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General Palmistry Information with Palmistry International

The Lines in the Palms

When the analyst looks into your palms, one of the things he or she will quickly scan are the palm lines.  This is one area of hand reading that really tests the skills of the reader, because no two hands are ever alike.  If you look into your own hands, you will see that the lines differ in each hand.  Some people have huge variations in these lines whereas other people may have only slight variations that are barely noticeable. 

Because the hand reader is likely to have seen many hands before yours, by quickly scanning over your palms, his trained eye will pick up any noticeable features that are unusual or that differ from the average hand.  This initial scan immediately alerts him to any possible problem areas.  By far the majority of hands have no such problems.

Most people, though not all,  have three major lines in their palms.  These are the Life Line, the Head Line and the Heart Line.

The diagram to the left shows these three lines;  the Life Line, running around the ball of the thumb, from the point where the V of the thumb joins the palm, to the base of the palm.

The Head Line can be seen running across the middle of the palm, in this diagram, from right to left.

The Heart Line is the line running across the top of the palm, from the little finger side (known as the ULNA side) to end somewhere below the index finger, found on the RADIAL side of the palm. 

Just occasionally the Head and Heart lines fuse together to create a single transverse crease running across the middle of the palm.  This line is known as the Simian Line.  Sometimes the Simian line sits high in the palm, in place of the Heart Line, and sometimes it sits slightly lower, in the position of the Head line. Sometimes there will be traces of the original heart and head line, which attempt to fuse as they move across the palm, but instead of creating a fully formed Simian Line, they form what is known as a Simianesque line, or a partial Simian Line.  These lines can be seen in the diagrams below.

In some hands the major lines of Life, Head and/or Heart may be doubled, and just occasionally the life line may not exist at all.  Sometimes the life line may not reach the base of the palm and stop short halfway down the palm. This doesn’t mean that you are going to die early!  The life line reveals the quality of the physical life, rather than the length of it!

Many hands have what are known as Minor Lines. These consist of the Fate Line, Apollo line and Mercury Line.

The Fate line runs up from the base of the palm, to end at some point in the palm below the middle finger. This line is also known as the Saturn Line, or the Line of Destiny. 

The Apollo line, also known as the Sun Line, runs upwards towards the ring finger and can begin from any point in the palm. Some hands have a complete line, running from the base of the palm, while others may have a shorter line, appearing above the heart line for example.

The Mercury line, also known as the Line of Hepatica, the Health Line, and the Liver Line, is a line that runs up the palm towards the little finger and like the Apollo line, can originate from any point in the palm. Most people, though not all, will have a fate line of some kind, but not everyone will have an Apollo or Mercury line.  Some people have them all!

As well as these major and minor lines, other lines may be seen.  Some of these lines, generally known as minor markings,  have specific interpretations, such as the Ring of Solomon, Effort Lines, the Girdle of Venus and the Via Lascivia for instance, but all other fine, tiny lines found in the palms are known as chance lines.  Chance lines can come and go ad infinitum, and are not generally interpreted, although they can give further clues about a person’s stress levels or current state of health. 

Besides the many Minor Markings found in the hands, some Indian and Chinese palmists may refer to other symbols or markings found in the palms, such as the Fish or the Pitcher, for example.  These symbols and markings appear as a result of individual, tiny lines appearing to create some kind of shape or symbol within the palm.  This is one area where traditional and modern hand reading may differ as many modern analysts refuse to attempt to translate symbols found in the palms, putting them down to superstition rather than more scientific hand analysis. 

Some people have numerous, fine lines in their palms, including the major and minor lines, minor markings and lots of chance lines, while others have just a few, deeply etched major lines.  Lots of hands fall somewhere between the two. Those with just a few deeply etched lines tend to have strong and robust nervous systems, while those with many fine lines tend to be far more sensitive.  The skin texture that is found with these different hands will also vary, with coarse skin texture being associated with the few deeply etched lines and a finer texture being associated with numerous fine lines.  Coarser texture belongs to robust types who may be lacking in sensitivity, while finer skin texture belongs to those who are very aware of their deeply sensitive nervous systems. 

The quality of the lines in the palms is also observed.  Some people have earth width lines.  These are the most deeply etched lines, that appear strong and robust.  It is common to find only the major lines in such a hand, and rare to find many chance lines because the owner of such a hand has a strong nervous system.  Some hands have fire width lines.  These are also quite deeply etched, and there are frequently major and minor lines etching their way through the palms. Many strong lines in the palms like this hints of an energetic, passionate and fiery personality.  Some people have wiry lines running through their palms.  These palms tend to have a calm appearance.  Wiry lines are called air lines,  and tend to be found on those who have a curious nature with an intellectual bent, who love to communicate and who can spend a great deal of time absorbed in the realms of thought and ideas.  The finest lines are called water lines, and often, though not always, appear in long fingered, delicate hands with major, minor and chance lines in abundance.  Water lines are associated with those with a particularly finely tuned nervous system.  People with lines like these tend to be drawn to creative and artistic occupations and can be very intuitive. 

The hand reader will look to see if the lines are clear of defects.  There are several defects that can be found in the lines of the palms, including dots, cross bars, islands, chaining, feathering, overlapping and clean breaks, crosses and stars. All of these defects present some kind of obstacle to the free flow of energy through the line, and depending on the line they appear, will point to some kind of problem.

Water handed types frequently have defective lines because the very nature of the water handed type is naturally sensitive.  However, a defect appearing on an earth or a fire line may be worth further investigation. A water line found in an otherwise robust earthy hand also points to something a little unusual, as the water line hints of a delicate energy, while the earthy hand hints of a more robust energy, so there would appear to be some conflict within the personality. 

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