: Daydreamer, lack of common sense

• Forked: Enjoys debate, can see both sides of an issue

• Hooked: Self-centered, untrustworthy

• Circles or cross: Personal crisis or conflict

• Broken: Inconsistent in thinking, nervous

• • •

Heart line, also known as the love line. Indicates a person’s emotional state, emotional stability and relationships with others. This line can be read in two directions, either from the pinkie to the index finger or vice versa.

• Begins below the index finger: Content with love life

• Begins below the middle finger: Selfish when it comes to love

• Begins in the middle: Falls in love easily

• Straight and short: Not concerned about romance

• Touches life line: Heartbroken easily

• Long and curvy: Freely expresses emotion, warm and loving

• Very long (touches both sides of palm): Co-dependent in relationships

• Straight and parallel to the head line: Emotionally stable

• Wavy: Many relationships, lack of serious relationships

• Faint: Emotionally aloof

• Circle on the line: Sadness or depression

• Broken line or smaller lines crossing through: Emotional trauma, mood swings, emotional stress