Medical Palmistry - Health and Character in The Hand - Steinbach, Marten - Secaucus, N.J., 1975 - Secaucus, N.J. - University Books - 9780821602225 - Anna's Archive

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by Marten Steinbach
For thousands of years, ever

since man first began to take
critical note of his own body,
the lines and shape of the hu-
man hand have been the source
of interest and speculation.
Do the lines in your hands

really foretell the future? If so,
what do they say?
What can the lines in your

hands tell you about your physi-
cal and mental well-being?
Marten Steinbach has put

into proper perspective the
theory and practice of the
long-neglected art of medical
palmistry.
You have only to study your

own hands to realize the lines
and markings in your palms
alter with the varying circum-
stances of your life. Even ama-

teur palmists often discover
(continued on back flap)

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Medical Palmistry
Health and Character in the Hand

Medical Palmistry
Health and Character in the Hand
by
MARTEN STEINBACH
133.62
Steinbac
University Books Secaucus, N. J.

Copyright © 1975 Marten Steinbach
ISBN 0-8216-0222-5
Library of Congress Card No. 74-31756
Queries regarding rights and permissions should be addressed to

University Books, Inc., 120 Enterprise Avenue, Secaucus, New
Jersey 07094.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedanyin

form without permission in writing from University Books except by
a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief pass-
ages in connection with a review.
Published by University Books, Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America.
"The hand is a visible part of
the brain."
— Dr. Charlotte Wolff
Contents
Foreword ix
1. Origins and Evolution of Palmistry 1
2. Basic Classification of Hands 20

3. What the Fingers Reveal 47
4. The Palm and Its Signatures 65
5. The Principal Lines 82
6. Secondary Lines 109
7. Drug Addiction, Alcoholism and Suicide 121
8. Signs of Anxiety Neurosis and Insanity 136
9. Accidents and Violent Death 151
10. Common Ailments: Signs to Look For 163
Bibliography 192
, —
Foreword
It is book to explain and to put into proper

the purpose of this
perspective the theory and practice of a long-neglected art
medical palmistry.
Only a few years ago, such an undertaking would have been
impossible. The widely accepted notion that all palmistry is
merely a form of Gypsy fortune- telling, based upon supersti-
tion and ignorance, made the subject taboo even among re-
searchers who were experimenting with such borderland phe-
nomena as ESP, I Ching and sorcery.
Yet, unlike those occult arts, modem palmistry is predicated
upon a set of criteria as rigid as any in physics. Its claims can
be verified or disproved by any unbiased person who cares to
them upon an empirical basis.
investigate
Undeniably, in reading hands the palmist makes value
judgments based in part upon subjective reactions; he makes
what has been called in science the "intuitive leap," from the
well-established fact to the extrapolated conclusion.
As Dr. Charlotte Wolff wrote in The Human Hand "the
psychology of the hand is, like medicine, an art as well as a
science; and accordingly intuition plays a part in it. But
intuition must not be confused with clairvoyance. Intuition may
be defined as the instantaneous synthesis below the level of
Medical Palmistry
consciousness of observed details leading to the formation of

judgments, only the results rising into consciousness. There is
nothing supernatural about it."
One has only to study his own hands over a period of time to
and markings in his palms, which he
realize that the lines
assumed were as immutable as fingerprints, alter with the
varying circumstances of his life. If he is provided with a guide
to the interpretation of these changes, he will be able to
demonstrate to his own satisfaction the close relationship

between them and personal experiences such as illness, grief,
affairs of the heart, financial gains or reverses and more.
Even amateur palmists often discover signs of pending
changes, good or bad, in their health, fortunes or careers. I
recall one such instance which occurred during the late 1950s,
when I was working as a journalist on the staff of a metropoli-

tan daily in Los Angeles. My colleague. Dr. Josef Ranald, one
of the leading chirologists in America, asked me one day if I
had ever heard of an actress named Debbie Reynolds. He said

she had telephoned him, saying that she had found in her hands
marks she interpreted to foretell brilliant success in her chosen
profession. She wanted Dr. Ranald to confirm her own analy-
sis. I had to confess that I had never heard of her. She was just
another aspiring young starlet. But, as the ensuing years

plainly testify. Miss Reynolds had indeed made an accurate
analysis of her palm.
For the skilled palmist, examination of another's hands
constitutes so intimate a look inside that person that sometimes
it makes hands of strangers in
the flesh creep. In studying the
public places (without their knowledge), I have sometimes had
to avert my eyes, overcome by a guilty feeling that I was a kind
of peeping-tom, looking into the windows of a private boudoir

or bath.
Eyes may be the windows of the soul, as the well-known
Foreword
adage assures us; but the human hand is the revealer of the
total person, with all his secret vices and inherent goodness.
Although the main objective of the present work is to
introduce the reader to a study of the hand as a diagnostic tool
in relation to pathology, the material has been extended to
include also a set of rules for determining character and
personality.
In general, the text is derived from three sources; traditional
records, including the classical systems of D'Arpentigny and
Desbarrolles; my own extensive study of the subject; and the
research notes of a London psychiatrist who wishes to remain
anonymous for the present.
The reader should bear in mind that all palmistry, and
medical palmistry in particular, is still in a transitional state.
New insights and data are daily being added to the main body
of experimental knowledge already compiled.
Each student of the subject, after mastering the fundamentals
of his art, becomes an investigator in his own right who will
contribute to its further advancement.
Chapter 1
Origins and Evolution of Palmistry
For thousands of years —ever since man began take

first to
critical note of his own body — the and shape
lines the human of
hand have aroused interest and speculation.
Remarkable evidence of this fact is to be found famous in the
prehistoric caves in the Santander province of Spain. The walls
and ceilings of these subterranean chambers bear some of the
earliest works of art produced by man —
paintings and draw-
ings which experts estimate to be between 12,000 and 15,000
years old.
During a recent visit to the area, I was shown in two of the
caves numerous paintings of human hands, depicted in various
perspectives. No other part of the human form is portrayed in
any of the many representations to be found in the incredibly
ancient galleries.
One showing a white hand traced in negative relief
figure,
against a red background, provides an excellent study. (Sur-
prisingly enough, the hand is far less primitive than one would
imagine.)
Some time later in the history of Homo sapiens , attention was
focused on the lines of the palm. The date at which this true
birth of palmistry occurred is, of course, unknown for it is lost
in the unrecorded annals of remote antiquity. However, as man
1
Medical Palmistry
began to evolve and more lines appeared with the growth of

intelligenceand personality, the proto-palmist must have begun
to wonder how the lines were formed. Did their changing
patterns, different in every person's hand, have some hidden
meaning? Could personal destiny be read in the nexus of signs
and tracings in the same way that the ancient Chaldean
astrologers correlated planetary configurations with human
character and experience?
While centuries of experience have provided at least tentative
answers to some of these questions, the exact relationship

between human events and particular markings in the hands
still remains obscure.
"Why," asked Aldous Huxley in our own time, "should an
accident, an organic defect, a painful emotional experience leave
symbolic traces upon the hands? And by what means are the
traces left?
"The answer to both these questions is that we simply don't
know. Don't know, in the first case, because we can't know.
We cannot in the nature of things ever discover why there
should be a correlation (I am assuming for the moment that
such a correlation exists) between the spacial configuration, at
any given moment, of a pair of hands and the configuration in

space and time of an individual life. By force of habit we have
come to regard other, more familiar correlations as being
essentially reasonable. But in point of fact there is no discover-
able reason why, for example, a mind should be correlated with
."
a body. . .
He adds that the mind-body relationship is, in fact, just as

inexplicable as that of the hand-life correspondence. "It must be
accepted as a brute fact of experience. So far as we are
concerned, the question 'why' can never be answered."
We can only guess at what views the thinkers of antiquity
may have held regarding the subject, for only the most frag-
2
—
mentary patchwork of written material has come down to us

not nearly enough to put together an accurate and coherent
history of palmistry.
It is quite likely that the scarcity of information concerning
what was almost certainly a well-organized knowledge system
in ancient time is due to its having been in large part a
" whispered tradition/' Masters of the art passed on much of
theirknowledge to their carefully chosen disciples by word of
mouth.
It has been suggested, and I believe plausibly, that most of
the early literature of palmistry was concealed or destroyed by
practitioners who wished to keep palmistry from being debased
by fortune-tellers and the insincere. As we know today, such a
debasement of the art occurred anyway.
The earliest known written reference to palmistry occurs in
the Vedic scriptures of India, dating from about 2000 b.c.
Whether the system of hand reading in use at that time was
developed by the ancient sages themselves or was a modified
tradition having its origin in the even older cultures of Chaldea
and Egypt is a question that will never be answered. Almost
nothing is known of the body of principles that guided the early
practitioners of the art. As the prominent Indian palmist, V. A.
K. Ayer, writes: "The irony of it is that whereas the rest of the
world has taken pains to sustain and improve that science, in
India the indigenous methods are well-nigh forgotten."*
It is quite logical to assume that the Greeks, who carried on a
lively trade with the East, received their knowledge of
first
palmistry from Indian sources. That the art was known to, and
taken seriously by, the early Greek philosopher-scientists there
can be no doubt. In an oft-quoted passage, Aristotle, the
leading biological investigator of the ancient world, wrote:
*V. A. K. Ayer, Palmistry For Pleasure and Profit (Bombay: 1965).
3
Medical Palmistry
"Lines have not been traced without cause in the hands of

men; they evidently emanate from the influence of heaven and
from human individuality."
One of Homer's lost treatises, referred to by several other
Greek writers familiar with it, was intitled On the Lines of the
Hand.
When the Romans conquered Greece and became the inheri-
tors of Hellenic culture, the secret system of hand reading
—
undoubtedly passed to them at first to scholars who studied in
Athens, then in a greatly simplified and corrupted form, to the
fortune-tellers.
Again, we have no hard historical information to describe the
nature and extent of palmistry as it was practiced in the Greco-
Roman world; but we can reasonably conjecture that it was
during that period that the esoteric knowledge so carefully
formulated by the ancients was perverted and eventually lost.
Revival of the Art
It was not until the early thirteenth century that written

material dealing with palmistry as an organized system began
to appear in the West. Some of these treatises, written in Latin,
the language of medieval scholars, are still preserved in the
British Museum. For the most part, the earliest of these are
brief collections of interpretive notes dealing with the principal
lines of thepalm, together with a number of special signs, most
of them in the form of symbols which would be hard to identify
in a contemporary hand.
Later, more complete works set forth the chief fundamentals
of traditional palmistry, including a detailed description of the
hand as it related to the individual's character and destiny; a
delineation of lines, mounts, ancillary markings and nails.
4
Gromarttia,
Cocles's
W^ rv, Barthelmy
1497.
in
from
published
illustrations
Woodblock
1.
Fig.
5
:
Medical Palmistry
together with the meaning of each and commentaries on the

relationship of the hand to a person's astrological nativity.
Like astrology, to which palmistry was closely linked, hand
analysis formed a part of medical practice during the medieval
and early Renaissance eras. Andreas Corvus (known also as
Barthelmy Codes), an Italian scholar whose Ciromantia was
published in 1497 and widely read, recommended palmistry
especially to the medical profession (Fig. 1).
Another famous physician-palmist of the time was Alexander
Achillinus (1463-1512), like Codes a native of Bologna, known
to the history of medicine as a pioneer in anatomical studies.
During the early sixteenth century his two books on palmistry
were greatly esteemed by contemporary scholars and went
through several editions.
The rationale of Achillinus 's work was that common to
thinkers of his age: man, like all —
things upon earth minerals,
plants, animals — is joined by spiritual lines of force to the
whole universe. Astral influences permeate the human body as
they permeate space; and in the hand are to be found the
signatures of the planets and the stars.
This fundamental doctrine of astral correspondences is a
recurring constant in the history of palmistry up to and
following the modem researcher, d'Arpentigny, who rejected it.
It clearly indicates the fact that palmistry was a logical
outgrowth of astrology. The principal features of the theory
may be summarized as follows
Human and destiny are influenced by a seven-rayed
life
"astral light" or universal energy, which is received by man

through his hand, especially through the mounts of the palm
(called monticuli by anatomists), each of which is linked to a
particular planet.
The general structure and pattern of lines in the hands were
thought to have been established at the time of birth. Such a
6
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7
.
Medical Palmistry
sidereal motif more or less parallels the radical horoscope,

determining to a great extent the native's cast of character,
thought, feelings and predisposition to certain illnesses. As the
transiting planets form differing aspects to each other during a
life span, the lines of the hands and the marks related to them
change also. In other words, the palm reflects the same celestial
influences as those shown in the astrological chart.
John Indagine: The Informal Approach
In Germany, as in Italy and France, there was a great revival

of interest in palmistry among influential thinkers during the
sixteenth century.
Outstanding among those who published works on the
subject during that period was a prior of the Carthusian order,
who wrote under the name of John Indagine (Fig. 2)
Indagine was a true Renaissance man whose interests and
scholarship comprehended a wide range of subjects; but wasit
his studieschiromancy which made his

in name known
throughout Europe and eventually in England.
Abandoning the rigid, lecture-room style of writing which
characterized most texts of his day, Indagine adopted a more
informal approach to the art, illustrating his points with
accounts of his personal experience in the field.
Pardy as a consequence of this readability and pardy because

his texts emphasized the practical application of principles
rather than their theoretical implications, the Carthusian's
books enjoyed a wide popularity and continued to be quoted or
referred to from the time of their publication to the present day.
A contemporary of Indagine, whose work and ideas also
gready affected the development of chirology was the alche-
8
mist-physician Theophrastus Bombastus van Hohenheim (c.
1493 - 1541 ), better known as Paracelsus.

Paracelsus was bom in Switzerland, the son of a German-
Swiss doctor. Like his father, he studied medicine and traveled
extensively throughout Europe in an effort to acquire all the
knowledge possible. "The doctor," he declared, "must treat
nature's book with his feet."
His contempt for orthodoxy, together with his blunt speech
and overweening self-confidence, brought him into conflict with
his compeers, who became his powerful enemies. "You are
nothing but teachers and masters combing liceand scratching,"
he told some of the most prominent men in the academic world.
"You are not worthy that a dog should lift his hind leg against
you."
As a result of such vitriolic outbursts Paracelsus was,
throughout his life, hounded from place to place by his adver-
saries. Nevertheless, he remains one of the geniuses in the early
history of science and medicine, while the names of his persecu-
tors have long since been forgotten.
Both astrology and palmistry occupy an important place in
Paracelsus's system of thought. Like his predecessor, Cornelius
Agrippa, he believed that the life of man is fully integrated with
that of the universe. He taught that the astral spirit which
penetrated all terrestrial things, shines through our "inner
firmament" and that its signs and meanings are to be found in
the hands.
Another and mystic, who had a great deal
diligent researcher
in common with Paracelsus, was Jerome Cardan ( 1501 - 1576 ).
Cardan had a successful career as personal physician to noble-
men, cardinals and kings. He linked palmistry to astrology, in
which he was well versed. His enthusiasm for the latter science
led him to cast a horoscope for Jesus Christ, an act which the
9
Medical Palmistry
Church considered blasphemous and for which Cardan was

unprisoned in Bologna.
In his memoirs.The Book of My Life / written during
Cardan's last years, he recounts how, after his son had been
sentenced to death for the murder of the younger Cardan's
unfaithful wife, a red dent appeared on the heart line of
Cardan s palm. The mark grew in intensity until it actually
exuded blood as the time of execution approached.
not unusual for a red dot or indentation to appear on the
It is
line of heart as a harbinger of personal grief, shock or mental
anguish related to emotional attachments; but I know of no

other instance in which the feeling was so intense that it
actually produced a stigma.

Both Paracelsus and Cardan were greatly indebted to the
occult Jewish tradition known as the "Cabala" for many of their
seminal ideas and magical theories. Originally, the term Cabala
(also written Kabbalah and Qabbala) was applied to the books
of Hebrew scripture not included in the Pentateuch; but from
about a.d. 1200, it designated the oral traditions of esoteric
Judaism. Authorities are not agreed upon the age and source of
these magical theories. A minority hold that they derive from
the earliest history of the Jews, who were taught occult
practices by the Egyptians during their captivity.
The inner Cabala were never committed to
secrets of the
writing, the reason being that some of the magical procedures
require personal supervision by an initiate-guide to
avoid
psychic dangers inherent in working them. However, the basic
doctrine of Cabalism contained in two major books, both of
is
which have been translated into English and are available to

interested students. These are the Sephir Yetzirah
(Book of
Formation), and the Zohar (Book of Splendor). The exact
dates
of the two works are not known; the first was probably written
10
Fig. 3. Illustration from Johannes Rothmann's Chiromantia, pub-

lished in 1652 , combining palmistry with subject's horoscope. The
accompanying analysis notes that "Mars hath a Sister appearing in
the right hand but none in the left. This begetteth wrath , and incites
,
the native to warlike arts, as to be an engineer, or a gun-smith."

Rothmann predicts illnesses at the ages of 7, 14, 25, and 32, and fore-
sees a life filled with adversity and secret enemies.
11
Medical Palmistry
sometime around the sixth century and the latter in the thir-
teenth century.
Palmistry, along with astrology, forms an integral part of
the Cabalisticknowledge system. Cabalists believed that the
universe or macrocosm was duplicated in the microcosm or
mundane sphere ("As above, so below"). The nexus of corre-
spondences between the two included the mystical signatures of
the hand.
17th-century Revival
In the seventeenth century, there was a brief revival of

interest in palmistry as a respectable science, owing mainly to
thework of Dr. John Rothman, a German physician-occultist
whose writings, dating from 1595, were translated into the
leading European languages (Fig. 3). In England, Sir George
Wharton provided British students with an English rendering of
Rothman's principal text. The Art of Divining, by the Lines and
Signature Ingraven on the Hand of Man.
Dr. Rothman's research was directed chiefly along the lines
of long-established principles, but was valuable because he
discarded a great many had grown up around the
beliefs that
practice of palmistry, founded upon nothing more substantial
than superstition. Fie brought together the essentials of hand
reading in a uniform system of interpretation which followed
set rules rather than intuition. At the same time he tried to
combine the principles of astrology with those of palmistry to
present a unified theory of both sciences.
While palmistry did not enjoy in England the widespread
popularity that it did on the Continent, a small group of
scholars —most of them astrologers —devoted considerable time
to the study and teaching of chiromancy.
12
One of these who deserves special mention is Richard

Saunders, whose books embodied almost all the information on
the subject that was available in his day. He laid great stress
upon the and symbols in the
interpretation of individual signs
hand, rather than on configurations formed by the principal
lines of the palm or on general shape, length of fingers and so
on. Predictions of calamities were often based upon these

special (and in today's practice, insignificant) markings:
"One or more Arched Lines between the first and second
joynt of the Thumb, so that they be reddish and thick, threaten
hanging."
"The half circle, or figure C on the Mount of the Sun
threatens hurt by fire."
"A Special line like a Globe on the backside of the thumb

near the upward joynt, implies submersion, viz., drowning in
deep waters."
It was not until two centuries later that virtually the entire
basis and traditional practice of palmistry was challenged. The
iconoclast was a French army captain named Stanislas d'Ar-
pentigny.
D'Arpentigny, whom one writer has called the John Knox of
chirology, rejected in toto the astrological theories and symbol-
ism of the Cabalists. His system disregards the lines of the
hand, and is only concerned with such features as contour,
texture, length of the fingers, the shape and color of the nails
and so on. A tireless researcher, he examined and classified
thousands of hands in various parts of the world. "My conclu-
sions," he declared, "are based upon my own observations, not
upon the statements of ancient stargazers."
D'Arpentigny pursued his studies of the hand with such
fervor that it became for him a more important part of the body
than the face. He wrote: "I have seen hands which seemed
covered with eyes, so sagacious and so penetrating was their
13
—
Medical Palmistry
appearance. Some, like those of the sphinx, suggest an idea of

mystery; some betray recklessness and strength, combined
with bodily activity; ethers again, indicate laziness, linked to
feebleness and cunning."
There is no doubt that d'Arpentigny's work has contributed
new and important insights to the science of hand analysis,
even though he stands alone in his sweeping repudiation of the
spiritual aspects of palmistry.
Another Frenchman, and perhaps a more important figure in
the development of modem palmistry, was Adolphe Desbar-
rolles. He sought to combine the best features of d'Arpentigny's
new system with the enduring traditions of "a science as old as

the world."
While recognizing that palmists sometimes do experience
flashes of true clairvoyance when reading hands, Desbarrolles
believed that palmistry should be practiced according to well-
defined, invariable criteria. Intuition, he said, should not enter
into the interpretation any more than it entered into the medical
diagnosis based upon physical symptoms.
At the same time, Desbarrolles was not prepared to discard
altogether the ancient symbols of the Cabalists and the theory
of astral influences. Instead, he placed the older theories within
a new context.
Desbarrolles redefined the "astral light" of the Cabalists as
an imponderable magnetic electricity which he believed sur-
rounds us and permeates the world at large. He expressed the
view that "from this outward, universal source of the world's
instinctive life to the particular center of man's instinctive life
the brain — the vital electricity will follow the channels so

admirably prepared for it, the fingers; and, its task performed,
return over the same road to the common reservoir of physical
and mental power; the operation being performed with cease-
14
less activity until partial or total death results from withdrawl

of the said fluid from part of the body or from the whole.
"It goes without saying, or rather without useless repetition,
that the complicated system of nerves acts as a network of
telegraph wires in transmitting from fingertips to cerebellum
the ever- travelling fluid."
Desbarrolles thus accounted for the changing lines of the
hands — they are the tracings produced on the ultrasensitive
surface of the palm by the vital currents constantly passing over
it. The lines are deeper or fainter, depending upon the intensity
of the nervous impression made upon the individual.
Desbarrolles had little patience with physiologists who ex-
plained the lines of the hand in purely anatomical terms. "If
anyone should tell you that these lines and signs in the palm
have been traced by the movement of the hand, by its opening
and closing, etc., answer them that those markings are found
ten times more and numerous in the hands of idle
distinct
society women than in the palms of busy workers, and are also
perfectly plain and strongly eloquent in the hands of babes but
a few hours old."
The French chiromant pointed out that examination of a
paralyzed hand will reveal that these markings have disap-
peared, while in the sister hand, which has not suffered
paralysis, they remain as distinct and "alive" as ever.
Moreover, the hands of congenital idiots are strikingly
different from those of normal persons in that they display only
the most rudimentary and markings. All the complex
lines
indicators of mental vigor and intelligent action, good or bad,
are missing in such hands.
Even more remarkable, as the present writer can testify from
personal observation, in the palms of subjects approaching an
untimely death, the line of life sometimes, if not always, begins
15
Medical Palmistry
to fade toward its termination, vanishing completely below the

age at which they meet their death. Since this is true of soldiers
killed in combat, it could be plausibly argued that they have
been endowed by God or nature with longer lives, but have
become the victims of man's freewill.
A corollary conclusion to be drawn from this foreshadowing

of a fatal event is that the future as well as the past and present,
may be indicated in the hand. Several theories, including that of
extrasensory perception (ESP), have been put forward to
explain this puzzling phenomenon.

My own theory, which have evolved out of personal
I
experience, is this: modifications which occur in some hands,

presaging future events, are due to precognition by the subject
rather than to some mysterious planetary or etheric current
acting directly upon the hand from outside. Psychic vibrations
reaching a sensitive person from some source outside his body
may indeed be an activating force. But corresponding changes
in his hand, which reflect his response to some knowledge
beyond time, appear to be effected by nerve impulses from the
brain.
Such modus operandi would account
a for the fact, which I
have observed on a number of occasions, that in the hands of
individuals who possess a highly developed psi faculty, will be
found signs pointing to future occurrences, while in the hands
of materialists or those who live mostly on a purely physical
level, they are usually absent.
In this connection, remember the highly sensitive hands of a
I
blind priest I once analyzed. The delicate fingertips, which

served as his eyes, enabled him to move about with surprising
confidence and ease. He read books in braille with as much
facility as a person of normal vision can read the printed page.
Father B —confided to me a curious fact. He said that several
months before the onset of the illness which had deprived him of
16
his eyesight, he had noticed that hands were undergoing a

his
change. The fingers in particular seemed to elongate and to
develop a hyperesthesia which they had not known before.
Reflecting afterward upon the odd evolution, it seemed to the
priest that a foreknowledge of his coming blindness had existed
in his hands and that they had, so to speak, prepared them-
selves for what lay ahead by heightening the tactile sense to
serve in place of visual perception.
Father B — knew nothing of palmistry and so had not ob-
served in both hands two discolored dents on the line of heart,
beneath a much-lined mount of Apollo, still visible when the
hand was bent backward, and which had undoubtedly ap-
peared before his loss of vision. Another significant line was
one rising on the mount of Venus and ending in a black dot at
the junction of the line of Sun with that of the head.
We have only to concede that extrasensory perception is
possible (and in our day researchers have surely provided

sufficient evidence of its existence) to see that such a presenti-
ment as that experienced —
by Father B could easily find physi-
cal expression in the hand. Under hypnosis, bums severe
enough to raise blisters can be produced upon the body by mere
suggestion that an object at room temperature is red hot when it
touches the subject's skin. In a word, the mind is clearly
capable of altering the physical condition of the flesh.
In the case of the human hand, hypersensitive end organs
called "Pacinian corpuscles" are to be found in the deeper
layers of the skin and at the fingertips. They are ovoid in form
and consist of a granular central bulb enclosing a terminal nerve
fiber and surrounded by a series of concentric connective tissue.
Between 200 and 300 of these Pacinian corpuscles are scattered
throughout the hand, including the monticuli or mounts under
the four where they act as condensers for nerve
fingers,
impulses. In the hands of congenital idiots only a few, and
17
Medical Palmistry
present. Lines in such
sometimes none, of the corpuscles are
sometimes absent altogether.
palms are likewise few and
A Word of Caution
a detailed study of
chirology as a method of
Before taking up
word of cautio
medical diagnosis and character delineation, a
15
any untrained layman who
studies a
It ^well-known
that
hunself the
sure to recognize in
textbook on pathology is
are descn
symptoms of at least a dozen serious ailments that
not attempt self-
in the book. Even highly skilled physicians do
members of their own amilies
diagnosis, nor do they treat
emotional involvement can render their pro essio
because
judgment unreliable.
chirology.
is true of self-analysis in the practice of
The same
reader may
Any signs of serious physical disorder which the
in his own hands or in that of his near
find, or think he finds,
to an experienced,
independent
associates, ought to be referred
his diagnosis is confirmed

by someone thor-
^Thereafter, if
consul,
his next step should be to
oughly experienced in the art,
specialist, who can make the proper examination and
a medical
treatment if necessary.
laboratory tests and undertake
medical profession today has many shortcomings which
The
intervention, if the
need correction; but orthodox
urgently
carefully chosen, is still the safest course for the
doctor is
11113 is not to
individual who has no better therapy available.
nor what is known as fringe
me 1-
denigrate spiritual healing
be said for them; but for one
cine, both of which have much to
there are hundreds of sincere,
dependable healer in these fields,
incompetent practitioners.
but wholly misguided and
18
If some major illness is present or appears to be present, it is
very unwise to "shop around."

The art of medical palmistry itself is enormously complex and
requires years of study and experience before the analyst can
claim any degree of expertise.
There is one principle above all others that the student of
palmistry should bear in mind; it is this: there is no absolute
fatality shown in the hands. Indeed, if the lines and configura-
tions of the hands spelled out details of a fixed, inescapable
destiny, it would be cruel to interpret them to oneself or to
others. In such a case, the individual would suffer not only the
misfortunes and illnesses preordained for him, but would have
the added anguish of anticipation.
Such, of course, is not the case. Indicated ailments may be
avoided by preventive measures or cured by prompt medical
attention. Defects of character may be corrected by application
of one's own by the help and counsel of others. That is
will or
why lines of the hand increase and diminish, change emphasis
or fade away altogether. In the hands of every person who
experiences spiritual growth and maturity will remain the
symbols of his joys and sorrows, alongside the premonitory
signs of future events already foreseen by some part of us that
possesses expanded awareness.
The extremely difficult task of the chirologist is accurately to
decipher their meanings.
19
Chapter 2
Basic Classification of Hands
The first step in the practice of medical palmistry is to adopt a

set procedure for examination of the hands, and then to follow it
each time you undertake an analysis. Simply to look at a

person's hand and to make random observations based on
individual features is almost certain to lead to serious error in
interpretation. Such a method may be traditional among "mitt"
readers of circus booths and Gypsy tearooms, who rely on ESP,
but it has found little favor with practitioners of scientific
analysis.
Accurate readings depend upon carefully correlating a num-
ber of diverse and often contradictory indications to provide an
integrated picture. Such a task in far from simple; to do it well
and with dependable expertise will require considerable experi-
ence.
Viewed superficially, for example, signs found in the right
hand may present testimony that is just the opposite from that
found in the left hand. There may even be markings which
negate each other in the same hand.
The best means of resolving this dilemma is a method known
as dominance. Opposites are weighed against each other. If you
find a greater number of signs that point in one direction rather
than in the other, it will be safe to conclude that the truth lies on
20
the side of preponderant evidence. have never found and have
I
never heard of any hands which display an exact balance

between opposites. Careful scrutiny will always reveal a predis-
position by the individual toward one trait or physical weakness
rather than its opposite.
It is well always to bear in mind also that in seeking to
identify ailments already present or to which the subject may be
prone, a given disease may be indicated by different correlates.
No single sign should be considered absolute without checking
both hands for supporting evidence.
By way of example, intestinal disorders may be signaled by a
number of diagnostic signs, including a thickened lower phal-
ange of the finger of Saturn when its tip is bent toward the
adjoining finger of Apollo; a deep vertical line usually red,
between the index and second fingers; fine vertical "nerve"
lines or small islands beneath the and halfway down
little finger
the hand; and a large island at the end of the head line.
If any one of these configurations is found in
a hand, it
should serve merely as a danger signal, alerting the palmist to
check carefully for corroborating evidence.
Even when analysis and the balancing of all factors point
overwhelmingly to the presence of some pathology, it is unwise,
as it is legally foolhardy, to tell a subject unequivocally that he
has or is likely to have in the future a certain disease. Almost
everyone, including those who scoff at palmistry, is highly
suggestible where his health or emotional well-being is con-
cerned. He may appear to shrug off an alarming diagnosis or
prediction of disaster; but the idea has been planted in his
unconscious mind where, quite unknown to the person himself,
it can cause considerable mischief. One wonders how many
practicing physicians, overweening self-confidence,

in their
have made incorrect diagnoses which later turned out to be self-
fulfilling prophecies.
21
Medical Palmistry
The safest course, when palmistic data indicate ill health is to
recommend that the person have a physical checkup. In cases of
ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer or insanity, this

more urgent tone, but without making a
advice can be given in a
flat pronouncement such as: "You are going to be involved in a
bad automobile accident," or "You have a serious heart condi-

tion," or "Insanity is clearly indicated in your hand."
The delicate task here is to avoid creating anxiety or outright
terror in the subject's mind, but at the same tune to make sure
that he receives prompt and competent medical attention.
Successful handling of the subject requires that the palmist

be a practicing psychologist as well as a hand analyst. Yet, as
Dr. Julius Spier has observed, "the great advantage of the
psychochirological method as compared with nearly all other
physiological systems lies in the fact that the person seeking
advice need not speak and in the beginning is not even called
upon to answer questions; he is told everything. This direct
method of ascertaining the difficulties, problems and depress-
ing experiences of a person creates a suggestive atmosphere of
confidence and induces him to talk, thus considerably easing
his inner tension and constraint. Very often the inability to talk
constitutes the chief inhibition of many psychologically compli-

cated and suffering human beings. A further result of this
atmosphere of confidence is the readiness of the person to
accept advice and guidance."*
Seven Basic Types of Hand
Present-day palmists, whose judgments are based upon

physical criteria rather than the mysterious gift which the Scots
Julius Spier, M.D., The Hands of Children, (London; 1955).
22
call"second-sight," usually begin their examination by study-
—
ing each hand's overall appearance its shape, flexibility, skin
texture and temperature, nail formation and so on.
This preliminary survey important in determining the type
is
of hand, and therefore of person, you are dealing with. It
provides a profile of his physical, mental and emotional make-

up.
Where shape or form is concerned, perhaps the best guide for
quick appraisal is that worked out by d'Arpentigny and
followed to a greater or lesser extent by hand readers of the
various schools ever since. According to this traditional system
of classification, there are seven basic kinds of hands associated
with an equal number of human individualities or tempera-
ments.
I need hardly point out that to find a hand which, in all
respects, conforms to any one of these classical types is a rare
experience, indeed. Most hands will, in general appearance,
possess features characteristic of more than one category.
The seven fundamental types, and the salient features by
which each may be recognized, are:
23
Medical Palmistry
The Elementary Hand.

The Elementary hand , which is characterized by an overall

appearance of chubbiness (Fig. 4). The fingers are short and
stiff, the palm hard and thick. Such hands
do not necessarily
denote lack of intelligence, but rather a want of imagination and
intellectual interests. They are to be found (though
not without
an admixture of other types) among unskilled laborers,
so-
called dirt farmers, factory workers and people generally
who
devote themselves to activities which involve dull routine re-
quiring a phlegmatic temperament. The medical palmist need
not look for signs of neurotic diseases in such a hand, even
though the elementary type sometimes experiences a marked
change in mood, from cheerfulness to sullen brooding. Their
ailments are almost always organic.
Medical Palmistry
The Spatulate Hand.
\
The Spatulate hand , so-called because the fingers flatten out
at the tips more or less in the form of a spatula (Fig. 5). It is
important to learn to distinguish between naturally spatulate
fingertips and the "clubbing" of previously straight fingers,
which may be a clinical sign of
hyperthyroidism or of heart
disease. In the case of disease, however, there will be other
distinguishing features. These will be discussed later. The
spatulate hand generally denotes a person who demands acti-
vity and independence. He had an abundance of energy, which
is often directed into scientific lines of work if he possesses a
superior mind, or to crafts, soldiering, exploration and so on, if
more modestly endowed. The hand is that of a bom soldier-of-

f or tune.
Medical Palmistry
The Psychic Hand.

The Psychic hand, also known as the idealistic type because
the individual having it is believed to be essentially an other-
worldly kind of person —contemplative, poetic, intuitive, often
religious. The hand is delicate in appearance, having long,
smooth fingers with somewhat pointed tips and usually al-
mond-shaped nails (Fig. 6). Such hands are to be met with
frequently in India and other parts of the Far East, but are fairly
uncommon in Western countries, at least in their classical form.
Medical Palmistry
The Square Hand.

The Square hand, distinguished by square-tipped fingers
and a medium-sized square palm (Fig. 7). The nails are short
and fairly wide, also giving a square appearance. The thumb is
often large and well-developed at the base. Some writers have
referred to this as the practical, others as the useful, hand.
Both
are correct designations, referring to the individual's
matter-of-
fact temperament. He is matter-of-fact, methodical in his
habits, punctual, sometimes opinionated. When the knuckles
are developed, giving the fingers a slightly knotty
appearance,
love of detail and logical thought are indicated. The longer
the
fingers in relation to the length of the palm, the greater
the
square-handed person's intellectual prowess. He then often
becomes a one of the exact sciences, in engineering,
specialist in
architecture or mathematics.
Medical Palmistry
.j
-i
4 The Conic Hand.
The Conic hand, which, as the name suggests, is character-

ized by smooth slender fingers tapering to a conic shape at the
tips (Fig. 8). Such a hand is equated with the artistic tempera-
men * — a person who has a somewhat romantic turn of mind.

Fie is sensitive, inconstant, subjective, moody, impulsive, es-
thetic and impressionable. The conic hand is supple and usually
somewhat soft. The palm is thicker than that of the psychic
type to which it bears a slight resemblance. D'Arpentigny says
that the individual having a conic hand seeks novelty and
leisure, and is, paradoxically, ardent, yet timid; humble yet
vain. "Inclined to enthusiasm, he will live in constant need of
excitement, and the activity of his mind will render regular
domestic life heavy and uninteresting to him. In a word, he will
be a man of sentiments rather than of ideas, appreciating the
colors of a thing rather than its features; he will be light in
character, he will have ingenuousness and eagerness, an imagi-
nation of fire and, too often, a heart of ice."
Medical Palmistry
The Philosophic Hand.

The Philosophic hand is traditionally believed to be the form

denoting the thinker, the person whose life is
dedicated to
pursuits that involve reason and logic. It is sometimes
called the
knotty hand because the joints of the fingers are developed
to an
exa 88 era ted degree. The palm is usually wide, the
thumb large
and "waisted," indicating logic and strong volition (Fig.
9).
Knotty fingers always signal deliberation and
preoccupation
with details; in the philosophic hand, when the fingers
are long
(in relation to the length of the palm), they often bespeak too
great a reliance upon minute examination of data in the
individual's search for truth. The philosophical hand having
conical or pointed fingertips reveals a person inclined
toward
metaphysics, abstract thought, or, the more refined theories
of
esthetics; whereas, square-tipped fingers designate
the socio-
logical and political thinker.
Medical Palmistry
The Mixed Hand.

The Mixed hand/ is one which does not belong to any one of
the classifications described above, but has characteristics of
more than one type (Fig. 10). For example, it may have two
square-tipped fingers and two that are conical. D'Arpentigny
apparently ignored the fact that, given the enormous variety of
forms possible in the human hands, it is unusual to find one
that is true to its class in every detail. While praising the pure
type as the sacred shrine in which God has placed the
immortal seed that is destined to renew or to reveal every art,
every science hitherto unknown or for so long a time lost sight
of," he dismissed those who have mixed hands as being jacks-
of-all-trades who are masters of none. The interest of the mixed
hand for medical palmists lies in the fact that it can betoken
inner conflicts which may result in psychosomatic illness.
Again, it is necessary to make certain that a diversity in finger
types is natural and not the result of disease or injury.
"
3
—
Medical Palmistry
Such, then, in greatly simplified form, are the seven hands of

traditional palmistry. Admittedly, the descriptions are superfi-
cial and incomplete; but typology is important to the
medical
hand reader only as a general guide to temperament, a kind of

preliminary pointer to what he should look for in his subse-
quent, more detailed study of the hands as a whole.
Some modem chirognomists have abandoned d'Arpentigny's
classification ofhands, asserting that since he evolved his
typology in the nineteenth century, researchers have worked
out more accurate systems.
Fred Gettings whose The Book of the Hand is one of the best
books on palmistry be published thus far in our century,
to
argues that the type of person, and therefore the type of hand,
found in a scientific or artistic gathering of d'Arpentigny's day
would be quite different from that found in the same groups
today. "It is not so much that d'Arpentigny's classification is
wrong," he writes, "as that the meanings behind many of the

words he used have changed."
This is true, but I believe in a more limited sense than
Gettings apparently intends.
Gettings developed his own system of classification, based
upon a tripartite division of the hand types according to the
individual's sex, the shape of the palm and the length of fingers
compared to length of the palm. He delineates four basic types
of temperament —
practical, intuitive, sensitive and intellectual
— which he correlates with the four triplicities of astrology

earth, fire, water and air.
The student who wishes to specialize in the psychological
aspects of palmistry will find it worthwhile to study Getting's

text in detail. For our present purpose a quick, generalized
assessment of psychosomatics, the traditional, more easily
grasped formula will serve as well, if not better.
38
Factors in Overall Assessment
The hand's degree of flexibility is an important factor in

determining active and receptive aspects of the subject's
per-
sonality. Extreme flexibility indicates a genial, intuitive, yield-
ing personality which can accommodate to life situations.
Stiffness, on the other hand, as Dr. Charlotte Wolff has
observed, "shows a predominance of introvert tendencies
and a
strong inhibitory factor."*
Persons having very hands are usually strong-willed,
stiff
often to the point of stubbomess; conservative in moral and
religious outlook, and generally inhibited in their social rela-
tions, being unable "to let go."
Still viewing the hand from the dorsal side, it is important
to
take note of such features as involuntary movements, flexibil-
ity, skin texture, temperature and degree of moisture: and the
shape, color and condition of the nails. These data are of
particular interest to the diagnostician because they very often
provide signs that are indicative of the subject's state of health.
There are various kinds of involuntary movements or trem-
bling motions of the hand, some very subtle, others more
pronounced, depending upon the type of nervous disorder that
causes them.
The most common tremors likely to be encountered by the lay
palmist are those induced by anxiety and alcoholism. The first
of these is characterized by a nervous shivering motion of the
hand when held in any position. The alcoholic tremor, occur-
ring during the so-called hangover period following a heavy
drinking bout, is sufficiently familiar to most persons that it
requires no further elaboration.
*Dr. Charlotte Wolff, The Hand in Psychological Diagnosis (London: 1951).
39
Medical Palmistry
Systemic diseases which produce hand tremors include hy-

perthyroidism (slight agitation, becoming more pronounced
pill-rolling
when fingers are spread); Parkinson's disease (
movement of thumb and forefinger); Wilson s disease, a liver

disorder (slight hand tremor, which becomes up-and-down
wing-beating motion when arms are outstretched from sides),
pathological
senility (the "palsied" movements associated with
conditions in old age); and neurasthenia or nervous
exhaustion
(irregular trembling movement).

Dr. Theodore J. Berry, in his work. The Hand as a
Mirror of
Systemic Disease , the following disorders as the cause

lists also
of hand tremors: familial disorder, hypoglycemia, ataxia (fron-

lobe lesions), athetosis, narcotic addiction, mutiple
scler-
tal
osis, chorea, cerebellar lesions, occupational

neuroses, hepatic
coma, paresis, lesions of red nucleus, and toxicity caused by

ingestion of heavy metals such as copper or mercury
and by
barbiturates.
seems frighteningly long and complex, the reader
If this list
should bear in mind that, unless he is a medical practitioner, he

is unlikely ever to encounter most of the
maladies cited here. If a
hand tremor of any kind is present, the lay palmist should
tactfully suggest that the subject seek competent professsional

advice. not the chirognomist's task to pinpoint the disease
It is
responsible for the abnormality. Indeed, in the United States, it

is illegal for him to do so.
Let us turn our attention to the skin. Texture, that is, the
degree of smoothness, is a safe criterion for making a rapid
estimate of the subject's disposition, age and physical condi-

tion. There is general agreement among hand readers
that the
fine textured, smooth skin signifies a person of refinement and

sensitivity. Of course, hard work or an occupation which
requires the immersion of the hands in harsh liquids or expo-
sure to chemicals would modify even the most refined skin.
40
However, those who possess smooth-textured hands will do
everything in their power to avoid such work, and when obliged
to engage in labor damaging to the skin, will wear
gloves or
otherwise seek to protect their hands.
People whose hands are naturally rough, dry and hard, more
often than not have characters and tastes to match. Gettings
quotes W. G. Benham, the leading nineteenth-century palmistic
authority on this point, and the axiom is well worth repeating
here: "Refined texture softens everything: coarse texture ani-
malizes it."
Illness and old age can alter the condition of the skin, making
it coarse, dry and less elastic; such natural modifications will be
taken into consideration by the experienced palmist. Recent
developments in hormonal treatment for postmenopausal wom-
en and those who have had hysterectomies have shown excel-
lent results in preserving a fine soft skin texture in those hands
which possessed it to begin with.
From the standpoint of medical diagnosis, changes in texture
and temperature of the skin may signal the presence or onset of
disease. In cases of thyroid malfunction, for example, the skin
undergoes a change in both texture and temperature, becoming
very smooth and warm when the thyroid gland is overproduc-
tive;and coarse, dry and cold when the gland is underactive.
Some of the more frequently occurring diseases which pro-
duce temperature changes in the skin are: hypertensive cardio-
vascular disease, gout, diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis, and
rheumatoid causing an increase in temperature);
arthritis (all
circulatory troubles, shock, neurasthenia, pulmonary hyperten-
sion and anemia (which cause hand temperature).
a decrease in
The experienced chirologist determines which particular disease
induced the changes by considering them in context with other
signs found in the palm.
In general, the color of the hand is directly related to the
41
Medical Palmistry
functioning of the body

/
s cardiovascular system. A healthy
hand is and evenly colored, that is, not blotchy nor

slightly pink
pale rose
mottled. In Caucasian hands, any hue other than
blue
should be regarded with suspicion. Excessive redness, a
or yellow
tinge, extreme pallor, dark spots, slate gray shading
palms are all symptomatic of various diseases or drug effects,
at discovering
and should prompt a careful examination aimed
the point of focus.
Fred Gettings expresses the view, and I concur, that the color
of the hand is not a reliable guide to a subject's
temperament
and character because the hand's color may change very
quickly, owing to such variable factors as light, ambient
temperature and so on.
In any case, the hand provides other, far more
reliable
features for assessment of a person's psychological makeup.

However, as a diagnostic aid, color abnormality is extremely
useful. For this reason, the medical palmist should make

certain
that he views the subject's hand in the proper light and

in a
room at should also determine whether

normal temperature. He
the individual has just previously imbibed a considerable
amount of alcohol or smoked a large cigar (either of which will
blood vessels, thereby increasing the color of the skin,

dilate the
although usually less in the hands than in the face).
The Nails As Indicators
Studies of the fingernails and nail beds as indicators of

certain human ailments have been made not only by chirolo-
but by medical researchers as well.
gists,
Dr. T. J. Berry, whose work we have previously cited, found

that signs present in the nails and associated tissue could be
included in an impressive number of symptom complexes.
42
.

including those of tuberculosis, lung tumors, heart trouble,
syphilis, diseases caused by nutritional deficiencies and others.
Similarly, in the field of psychiatry, investigators have found
that various personality disorders are reflected in the condition
of the nails.
Dr. Eugene Scheimann, who uses palmistry in his medical
practice and has written a valuable book on this subject* reports
that emotional disorders may cause pitting, thinning and
splitting of the nails.Examination of the tiny blood vessels in
the nails by using a type of microscope called a capillaroscope,
the medical diagnostician can detect early signs of diabetes,
arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and some forms of
mental illness.
Another medical palmist. Dr. Charlotte Wolff, discovered

that pituitary and thyroid maladies could be diagnosed from
nail abnormalities when no other overt symptoms of the diseases
were present. "The thin, brittle, ridged, short, and 'moonless'
an underdeveloped thyroid gland, also a
nail is indicative of
sign of underactive gonads (sex glands) and the pituitary
gland."
Dr. Wolff added that if the same type of nail is found in a
broad spongy hand which has sausage-shaped fingers and a
tapering little finger, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) is
indicated. Conversely, long, narrow shiny nails that have large
moons denote hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland)
The moons which appear in healthy nails almost always
denote good heart action. When they are absent, it is quite
likely that later examination of the palm will reveal corrobora-
tive signs indicating a predisposition toward cardiovascular
*Eugene Scheimann, M.D., A Doctor's Guide to Better Health Through

Palmistry (West Nyack, N.Y.: 1969).
43
Medical Palmistry
Longitudinal Ridges
Spoon Nail
Narrow, Long Nail Wide, Short Nail

an
Fig. 11. Types of Fingernails.
44
,
troubles. If the nail is short and broad, with a rounded base, the
suspicion is even stronger.
Dr. Wolff's other findings with regard to the nails includes
the following observations: —
Some severe, acute illnesses such
as typhus, scarlet feverand influenza, as well as broken limbs
or other traumas are indicated by horizontal ridges or sulci
which appear first at the root of the nail. With growth of the
nail, the ridgesadvance toward the fingertip giving the nail a
wavy appearance. This abnormality is called "Beau lines" after
the French physician who first identified them in 1846 (Fig. 11).
— Longitudinal ridges in the nails are associated with chronic
infections such as chronic colitis. When the situation is so
severe that splitting of the nails occurs, rheumatism is indicat-
ed, the focus of infection being either the roots of the teeth or the
bowel. This type of ailment occurs most frequently during the
later years, unless there is a history of rheumatic tendency in
the subject's family.
White flecks or spots in the nails occur when the nervous
system is undergoing severe strain as the result of anxiety or
some problem in living that produces constant tension and
nervous fatigue. Such stigmas are more likely to be found in
persons with psychic and conic types of hand because of their
being more highly strung than the individuals with elementary
hands, for example. Fiowever, I have observed spots and flecks
even in the latter class when the subject was going through a
period of mental depression. The spots disappear when the
tension is eased.
The shape of the nail is closely associated with the general
constitutional profile of the individual. The long , narrow nail
pointed at the base, making it fan-shaped, has come to be
regarded as indicative of a tendency toward neurosis or nervous
disorders. Quite often, the little finger of such a hand will be
more or less pointed at the base, and will tend to separate from
45
.
Medical Palmistry
provided other signs (to be

the other fingers. In this case,
is safe to conclude that
discussed later) are found in the palm, it
system stems from sexual
the delicate condition of the nervous
maladjustment.
do not enjoy
narrow nails
As a general rule, persons with
a great abundance of
robust health; but they often possess
nervous, and perhaps psychic energy,
which sees them through
physical difficulties.
reveal a hypercritical,
Short nails, broad and somewhat flat,
aggressive type of person, given to
argument for the sake of
constant bickering,
argument. Because of their excitability and
experience high-
persons having this kind of nail frequently
and after middle age.
blood pressure and heart disease during
have significance
There are two types of curved nails which
for the medical chirognomist;
these are convex nails which
curve down over the finger tips and

when viewed from the side,
nails which are called
resemble a watch crystal; and concave
in the center.
spoon nails because they are depressed
nail is associated with lung
The watch-crystal type of
ailments such as tuberculosis and lung

tumor; cirrhosis of the
liver, and congenital heart disease.

The nail usually has a high
luster and is cyanotic, that is, bluish in color.
disturbances,
The spoon nail denotes variously, glandular
nutritional deficiency.
syphilis, or in some instances, acute
Again, it must be kept in mind that diagnostic configurations
or elsewhere in the hand, must not
be
found on the nails,
other confirma-
accepted as final indicators of disease, without
other way round. Nail
tory evidence. Indeed, it is often the
a diagnosis
abnormalities may provide evidence to support
based on indications found elsewhere in the hand.
there are no pathogno-
In the practice of medical palmistry,
undeni-
monic symptoms (signs which, taken by themselves,
ably prove the presence of a disease)
46
—
Chapter 3
What the Fingers Reveal
A close examination of the thumb and fingers of both hands

forms an important part of traditional palmistry. The reason is
that such characteristics as the length, shape and spacing of the
fingers provide additional clues to the subject's individuality
the combination of factors which make him a unique and
unrepeatable human being.
Such a psychological inventory is useful to the medical
palmist in pinpointing the presence or probable future emer-
gence of personality and behavioral disorders. In our day, the
emotional stresses engendered by living in a complex and
sometimes inhospitable environment can produce a number of
severe ailments.
Over a period of time, our daily worries, irritations and
response to noise, crowding and air pollution often bring on
gastrointestinal complaints ranging from the common "upset,
stomach" of the TV commercials to the more serious cases of
ulcers.
It is now generally agreed among members of the medical
profession that other widespread ills caused by psychic disturb-
ances include certain kinds of skin afflictions, asthma, respira-
tory troubles and heart disease.
With respect to the great host of emotional problems which
47
Medical Palmistry
catchall term, mental

are popularly lumped together under the
illn ess/' a word of caution is called for.
As Dr. Thomas prominent American psychia-
S. Szasz, a
trist, has so often and so

persuasively warned us, the growing
health professionals,
tendency, fostered by what he calls mental
to define social conflicts and crises in interpersonal relations as
sickness, can have serious consequences.

not only renounce our right and duty to
make moral
We
decisions and to gain spiritual strength
through overcoming
obstacles, but we invite a Brave New

World type of controlled
rapidly expanding
behavior. For, according to Dr. Szasz, the
advertises mental
mental health movement, which already
illness as the nation's No. 1 health
problem, has as its real
the setting up of a pseudomedical system
of social
objective
controls. He minces no words:
Community psychiatry, the newest fad of the psychiat-
ideologist, complements and reinforces the posture
of a
ric
drug-oriented, quasi-medical approach to human prob-

the
lems. Under the protective coloration of this label,
mental health professional becomes an unabashed moral-
ist. As such, his values are clear: collectivism and social
tranquility. As with the early Saint-Simonians and their
later disciples,from Comte through Marx to Pavlov and

Skinner, the individual should be allowed to exist only
if
he is socially well adapted and useful. If he is not, he

should be "therapized" until he is "mentally healthy"—
that is, uncomplainingly submissive to the will of the
elites
in charge of Human Engineering. 5*'
The reader may ask what an issue of this kind, being in part
* Thomas S. Szasz, (M.D.). The Manufacture of Madness. (London: 1971)
48
at least, political, has to do with our present subject. My

answer is that I have included it here (and I shall revert to it
again in a later chapter) to emphasize my admonition to the
medical palmist against being taken in by the current, massive
propaganda effort to characterize as
"mental illness" every per-
sonality quirk or emotional outburst exhibited by an individual.
It is perfectly natural that a person who possesses a
narrow
hand with long, smooth, tapering fingers will be introspective
and given to fits of moodiness. He will be hypersensitive, at
times preferring solitude to active social engagement. Such
behavior does not mean that he is "withdrawn" or "a loner" or
psychologically abnormal in any way. Rather, he is responding
to his inner self which seeks communion with the deeper levels
of the unconscious mind. It is both cruel and dangerous to try to

force such an individual, especially when a child, to "get
involved" or to submit him to a term of behavioral therapy
aimed at "helping" him achieve "social interaction."
It is significant that in the Soviet Union, where political
dissidents are sent to insane asylums, mental health is meas-
ured by how closely an individual involves himself in, or
conforms to, officially prescribed social and political activities.
Anyone who disagrees with the system is mentally ill and is
sent for treatment to a psychiatric clinic.
Insanity, which is a pathological condition that can be
defined both legally and clinically, will be dealt with in a
separate section of our study.
Guide to Finger Interpretation
While it is inadvisable to place too heavy a burden on the age-

old interpretations of finger characteristics, the following gen-
49
Medical Palmistry
as
Fig. 12.Types of Fingers. The three principal types of fingers ,
joints are , as above: (A)
regards their shape and development of
square , (B) conic , (C) knotty.
50
eralizations can provide a rough-and-ready guide to further

study:
Long fingers indicate a person preoccupied with the details of
anything which engages his attention, whether a material
object or a mental concept. According to Desbarrolles, such
persons are capable analysts and organizers, but may some-
times lose sight of the whole because of their concentration
upon minutiae. They are sensitive about trivia and may feel
offended by a careless word or social oversight. If the long
fingers are knotty, that is, have well-developed knuckles, their
natural patience will be reinforced to the point of tenacity, and
they will deliberate long before acting. When smooth, the long-
fingered person will be less analytical and more intuitive.
If extremely thin, long fingers often denote self-centeredness,
suspicion and faultfinding. When the fingers are thick, these
qualities are modified, and the subject will be less prone to
neurotic behavior.
Short fingers signify traits more or less opposite to those
indicated by long fingers. Persons of this type show little regard
for small details or separate components, but view things,
situationsand other people as a whole picture. They think and
act quickly, jumping to conclusions which may be right or
wrong, depending upon the degree of intuition they possess.
They express themselves in concise terms, sometimes to the
point of being blunt.
When required to analyze and concentrate upon something,
they find the task tedious and boring and abandon it as soon as
possible. Thus, when employment involving endless
forced into
routine, they may develop neurasthenia, which can undermine
their general health.
To a certain extent, the tips of the fingers may accentuate or
modulate the qualities indicated by their length (Fig. 12).
51
,
Medical Palmistry
Pointed fingers suggest imagination, instability and introspec-

tion. Square tips add reason and judgment, and diminish
impulsiveness. Spatulate fingertips are the signature of action,

of a drive toward utility, exploration, and the manipulation of
material things.
The question is often asked, when is a finger considered long
or short? To judge the hand as a whole, that is, to determine
whether the individual is long-fingered or short-fingered, have
him close his fingers over the palm and note how close the tips
come to the wrist. If they cover most of the palm, they may be
considered long; if they extend only halfway to the wrist, they
are short. Extremely long fingers reach all the way to the
// ,/
rascette or bracelet lines which mark the boundary between
the palm and wrist.
The Thumb
It has long been recognized, not only by palmists, but by

anatomists and scientists as well that the thumb is the most
important part of the hand.
Indeed, owing to its which has made
remarkable versatility,
possible the arts and crafts of man since his emergence as

Homo sapiens the thumb alone marks the human being as
superior to all other animals on Earth. Because of it, he was able
to develop a culture and eventually a technology based on tool
making and tool using.
In performance, the thumb has a value equal to one half that

of all the rest of the hand, its outstanding feature being its wide
range of motion. Technically expressed, its movements include
flexion, extension, adduction, medial rotation, lateral rotation
and circumduction.
52
,
Fig. 13. Principal Types of Thumbs. In schools of palmistry

all
East and West, the thumb is perhaps the most important single part of
the hand to be considered in diagnosis. The basic types are, as shown
above: (A) clubbed, (B) flexible, (C) stiff, (D) "waisted ", (E) strong,
(F) broad.
53
Medical Palmistry
"In default of other proofs/ declared Sir

7
Thomas Newton,
7
"the thumb alone would convince me of the existence of God/

Because so actively and importantly involved in our
it is
outer, active life, the thumb represents for the palmist an index
to the vitality, will and self-expression of the individual.
It has often been observed that babies during the first months
of their lives cover their thumbs with their hands. So do idiots
and persons who are severely retarded mentally. This is
because the infant has not yet developed a strong ego which
seeks self-expression in the objective world. Cretins remain
fixed at this point, even though they develop physically.
When adults hide their thumbs within their fists, it is a sign
that they are experiencing great anxiety or feelings of insecur-

ity. The hidden thumb is an indication that the person has
regressed to a childish state of dependency and helplessness.
The English authority Noel Jacquin suggests that the first
step in analyzing the thumb is to note whether it is stiff and

straight orbackward-bending and supple. He says, and other
leading chirologists for the most part agree with him, that the
straight rigid thumb generally distinguishes a person of firm-
ness and determination, while a flexible thumb denotes versatil-
both moral and mental, and is characteristic of individuals
ity,
who lack the drive of the straight-thumbed people (Fig. 13).

The size and length of the thumb should also be noted. The
large thumb almost always identifies abundant energy and a
goal-directed life, especially so if it is longer than normal. A
thumb of average length, when held straight against the side of
the hand, will reach midway up the bottom phalange of the
index finger. Beyond this point, it may be considered a long

thumb; if it fails to Of course,
reach that level, a short one.
some allowance must be made for the position of the thumb on
the hand. Some thumbs are set low on the hand, some high. A
54
low-set thumb which reaches the halfway mark just cited

should be considered a long one, whereas, if the insertion is
high on the side of the hand and barely reaches the median line,
it is a short thumb.
An extremely short thumb indicates a person of limited
intellectualendowment. Apes and the mentally retarded have
very short, thick thumbs, set high on the hand.
Examine the first, or nail phalange of the thumb. If you find
that it is larger than the second joint, it is safe to conclude that
the subject possesses great determination and willpower. If on
the contrary it is short and not very wide, you may expect to
find other signs in further analysis of the palm which will reveal
indecision, lack of perseverance, and a do-it-manana attitude.
When the nail phalange is of the "clubbed" type, provided
the ill-formation is natural and not the result of some disease
such as an endocrine imbalance or heart disorder, it denotes a
recessive genetic picture, with a resulting tendency toward
violent temper tantrums, forms of degeneracy or abnormal
behavior. In early texts on palmistry, the thumb having a
bulbous first phalange was called a "murderer's thumb" be-
cause was associated with crimes of passion. However, while
it
such a thumb certainly indicates the possibility of sudden and

explosive outbursts in the individual's life, it does not mean that
everyone who has such a thumb is a potential killer or criminal.
In my own experience, I have analyzed the hands of several
persons whose thumbs were markedly clubbed. None of them
was even remotely connected with criminal activities, although
all of them held extreme views of one kind or another and were
ready to defend their beliefs by violent means if necessary.

One of them is a young woman in her mid-thirties who heads
a large international organization. She has been very successful
in this responsible position, but admitted to me that on more
55
Medical Palmistry
than one occasion she has lost control of her temper during
exasperating encounters with governmental bureaucrats and
"could gladly have murdered them at the time."
The second phalange thumb of the is correlated with logic
and reasoning power. When the thumb is narrow in the middle,
giving it a waisted appearance, it is the sign of a refined,

brilliant mind, capable of great tact and lightning-fast deduc-
tion.
If the second phalange is quite thick, and particularly if it is
much shorter than the nail phalange, it suggests an inferior

mind; the person's actions will be the result of impulse and
habit rather than those based upon carefree thought.
When flat and somewhat flaccid, the second phalange de-
notes an individual who has some constitutional weakness,
which produces apathy and a lack of nervous energy.
When the first and second segments of the thumb are of
about equal length, the subject endowed with strong will-
is
power, balanced and controlled by sound judgment. Where the

second phalange is the dominant one, the individual will think
and plan, but will lack the volition to carry through to a
successful conclusion. Conversely, a very weak, short second
phalange in conjunction with an excessively strong first, marks
the person as one who lacks the foresight, tact and good sense
to implement his desires. He will act without thinking.
Clearly, then, the most desirable thumb is that in which the
firsttwo segments are close to equal in length, indicating
balance and a reciprocity of the qualities they represent.
If a thumb is set low, and opening wide from the side of the
hand, often forming a right angle, the person will be self-
assured, independent in thought and action, possessing the

qualities of philanthropy, broad-mindedness and sociability.
It is well worthwhile to make a very thorough study of the
thumb because it is the key which can unlock all other
56
mysteries of the hand. It is, in fact, so complete a source of

information that certain Gypsy, Hindu and Chinese schools of
palmistry base their readings entirely upon this one digit.
The Finger of Purpose
Closely related to the thumb, not only in physical proximity

but also in character delineation, is the index finger, known to
traditional palmistry as the finger of Jupiter.
Both modem and traditional chirologists agree that the index
finger is man's link with his material environment, the measure
of his self-esteem and general attitude toward the external
world. For the medical palmist, who is searching for psychoso-
matic symptoms, it can provide a clue to the subject's activity
level, threshold and intensity of response to physical stimuli;
also, his degree of aggressiveness.
By way of illustration, a very short index finger, which is
associated with a want of self-confidence and with a sense of

inferiority, will suggest to the diagnostician the possibility that
the individual will have a tendency toward ulcers, hyperten-
sion, or other disorders which stem from his frustrations at his
inability to cope with the problems and responsibilities of
everyday life.
Similarly, even though the index finger is of normal length or

longer, if the thumb is short and weak, there will not be
sufficient energy or volition, nor staying power, to achieve the
desired goals. The result is often some psychogenic ailment
which is directly attributable to the person's inability to accept
failure and to adjust his life to more realistic, if more limited,
aims.
There is again the question of norm. At what length may the
index finger be considered average, short or long? The criterion
57
Medical Palmistry
established by the collective experience of palmists over the

years is: the normal index finger will extend to the midline of
the first phalange of the middle finger. If it is appreciably
shorter than the finger of Apollo, the ring finger, it may be
considered short.
The individual having a very short index finger will be
modest and self-effacing, usually quite disinterested in making
a very loud noise in life, so to speak. When the thumb is also
weak, as is usually the case, he will be mouselike, harmless and
inoffensive. However, as Gettings has accurately observed, a
deficient finger of Jupiter does not mean, as so many writers
have asserted, "failure in life." Some people just naturally
eschew the rat race that so attracts the ambitious or greedy, and
prefer "to take refuge from life in their dreams, hobbies, or even
in their job of work, provided this does not bring them into too
close contact with other people."
Per contra, the very long index finger, extending well beyond
the third or ring finger and sometimes reaching almost to the tip
of the middle finger, identifies the vain, exceedingly ambitious,

often arrogant type of person, who possesses overweening self-
confidence and will never accept a subordinate position in life if
he can do better, frequently by foul means as well as fair. "I

would rather be first in a little village than second in Rome"
is a statement undoubtedly made by a leader who had an excep-
tionally long finger of Jupiter.
As previously noted, the thumb is the standard by which

available energy and will are to be measured. In those compara-
tively rare instances inwhich an extremely long index finger is
accompanied by a short, feeble thumb, the hand's owner may
and no doubt will, have the most grandiose aims, but will find it
very difficult to realize them.
If the index finger is crooked or ill-formed, it belongs to an
individual who is vain and clever, but imprudent in his striving
for worldly success.
58
A predisposition to rheumatism, gout and liver troubles is
sometimes indicated by an enlargement or filling out of the

finger's third or lowest phalange.
The Middle Finger
The medical chirologist's primary interest in any aspect of

the hand is diagnostic.
Viewed from this standpoint, the middle finger, traditionally
known as the finger of Saturn, affords a great number of
possible signs upon which to base preliminary judgments
concerning the subject's health, both mental and physical.
It is generally agreed that many of the Saturnian characteris-
tics which writers of the past attributed to the middle finger are,
indeed, associated with that digit. Astrologically, the planet
Saturn embodies the principle of inhibition. He is the author of
superstition, melancholy, retardation. His influence plays a
vital role in those psychosomatic disorders arising from pessi-
mism and worry. Among the ancients, Saturn was identified
with the Greek god Chronos, hence our present-day term,
chronic, used to describe deeply rooted ailments of long dura-
tion.
Edward Heron-Alien, the nineteenth-century English palmist

and translator of d'Arpentigny, says in his Manual of Cheiro-
sophy that if the nail phalange of the middle finger is exception-
ally long, it signifies a morbid death-wish. If accompanied by a
short thumb on a generally weak hand, it further indicates "a
horrible temptation to suicide."
Despite the negative qualities traditionally assigned to the
finger of Saturn, the finger has important positive correlates as
well. Marking as it does the dividing line between the inner and
outer worlds of man, it becomes the mediator between the
conscious and the unconscious minds. When properly devel-
59
. —
Medical Palmistry
oped, its very restraining power can serve as a steadying

influence over a hand whose other features betray one or more
forms of extremism.
In contrast, a short, deficient finger of Saturn, especially
when smooth and tapering, usually bespeaks a lack of control;
a person willing to take desperate risks to achieve his ends.
Such fingers are frequently found among compulsive gamblers
and temperamental artists.
Among the pathogenic qualities associated with the finger of
Saturn are intestinal disorders (nail phalange bent toward ring
finger, and having fat lower phalange); deafness (many vertical
lines on first phalange, accompanied by corroborative signs in
the palm) ; sterility (very long middle finger, with supporting
testimony in the little finger and in the palm)
Summary
The finger of Saturn is the center point of the whole hand, a

kind of fulcrum upon which physical and mental qualities are
balanced. The equilibrium may be tipped in either direction
toward the unconscious or buried aspects of life when the finger
is long; or toward the conscious, active aspects when it is
noticeably short. Any abnormality of this finger represents an
imbalance; and imbalance always sets the stage for illness or
infirmity of one kind or another. The nature or extent of such
troubles may be obviated or modified by the thumb's quality.
The Finger of Apollo
The third or ring finger —known to classical palmistry from

ancient times as the finger of Apollo — is linked with the
60
esthetic, creative, intuitional qualities of the individual. By

examining its salient features, the analyst can form a fairly
accurate estimate of the subject's artistic talent and his potential
as regards versatility, fame and degree of success in his
emotional adjustment to life.
An
extremely long ring finger often, but not always, reveals
an introvert, a person who is highly imaginative and who may
live too much within himself, in the world of fantasy he has
created.
When the ring finger is noticeably shorter than the index
finger, it is an indication that the person's strong desire for
greatness or recognition will give him an exaggerated idea of his
talent or ability.
I recall reading the hand of a Hollywood actor who had this
configuration. He
possessed a modest talent and had been
successful in obtaining minor parts in several major produc-
tions.But he had grown sullen and resentful because he felt he
should be given starring roles. He was certain that it was only
because of nepotism and prejudice on the part of the various
directors that he had been passed over. He was convinced that
by that time his talent should have been recognized and he
should have been awarded a leading role. It would have been
futile to try to convince him of the truth —that he was a good
supporting actor, who could probably earn a better living than
many stars if he worked hard. He certainly would not have
taken my and would have hated me for offering it. In
advice,
recent years he has dropped from sight altogether, and it is
reasonable to conclude that this is due to his having made
himself personally objectionable to the film and TV executives
he were discriminating against him.
felt
Many writers on palmistry refer to the ring finger as the Sun

finger, thus preserving the close relationship the art once had
with astrology. According to the science of the stars, the Sun
61
Medical Palmistry
"rules" or controls the heart and when afflicted by one of the
malefic or harmful planets, produces cardiac troubles.

Palmistic tradition likewise postulates a direct relationship in
a physical sense with the heart. Ancient writers believed that
the vital organ was connected to the finger of Apollo by an
artery. Later writers identified the link as an astral one.
Curiously enough, a crooked or abnormal third finger is
regarded by medical palmists as one of the general signs of

cardiovascular disorders.
Severe emotional disturbance will often manifest itself in a
bending of the nail phalange inward over the palm when the
hands are at rest.
The Little Finger
Dr. Theodore J. Berry, who made a study of the hand purely

from the orthodox medical point of view, concluded that an
abnormally short fourth finger (the little finger) is, in fact, a
physical aberration "which carries a high index of suspicion"

that the person is subject to mental or behavioral deviations.
The literature of medical palmistry concurs with that finding.
The deviate behavior alluded to is almost always of a sexual
nature, owing to the fact that the little finger is the one
intimately associated with the libido and with the sexual
organs.
When a deficient finger of Mercury (as the smallest finger is
called) is present, however, the analyst must look for other
stigmas to further define the character and extent of the

aberration indicated. These will be found in the palm in
connection with the lines of heart and head, the mount of
Venus, and so on, all of which will be discussed in subsequent

chapters.
62
A quick way to determine whether the finger of Mercury is

excessively long or short is to compare it with the ring finger. A
little finger of normal length will extend to the line separating
the top and second segments of the finger of Apollo. It may be
considered short or long when it noticeably fails to reach that
line or extends very far beyond it.
A twisted or distorted finger of Mercury which, interestingly

enough, sometimes hereditary, very often reveals an inclina-
is
tion to hypothyroidism (underactivity of the thyroid gland) In .
delineation of character, most palmists regard such an abnor-

mality as a sign of lying and trickery. If the crooked finger is
excessively long, it signifies a Nosy Parker who likes to intrude
into others' affairs and to engage in gossip.
When the little finger is separated from the others, standing
apart, so to speak, it denotes a deeply rooted problem in
personal relationships — either with the opposite sex or with one
or both of the parents. Usually, a parent fixation will be shown
by the finger being set quite low on the hand, so that the root is
not aligned with those of the other fingers.
Gettings believes that the wearing of a ring on the little finger
emphasizes its qualities, but I am unable to confirm this theory
from my own observation and experience.
In its relationship to physical disorders, the finger of Mer-
cury may carry marks which are associated traditionally with
bladder and kidney ailments as well as, in a woman's hand,
with female complaints. When bladder and kidney troubles are
present, the nail phalange will bend inward over the palm.
(This finding should be squared with other symptoms listed in
Chapter 10.)
Uterine disorders are often indicated by a deep indentation
cutting transversely across the finger's second phalange. If the
lower phalange appears puffy or abnormally thick, the ovaries
may be involved.
63
Medical Palmistry
Fig. 14 The Three Worlds of Palmistry.
64
Chapter 4
The Palm and Its Signatures
Having surveyed the hand from the standpoint of its overall

appearance and having examined the individual fingers in
detail, the medical palmist is ready to turn his attention to the
palm.
The palm area is that inner surface of the hand, from the
wrist up to the base of the fingers, and from the thumb side of
the hand to the percussion, sometimes called the striking side.
In making a quick, overall appraisal of the palm, early
writers introduced a concept of balance, commonly called "the
three worlds of palmistry."
According to this teaching, each hand is divided into three
parts (or worlds) representing the mind; the material affairs of
everyday and the baser instincts or animal passions (see
life;
Fig. 14). The upper portion, or fingers, from their respective

mounts to their tips constitutes the mental or spiritual world;
while the middle portion, from the base of the fingers to an
imaginary dividing line across the hand from the top of Mount
Luna Mount Venus is associated with the practical
to the top of
sphere of mundane activities. The remaining lowest segment,
between that line and the wrist corresponds to the lower world
of sensual appetities.
65
Medical Palmistry
If, when the hand is fully outstretched, the fingers are longer
than the palm, it is assumed that the main focus of that
individuars life and interests is in the mental or spiritual
sphere. He is best suited for some occupation that requires
reasoning, abstract theory or scholarship. But, as one writer

has warned, if this predominance is very marked, without
anything to support it, then the subject will be one who lives in
a realm of ideas, without possessing enough of the material or
practical side to keep him from following idealistic concepts

while neglecting matters that are very necessary for material
success.*
When the second zone, correlated with the material world, is
the largest of the three, the subject's chief aims and activities
will center on career, business affairs, politics or technology.

Position in life is the keynote of his character.
A predominant lower palm or third-world area identifies the

individual whose tastes and desires are those of a lower order.
He may make a great deal of money, for as W. G. Benham
observes, "he sometimes shrewd, but with the instinctive
is
cunning of the fox, not the talent of a high and lofty mind."
Regardless of his financial position, it will always be the vulgar
things of life that attract him, whether in jewelry, clothing,
home furnishings, art or music. The well-heeled gangster is a
good example of the type.
Palmists who base their art upon Cabalistic principles also
speak of the three worlds of palmistry, but their divisions are:
the divine, the abstract and the material. These are symbolized
by the three joints of the thumb. The first, or nail phalange,
corresponds to the will and initiative of the individual; the
second joint (the abstract world) represents logic, defined as
^Psychos, The Complete Guide to Palmistry (London: 1963).
66
perception, judgment and reason. The mount of Venus at the

base of the thumb represents the third or material world and
denotes the qualities of the material sphere.
At first glance, the most striking feature of the palm (aside
from the which we will consider later), are the monticules
lines,
or fleshy mounts to be seen at or near the base of each finger

and thumb, and along the percussion or outer edge of the hand.
The degree to which these mounts are developed, that is,
their elevation, determines the relative depth of the palm itself.
Thus, a flat shallow palm results from low, or nonexistent

mounts, while, conversely, a very deep palm comes from
excessive development of the mounts, especially those at the
root of the thumb and along the ulnar side of the hand.
In the pulpy tissue which constitutes these eminences there is
a concentration of sensory end organs. Functionally, they serve
as protective cushionswhich absorb much of the ‘pressure on
the palm when the hand strongly grips an object.
whose systems of nomenclature the
Authorities of antiquity,
medieval writers preserved in their own works on the subject,
designated each mount with the name of a planet. Thus, the
mount under the index finger was called the "mount of Jupi-
ter";under the middle finger, "Saturn"; under the ring finger,
"Apollo or Sun"; and under the little finger, "Mercury". The
elevation beneath the thumb was called the "mount of Venus,"
and that along the outer edge of the hand "Luna" or "mount of
theMoon."
To each mount was assigned the physical and psychological
correlates which astrology had traditionally associated with the
planet of the same name.
In defending their theory of a close link between astrology
and palmistry, early writers argued that an accurate hand
analysis would always agree with the subject's horoscope.
67
Medical Palmistry
provided both readings were made by reliable and experienced

practitioners of their respective arts.
It is a curious fact that, while rejecting the notion that there is
any connection between astral configurations and the various

mounts, recent authorities continue to ascribe to the various
mounts the same qualities that have always been associated
with them by astrology.
For example, the mount of Jupiter represents expansiveness,
ambition, generosity, religion, desire to command and so on.
Like the person in whose horoscope Jupiter is a dominant
influence, the person who has a well-developed Mount of
Jupiter (in relation to the other mounts) will be guided by
personal pride and a benevolent attitude toward mankind. all
He is inclined to be kind-hearted and sympathetic, and a fair

judge of people and situations, seeking always to weigh all the
circumstances that motivate human behavior, rather than just
surface appearances.
It is, of course, most unusual to find a categorically perfect
Jupiterian hand. Usually, in the so-called Jupiterian hand that
mount will be more prominent than the others, but many of its
qualities will be modified by lines and markings on the mount
and elsewhere in the hand. Consequently, it is necessary for the
analyst to consider other aspects of the hand to determine what
course the Jupiterian life-energy will take.
The reader will recall the three orders of existence postulated
by the cabala and by Eastern mystics, namely, the spiritual, the
mental and the material.
%
If the first or nail phalange of the Jupiter finger (above the
mount) is the longest of the three, the subject lives in a spiritual,
inspirational world and his ambition will probably be along
religious or inspirational lines of one kind or another, depend-
ing upon the general type of hand and fingertip. A literary
68
career may be indicated, if additional testimony is found in a

conical fourth finger supported by developed mounts of Apollo
and Mercury. Some authorities say literary success is also
indicated by a cross on the first phalange.
When the middle or mental phalange is the longest, his
aspirations and desires will incline him toward a profession in
which and abstract reason play a principal role. A
logic
successful career in the business world is also a possibility.
If the lowest phalange is preeminent, a materialistic, sensual
approach to life is a strong possibility, unless this tendency is

softened by other signs in the hand.
Physiologically, the mount of Jupiter is associated with the
development of coronary thrombosis, stroke and digestive
disorders. When the lower phalange is narrowed to give a
waisted appearance, there exists a predisposition toward lung
ailments, and such a finding should be checked against other
correlates indicating the presence of that type of disease.
some hands, although in my own experience these have
In
been few in number, the mount of Jupiter may be altogether
missing, or there may even be a depression where the mount
would normally be found. Such a deficiency almost always
signals the negative qualities of the mount that is, lack of —
pride and self-respect; a selfish, despotic, intemperate individu-
al who eventually falls prey to his animal appetites.
Conversely, an overdeveloped or excessive mount of Jupiter
bespeaks an all-consuming desire to command, to march to
victory (whether mtilit^y, moral or even commercial) at the
head of a band of devoted followers. Such persons are often
charming, gallant and loyal to their cause, preferring annihila-
tion to surrender.
69
Medical Palmistry
The Mount of Saturn
The mount of Saturn is normally found at the base of the

middle finger, although, as in the case of all the mounts, it may
be displaced to one side or the other, or absent altogether.
When the mount is markedly deficient, the individual's
personal history will be lacking in greatness, or even in the
"griefs and wonders" of vital living, such as those experienced
by whose hand it shows a balanced development.
the person in
A very low mount of Saturn indicates confused thinking and
despondency. It also reveals a tendency toward ill health;
consequently, the analyst whose principal interest is diagnosis
should look for further signs of constitutional weakness or
pathology when such a deficiency is present.
The Saturnian qualities of sober organization, firmness,
dependability, hard work and patience are associated with a
prominent mount. If excessively developed, however, the sub-
ject will tend toward solitude and melancholy, often devoting
his time to the study of the occult sciences, or of recondite
subjectswhich involve the unsolved riddles of space and time.
By temperament he is cynical and self-centered, viewing public
opinion with contempt. At the same time, he is timid and
pessimistic, fearing the future and looking with mistrust upon
even close associates.
Modifying indications in other mounts and in the lines of the
palm must be very strong to offset the traits indicated by a
dominant mount of Saturn.
Pathological correlates of the mount include diseases of the
bones, joints, ears and nervous system. Tooth decay is also
associated with Saturn. Some authorities add varicose veins
and accidents to the legs and feet; but on the basis of my
personal experience, I am inclined to discount the latter find-
ings.
70
Apollo, The Solar Mount
Palmists of all ages agree upon one characteristic associated

with the solar mount, located at the root of the ring finger. It is
that of esthetic refinement. The person in whose hand this

monticule is strongly pronounced will be endowed with a love of
beauty in both art and nature. Unless his hand is otherwise
marked with unfavorable signs, he will enjoy good health, and
will bring a great deal of warmth and encouragement into the
lives of his friends.
The Apollonian in highly intuitive, hence he possesses the

faculty of quickly grasping almost any kind of knowledge, but
generally prefers a career in which art, music or literature plays
a leading role. When the finger belonging to the mount (that is,
the third finger) is long and the nail phalange of greater length
than the other two, the likelihood that the subject has creative
talent is greatly enhanced.
He is often a brilliant conversationalist and can discuss
intelligently a surprising range of subjects. Fortunately for him,
since he has rich tastes in clothes, home and possessions, he
usually finds little making money. He is the type
difficulty in of
successful businessman who becomes a patron of the arts.
Although of a genial, cheerful and affectionate disposition, he
has a quick temper when provoked, but rarely holds a grudge.
Perhaps because his outstanding and achievements excite
gifts
the envy of those less generously endowed, he makes few

lasting friendships. He is also frequently unfortunate in mar-
riage and may have to divorce and remarry several times before
finding a satisfactory mate.
If the mount is of excessive elevation as compared to the
others in the hand, and the Apollonian finger has a short nail
phalange and a thick third, it will indicate the negative qualities
of vanity, extravagance, self-deception and love of display.
71
Medical Palmistry
Because he avidly desires renown, but vastly overestimates his

true capability, he becomes frustrated when success eludes
him. Then he is inclined to blame others for his failure and to
carry a chip on his shoulder.
When the mount is absent or greatly deficient in both hands,
the individual will be indifferent or inimical to the artistic
qualities which a fully developed mount bespeaks.
While the Apollonian enjoys robust health as a rule, unfavor-
able findings elsewhere in the hand may exert adverse influ-
ences. Categorically, the solar person is prone to eye weakness,
heart trouble, fevers and sunstroke. Before reaching a conclu-
sion regarding any of these ailments, however, the whole hand
must be scrutinized.
The Mount of Mercury
Among Mercury was known as "Messenger of

the ancients.
the Gods." He moved swiftly on winged feet, disseminating
information and knowledge. He embodied the qualities neces-
sary for the successful practice of medicine, politics and sci-
ence. At the same time, when his bad side dominated his
character, he could be the most elusive thief, skillfully dishonest
merchant, plausible liar or eloquent con man of all.
To a great extent, early writers on palmistry, who based

much of their interpretation on astrology, preserved this general
profile of the Mercurian.

People in whose hands the mount of Mercury (at the base of
the fourth or little finger) is the largest of all themounts will be
fond of change and excitement; proficient in games which
require great skill, dexterity or alertness; and formidable rivals
in any argument. In choice of profession, he will usually incline

toward law, medicine, science, acting or literature. When
72
supported by a well-developed mount of Jupiter, he frequently

rises to the top in his chosen career. In business his prospects of
success are very good, owing to his natural ingenuity and

ability to influence others.
The female Mercurian is generally quite active socially. She
is usually charming and magnetic; men are strongly attracted
to her, and other women are drawn to her because she is the
center of attention and a challenge to their own interests. Gay,
poised, popular — she creates and controls her social environ-
ment.
The bad aspect of the mount is signaled by a long crooked or
twisted little finger, and excessive development of the mount.
Such types are sly, and live by their wits or by a variety of
dishonest means. Desbarrolles wrote that many tramps and
Gypsies have this configuration.
Physically, a dominant mount
Mercury indicates a nerv-
of
ous, bilious temperament. Dyspepsia is not uncommon. Other
ailments indicated are neuralgia, speech impediments and
alcoholism.
When the mount is absent or extremely deficient, the subject
will have little taste or talent for science or literature, often
lacking intellectual powers of any kind.
Qualities of Mount Luna
The mount of Luna (or Moon) is situated on the percussion

side of the hand, just above the wrist. It is known in anatomy as
the hypothenar eminence.
The relative size of this mount can be estimated by the extent
of curvature along the outer side of the palm and by the fullness
of the pad itself. If there is a bulge along the side of the hand,
the mount must be regarded as being prominent. When, added
73
Medical Palmistry
to this development, the pad at the bottom of the hand appears

abnormally high, the lunar mount must be classified as exces-
sive.
Modem palmists, adding a dash of Freudian psychology to

traditional wisdom, have identified Mount Luna as representing
the id or the unconscious element of our psychic makeup,
concerned with the submerged part of our lives, which mani-
fests itself through the imagination, instinctual drives and the
// ,/
various complexes postulated by psychoanalysis.
A comparison of the psychological concept with descriptions
given in the literature of palmistry from earliest times shows
that there is indeed a considerable similarity between the two.
Conventional chirology teaches that the qualities associated
with Mount Luna include daydreaming, intuition, domestic
superstition and curiosity. The Moon, which gives the mount
its name, is the best clue to its attributes: the Moon, it will be
recalled, governs the tides (moods orhuman),
feelings in the
growth and fecundity. As astrologers have observed, the Sun
gives life and the Moon nurtures it. So our unconscious mind,
the great storehouse of memory and hidden, profound feelings,
nourishes our lives and to a great extent determines our
emotional and spiritual maturity.
A well-developed Moon mount, balanced by normal mounts
in the rest of the hand, indicates an individual who possesses a
creative imagination of the kind necessary to great storytellers,
musicians and artists. The late Walt Disney, a genius whose
worlds of fantasy have brought pleasure to millions, had such a
mount in both hands.
A deficiency or absence of the lunar mount, per contra,
betokens a pedestrian type of personality — a person devoid of
imagination, lacking those romantic feelings and poetic quali-
ties that give life its colors and melody. Hypochondria is very
often another correlate.
74
A really excessive Moon mount is rarely encountered. When

it is, its possessor will be irritable, restless, solitary, fickle,
lazy, melancholy.
With respect to health, the lunar eminence relates to a great
many illnesses and infirmities. The principal ones are psycho-

neuroses, rheumatism, neurasthenia, appendicitis, female dis-
orders, enteric diseases, dropsy and bladder troubles. The
specific configuration of markings identifying each of these
maladies will be found in the alphabetically arranged list which

appears in Chapter 10 of this work.
The Mount of Venus
Whereas the Moon mount represents the subjective, inner

dynamic of the subject, the mount of Venus on the opposite side
of the hand relates to positive, outgoing energy which is applied
to our conscious life. Some authorities even consider this
mount, which lies beneath the thumb, as a third phalange of
that digit. It will be recalled that the thumb measures the
individual's life-force and physical vitality. The first two phal-
anges of the thumb, corresponding to will and logic, respective-
ly, determine the course and nature of the libido signified by

size of the Venusian mount. Therefore, if the mount predomi-
nates over all the others in the hand, and at the same time the
thumb reveals a weak will, you may reasonably conclude that
the person will tend to be sensual, romantic, sympathetic,
generous, but with little drive in worldly affairs. He will find it
overcome temptations involving the opposite sex. If

difficult to
the mount is abnormally high, the overdevelopment will indi-

cate the profligate and sybarite, unless there are very strong
testimonies to the contrary elsewhere in the chirognomic pro-
file.
75
1
Medical Palmistry
When other unfavorable features are found, supporting the

exaggerated mount of Venus, you have the depraved, vain,
debauched, whose conduct will range from the socially revolt-
ing to the criminally liable.
The bad Venusian, writes an English palmist, * "may be
recognized by the hand being very thick, especially the base of
the hand and the third phalanges of the fingers, the mount of
Venus being large, red and hard; with the fingers smooth,
short, and the first phalanges also short, we have mere animals,
who find their pleasures only in pandering in their animal
passions."
The more conservative palmist may regard this observation
as being a rather extreme statement of the case. However, in my
own experience as a working journalist who has interviewed
many persons who were in trouble with the law, I have found
the conclusions just set forth to be sound.
A deficient mount of Venus is likely to reveal a nature that is
cold, devoid of esthetic tastes, selfish and sexually frigid.
On the other hand, a moderately developed, balanced mount

(in relation to the others) is a mark of an attractive, affectionate
person who loves beauty and pleasure, which he is eager to
share with others. It denotes a fondness of music, poetry and
painting. Elevation of the lower part of the mount is particularly
associated with artistic creativity *4 .
Aside from the libidinous tendencies cited in connection with

an excessive Venus, and which may lead to veneral diseases,
there are few health problems specifically linked to this mount.
Some writers have added hysteria and female disorders, but I
am inclined to believe that this judgment is based upon

associations with the name of the mount rather than upon
actual observation and analysis.
*Psychos, The Complete Guide To Palmistry. London: n.d.
76
The Mount of Mars
Traditional palmistry always lists, in addition to the six

mounts described in the preceeding paragraphs a seventh,
which is called the mount of Mars. Actually, there are two
distinct monticules involved and to distinguish them, one is
designated the "upper mount" of Mars and the other, the
"lower mount" of Mars.
The upper Mars is situated just beneath the mount of
Mercury, between the heart and head lines (which will be
delineated in the next chapter). When fully developed, this
mount indicates that the subject possesses great courage and

resistance against any kind of attack, whether physical or
mental. He by nature zealous in his undertakings and, owing
is
to his warmth, courage and steadfastness in the face of danger,

he makes an ideal leader in undertakings which involve uncer-
tainty or risk.
The so-called lower Mars is situated on the opposite
mount of
side of the hand, beneath the mount of Jupiter and between the
life line and the mount of Venus. This mount represents
aggressive courage. When it is relatively prominent, it indicates
a person who is ready and willing to take the offensive in any

kind of contest, whether it be a battle of wits or physical
combat.
A hand in which both the upper and lower mounts of Mars
are normally developed belongs to an individual who is capable
of strong resistance both to disease and to the insults to our
nervous system inherent in the stress of daily living. At the
same time, he will have the power to overcome obstacles that
may bar his way to the realization of his aims.
When either or both of the Martian mounds show excessive
development, towering above all the others and extending into
the center of the palm, it betokens a violent character who will
77
Medical Palmistry
exhibit defiance to every lawful restraint placed upon him,

behaving in a cruel, bullying manner. Such an individual will
try to ride roughshod over his fellows to reach the goal he has
set for himself.
While it is unwise to go too far in equating the qualities of the

mounts with those which astrology traditionally
attributes
assigned to the planet by whose name they are designated, in
the case of Mars there are some parallels, especially with regard
to health. Mars, along with the Sun, gives heat and vitality to
the body, but is capable of providing an overabundance of

energy that can trigger certain ailments. Overexcitement can
bring on a stroke or heart attack; and aggressive behavior
sooner or later leads to accidents or severe fights.
On the positive side, the powerful influence of the Martian
qualities may help to eliminate or to prevent disease. Max
Heindel, the noted Rosicrucian astrologer observed that "in the
maintenance of life. Mars ever aims to cleanse the body of filth
and waste accumulation so that the fires of life may bum
brightly. Hence, when the gourmandizing habits of Jupiter and
Venus have clogged the system, or the obstructive tendencies of
Saturn have poisoned the body by stoppage of elimination.
Mars lights the fires of fever and inflammation to bum out the
refuse and give the system a new lease on life and energy."
It has been my own observation that those persons in whose
hands the mounts of Mars were well-developed had a constant
body temperature somewhat higher than average, and that they
appeared to have a strong resistance to infection.
Predominance and Displacement
Before leaving the subject of mounts (which, for the medical

palmist, is of secondary interest), a word should be said about
78
making an overall judgment based upon the relations of the

mounts to each other.
While the outstanding eminence of a single mount will
necessarily be the major factor to be considered, only rarely will
it determine character or the health picture to the exclusion of all
the others. What the dominant signature does is to establish a

guide to the subject's strongest qualities. The less-developed
mounts will provide clues to the weakest.
To determine whether a prominent mount generally repre-
sents good or bad inclinations in the subject's life, it is
necessary to examine the tip of the finger related to the mount.

Thus, if the fingertip is square, the dynamic signified by the
corresponding mount will be controlled by reason and good
sense. If spatulate, the energies will run toward material
values, which in combination with weak testimonies elsewhere
in the hand, would be considered bad. A conic tip shows an
inclination to waste ones powers in vague plans, imaginative
ventures and so on. As we have seen, the practice of palmistry
requires the ability to analyze carefully and to balance one sign
against another.
Very often a given mount will not be found exactly beneath
same designation. Instead, it will be displaced
the finger of the
toward the mount of an adjoining finger. Several leading
palmists, among them Noel Jaquin, have expressed the view
that when such dislocation occurs, it is because a highly
developed mount attracts a weaker one. According to this
theory, the mount which thus shifts toward an adjacent one will
be influenced by the traits associated with the magnetic mount.
A dominant Saturn may disorient and overshadow the bright
carefree disposition indicated by the mount of Apollo; or an
abnormally high Mercury may exercise an power over
attrahent
Apollo on the opposite side, influencing the talents shown by
79
,
Medical Palmistry
the Sun mount to serve commercial or scientific, rather than

purely artistic ends.
In examining a great number of hands, the medical palmist
will very probably encounter one or more in which he finds a
hard lump or mount in the palm, usually beneath the ring

finger. This nodule should not be mistaken for a natural mount,
since it is a pathological defect known to medicine as a palmar
fascial fibrosis.
Dr. Scheimann states categorically that this condition is
related to coronary heart disease. He advances the theory,

which he says is shared by some of his medical colleagues, that
diseases of the coronary artery irritate a nerve center near the
heart which in turn affects the ulnar nerve in the left hand. The
constant irritation of the palmary nerve causes the nodule of
indurated tissue to form beneath the surface of the skin.
"Although the nodules usually appear after the patient has
suffered his heart attack," writes Dr. Scheimann, "occasionally
they will appear without the patient having known that he
"
suffered a 'silent heart attack/
However, in my own experience, I have observed such a
nodule in the palm of a fifty-eight-year-old man who had no
known history of cardiovascular trouble, and whose EKG
(electrocardiogram) reading shows no signs of a previous
attack. It is true that he has an abnormally high cholesteral
level in his blood, a condition which some authorities believe
plays an important role in the development of arteriosclerosis
(hardening and narrowing of the arteries). In such a case, it is
only prudent for the subject to adjust his diet and living habits
to a regimen aimed at preventing a heart attack or stroke.
In his work. The Hand as a Mirror of Systemic Diseases Dr.
*Eugene Scheimann, (M.D.), A Doctor's Guide to Better Health Through

Palmistry (WestNyack, N.Y.: 1969).
80
Theodore J. Berry describes a condition similar to that delinea-

ted by Dr. Scheimann, but identifies it as Dupuytren's Con-
tracture, the exact origin of which is not yet known.
"The earliest lesions are thought to arise from the walls of the
small arteries in the palmar fascia. Grossly, the contracture
begins with the formation of a tight, hard nodule beneath the
skin of the palm at the base of the fourth or fifth finger. As it
slowly progresses, the overlying skin is dimpled, and dense

cords form, which extend into the palmar aspects of the
involved fingers."
Dr. Berry adds that in severe cases, the affected finger or
fingers may be drawn gradually into ever greater degrees of
flection until the tips meet the palm, making extension of the
finger impossible. He writes that medical researchers have

related Dupuytren's Contracture to various disorders, among
them osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, psoriasis,
postmyocardial infarction (heart attack), and alcoholic hepatic
cirrhosis. To complicate the picture even further, he adds
normal persons to the list.
Once again, the need to consider more than one feature of the
hand before reaching a conclusion is clearly evident.
81
Chapter 5
The Principal Lines
No aspect of palmistry has given birth over the centuries to so

many theories and differences of opinion as that of the lines
found in every human palm.

mantic
For traditional palmistry, stressing as it does, the
of varying
features of hand reading, these palmary furrows
width and depth, constitute the central mystery of the art.
Unfortunately, up to now no single scientifically sound
system for interpreting their significance has been accorded
universal acceptance. Even their origin and development
remain
a mystery. The facile explanation offered us by orthodox

medical authorities — that the lines were formed by movements
of the hand—is no more tenable than the cabalistic teaching of
astral emanations, perhaps even less so.
Present chirological evidence supports the thesis, shared by
most contemporary palmists, that many, if not all, lines in the
hand are closely related to physical and psychological experi-
ences.
In this connection, be helpful to recall that biological
it may
and medical research over the past half century or more have
revealed that psychological processes have definite physiologi-
cal correlates. Anger, for example, causes inflammation of the
82
The Principal Lines
stomach walls. A
sudden loud noise, fear or anxiety can raise
the blood pressure, induce muscular contraction and so on.
Various other kinds of stress affect the body's endocrine
system. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to agree with the
French researcher Dr. Vaschide, that the lines may be images
motorigues or tracings induced by response to neuromuscular
action.
But if this is so, how does one account for the fact that not
only past and present events are represented in the hand, but
future ones as well?
The answer to this question seems to be that, as we men-
tioned earlier, man's deepest awareness is not confined to the
time field of his objective mind, but has access to timeless
being. Very pertinent here is the observation of Sir John
Woodroff who, in his book Shakti and Shakta wrote: "Man's
consciousness has no fixed boundary."
Fred Gettings, the English authority on palmistry, voiced a
similar point of view when he declared: "In one part of himself
the individual knows the future. The lines are merely the
outward expression of this subconscious knowledge."
It is not surprising to find, then, that in the elementary type
of hand there are fewer lines than in the palm of the highly
evolved artist, scientist or entrepreneur. In the case of the
former, there is little or no interior history, so to speak, to be
reflected in a complex of lines. His life is uncomplicated and his
mind and conditions of stress which
free of the fears, phantasies
produce such a complicated pattern in the hands of persons
having highly augmented nervous systems.
While the number and intricacy of lines vary greatly from
hand to hand, and no two hands are ever identical, there are
three principal lines which will be found in all but a very small
minority of palms — so few, in fact, that in my personal analysis
of more than a thousand hands, I have encountered only one
83
Medical Palmistry
3. Line of Heart
84
The Principal Lines
exception; and even in that case two of the main lines were
present.
The first of these, known as the "life line" or the "vital,"
hand about midway between
ordinarily starts at the side of the
the thumb and index finger (see Fig. 15). In most hands it
circumscribes the mount of Venus in a clear-cut arc whose
length varies, in some hands appearing quite short and in
others reaching all the way to the wrist.
Commencing at the same point as the life line, or very close to
it, is a second prominent crease, called the "head line." It
follows a sloping course across the palm toward the percussion

side of the hand.
The third principal line proceeds from a point beneath the
finger of Jupiter (or sometimes as far into the hand as Saturn)
across the upper portion of the palm, terminating at the outer
edge of the hand. In traditional palmistry it is designated the
"heart line."
Medical literature refers to these three cardinal lines as
flexion creases because they are involved in hand movements.
However, these creases, although functional, are not formed
nor influenced by movement; we were bom with them already
in the hand. They differ qualitatively in different hands, and no
two hands are ever identical.
Even the right hand differs from the left. Various theories
have been advanced to account for this difference, but the most
feasible seems to be that in right-handed persons the left hand
is related to inherited tendencies and characteristics, while the
right hand defines the active, self-determining attributes of the
individual — it represents those changes and modifications he
has made in the genetic mold bequeathed to him by his
ancestors.
In associating the right hand with the volitional aspects of
our personality, traditional palmistry is supported by historical
85
Medical Palmistry
fact. While anthropoids are for the most part ambidextrous,

man is, and apparently always has been, predominantly right-
handed. have shown that 92 percent of all
Statistical studies
people employ their right hand for any activity that requires the
use of only one member. Anthropologists have called attention
to the fact that the most primitive men whose habits they have
studied were likewise right-handed. For example, a flint tool
which scientists estimate to be a million years old, was shaped

to be held between the right thumb and forefinger. Similarly, a
prehistoric cave painting depicts a man throwing a spear with
his right hand.
It has been suggested by some chirologists that persons bom
at night will have more clearly defined dominant lines in the left
hand, while those bom between sunrise and sunset will have
stronger and deeper lines in the right hand.
A nineteenth-century English palmist voiced the opinion that
one's degree of spiritual development was the factor which
determined which hand had dominant lines.
"I have found," wrote Ida Ellis in A Catechism of Palmistry ,

"that every sensitive person — i.e., persons possessing psychic
or spiritual gifts, has more and deeper lines on the left hand
than on the right, whilst an active person who holds his own
life, action and fate, as it were, in his own hands or under the
control of his own will, has marks in his right hand."
the deeper
A very early chiromancer, Johann Hartlief of Germany,
believed that there were also differences based upon the sex of
the subject. He wrote that a man's future was to be read in his
right hand, but that of woman in her left.
These and many similar hypotheses are founded on supersti-
tion, astrology and outright invention. In any case, so far as
chirological diagnosis is concerned, both hands must be care-
fully scrutinized and any single finding squared with others
before a conclusion can be reached.
86
The Principal Lines
Making a General Assessment
In interpreting the lines of the hand, it is well to follow the

same procedure as that recommended in evaluating the fingers
and mounts, that is, to make an overall assessment before

passing to an examination of individual features.
The medical palmist's chief interest in the general appearance
of lines in the palm lies in determining whether they are
defective in any pronounced way and whether such defects are
related to poor health, either mental or physical.
First, note the number and complexity of the lines. Is the
palm crisscrossed with a nexus of fine lines, grilles and other

markings? Such a hand almost certainly belongs to a person of
a nervous temperament, one probably introspective and respon-
sive to change in environment or social life. In a word, it is a
hand which is likely, upon detailed inspection, to yield signs of

psychosomatic disorders.
By contrast, the palm in which there are few clear, broad,
somewhat shallow lines bespeaks an individual who knows an
animal-like contentment, responding to the natural rhythms of
earth and nature, and free of the anxieties which beset the more
sophisticated types.
What is the dominant color of the lines? Normal, healthy
lines are pink, and only of a slightly deeper hue than the rest of
the hand. Very pale lines betoken lack of vitality and good
circulation. Vivid red lines are often associated with high blood
pressure and should prompt a search for other signs indicating
that ailment.
It must also be ascertained whether the lines are even and
clear throughout their length or whether they are broken in
places, chained, islanded or split. As a general rule, a line that
ismoderately deep, well-colored and free of crossbars through-

out its course shows strength, physical vigor, moral firmness or
87
Medical Palmistry
steadfastness of purpose, depending upon which line is being

considered.
Per contra, wide, shallow, pallid lines indicate weakness,
both psychological and physical. must be borne in mind,
It
however, that when testimonies elsewhere in the hand give

evidence of strength, the opposing indications must be weighed
against each other to see which of the two is definitive.
In a later chapter we will consider accessory lines of influence
(that is, lines which join, cross or run parallel to the principal
ones) but in passing, mention may be made of a generalization

accepted by many palmists past and present. It is that all
horizontal lines crossing the mounts or cutting the main fur-

rows in the palm are unfavorable. Vertical lines, however, are
usually regarded as favorable, whether they branch upward
from a given line or appear as sister lines of reinforcement.
In my personal experience, I have not found this axiom to be
absolutely true. I have examined the hands of many healthy and
successful people whose palms were webbed with fine lines
running in all directions. On balance, they appeared to repre-
sent nothing more than an intensely active nervous system.
There was nothing in the life history of most of these persons to
justify Desbarrolles's dictum that cross lines are "lines of
worry," unless worry is taken to mean preoccupation with a
great many details involved in achieving anything outstanding
in the complex world of today.
With respect to the difference between fine lines and coarse or
heavy ones, Jaquin observes (I believe correctly) that in the case
of apalm covered with a mass of very fine, thin lines, the person
possesses more nervous vitality than physical stamina, whereas
thick lines denote more physical strength than nervous energy.
So far as the individual's health is concerned, it must be kept
in mind that often the person of a nervous temperament will
come through a siege of illness better than one who has a
88
The Principal Lines
greater abundance of physical vigor. The latter possesses more

resistance but very often less endurance than the highly strung
personality or the out-and-out neurotic, who seems to carry on
by means of some psychodynamic that is lacking in the robust
subject.
The Line of Life
Of all the lines in the hand, the one which, taken alone, is
most important in determining a person's physical legacy and

energy potential, is the line of life.
In some older texts on palmistry, it is in fact called the "line
of vitality" because it is associated almost exclusively with the

body and its functions. Apparently for the same reason, a
recent book on the subject designates the line the "somatic."
For the most part, contemporary writers reject the ancient
postulate so dear to the hearts of Gypsy tearoom practitioners,
that the length of the life line indicates the length of an

individual's life.
My own observations have led me to the same conclusion. As

war correspondent, I had
a front-line the opportunity of hastily
viewing the hands of quite a number of battle casualties. With
but few exceptions, the life lines were of a length which, on the
basis of the long-line long-life theory, would have meant a
normal life span. (There were other signs of danger and death
in these men's hands, but their tragic fates was not foretold by
their line of life.)
It follows that a short life line does not foretell a short life. It
means, rather, that the subject has but a small reserve of vital
energy or possesses a weak constitution. The line may grow

longer as the person grows older, provided he is careful of his
health.
89
Medical Palmistry
Another which has resulted in a great deal of

false reading
needless anxiety is that concerning a broken life line. Palmists
of the nineteenth century, who seem to have looked mostly on
the dark side in their interpretations, upon finding a break in
this line, were prone to make a flat prediction of serious illness
or major accident.
Actually, a break in the life line does warn of failing health or
physical injury during the time period where it occurs; but the
kind and extent of such indisposition must be sought in
confirming signs, especially on the heart line. It is important
also to note whether the line is broken at the same place in both
hands. If it appears in the left hand, it denotes a complaint
arising from some hereditary weakness. Dr. Scheimann sug-
gests examining the hands of the individual's parents (provided
they are available), since he points out that abnormal crease
lines may develop during fetal growth not only as the result of
diseased conditions in one or both of the parents, but also as
genetic recurrence. In that case, the break would have no
diagnostic significance.
When a break in the life line is protected as it were by a
parallel line on either side of the break, the severity of the sign is
greatly diminished.
If the line which resumes after a break turns inward toward
the thumb, it is usually regarded as an indication that the
illness or accident has permanently impaired the subject's
health.
Sometimes the line will be "chained" for a portion of its
length, more often at the beginning than elsewhere. Such a
defect signifies delicate health and recurring periods of debility
or disease. If such a condition persists throughout the full
course of the line, the individual will suffer a series of vexing
small illnesses and remain somewhat frail throughout his life.
According to an ancient teaching in palmistry, any lines
90
The Principal Lines
which cut across the life line must be considered defective

markings. It is important, however, to distinguish between the
numerous fine, transverse lines which pass over the life line in
persons of a very nervous temperament, and deeper crossbars
which intersect the line and denote more serious physical
difficulties.
The length, depth and direction of the crossbars which cut a

life line will indicate the nature and seriousness of the malady
shown or prefigured by them. The deeper the crossing line, the
more severe the ailment indicated by it.
When an interrupting line continues on to terminate on the
mount of Saturn, the physical disorder it signals will be of the
kind associated with that mount, that is, complaints involving
the bones, joints, ears, teeth and skin troubles. Psychosomatic
illnesses related to this configuration are usually the kind
brought on by worry, pessimism and a misanthropic attitude
toward life.
If the intersecting line ends at the heart line (especially if the

termination occurs at an island or red dent in the line) heart
disease may be inferred. Again, however, the analyst must look
for other confirming marks which ordinarily are related to
cardiac pathology.
A well-defined crossbar that cuts the life line, then eventuates
at a grid on the upper mount of Mars, bespeaks bronchial
trouble.
Should a clear-cut crossbar end on the upper portion of the
mount of Luna, you may reasonably suspect enteric diseases or
disorders of the bowels. On the lower part of the mount,
especially if the line terminates at a grid or cross, female
troubles or kidney ailments may be present or imminent.
There is a fairly widespread agreement among palmists, both
contemporary and those of the past, that forking of the life line
at its ending indicates a decline in vital force. However, unless
91
Medical Palmistry
the fork wide one, there is little cause for concern; very few
is a
persons reach an advanced age without some diminution of
their powers. In those few instances in which the individual
remains robust and vigorous to the very end, the life line
continues, clear and deep and free of defective markings until it
suddenly stops.
Certain palmists have concluded that when the life line ends
in a tassel, it indicates a total dissipation of physical vitality. I
regard such a reading as somewhat extreme. Such a configura-

tion sometimes indicates pronounced debility in old age, but not
necessarily invalidism or death.
The Palmary Clock
It is important to the hand analyst to know at what age an

indicated illness or accident has occurred or will occur in the
future. Over the centuries, palmists have evolved various
systems of dating, most of them using the life line as a basis for
their scale. (Some palmists also use the lines of fate and Sun in
calculating the time of a given event.)

A typical traditional method is described by Robert Allen
Campbell in his work. Mysteries of the Hand , in these words:
Take a pair of compasses, set the fixed point at the root
of the index finger as a center, extend the movable point to
the middle of the root of the third finger. Draw the arc of a
circle, and mark this distance off on the vital line. That
part of the line between the east edge of the hand and the
point thus marked will represent the first ten years of the
life. Next, extend the movable point to the division be-
tween the third and fourth finger, and the distance marked
off on the vital line will note the twentieth year of life, and.
92
The Principal Lines
Fig. 16. The Palmary Clock.
93
Medical Palmistry
hence, the space between the first and second markings

will between the tenth and twentieth years. The
be the life
movable point extended to the middle of the fourth finger

— to the edge of the hand at the root of the little finger — to
the percussion of the palm where it is touched by the

impulse line — will respectively give, when marked off on
the vital line, the thirtieth, fortieth and fiftieth years.
Measure off on the percussionhand below the
of the
impulse line, two thirds of the distance between the root of

the little finger and the impulse line, extend the movable
point of the compass to this point and mark the distance
off on the vital line for the sixtieth year. For each succes-
sive ten years take two thirds of the distance given to the
next preceding decade."
As will be evident from the foregoing formula, age on the life
line is read on a descending scale, starting at the top of the hand

and moving downward toward the wrist (Fig. 16).
Despite the claims of many palmists that they can virtually

pinpoint the date of a given event or pathological episode by
consulting this "palmary clock," it has been my own observa-
tion that dead-center precision is not possible. Even close
approximation requires a considerable period of study and
experience.
So far as attempting to establish the date of a subject's death,
the only rule to follow is don't.
The Heart Line
From the standpoint of health, the heart line is second in

importance only to the life line, and should be examined for
94
The Principal Lines
signs related to findings on the former line. Not only does it
reflect the emotional upsets of our lives, but the actual function-
ing and condition of the vital organ from which its name is
most industrialized nations such as the

derived. Statistically, in
United States and those of Western Europe almost half of all
deaths are from cardiovascular disorders of one kind or another.
Consequently, the necessity for careful scrutiny of the heart line
cannot be overemphasized.
At the same time, the inexperienced palmist should never
base any firm and final conclusion respecting heart disease oh a
reading of the heart line alone. Even the most skillful practition-
ers have frequently commented upon the difficulty of interpret-

ing certain markings to be found on the heart line. The reason is
that such signatures may be related to an emotional episode, a

health defect or an inherent trait of character.
It requires the greatest expertise to tell which. When indica-
tions of possible heart disease are found on the heart line, they
should be checked against other symptoms of cardiac difficul-
ties, such as clubbed fingertips and cyanotic nails (that is, nails
having a distinct bluish tinge at the base). A definite pro-
nouncement that the subject has heart disease is never justified.

Instead, he should be advised to consult a physician or, if the
condition does not appear to be acute, to adjust his way of life to
amore serene pattern.
The heart line normally has its starting point at the outer
edge or percussion of the hand and normally proceeds across
the upper part of the palm, ending at or near the root of the
index finger. However, many variations in both the point of
termination and position in the palm will be observed in
examining many hands. It is not uncommon for the line to end
between the fingers of Jupiter and Saturn or to slope downward
almost to the beginning of the line of head. The latter termina-
95
Medical Palmistry
tion is often associated with homosexuality. It may also indicate
a person who prefers a platonic relationship with the opposite

sex.
the heart line extends only to a point beneath the finger of
If
Saturn, the subject's love life will be greatly influenced by

sensuality and in the case of such a finding, both hands should
be examined for the girdle of Venus (discussed below), which,
by its configuration, will provide a clue to the nature and extent
of the subject's sexual drive.
When the heart line is chained for a considerable part of its
length, weakness of the heart, either organically or functionally
is almost certain. Some leading palmists have related the

chained or feathered line to the emotional life of the individual
rather than to the strictly physical, but I have personally found
that such a marking almost always denotes some form of
cardiovascular deficiency. The condition may very likely be
related to the subject's emotional life, but its primary interest
for the diagnostician is that of pathology, either present or
imminent.
The system and the skin, reacts
heart, like the digestive
strongly and directly to the person's experiences in everyday
life —
his passions, suffering, affection, poignant loss. Long
after these emotional storms have subsided or passed, the
organic damage wrought by them remains. So do the corre-
sponding marks in the palms. The problem for the medical
palmist is to determine how much physical injury was done by
such traumatic episodes.
People who crave constant emotional, or often sexual, stimu-
lation, whether self-induced, by alcohol or drugs, or as a
natural consequence of their personal relationships, commonly
have palms a sister line to the heart line,
in their known as the
"girdle of Venus." It usually rises between the index and the
middle finger, and forms an arc (or some portion of one)
96
The Principal Lines
beneath the mounts of Saturn and Apollo. It varies in length,

depending upon the personality makeup of the individual, in
some hands extending no farther than the mount of Saturn, in
others encircling the mounts of Saturn, Apollo and Mercury,
terminating at the percussion.
In several of the older texts on palmistry, this line is called
flatly the line of hysteria, but this in my opinion is not always
an accurate evaluation. Certainly, in a hand bearing other signs
of hypersensitivity and nervousness, its presence will most
probably indicate a hysterical temperament, especially if the
girdle consists of a double line or one that is long and broken.
However, in an otherwise normal or artistic hand, the girdle
may be taken as a sign of heightened awareness, esthetic sense
or ardor in intellectual undertakings.
But whether good or bad, I regard the line as always being
associated with basic sexual drive, even when that drive has
been sublimated and given a new direction. Consequently, it
should be assessed in connection with the mount of Venus. If
the latter is prominent, red and grilled, it is quite likely that the
subject's sexual life plays an important role in his general
physical and psychological condition. Excesses, or emotional
disturbance resulting from a turbulent love life, may in time
produce neurotic states or psychosomatic illness.
According to Karl Cams, a nineteenth-century scientist who
made a thorough study of the human hand, a well-defined
girdle of Venus in a male hand is usually associated with
effeminacy. However, it would be unwise to accept this signa-
ture alone as indicative without finding some supporting evi-
dence such as a sharp downward slope of the heart line toward
the base of the mount of Jupiter.
Contemporary palmists who are psychologically oriented,
consider the ring of Venus as a channel for the passage of
psychosexual energy from the unconscious id to the active
97
Medical Palmistry
conscious ego. When clear, well developed and unbroken, it
heightens the sensitivity in an artistic hand, but may denote a

libidinous nature in a coarse or sensual type of hand. In
estimating its real significance, it is necessary to consider the

individual as well as the configuration.
If the girdle is loQg, broken -ami cros sed_ fine
lines, it indicates a serious imbalance in the emotional or sexual

life. When such a marking is found, it should be correlated with
the finger of Mercury (Is it widely separated from the other
fingers?) and the mount of Venus (Is it prominent and red?).
In examining the heart line, it is important to note any radical
change in its course across the hand and to determine the
approximate date at which the alteration occurs. If the line
abruptly de flects downward for example, cutting thro ugh the
f
line of head (the principal it), a serious ailment

involving the adrenal-pituitary glandular axis may be indicat-
ed. If such a configuration appears in only the left hand, while
the line continues in a normal way in the right hand, the
corresponding pathology will be less serious and will be
successfully overcome. If the abnormality is present in both
hands, however, the palmist should check for signs of such
ailments as stroke, insanity, brain fever, and so on (see Chapter
10, "Systemic Diseases: Signs To Look For").
Anîsland or islands on the heart line (as, indeed, on any line)
jmust be considered a defect. From a diagnostic point of view, it
always raises the question of weakness in the heart's function.
The size of the island, whether it occurs at the same place in

both hands, and the integrity of the line as it continues after the
island occurs, are considerations which will indicate the impor-
tance of the marking and whether the difficulty will be over-
come or is permanent impairment of the organ. If the island or
a
islands appear only in the left hand* for example, while the right
hand is free of them or they are much smaller, it may be read as
98
The Principal Lines
signaling cardiac trouble whi ch will respond to ea rly treatment/

qtJo change diet^Ji yingiiat^ andsaforth^
Many traditional texts on palmistry say that dots, or indenta-
tions, on the heart line are associated with heart or circulatory
troubles, but I have been unable to confirm this from firsthand
observation. In any case, there are more reliable signs of heart
disease, as already described.
The Head Line
The third main flexion crease in the hand is known to
palmists as the head line. Normally, it originates between the

thumb and index finger just above or coinciding with the life
line. It is not rare, however, to find the line starting below the
life lineand widely separated from it or, in some cases, leaving
the life line a half inch or more from the starting point. In the
first instance, the configuration signifies a person of overween-
ing self-confidence, one prone to recklessness and caprice. The

second, that is, remaining joined to the life line for a halHnch or
more before branching away on its own, indicates a tendency to.
expect much from others, to hold the view that "the world owes
me a^livihgT^Several authorities, notably Calef and Benham,
define this signature as a stigma associated with criminal types,
but I have found it in the hands of persons whose conduct was
above reproach, although in every instance they were lacking in
self-reliance.
The course of the head line varies a great deal in different
hands, but in most cases will be found to: (a) slope gradually
downward toward the mount of Luna, (b) rise toward the
mount of Mercury, or (c) continue straight across the palm
toward the percussion. We shall later consider the significance
of each of these alignments.
99
Medical Palmistry
The importance of the lip** medical palmist hes

frpaH fnr the
in the fact that it delineates, the mental health and capacity of

mind, just as the life line denotes constitutional endowment and
physical vigor, or the heart line the emotional makeup and
cardiovascular system.
The work of medical researchers supports the claim
recent
long made by hand analysts that the line of head is a reliable
guide in this respect. Dr. Scheimann cites the study of Dr.
Charlotte Wolff whose examination of the hands of 650 mental-
ly defective patients disclosed faulty or broken head lines in 70
percent of the subjects, as compared to 30 percent in the hands

of "controls" or normal people.
By studying the salient features of the head line, then its
position in the hand, its length, quality, defects and so on, the
experienced analyst soon has a fairly accurate estimate of the
subject's intellectual faculties. His ability to think things
through, his degree of imagination and his capacity for making
sound judgments, all these characteristics have correspond-
ences in the line of head.
A close relationship exists between the lines of head and
heart, since mind and emotion are reciprocal in their influence.
Because of this interaction. Gettings, the English palmist
previously cited, believes that the two lines should be interpre-
ted as a unity. However, while such an evaluation has many
advantages in the delineation of character and personality, for
the purposes of medical diagnosis it is not as satisfactory as
considering the lines separately. Organic heart trouble, for
example, is not always related to emotional difficulties; it may
be congenital. Nor is schizophrenia necessarily associated with
stigma that would appear on the line of heart.
In drawing conclusions from the length of the head line, it is
necessary to evaluate the qualities of the line rather than merely

its span. While it is generally true that an abnormally short
100
.
The Principal Lines
Jjead line denotes a limitation of the individual's mental ability,

if the line is even, clear and deep and free of defects* the person
would be capable of intense concentration and brain work
within a restricted area of interest^
A shallow, broad, pale line, per contra, is a sign of feeble
intellection, even if it extends farther across the hand. The ideal
line,from the view point of good mental health, sound judg-
ment and intelligence is one which is even, unbroken and clear,
running across the hand in a slight curve downward toward the
mount of Luna.
Any kind of defect deflection, island or chain weakens the
lineand should be carefully scrutinized to see whether, taken in
combination with other signs, it foreshadows some form of ill
health such as nervous prostration, headaches, brain damage,
paralysis and so on.
When the line slopes gradually toward the mount of the
Moon, the imagination will play a greater role in the indivi-
dual's life and thinking than it does in those of a person with a
line that runs a straight course or rises tow ard Mercury (the
latter configuration showing an augmented business sense or
inclination toward commerce and practical undertaking)
While an imaginative bend to the head line is a favorable sign
in the hand of an artist, poet or novelist, if the line continues
low, down onto the lunar mount, it warns that the subject may
lose touch with reality and become psychopathic. As in other
diagnoses, it is necessary to examine both hands. A defective
line in the left hand may be modified or corrected altogether in
the right.
Breaks in the head line, as in other lines of the hand,
constitute an undersirable feature, indicating as they do, either
diseased states (confirmed by markings on the lines of heart or
life) or recurring headaches and want of concentration. The
breaks are less^serious if they occur in only one hand or if the
101
Medical Palmistry
line is"mended" by short parallel lines on either side of the

breaks. The character of the line following such defects should
be carefully examined to see whether it is weakened by them, or
continues its course with much the same strength as before. By
noting the date (on the palmary clock) when these critical
episodes occur, the analyst can caution the subject to avoid
excessive mental strain or taxing of the nervous system during
the period of weakness or threatened trauma. Such advice, if
heeded, could prevent a mental collapse or nervous breakdown.
Islands on the head line must be regarded as being of far
greater gravity than breaks. Almost without exception, they tell
of intervals of mental unbalance or extreme disorientation. To
determine the nature or source of the trouble indicated, look for
fine ancillary lines leading from the island to another area of the
island. If, for example, the line of influence leads to the mount
of Apollo, sunstroke or fever may be suspected; if to the mount
of Venus, venereal disease, or stress from family problems or
love affairs.
Two other stigma of interest to the medical palmist should be
mentioned. These are indentations on the line, and heavy
crossbars which cut or terminate the line. Indentations may be
small and pale, in which case they signify headaches that are
acute, but of short duration and of slight consequence or they
may be deep and discolored, and of more serious import. If such
a marking appears in the form of a long red scar, traumatic
brain damage is indicated and great care should be taken to
discover adjunctive signs, such as chance lines leading from the
indentation to one of the mounts or to the plane of Mars, and so
on. In the majority of cases, the heart line and/or the head line
will offer additional evidence and help to date the episode. It is
essential, as always, to examine both hands before coming to
any conclusions.
—
Crossbars that is, lines which cut the head line have been —
102
.
The Principal Lines
taken by most traditional palmists to mean falls, head wounds

or injury to the throat area. My personal experience does not
concur with that reading, however. In instances where this
marking was found in a hand (or more importantly, in both

hands), it was almost always associated with periods of
depression andpronounced mental confusio n, amounting in
two~c!TseI~to temporary derangement requiring psychiatric
intervention. The clue to the nature of the difficulty is often to be
found in a thorough check of the lines of life and fate (the latter
tobe discussed below)

,A double head line is considered by most authorities to be a
bad configuration indicating a short attention span and vacilla-
tionjfjeveral texts, no doubt copying Cheiro, say it corresponds
with a split personality or schizophrenia. I am unable to
confirm this interpretation.
To sum up:
Health troubles are indicated on the head line by the line's
poor quality (wavy, pale, shallow, chained, deflected, broken
or split)and by individual defects such as islands, sister lines,
indentations or long red scars and heavy crossbars.
The Simian Line
In a very small proportion of all human hands (between 3 and

5 percent), instead of head and heart lines, a single line will be’
found running straight across the palm, combining, as it were,
the two lines into one. Because of its resemblance to the single,
transverse crease in the hands of monkeys, this feature is called
the "simian line." J

A great deal has been written about this line, in both medical
and palmistic literature. Scientific investigators are, without
exception, in agreement with the basic interpretation of tradi-
103
N
\
Medical Palmistry
tional hand readers that the line is associated with congenital

abnormalities, being atavistic in nature, that is, representing a
throwback to primitive man.
Medical men have known since the first decade of this
century that the simian line is always present in the hands of
Mongolian idiots, but recent studies have revealed that it is
likewise a stigma related to certain abnormalities of the central
nervous system.
Clear, well-defined simian lines have been noted in the hands
of many criminals and psychopaths, leading some writers to
conclude that it is an infallible sign of moral degeneracy.

However, as Dr. Schiemann reminds us, the simian line is a
sign of degeneracy only if accompanied by other abnormal
features in the hand, for example, a short, deformed thumb.
Gettings, who defines a number of configurations other than
the single, transverse crease as simian lines, reports that in
addition to the criminal he has observed two other types of
personality in whose hands the line appears. These were the
devoutly religious and the creative.

"Like the criminal class," Gettings writes, "the lives of these
people are characterized by a strong internal struggle: on the
one hand racked between the devil and the saints, broken and
dashed to pieces in my religion/ and on the other hand standing
mid-point between two similar forces of destruction and con-
struction so familiar to the artist."
But whether religious devotee, artistic genius or criminal, the
person possessing a hand bearing a simian line is an abnormal
subject whose feelings and emotions amount to a fixation. He is
certainly an individual capable of violence if obstructed in his

single-minded drive toward good or evil. His egocen tricity is
closely allied to, if not identical with, psychopathology.

In this nuclear age of global unrest, it is sobering to reflect
that the hand print of a former Vice-president of the United
104
*N
The Principal Lines
States reveals a single transverse line running across the palm

— in other words, a typical simian line. Moreover, during his
incumbency, the state of the President's health was anything
but robust.
A recent study of children's palms, carried out by a team of
prominent Australian pediatricians, has revealed that a simian
line in a child'spalm may indicate a high risk of leukemia.
Drs. Margaret A. Menser and Stuart Purvis-Smith reported
in the British Medical Journal that they compared the palm
prints of 135 children who had leukemia with those of 174 of

their relatives and 500 controls or normal persons.
Fifty-four percent of the leukemia victims had either a
straight simian line or a modified one, which they called a
"Sydney line." The latter was a line which began as a typical
simian but dropped abruptly below the heart line.
Another important finding to emerge from the same research
was that 45 percent of the leukemic children's parents had
similar abnormalities in their hands, pointing to the possibility
that the disease is hereditary or that it may result from a virus
transmitted to the child during the prenatal period.
The Line of Fate
This line, which is the longitudinal crease formed in the palm

by the opposition movement of the thumb, is known also as the
line of Saturn because, irrespective of its starting point, it
always runs toward the mount of that name.

The place of the line's origin varies greatly in the hands of
different subjects. In the majority of cases, however, it will be
found to take its rise at one of four points: at the base of the
hand, from the life line, from the mount of Luna or from the
plane of Mars.
105
Medical Palmistry
In a very small proportion of hands the line will be absent

altogether, a fact of some importance to the palmist because its
presence represents emotional maturity and adaptability to the

environment. In the diagnosis of pathogenic illness, the nonex-
istence of this line indicates a lack of a moral sense, which is
often a prominent feature of abnormal behavior. This does not

mean that a person in whose palms the fate line is missing will
inevitably lack moral control or be maladjusted; much will
depend upon the quality and strength of the other principal

lines in his hand. Even when these are good, the subject will
find it difficult to cope with the swift changes that are occurring
in today's complex world. It will be harder still to "make his
mark" in that world. According to some writers, such a person
will scarcely realize his deficiency; he happily goes with the tide
and accepts his lot for what it is.
A double fate on the other hand, especially if the lines

line,
are defective —
thin, wavy, split, and so on —
denotes illness or
infirmity resulting from the constant struggle to harmonize "the
buried life" with the requirements of the subject's environment
and station in life.
A chained line of fate signifies uncertainty and vacillation in
relation to one's world around. Such hesitation and doubt

usually mean a trying period in life, lasting for the duration of
the chain. If the line shows the same defect for its entire length,
the individual will experience career problems all his life.
Where islands on the fate line are concerned, palmists have,

in the past, offered various interpretations. One school reads
them as a sign of financial troubles at the time they occur.
Another relate them to infidelity in marriage. When islands
occur on the line near its beginning, if it rises from the base of
the hand, difficulties experienced by one or both of the parents
has had a pernicious effect on the subject's childhood.
As with other lines in the hand, breaks are serious defects.
106
The Principal Lines
indicating crises in the career, or impediments that are difficult

toovercome. The quality and the strength of the line following
each break will show how well the individual weathered the
storm. If the line is shallow, uneven and thin after the break,
one may reasonably conclude that the misfortune, disappoint-
ment in love, illness or error in judgment has permanently
undermined the subject's chances for great success in life.
Should the fate line run an even course up to the heart line
and there stop short, as against a wall, the analyst ought to
ascertain from the life and heart lines and from the color of the
nailswhether the stoppage indicates a heart attack. In the
absence of stigma denoting cardiac troubles, it is more than
likely that the person in whose hand the marking appears has
encountered some crises in affairs of the heart that has arrested
his career.
It willbe clear from the foregoing descriptions that the line of
fate is not, per se, a diagnostic line; that is to say, it does not
directly relate to a given disease or infirmity. But the effects of
illness on the subject's personal destiny are registered on the
line. For that reason, it provides the medical palmist with a
reference system which, if carefully checked, can aid in locating
the point of focus of many ailments, physical and mental.
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Medical Palmistry
1. Line of Fate
2. Girdle of Venus
3 . Line of Apollo
4. Line of Mercury
108
Chapter 6
Secondary Lines
In addition to the principal lines, which we have considered

in detail, many hands marked also with certain secondary
are
tracings (see Fig. 17). These are more difficult for inexperienced
analysts to deal with because they are often less visible than the
paramount signatures, and because they may change rapidly in
both course and character during a comparatively short period.
What this means is that they reflect the main events and
influences at work in a subject's life. With an alteration in his
talent, energy and goal-directed ambition, there occur corre-
sponding changes in the ancillary lines.
For the medical palmist, interest focuses upon the pathog-
nomic value of these lines, that is, upon their value as indicators
of abnormal health conditions. Only in one or two instances,
which will be dealt with in the following paragraphs, are
secondary lines directly related to specific illnesses. Rather,
they must be read in relation to the main lines to provide
confirming evidence of a diagnosis or to discover the origin of a
psychosomatic illness.
The majority of laymen, as well as a surprisingly large

number of medical men, still regard mental phenomena as too
elusive or intangible to play an important role in the develop-
ment of disease. However, as these subsidiary lines of the hand
109
Medical Palmistry
will prove beyond all doubt to the trained observer, underlying

psychological processes are often an important factor in the
etiology of what appears to be a wholly physical sickness, such
as chronic diarrhea or the common cold.
The Line of Apollo
As in the case of the line of fate, the line of Apollo has no

strictly established starting point in the hand. When present,
however, it usually runs in the general direction of the mount of
Apollo beneath the ring finger. It is not unusual to find its point
of origin at or near the line of fate ; at the life line : on the mount
of Luna: or on the plane of Mars.
Its length also varies a great deal in different hands, some-
times starting at the wrist and continuing upward through the
palm to terminate on the mount. In other instances, and more
commonly, it will be much shorter.
As the reader must have observed by this time, the length
and quality of any line will determine its influence on the

principal lines it affects.
The line of Apollo, or Sun line, has traditionally been

regarded as a measurement of talent and success in the life of
the person in whose hand it appears. Creativity in the arts has
especially been associated with the line of Apollo, with the
implied conclusion that a hand in which the Apollonian signa-
ture is absent is not likely to enjoy renown or glory.
There is a certain amount of truth in this teaching, but it
cannot be accepted as an exact postulate, applicable in all cases.

For example, I have examined the hand of a world famous
Spanish artist which is devoid altogether of a Sun line. (This is
true of both his hands.) Nevertheless, there are other signs of

unmistakable genius in his palm, and in the shape of the hand
110
Secondary Lines
as a whole. He possesses a long clear line of fate, running in an

unbroken and undeflected groove from the center of the hand at
the wrist to the mount of Saturn, with a branch thrown out to
the mount of Jupiter. There is also present in both hands a kind
of modified, but strong, simian line, crossing the entire breadth
of the palm. The mount of Apollo is well developed, as is the
mount of Jupiter. He also has a prominent mount of Moon.
It should always be kept in mind that the signs of talent need
not be the same as those of genius. Perhaps the difference was
recognized by Owen Meredith, who wrote: "Genius does what
it must, and Talent does what it can."
Another reason the Sun line does not provide a single

criterion for determining an individual's capabilities or pros-
pects of success is that it is changeable. It may appear late in
life, long after the age at which most people retire or lose their
creative drive. Dr. Scheimann correctly observes that the line
can have a special significance for the middle-aged person,
because it can extend to the base of the third finger, indicating
success late in life.
The same defects we have observed afflicting other lines of

the hand will often be encountered in an examination of the Sun
line as well. However, the most important weaknesses in the
present case are the island and the crossbar.

An island on the line indicates serious career difficulties,
which may undermine the subject's health or result in great
financial loss, or both, depending upon the strength and
character of related lines such as those of fate, head, heart and
life. To a certain extent, the health will be adversely affected in
any case, since the stress of failure, loss, injustices (or whatever
adversity befalls the individual) will play a role in his physical
condition during that period of his life.
A forty-year-old Los Angeles newspaper columnist whose

hands I analyzed several years ago offers a good example. He
111
Medical Palmistry
had a well-developed line of Apollo, originating on the upper

part of the mount of Luna and proceeding in a straight course to
the mount of Sun, indicating a good imagination, combined
with the ability to express himself in words and images. The
mounts of Jupiter and Venus were prominent, the finger of
Apollo slightly longer than the index finger. The fingertips were
spatulate, the second joints of the fingers knotted. A clear girdle
ofVenus was present in both hands.
The subject was in the midst of an active and successful
career, having managed to achieve wide recognition both as a
syndicated journalist and as a promising screenwriter.
However, one of the outstanding features of his palm was an
island on the line of Apollo, occurring just below the heart line
at about age forty-three. His life, heart, and fate lines all bore
signs of difficulty or illness at the same period.
I admonished him to give close attention to his health
and his
emotional life (there was a break on the line of affection) during
the next two or three years. It was especially important not to
allow anxiety about his career to undermine the robust constitu-

tion he had inherited from his parents.
The advice, of course, fell upon more or less deaf ears, since
he was then enjoying a notable ascendancy in his profession
and an apparently satisfying relationship in his marriage.
Within two years, however, a bitter quarrel growing out of
political differences with the publisher of the metropolitan daily
which syndicated his column cost him his lucrative contract and
seemingly made it impossible for him to negotiate another with
some other publication.
During the same period of stress, he became emotionally
involved with an Oriental exotic dancer — a liaison which caused
the breakup of his marriage. When I last saw him, he had
suffered a heart attack and was recuperating in a private
sanitarium.
112
Secondary Lines
Taking into account the subject's hands as a whole, it is safe

to predict that he will survive the present crisis, both physical
and psychological. But he will be unlikely to realize the full
potential indicated in his hands. The deep clear line of Sun has
now become wavy and shallow in its course, following the
traumatic island. A number of fine vertical lines have appeared
on the mount of Apollo, indicating that he will engage in a
number of pursuits without gaining much distinction in any of
them. Unless, of course, there is yet another change in his line
of Sun.
In some hands, the Sun line rises near the wrist, runs a brief
course, then vanishes, to reappear higher in the hand, for
example, above the head or heart line. Such a marking signifies
early talent that is either thwarted temporarily, but which
reemerges in later years to play a role in the subject's life, or
that lies dormant for a time while the individual is occupied
with something else. The reason for the hiatus usually will be
all too clear from an examination of the principal lines.
One other defect which holds some importance for the
medical palmist is that of the crossbar, when the latter termi-
nates the Sun line. A marking of this kind means that there is
an abrupt end to the career, caused quite often by health

problems. For that reason, when such a configuration is found,
a close scrutiny of the life line during the and sixth decades
fifth
is called for. Such an examination will be aimed at discovering

any significant stigmata that may be associated with illness.
The Line of Mercury
The Mercury, sometimes called the line of health, is of

line of
prime importance to the medical analyst because, when pre-
sent, it can serve as an index to the individual's state of health.
113
Medical Palmistry
at least as it relates to the condition of his liver and digestive

system.
This line is rarely as strong or deeply marked as the principal
ones, but when clearly visible, unobstructed and of good color,
it signifies physical vitality and a dynamic mentality. What

these qualities may mean in the subject s daily life that is,
whether they support good habits or vice must be determined —

from markings elsewhere in the hand. As some writers have
observed, it often happens that a strong line of Mercury,
indicating robust health, may be found in the hands of lower
types such as sexual psychopaths, or of gluttons and alcoholics,
whose appetites and lusts may be intensified by the vitality
with which they have been genetically endowed.

Conversely, a weak or defective line of Mercury will greatly
impair the qualities of a good line of life, head or Apollo.

The Mercury normally starts from some point in the
line of
lower part of the palm, either from the mount of Luna, from the
fate line or from the plane of Mars. In some instances, I have
found it rising from the wrist at the center of the palm. Should it
originate at the line of life, it denotes some congenital debility of

the heart. The heart and life lines should be carefully examined
in such a case to ascertain if and when the unsound organ will
give trouble. The subject may then be cautioned against placing

any added strain on the heart during the critical period.
Diseases of the liver, as well as stomach disorders, are
indicated by a chained line of Mercury. If the chain consists of a
series of loops, suspicion centers upon the liver; if the links are
ladderlike in appearance, the difficulty is probably related to the
stomach and digestive system.

A short, broad line of Mercury is said to denote a delicate
state of health in old age. I have not been able to confirm this
reading.
114
Secondary Lines
A twisting or wavy line signifies a proneness to cholecystitis,

inflammation of the gall bladder.
An island on the line has the same significance that it does on
other lines, namely, it is a sign of debility or illness for the
period of its duration. The cause and nature of the illness so
represented may be diagnosed from the life, heart and head
lines. If the line is found to be islanded for much or all of its
length, disorders or infections involving the throat and respira-
tory system may threaten the individual.
In a woman's hand, should a defective mark such as a
scarlike dent or a star appear at the junction of the line of
Mercury and that of the head, a pathological condition involv-
ing the female sex organs may be present. The marking may
also denote menopausal depression caused by the altered
balance of sex hormones. If a line is found running from the
mount of Venus to the mount of Saturn, the configuration will
signify difficult childbirth.
Writers of the traditional school are agreed that for the line of
Mercury to intersect the life line at any point is a sign of serious
implications, denoting either very delicate health at the age
when it occurs or the climax of some chronic ailment which has
been progressively undermining the health over a period of
time. Cheiro goes even further and states without reservation
that "if the hepatica [line of Mercury] is as strongly marked as
the line of life itself, their meeting at any point will be the point
of death."
My personal observations have not confirmed such an ex-
treme view, and the careful hand analyst would be well advised
to avoid calculating the time of death, based upon this or any
other reading in the hand. Not only would such a diagnosis be
illegal, but it would, in almost all instances, be inaccurate as
well.
115
Medical Palmistry
THE CROSS
THE STAR
THE SQUARE
THE CIRCLE
THE ISLAND
THE GRILLE
THE PORK
THE TRIANGLE
THE CHAIN
THE SPOT (DOT)

Fig. 18 . Special Signs.
116
,
Secondary Lines
Limited modem studies have established that the line of

Mercury may also be correlated with a subject's personality
factors. The presence of a well-defined, straight line, of whatev-
er length, betokens a person who possesses the intuitive faculty
to a marked degree. In some hands it may denote the seer or the
visionary, especially if the line of head slopes downward to the
mount of Luna. The negative quality of such a formation is the

possibility of delusions about the self, or of social inhibition
because of introversion.
Subordinate Signs
There are a number of special marks which occur in many

hands, to which traditional palmistry has assigned a great
variety of meanings. These are the star, the cross, the square,
the dot, the grille, the triangle, and the circle among others
(Fig. 18).
Most modem practitioners, however, are inclined to treat
such formations as superstition. Certainly, in the field of
medical palmistry I no systematic research which has

know of
established any significant relationship between these marks

and pathological conditions, either present or potential. This
does not mean, of course, that correspondences do not exist, but
merely that reliable studies have not yet been made to determine
exactly what they are if, in face, they do exist.
With this caveat in mind, and in order that the reader may be
completely informed concerning beliefs that have been an
integral part of palmistry in the past, a summary of the most
widely held views will be presented here.
It is generally agreed that most important among the subor-
dinate figures is the star but there is considerable difference of

opinion among leading authorities as to what the sign indicates
117
Medical Palmistry
when appears in various parts of the palm. Some writers have

it
said that the star always represents a shock of one kind or

another, and must therefore be considered an unfavorable
mark.
Cheiro, on the other hand, regarded it, with one or two
exceptions, as a fortunate sign. When found on the upper
portion of the mount of Jupiter, for example, he said it promised
great renown, power and position. On the mount of Apollo it
denotes great riches and exalted social status, but with little
happiness or contentment to accompany them. However, if it is
formed by the line of Sun, it betokens fame won through artistic
talent. In the center of the mount of Mercury, the star gives

success in science, business or literature (depending upon the
type of hand); on the mount of Luna, celebrity through
imaginative arts such as poetry; and on Venus, smooth sailing
in love affairs.
When the star appears in the center of the mount of Saturn,
however, Cheiro interprets it as an evil sign. Thus placed, he
writes, it gives distinction, but of a terrible kind, for it identifies
an individual who is a plaything of destiny, "a man cast for
some terrible part in the drama of life —he may be a Judas or he

may be a Savior, but all his life and work and career will have
some dramatic and terrible climax.
According to readings commonly accepted by traditional
palmists, a star found on the line of life signifies sudden death;

on the head line (especially if the line droops sharply down
upon the lower mount of Luna), mental illness or insanity; and
on the heart line, below the mount of Apollo, serious eye trouble
or injury.
The minor sign which is usually considered second in import-
ance to that of the star is the cross. Time-honored texts on
palmistry give its significance as: on the mount of Jupiter,
lasting affection from a loved one; on the mount of Saturn,
118
Secondary Lines
threat of death by violence or misadventure; on the mount of

Apollo, failure in one's efforts to achieve fame in the arts, or
success in one's career; on Mercury, deception and theft; on
Mars, under Jupiter, a life of violence and contention; on the
mount of Luna, beneath the head line, self-deception; and on
Venus, troubles or danger through amorous passion.
The square is believed to be a sign of protection or preserva-
tion, wherever found on the hand, except when found on the
mount of Venus near to or touching the life line. In that
position, it is supposed to denote imprisonment or enforced
isolation from the world.
The dot or small spot, which may be red, black or blue, is
said to indicate a transitory illness. When on the head line, the
trouble will be the result of mental strain or blows. On the heart

line beneath the mount of Apollo, and with a line leading
upward from the spot to the mount, it is presumed to foretell
visual disturbances.
The grille , frequently found upon the mounts of the hand, is
universally regarded as an unfavorable sign, as it is believed to

be correlated with the negative qualities of the mount on which
it appears. In particular, it emphasizes physical ailments
associated with that particular mount. On the mount of Jupiter-,
it betokens egotism and selfishness; on that of Saturn, melan- ^
choly and misfortune; on that of Apollo, vain glory; on that of —
Mercury, lack of moral scruples; on that of Luna, afflictions
involving the lymphatic system, the stomach and the ovaries in

the female; on that of Venus, maladies proceeding from sexual
promiscuity.
The triangle may appear on the hand as an individual
lineament, or it may be formed by the intersection of the
principle lines, the latter being a less significant configuration

than that of the sign standing alone. Most palmists agree that it
is a favorable mark, lending added success and brilliance to the
119
Medical Palmistry
quality of the mount or line with which it is associated. On the
mount of Jupiter, it tells and organizer; on

of ability as a leader
that of Saturn, predisposition toward occult studies and mysti-

cism; on that of Apollo, mastery of technique in one or more of
the arts; on that of Mercury, brilliance in business administra-
tion; on that of Luna, imaginative enterprise; and on that of
Venus, self-control and balanced judgment in affairs of the
heart.
The circle is comparatively rare. When found on the head line
beneath the mount of Apollo, it refers to weakness of the eyes.
Similarly, impaired vision may be indicated if it is found on the

line of life. When it appears on the Sun line, beneath the line of
head, some palmists regard it as a warning on an automobile

accident. On the mount of Apollo, it is said to denote great
talent and success in the arts.

The Hindu system of palmistry has evolved an elaborate
series of individual signs which are unknown in Western
practice. These include such figures as those of a conch shell,
lotus, fish, bow, sword, umbrella, pot, horse, elephant, and so
on.
Again, the reader must bear in mind that this brief summary
of subordinate signs is included in the present work merely to
provide historical perspective. Until further scientific studies

have verified their validity, modem students are justified in
classifying them as superstition.
120
Chapter 7
Drug Addiction, Alcoholism and
Suicide
Drug addiction is an urgent and growing sociomedical

problem in theWestern world. In a desperate effort to cope with
it, national governments have adopted crash programs aimed at
curbing the traffic in narcotics and at the same time providing

treatment for the rapidly increasing number of habitues.
have cited four principal characteristics
Scientific authorities
which, taken together, define positive addiction. These are: an
acute and insuppressible craving for a particular drug; a
growing tolerance for it, so that ever greater quantities are

consumed; physical and/or psychic dependence on it, with the
result that excruciating withdrawal symptoms follow discontin-
uance of its use; and a ruinous effect of the habit on the addict's
personality and general health.
The drug user's predicament is not his alone, of course; it
also involves his family which is gravely concerned for his

welfare and often suffers from his worsening economic state.
Society as a whole is likewise involved, for it must protect itself
against the addict who, in his eventual desperation often turns
to crime to get money needed to support his vice.
Although there are many drugs that are considered danger-
121
Medical Palmistry
ous to the individual and whose sale by unlicensed persons is
illegal, not them are addictive in the absolute sense

all of
defined above. For example, amphetamines may be habit-

forming and harmful to the user's health and personality, but if
the drug is withdrawn, the habitue will not suffer the painful
abstinence syndrome that inevitably follows when an addict is

denied morphine, heroin and various other narcotics derived
from opium.
But whether or not one draws the between true fine line
addiction and mere habituation, the fact remains that all drugs
which cause mental derangement or modify in one way or
another the processes of the central nervous system are, to a
greater or lesser degree, harmful. Such substances as cocaine.
Cannabis indica (marihuana), LSD, mescaline, barbiturates
and alcohol fall into this category.
The question which medical researchers (as well as hand
readers) have thus far been unable to answer conclusively is
this: Is the personality disorder associated with drug use

caused by the addiction itself, or does the disorder precede
addiction and provide the groundwork for it?
The emergence and rapid spread of a drug subculture in

America during the past decade would seem to favor the first
hypothesis, namely that addiction causes the mental disturb-
ances usually associated with it. It would seem statistically
unlikely that one generation would produce so many addiction-
prone individuals.
However, my admittedly limited experience in the examina-
tion of addicts' hands has led me to the tentative conclusion that
in most if not all instances of drug dependence —whether it
involved opiates, psychedelics or alcohol — certain personality

factors are present prior to the individual's becoming habituat-
ed.
Given the present state of the art, it is not possible to identify
122
Drug Addiction, Alcoholism and Suicide
in hands any one feature or group of features which will

proclaim with certainty the actual or potential drug addict. At
the same time, if certain negative signs commonly found in the
hands of addicts are present, the subject should be cautioned
against becoming involved with drugs or alcohol. Such a
warning may have little effect in many cases, but even if a few
are put on their guard against a destructive vice, the effort is
worthwhile.
What, then, are the unfav orable signs that betoken tr aits
which are very often associated with ps ychic dependency on
drugs or alcohol? An elongated mount of Luna; weak or
impaired line of head: a defective thumb, with a shorter-than-
average first phalange; and the absence of a fate line, or if one is
present, a feeble one, originating at the line of life.
Such a configuration as that just described does not mean

that an individual in whose hand it appears is now or will
certainly be in the future, a drug addict. It does mean that the
predisposition, the temperament, if you will, is there. It is of
utmost importance that the subject be made to understand his

weakness and danger and, by marshalling whatever positive
traits are indicated elsewhere in the hand, to resist with all his
strength the initial temptation which can only lead to his
eventual ruin.
Identifying the Alcoholic
The problem of alcoholism is only slightly less acute than

that ofdrug addiction, but because it is a more familiar one,
having been with us so long, it receives less attention.
A new and shocking facet of the problem is the rapidly
growing incidence of alcoholism among children. Dr. Morris
Chafetz, director of the National Institute on Alcohol and
123
Medical Palmistry
Alcohol Abuse, was recently quoted as saying that the
number of young people drinking to excess, mixing alcohol with

drugs, is climbing at an alarming rate. It is not uncommon to
see severe alcohol problems in kids nine, ten, twelve years old.
Not long ago, Marda Z. Trout, staff writer for the Los
Angeles Times, reported that at a meeting of Alcoholics Anony-
mous, in California, one member of the group was honored on
his first "birthday," that is, the day which marked one year of
abstinence from drink. He was eleven years old. Another
member at the meeting, who proudly told of having been sober
the whole preceedingmonth, was ten years old.
According to spokesmen for government agencies and drug
abuse prevention groups, such instances are becoming increas-
ingly common. They have estimated that there are, at the time
of this writing, close to a half million children of teen-age and

younger in the U.S. who are outright alcoholics.
There are five million adults that share the same unhappy
classification.
We shall not explore here the various, and often conflicting,
theories based on social or environmental factors that have been

advanced to account for an individual's becoming an alcoholic.
Our chief interest lies in discovering palmistic markings which
are indicative of the personality structure most likely to be
associated with problem drinking.
A general understanding of the effects of alcohol on the
human body will also be helpful.
Alcohol is not a truly addictive drug in the same way that
narcotics such as heroin and morphine are. In the case of the

latter drugs, any person who uses them regularly will certainly
become "hooked," that is, hopelessly addicted to them. Addic-

an inherent property of the narcotic itself. Such is not the
tion is
case with alcohol. Millions of persons imbibe alcoholic drinks
all their lives without becoming alcoholics. They often develop a
124
psychic dependency to a greater or less degree, but not to the

extent that their drinking interferes with their employment,
daily personal life or general conduct as a useful member of
society.
Another way in which alcohol differs from drugs of addiction
in the exact sense of the term is that there is not an increasing
tolerance to it on the part of the user. The alcoholic is not
required to drink ever greater quantities to satisfy his incon-
trollable craving for the drug. After a certain amount is imbibed
(depending on the size of the individual), unconsciousness
results.
Alcoholism differs from narcotic addiction also in the fact
that abstinence, whether enforced or voluntary, does not pro-

duce painful withdrawal symptoms. The craving for drink may
remain, as well as the preexisting personality disorder which
caused it; but the alcoholic's health will not be endangered if he
stops drinking. Delirium tremens, experienced by many heavy
drinkers, is not an abstinence syndrome as popularly believed,
but rather a form of psychosis or mental disturbance caused by
the alcohol's interference with certain chemical processes in the
brain.
Once ingested, alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the blood-
stream by means of which it passes throughout the body, acting
as a depressant upon the function of all the living cells of the
organism. The brain's function is more immediately and more
acutely affected by the drug than are other parts of the body,
although the harmful effects on the liver, kidneys and heart
muscle over a long period of heaving drinking are quite serious.
Psychologists have conducted a great many clinical and
personality studies aimed at identifying the mental and physi-
cal characteristics of the typical alcoholic. The vast amount of
data they have compiled is too complex and mutually contradic-

tory to be dealt with here, but one or two generalizations
125
—
Medical Palmistry
concerning which there is a wide area of agreement, will be of

interest to the medical palmist.
Ithas been found that in virtually all cases of alcoholism, the
victim has what psychoanalysts call a "low ego strength. This
means that the individual has an abnormally low tolerance for
stress and frustration; he is changeable and moody; emotional-
ly impulsive; evasive about his drinking habits; avoids firm
decisions; frequently experiences neurotic fatigue that is, he —
feels tired when there has been no exertion to cause such a
feeling.
It hardly surprising that a person such as that just
is
described finds it impossible to adjust his behavior to the reality

of his environment. Overwhelmed by the effort, he turns to
alcohol for relief.

With the foregoing psychological profile in mind, we may
search for corresponding signs in the hand. Some of these
significant, but by no means infallible, markings are associated

with other types of personality disorders besides alcoholism
for example, neurosis, narcotic addiction (which we have just
considered), homosexuality and delinquency.
As a rule, the alcoholic, in common with these other individu-
als who exhibit an abnormally low ego strength, has a deficient
finger of Jupiter; a weak thumb; a bent and/or short finger of

Mercury; often (but not always) a broken girdle of Venus; and
fingers broad at the third phalange.
If the subject is already an alcoholic, the hand should be
examined for signs which indicate troubles involving the liver,

kidneys and heart, since alcoholism almost always produces
chronic gastritis, kidney ailments, cirrhosis of the liver and
often a weakness of the heart muscle.
Equally bad, if not worse, than the evil consequences just
mentioned, are the pernicious effects of heavy drinking on the
brain. These range in seriousness from impaired judgment and
126
loss of self-control to psychosis caused by lesions in the brain.
In every case, the line of life is of primary importance in

considering the physical effects of excessive drinking and in
determining the length of time a given individual can continue
to imbibe inordinate quantities of alcohol before he reaches the
"point of no return," that is, the point at which irreversible
damage has been done.
Persons who were endowed at birth with a strong constitu-
tion (indicated by a well-defined, clear, deep and unbroken line
of life) are sometimes able to indulge in heavy drinking for

many years before their health is permanently undermined. But
eventually, even for the most robust types, there comes a time
when they must pay the piper. Usually, by that time they are
beyond effective help.
It is futile to advise a subject whose hand indicates that he is
a potential or actual alcoholic to cut down on his drinking. The

alcoholic must renounce alcohol altogether. Then, if his absti-
nence is to be permanent, he must address himself seriously to
correcting the personality disorder underlying the habit. Good

intentions are not enough. He requires help, from professional
sources and from family and friends, who must understand the
nature of his weakness and give him intelligent support in his
efforts to overcome his emotional difficulty.
Various kinds of medical therapy have been tried in the
treatment of chronic alcoholism, but most of these have proven
to be of limited value unless they are accompanied by psychol-
ogical or spiritual help. Moreover, unless the alcoholic desires
and cooperates with the intervention, it will prove useless in any
case. It is both unavailing and dangerous, therefore, for a
victim's wife or family member to try to treat him without his
knowledge by secretly administering a drug (such as disulfi-

ram) which produces an extremely disagreeable reaction such
as vomiting or violent headache if the individual drinks.
127
Medical Palmistry
The German neurologist Dr. Fritz Roeder recently announced

that both alcoholism and drug addiction could be cured by
surgical destruction of a minute portion of the brain. In this
writer's opinion, an alcoholic or addict would be most ill-
advised to submit to this or to any other similar form of radical

treatment. The reckless and excessive use by psychiatrists of
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), electrical stimulation of the
brain (ESB) and other dangerous therapies do little to reassure
the prudent layman. In the case of widely used shock therapy,
for example, a majority of the profession still insist that the
procedure is harmless. In the authoritative Textbook of Medi-
cine , by Cecil and Loeb, however, the authors state that
electroconvulsive therapy "certainly produces tissue damage in

the brain and concomitant impairment of mental functions."
The best way in which the palmist can help the alcoholic is to
scrutinize his hands for signs of strength —
potential moral and
spiritual resources which could offset the negative factors in his

personality structure. The subject should then be encouraged to
develop these assets. For example, if the first phalange of the
fingers of Jupiter, Saturn and Apollo are longer than the other
two phalanges of each finger, and the mount of Jupiter is
displaced toward that of Saturn, the individual should "shop
around" among spiritual philosophies and religious creeds for
the faith whose tenets will support his efforts to reform. For
many. Alcoholics Anonymous has successfully provided such a
doctrine, combining as it does a basic trust in God, a system of
definite steps aimed at sobriety, and the understanding fellow-
ship of fellow victims.
When both hands bear a clearly marked solar line (line of
Sun) which runs onto a full mount of Apollo, the subject should
be urged to pursue a career in literature, theater, music, drama,
or any other of the arts, depending upon which particular
pursuit is indicated by other signs in the hand and in the overall
chirognomy.
128
These are but two examples of latent interests and talents

which could go far in providing the spiritual and emotional help
every alcoholic needs to win a decisive victory against his vice.
Other kinds may be present in some hands. In any case, the
palmist should make a diligent search for any trait, the
development of which will add to the individual's ego strength,
so that he can better cope with his emotional difficulties. Dr.
Eugene Scheimann has aptly observed that "it is no more
improbable to look for answers in the hand than to look for
them in a bottle of liquor. If one looks to the hand for answers
and to himself for strength to change his life, one will find that
it is easier than he ever dreamed possible."
At the same time, he needs all the help he can get.
Suicide: The Ultimate Folly
Like drug addiction and alcoholism, the incidence of suicide

is increasing, although not on so large a scale as the former.
Recent statistical shown that the suicide rate
studies have
among young people continues to grow faster than that for
older age groups.
Several leading psychologists have expressed the view that
suicide becomes more frequent as life becomes more complex.
To support this thesis, they point out that among people who
live in large cities a higher percentage are more likely to take
their own lives than are those who dwell in rural areas; likewise
that business executives and professional people are more
suicide-prone than are laborers, who lead comparatively un-
complicated lives. Primitive peoples, they say, rarely commit
suicide.
I believe that this opinion should be received with some
caution. While it is certainly true that the growing complexity
of daily life in the world's industrialized societies is a contribut-
129
Medical Palmistry
ing factor in the development of affective psychoses often

associated with the tragic act, there are other kinds of motiva-
tion as well.
So far as primitive societies are concerned, we know from
historical records that voluntary termination of the individual's
life was widely practiced among some peoples at various times.
For example, during the Spanish conquest of Central and South
America, the Indians of those regions apparently had the ability
to will themselves to die, which they did rather than live out
their slavery in the Spanish mines.
Moreover, social attitudes toward suicide vary greatly among
different cultures and times. Among the Stoic philosophers of
ancient Greece and Rome, whose lives were orderly and moder-
ate, suicide was regarded as an acceptable practice. "The house
is smoky, so I leave it," their doctrine declared.

As everyone knows, hara-kiri was, and perhaps still is, an
honorable act among Japanese patriots. Similarly, the Buddhist
monks who drenched themselves in gasoline and became hu-
man torches during the Vietnam conflict were regarded as
heroes by fellow members of their sect.
However, such acts are exceptional, rather than typical.

There is little doubt that, as one medical writer has observed,
suicide must be regarded as a final symptom of a common
illness. The outstanding feature of that illness, whatever its
origin or social setting, is the individual's psychotic feeling of

extreme isolation and despair. He experiences an inner empti-
ness and the delusion that he is cut off from or has been
abandoned by the people who made up his private world.
The profound depression which is almost always associated
with such a sense of isolation is believed to be the direct cause of
the suicide's attempts to take his own life. Because he has no
insight into his own condition, he invents plausible reasons for
doing away with himself, reasons that most often involve
130
feelings of guiltand self-deprecation. The husband of the noted

English novelist, Virginia Woolf, who drowned herself in 1941,
wrote that his wife "refused to believe that she was ill and
insisted that her condition was due to her own guilt."
The severe, pathological kind of depressed mood we are
discussing here takes various forms. One type is characterized
by a feeling of heaviness and fatigue. The individual appears

haggard and melancholy; he often suffers from insomnia, loss
of appetite, sexual impotence and an abnormal slowing down of
speech and action. He is overcome by a sense of guilt and fears
of impending retribution or calamity. Thus he often imagines
that he is suffering or is about to suffer from some bizarre
physical ailment or deformity.
By contrast, in some cases the victim may exhibit signs of
extreme agitation and restless activity. He is apprehensive,
overalert, hypochondriacal and sometimes imagines that he is
being persecuted.
There is also the form of anxiety which psychiatrists call
"smiling depression." As the term suggests, the person, al-

though severely depressed, appears to be cheerful and well-
adjusted. Yet, when he is alone or unoccupied, he is secretly
assailed by the same despair, feeling of apartness and self-
accusation that distinguish other kinds of affective psychosis.
Unsuspected by his family and associates, his self-destructive
impulse may lead him to suicide, a tragedy that takes everyone
by surprise. "He's the last guy in the world I'd expect to do a
thing like that," say his friends. "He was about the most
cheerful person I knew."
Despite these differences in the behavior of the depressed
person, the unreal emotional world in which he lives is basically
the same in all cases. In every instance, his difficulty had a
prehistory, a period of development in which there was a
growing sense of loss usually involving his interpersonal rela-
131
Medical Palmistry
Fig. 19 . Suicide Configuration.

tionships. InThe Psychotic, Dr. Andrew Crowcroft writes that

"depressions develop in people who are already vulnerable, and
do not appear completely 'out of the blue/ The trigger itself
may seem insignificant to the onlooker. The gun that fires was
cocked long since."
The significance of this statement for medical palmists is that
if early symptoms can be recognized in time (by a careful

analysis of the hand), many cases of suicide could be prevent-
ed. For , in virtually every case, the depressed state which
eventually leads to suicide can be effectively treated.
If a person with strong suicidal tendencies has a hand that is
typical of that depressive illness, it will be long and narrow,

often with long tapering fingers (Fig. 19). The line of head will
sweep downward deep curve which parallels the life line,

in a
ending near the wrists. The first (nail) phalange of the finger of
Saturn will be longer than the other two, and the mount below it
will be prominent. Minor markings not always present but
affirmative when they are, include: an elevated lower mount of
Luna, sometimes bearing a star, and a great number of fine
lines crossing the line of life.
In addition to these indications of the kind of temperament
capable of self-destruction, there will be clues to the type of
emotional disturbance underlying the disorder. For example, if
despair arises from interpersonal relationships involving close
relatives, sexual partner or parents, the finger of Mercury will
stand apart from the other fingers when the hand is spread
open. A broken girdle of Venus further shows that the individu-
al is experiencing psychosexual difficulties in his private life.
Several years ago, I encountered a hand which possessed all
the sinister features just described. It was that of a newspaper

columnist who worked for a large metropolitan daily. When I
examined his hand, he was thirty-eight years of age, well-paid
and highly talented in his particular field of journalism. Yet,
133
Medical Palmistry
despite the fact that he had no financial worries and his future
was bright so far as employment was concerned, he was
suffering from a severe form of agitated depression. Part of his
emotional difficulty, as revealed by his hand, and as he himself
confided to me, was that he was homosexual. However, it was
not his homosexuality, per se, that was responsible for his
abnormal mental state, but rather certain environmental factors
growing out of his way of life, coupled with a "cocked-gun"
personality disorder predating his present illness.
The subject's symptoms (although he did not regard them as
such) as he described them to me were these:
Although he had many friends and was very active socially,
he felt somehow estranged from them and at times very much
alone, evenwhen at a party or dining with close associates.
Nighttime was the worst time of all; he found it impossible to
get to sleep without the aid of pills. Even then, he would
awaken during the hours of darkness, feeling terrified of some
undefined menace and at the same time, experiencing a sense of
panic-striken loneliness. He felt that this whole life was a
wasted and that he had been cruel and ungrateful to his
effort
parents, as well as to others who had helped him in his life and
career only to be disappointed in him as a person. Photogra-
phers at the newspaper had shown him prints of a picture they
had made of a Hollywoood homosexual who had put on a
bizarre contume and hanged himself from a crossbeam in his
drawing room. The photograph haunted and frightened the
subject, but at the same time fascinated him. He could not put it
out of his mind. He was losing weight because he had little
appetite for food, although he had been known for his gourman-
dizing habits in the past.
Despite these distressing symptoms, the subject insisted that
he was not ill, but that his mental condition was due to defects
in his own character, which he was firmly resolved to correct if
134
he could ever overcome the feeling of nervous exhaustion that

seemed to overwhelm him.
Recognizing the extreme urgency of his situation, I strongly
urged him to consult a doctor (a psychiatrist) of my acquaint-
ance who would prescribe a tranquilizer or sedative for his
nerves. The subject agreed to do so, but it later turned out that
he decided against the move, apparently because he had learned

that the physician was a psychiatrist and, therefore, might go
into the matter of the subject's homosexuality.
Less than a year following my analysis of his hand, the
columnist committed by running a hose from
suicide the
exhaust pipe of his car to the interior, where he closed all the
windows and inhaled the deadly carbon monoxide fumes.

The saddest part about this and similar tragedies is that they
are preventable. Yet, very often the early symptoms of person-
ality disorder which precede and underlie the individual's

progressively worsening emotional state go unnoticed or are
ignored by the victim's close friends and family. Cheiro, the
celebrated authority on palmistry, put it most poignantly in
these words: "We are all so wrapped up in our own interest and
affairs that hardly see or notice the pale, worn face that has
we
suffered so patiently, the hollow eyes of wakeful nights, the
wasted cheeks of hunger, which appear for a moment by our
side,and are gone forever."
Hopefully, there is a growing number of volunteer groups, as
well as official social services and pastoral counseling, dedicat-
ed to the task of recognizing and dealing with the problems
which may lead to an individual's taking that ultimate, fatal
step.
135
Chapter 8
Signs of Anxiety Neurosis
and Insanity
,/
During the past three decades, the term "mental iliness has
become almost a household diagnosis in America and Great
Britain. Large, well-financed organizations dedicated to mental
health have warned us repeatedly that ours is a "sick society,"
in which (in Britain, for example) "one person in eight of those
over the age of forty will enter a psychiatric hospital before the
end of his or her life." In American hospitals, we are told, every
other bed is already occupied by a patient suffering some kind
of disability of the mind.
In light of these frightening statistics, the time has surely
come for layman and professional alike to take a closer look at
this widespread disease known as "mental illness." Exactly
what kind of ailment isand why has it reached virtually
it
epidemic proportions in the Western world?

A conscientious search for an answer to the first part of the
foregoing question reveals, surprisingly enough, that no such
malady as mental illness exists. There are no precise clinical
criteria which define a true illness or disease entity called
mental illness. If there were, it could be accurately diagnosed.
136
Signs of Anxiety Neurosis and Insanity
treatedand cured, in the same way that tuberculosis or

whooping cough are done.
In the case of mental illness, however, even professional
definitions of this so-called disorder differ among psychiatrists
themselves, depending upon their academic training and some-
times their ideological outlook.
"It is clear," wrote Sir Macfarlane Burnet, eminent geneticist
and Nobel prizewinner, "that there is an enormous variety of
manifestations of mental illness and that there is still no
adequate way of classifying them into definable diseases. Even
an outsider can sense that nowhere can a line be drawn that will
separate the normal from the mentally abnormal or decide
unequivocally who is certifiable and who should remain in the
community."
In other words, in pronouncing a patient's complaint to be
mental illness, the psychiatrist is really doing nothing more
than classifying symptoms. He is making a value judgment,
not a medical diagnosis.

Such a practice can have very sinister implications, as Dr.
Thomas S. Szasz, prominent American psychiatrist and stem
critic of the whole mental health movement, has cautioned us.
In Ideology and Insanity , Dr. Szasz writes that "today,

particularly in the affluent West, all the difficulties and prob-
lems of living are considered psychiatric diseases, and everyone
(but the diagnosticians) is considered mentally ill. Indeed, it is
no exaggeration to say that life itself is now viewed as an illness
that begins with conception and ends with death, requiring at
every step along the way the skillful assistance of physicians

and, especially, mental health professionals.
Many psychiatric textbooks, as well as the general literature,
clearly confirm Dr. Szasz's assertion. Psychiatric disorder is
defined in such terms as "deviation from the socially useful";
"poor adaptation to social environment"; "fails to relate emo-
137
Medical Palmistry
tionaUy in a proper way to other people/' and so on. In the

Penguin Medical Encyclopedia (first published in 1972 ), a
psychopath is defined as "anyone whose behavior is unaccept-
able to the society in which he lives." "Psychopaths," declares
the doctor of medicine who compiled the popularly aimed
reference book, "include road hogs, moral delinquents, and
violent criminals."
To understand the serious implications of thus establishing
social criteria to identify the psychotic, one has only to look to
Soviet Russia, where writers and other dissidents who protest a

totalitarian form of government have frequently been declared
insane and confined in mental wards. The salient feature of
Soviet psychiatry, in fact, is the control of human behavior.
Any individual who openly refuses to conform to the ideological
pattern set by the Communist state is regarded as mentally

unbalanced and is placed in a mental hospital or required to
report to psychiatric clinics where state-employed therapists
are "vigorously engaged in reeducation" of the "patients."
Anxiety Neurosis
While the criteria for mental illness thus depend upon the
often-biased opinion of the psychiatrist, there are, broadly
speaking, recognizable abnormal mental states which range
from minor forms of emotional disturbance, classified as anxi-
ety neurosis, to severe mental breakdown, known as psychosis.
An exact dividing line between the two conditions is some-
times difficult to establish. However, the distinguishing feature
of neurosis is an exaggerated and largely unwarranted anxiety,
accompanied by symptoms of fear, experienced by the neurotic.
The salient characteristic of psychotic derangement (com-
monly called insanity), on the other hand, is the patient's total
138
,
inability to discern the difference between the real world and

fantasy.
Both types of illness have corresponding indications in the
hand.
First, let us consider the neurotic. As a generalization, we
may sum up his difficulty as mental conflict caused by his
abnormal response to stress. His reaction is the inherited reflex
of the animal to a sense of danger, which we all possess, only in
his case it has been transferred from physical peril to what he
believes to be some vaguely sensed menace involving his social
life, and so on.

career, marriage, financial status,
Dr. Peter Wingate accurately observed that "with the reflex-
es of anxiety the pathways and responses are part of our
hereditary make-up; they are much the same for everyone. But
the stimulus — awareness of danger —depends on what the
individual unconsciously regards as dangerous, which in turn
depends on his previous experience."
The neurotic simply overreacts to stimuli. The constant
apprehension, doubts and painful tensions show themselves in
the hand as a nexus of fine lines crisscrossing the palm.
Chirognomically, the hand is usually distinguished by a long
palm and long, tapering The nails are likewise narrow
fingers.
and long. In overall shape, the hand is usually of the conic or
so-called psychic type. The skin is smooth and finely textured.
In most instances, the line of head will be found to slope
downward toward the mount of Luna. The mount itself is well-
developed and elongated, being more prominent on the percus-
sion side of the hand. Quite often the line of intuition, which
rises on mount Luna and runs toward the mount of Mercury,
will be clearly visible.
Authoritative writers on the subject recognize two main types

of response or conditioned reflexes in severe anxiety states.
These are: hysteria in which the symptoms may be physical or
139
—
Medical Palmistry
mental; and obsesssion, marked by thoughts or images that

persistently recur, even though the individual wishes to be rid
of them; or by compulsive behavior.
Hysterical symptoms can stimulate almost any physical
ailment, accompanied by pain, paralysis, digestive disorders or
muscle spasm commonly associated with the particular disease
being imitated. Owing to the fact that in many, if not in all,
cases these hysterically induced physical disabilities are con-

nected with the source of the subject's anxiety, accessory lines
in the palm can provide valuable clues to the primary trouble.
For example, if a deep line passes from the mount of Venus to
an island on the line of head, and the individual suffers from
headaches, "blackouts," and so on, for which there is no
organic cause, one may suspect that his difficulty is associated
with repressed fears about money, or money in relation to his
marriage or close relations.

If the subject's anxiety takes the form of numbness of one of
his limbs and he experiences tremors, sweating or paralysis, the
life, head and fate lines of both hands should be carefully
scrutinized for lines of influence which will identify the source
of his difficulty. The case of a young woman whose hand I
examined last year provides a good example:

She was a twenty-nine-year-old private secretary to an
executive of a major oil company. Neatly dressed even chic —
attractive and intelligent, she appeared to be fully self-pos-
sessed and quite untroubled by any kind of inner conflict or
feeling of insecurity. Our brief preliminary conversation re-
vealed her to be deeply analytical, reserved and cautious. An
obvious perfectionist in her work, she was a well-paid and
highly esteemed employee.
The young woman's hand, however, disclosed a great deal
more concerning her inner life and problems. Hers was a conic-
type hand, with long fingers, the nail phalange of which was
140
141
Medical Palmistry
excessively long. Her thumb, although of good proportion and

equal thickness throughout its entire length, was unconsciously
covered by her fingers when not spread out for examination.
The was chained, and at its termination it turned
line of heart
downward beneath the mount of Jupiter. The finger of Mercu-

ry, although longer than average, was disproportionately short
when compared to the other fingers of the subject's hand. An
elongated and well-developed mount of Luna was depressed on
the inner side. A pale girdle of Venus was present, crossed by
many fine lines. The mount of Venus, full but not excessive,
and of a rosy pink color, was crossed by a large number of hair-
thin vertical lines, with a single one (deeper than the others)
cutting the line of life at the age of about twenty-six years.
It was clear that the subject was suffering from an inner
conflict related to a sexual problem.
Speaking as tactfully as possible, I pointed out these mark-
ings and described their combined significance. Visibly startled
by the analysis, my subject confessed that for the past six or
eight months she had been deeply concerned about her own
behavior. She often felt doubtful and indecisive about her work,
even though her employer had always expressed complete
satisfaction with it. She sometimes found herself repeating the
same task, despite the fact that it had been done correctly the
first time. Similarly, she found it difficult to leave the office at
the end of the day, and would repeatedly check the filing
cabinets to make certain that they were locked, that the electric
typewriter was turned and so on, even though she was
off,
aware that these things had, in fact, been done. Dressing and
grooming herself in the morning had become an elaborate ritual
which required more and more time before she could leave for
work.
All these acts were responses to inner emotional stress and
were classical symptoms of what psychiatrists call obsessional
142
or compulsive neurosis. It developed that three years previously

the subject had been involved in a lesbian relationship with
another girl who had shared an apartment with her. While on
the one hand the affair had seemed to fulfill some emotional
need in her life, which she had not found with members of the
opposite sex, on the other it ran counter to her upbringing as the
member embraced the strict moral
of a family that devoutly
code of a fundamentalist religion. She had broken off the
relationship almost a year since, and now lived alone. She had
few close friends whom she saw less frequently than in the past.
She realized that her behavior was odd, but did not view it as
symptomatic of an emotional disturbance.
Madness and Its Stigmata
Unlike neurosis, in which the afflicted person retains a

rational mind and whose symptoms are merely exaggerated
reflexes we all share, psychosis or insanity is distinguished by
the victim's frequent loss of contact with reality. As one writer
put it, "a psychotic is not only out of his mind, but also out of
our world."
There are various kinds of psychosis — schizophrenia, senile
dementia, sexual pathology, hereditary insanity and so on.

Psychiatry generally classifies them in two main categories,
namely, manic-depressive psychosis and schizophrenia.
Aside from definitely diagnosed causes such as traumatic
brain damage, physical disease, drug abuse, alcoholic insult,
arteriosclerosis, among others, doctors have found it very
difficult to pinpoint the prime origin of psychotic behavior.
Recent theories tend to emphasize the role played by genetic
and biochemical factors.
Drugs have begun to play an increasingly large part in the
143
Medical Palmistry
treatment of certain forms of psychosis, but results have been

largely in the area of symptomatic relief rather than anything
approximating permanent cures. For example, the hallucina-
tions and severe disorientation associated with schizophrenia
can be alleviated by drugs like chlorpromazine and haloperidol.
Acute depression can be controlled by a new group of drugs
designated MAO (for mono-amine oxidase).
The medical palmist is concerned, however, not with the
treatment of insanity in its various forms, but with the diagno-
sis of it or of a predisposition by means of the —
hand its overall
configuration, together with significant lines and markings in
the palm.
In this connection it is useful to know a little about the
general effect of madness upon the personality, since the
personality is intimately portrayed in the hand. A writer of the

Jungian school describes it very simply:
"Psychoses are of many different kinds, but they all

involve a collapse of the personality in the face of the real
or imaginary problems with which man is confronted.
a
For example, a psychotic person may not seem to be a

person at all: his attitude to people and things may shift
violently from one extreme to another so that at one

moment he feels surrounded by friends trying to help him
and the next those same people seem to him to be trying to
do him down as hard as they can. Each time one meets him
his opinions may be different, and his plans and intentions
may vary from day to day or hour to hour. His individual
life may be carried on amid a flood of extraordinary ideas
and fantasies which he cannot distinguish from reality.

Other forms of psychosis involve more or less regular
changes. At one time a person is plunged in absolute
gloom, he is beset by a sense of misery and despair, life
144
a
seems empty and meaningless, and everyone and every-

thing seems to be against him. At such times the feeling of
depression fills the whole mind, and in this it is different
from a depressed 'mood/ because in a mood of depression
we recall other times that were not so 'black,' we know
that there are bright places in the world and we can often
take steps to throw it off. When this state is psychotic, a
person cannot believe that there is anything anywhere
except the blackness in which he finds himself. Such a
depressed state (in a psychosis) may be followed by a
period of apparent normality during which the person is
able to cope perfectly well with the problems of normal

life. Later, the opposite state may occur and the same
person may behave with exaggerated excitement, take no
thought for the opinion of others or for convention and
appear to have no worries in the world; to such a person
the normal limitations on human life seem to have no
7 *
existence/
Considerable interest has also been shown in the relation of
certain personality types to particular forms of insanity. It has
been found, for example, that schizophrenics are more likely to
be individuals of a sensitive, reserved, aloof temperament —

type that in palmistry is associated with the sensitive- type hand
palm and slender fingers; the
(small, thin, delicate, with long
palm marked with an abundance of fine lines). The physique of
this type of person is frequently ectomorphic — slender body;
gaunt, angular face, with high cheekbones; narrow shoulders;
pale, often wrinkled, skin.
On the other hand, the amiable, happy-go-lucky, versatile
person is more likely to suffer a manic-depressive psychosis.
*David Cox, Analytical Psychology. London, 1964.
145
Medical Palmistry
should he ever experience a mental breakdown. Such an

individual corresponds loosely with the kind of body structure
called mesomorph, that is, one characterized by well-developed
muscles, broad shoulders, stocky build and full, broad face.
The hand is typically classified as mixed or philosophic or

sometimes Apollonian because of certain features these have in
common. The mount and finger of Apollo are well-developed,
the palm long, the fingers shorter than those of the sensitive
hand. The skin is clear and of smooth texture, the nails
generally of a rosy pink color, and the palmar surface is covered
with fine lines running in all directions. The thumb usually
presents a flat appearance when viewed from the side, as
though it had been exerting strong pressure against some
object.
The particular signs, either single or in combination, which
delineate the type of psychiatric illness toward which the
subject is predisposed, are explained in the following para-
graphs.
Diagnostic Constellations
Once again it is necessary to caution the reader against

reaching a hasty conclusion that an individual is suffering or
likely to suffer a mental breakdown, based on findings in the
hand, no matter how extensive and how convincing these
stigmata may be. As indicated in the preceeding pages, even
the most skilled psychiatrist cannot always define madness in
precise clinical terms. Certainly, no palmist should accept the
awesome responsibility for doing so. Cheiro maintained that
"any point that is beyond the normal is abnormal," but that
thesis is not acceptable today. There is no universally accepted
definition of "normal."
146
,
The proper role for the hand analyst is to suggest in a tactful

way, which will not alarm the subject, that he has certain
emotional problems which require professional attention in
order that he may feel free to enjoy life more
and so on.
fully,
In the context of our general theme, the significant, but by no

means infallible signs which point to various kinds of possible
psychosis are:
A line of head that runs in a sweeping curve downward,
ending on the lower part of mount Luna near the wrist, is more
frequently associated with insanity than any other single
marking. The line's descent, however, must be pronounced;
one which slopes downward a reasonable distance merely
indicates a vivid imagination. Such an imagination is given a
morbid character when it is accompanied by a prominent mount
of Saturn. Madness threatens when there is a gross exaggera-
tion of this combination.
Another general sign of potential or actual psychopathology,
according to traditional palmistry, is a wavy line of head rising
close to or touching the line of heart. Cheiro relates this
marking to the criminally insane and asserts that "the same line
also predicts years in advance when these propensities will
cause the destruction of the subject. If the head and heart meet
under Saturn and the Sun, before thirty-five; under the mount
of Sun, before forty-five, and so on."
Brain disorders caused by injuries, toxins, tumors, syphilis
and so by a break in the head line
forth, are usually indicated
and/or by the head line being crossed by a deeply etched heavy
bar, and sloping far down upon a much rayed mount of Luna.
The sexual psychopath is identified by a defective marking
(such as a star or cross) on an exaggerated mount of Luna
which is linked to the mount of Venus by a clearly defined line
of influence. A branch falls from the heart line upon the mount
of Luna, terminating in a star. The thumb is sometimes small.
147
Medical Palmistry
with an abnormally long third phalange. In some instances, the

subject will have a defective finger of Mercury, one which is
isolated from the rest of the fingers and is crooked or otherwise

deformed.
Senile dementia, an organic psychosis caused by dead nerve
cells in the brain, and arteriosclerotic dementia caused by
,
impaired blood vessels in the brain, properly belong among

brain disorders, but since they occur more frequently than other
infirmities in the aged mental patient, they are worth consider-
ing separately.
Senile dementia afflicts women more often than men, the
onset usually ocurring in the seventh decade. The disease is
marked by memory disturbance; judgment is impaired; and

often there is an emotional regression, the patient becoming
irritable, restless or apathetic by turns. The illness is usually
progressive, resulting in acute disorientation.

Arteriosclerotic dementia is produced by a hardening and
narrowing which supply the brain.
of the blood vessels It is
more common among men than among women and may

develop at an earlier age than senile dementia. Like senile
dementia, it is distinguished by states of confusion, disturbance
of memory and, as the illness is progressive, delusional epi-
sodes.
In addition to the general signs for psychosis just cited, these
two conditions are indicated by a line of life that is frayed or
tasseled at its termination, and by an accessory line running
from the termination deep onto the mount of Luna.
Hereditary insanity , caused by genetic factors over which the
individual can have no control, is more often associated with
schizophrenia than with manic-depressive psychosis. However,
the dominant gene makes itself known in only an estimated 25
percent of the cases where it is present. Studies are still being
148
conducted to determine what psychosocial conditions are likely

to trigger the latent illness.
Chirognomically, the hand of the person who suffers from

hereditary insanity has a long narrow palm, with long, very
flexible fingers. A branch of the heart line falls onto the mount
ofLuna and terminates in a star. An island on the head line
under the mount of Saturn is an added testimony.
149
Medical Palmistry
40 Pl' *j«n, Chyrcmantuk ~ " OBSERVATIONS.

^ 4«
Signcs and Marks that Signify Violent
Natures, P'lelent De-tbs.
Deaths.
j. ~T~IIe Letter D. or the Cha-

1 rafter of 3 thus in the
Triangle of the Hand, denoteaman
to be a Parricide and of morofs con-
ditions yet fortunate in the world, as
to Riches.
2. Lines uneven and obfcurely
,
appearing on the Root ot the little

Finger, fignify a man an Iaiidiator, a
. Thief, given to all manner of raif-
chief.
3. Certain Lines upon the Vital

line, towards the Inferior part of
the mount of theThHmb, as falling
therefrom, Ihew a man to be practi-
I
cal, and experienced in evil.
4. T he Natural line extending it

felf no farther then the midftof the
1 Mount of the little Finger, denote
the perfon to be of an ill depraved
life, and confequently in danger of
Violent death
5. The Natural line in the end
thereof a crooked, and virging
little
towards the Fingers, denotes the per-

fin lrxpudent and Wicked^ and if it
bend
Fig. 21. Accidents and deaths, as delineated by an early writer on

palmistry.
150
Chapter 9
Accidents and Violent Death
At this point it is necessary to remind the reader once more

that palmistry deals with probability and not with predestina-
tion. Unless the time factor relating to a given configuration in
thehand indicates that the event or condition denoted by the

markings has already occurred, there is always the possibility
that it will never happen.
True, when something is clearly and forcefully shown in both
hands, the odds that it will be circumvented in the majority of
cases are not great. That is because most persons simply do not
experience radical changes in personality and character. And it
is precisely the individual's personality structure that provides

the motivational components that are moving him in the
direction of the state or circumstance foreshadowed by the
corresponding signs in his hand.
Still, there is more importantly,
the role of freewill and, even
of outside influences and determinants which make it impossi-
ble to declare with certainty that, for example, a subject is going
to be involved in a serious automobile accident, break an arm in
a fall, or be severely burned.
What palmistry can do, and it is no small service, is to
identify the person who is accident-prone or whose hand bears
151
—
Medical Palmistry
the markings of misadventure, and to warn him against the

danger.
It is particularly important to bear these principles in mind
when we come and violent death. In our examina-
to accidents
tion of the hand, where mischance is concerned, we are looking

for char act erological evidence, not for fatalistic omens. In some
hands it is almost impossible to distinguish between the two.
Some strong-willed individuals possess a drive that makes
them oblivious of danger and will carry them inexorably toward
the fate indicated in their palms. A fascinating instance of this
kind is by the English palmist-clairvoyant Velma, who
related
read the palms of many important public figures around the
turn of the century. One of these was Lord Carnarvon, the
famous Egyptologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen
and who some believe died as the result of an ancient curse of
the pharaoh for violating his tomb.
Velma tells it in these words:
Not long before he embarked upon the final quest which

resulted in the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb he
allowed me to read his hands on the way out to Egypt.
What I saw led me to warn him of the deadly peril he
was running in meddling with the secrets of the dead
kings.
All sorts of hands have come my way in my time
strong hands, tragic —
hands, weak hands hands that told
of unpleasant things in store for their owner; but never
have I had to read a more mysterious future than that
written in the hands of Lord Carnarvon.
Here, marked so might have been
plainly that it
stamped into the skin, was the warning signboard of

danger and the foreshadowing of his fate.
152
Lord Carnarvon had more than an ordinary interest in

the occult. He was keen that I should keep nothing back.
I found a fairly long Life Line, but thin in the centre,
where there was an ominous spot which given other —
—
combinations in the hand might indicate death. This
spot I have marked 1 on the accompanying diagram.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the confirming signs were
there also, for there was a spot at the junction of the lines
of Heart and Apollo (marked 3). This indicated a great
perilwhich probably the possessor of the hand would not
permit his head to turn him from.
Fig 22. Lord Carnarvon's Hand.
153
Medical Palmistry
The line of Apollo denoted great glory and success.

More than ordinary interest in occult matters was indicat-
ed by the fact that the Health Line was forked at the Head
Line. This is shown clearly on the diagram, marked 2.
"I see great peril for you," I told Lord Carnarvon.
"Most probably — as the indications occult interest are of
so strong in your hand — arise from such a source."

it will
His interest aroused, he discussed the excavations in the
Valley of the Kings.

"Whatever happens," he said, "I will see to it that my
interest in things occult never gets so strong as to affect
either my reason or my health."
Not long afterwards I met Lord Carnarvon again. Our
conversation once more turned on occult matters. "Tve
been thinking over what you told me," he said. "I wonder
if you could discover more?"
We sat down and I took his hand.

To my horror I saw that the spots had gready increased
in density and that the one on his Life Line was perilously
near his present age.
Eager to discover more, I suggested he might look into
the crystal.
What he saw was not very clear. "I see something like a
temple, Velma," he said. "And there seem to be people,
but it is all so cloudy that I can't make it out." I took the
crystal and looked. . . .
It was like looking back across the centuries at a scene

in ancient Egypt.
There, as clear as a reflection in a mirror, was a great
Egyptian temple thronged with people divided into par-
ties. Picture after picture made and as they
this clear,
passed through the sphere I described them to Lord

Carnarvon.
154
G
Hand.
Mummy's
a
of
Tracing
23.
Fig.
155
Medical Palmistry
He listened with tense interest.

There was an old man robed as a dignitary of the
Goddess Isis, who seemed to be wrangling with a party of
younger men who held aloft a banner with hieroglyphics
upon it. From the mist which kept shrouding the figures
came out the words in English "To Aton only God — . . .
. . . Universal Father. . .
The mystery was heightened when the scene changed to

a spectacle of huge sacred bulls and priests singing a dirge
while the old dignitary placed a mask of gold over the face
of a young man in a coffin.

There was no explanation, yet somehow I felt that I was
watching the burial of Tutankhamen.
Suddenly the picture changed again, and I saw a party
of men, led by Lord Carnarvon, working in the vicinity.
From a mysterious tomb began to come vivid flashes
betokening occult influences. As Lord Carnarvon and his
party continued their work the flashes increased in vivid-
ness.
The series of pictures ended in an amazing spectacle.
I saw the old dignitary again, surrounded by a great
concourse of people, who demanded vengeance against the

disturbers of the tomb. Then, finally, I saw Lord Carnar-
von standing alone in the very storm-centre of a hurricane
of occult flashes.
That was all. The picture grew dim and faded away. . . .
For a few moments Lord Carnarvon and I regarded one

another without speaking. He was the first to break the
silence.
"Of course, sounds ridiculous," he said, "but I
it all
have actually experienced some strange influence during

the earlier stages of the work. I cannot say it was actually
an impulse to stop, but it was something like that."
156
"But no one would jib at an adventure even if there was

danger. Having gone so far with the work my curiosity
and interest must be now."
satisfied
"If I were you," I answered gravely, "I should make
some excuse to the public, and finish. I can only see
disaster to you without any adequate gain to humanity to
justify the sacrifice."
Lord Carnarvon shook his head resolutely. "No, no," he
replied. "That is out of the question. Why, if I were to give
up, there are a hundred men waiting to step into my shoes.
Oh, no,must finish what I have begun."
I
"But tell me, Velma, what do you think is the real

answer to all this mysterious business? Is it preposterous
rot to think of the influence of all these old priests still
surviving to-day?"
"I have seen too many strange demonstrations of the
occult not to believe in it," "Wherever you get a
I said.
place which has been the focus of tremendous emotion

there is not the slightest doubt that something — I don't
know what — persists. Votaries may feel its beneficial
influence.Those who would destroy or harm have felt its

baneful power."
"I rather incline to agree with you, Velma," Lord
Carnarvon said seriously. Then with a shrug of his
shoulders and a smile, he added:
"But what an adventure! A challenge to the psychic
powers of the ages, Velma! What a challenge!"
Not long afterwards he was dead struck down in —
mysterious circumstances in the hour of his greatest
"*
triumph.
’‘‘Velma, My Mysteries and My Story. London: 1929.

Medical Palmistry
It is a fact that in today's world we more and

are exposed to
more hazards in our daily lives. The vastly increased number of
cars on our high-speed superhighways, the alarming spread of
crime and violence in our and our constant involvement
cities,
with complex and often dangerous machinery all these factors —

add up to a high degree of risk for every one.
Curiously enough, however, a small percentage of the popu-
lation suffer more than their statistically alloted share of
accidents. Moreover, these people are repeaters; they seem to
go from one mishap to another. Yet they are not, as a class, any
more awkward or unintelligent than anyone else. Why, then,

are they so accident prone? Are they just bom unlucky, as
many believe, and as astrology, for example, would appear to
affirm?
Perhaps. But scientific studies of road accidents, which
constitute the main category of all types of mischance, have
clearly shown that a primary factor is the personality structure
of the person responsible for the unfortunate event. Researchers
have found that the two chief traits that make an individual
accident prone are aggression and indecision, both of which are
patently portrayed in the hand.
Psychologists tell us that aggressive behavior is specified
innately in young males and is related to the sexual drive. They
assert that youths who are reckless when they drive a car or
motorcycle, or who run grave risks unnecessarily, are trying to
prove their manhood, sometimes, to the opposite sex, but quite
often to themselves. In our time, certain types of aggression or
pugnacious behavior is also motivated by a desire on the part of
young people, conscious or otherwise, to "get back" at their
parents who, they have been assured, are responsible for all the
social evils to be found in the world. Actuarial tables reveal that
young men, under thirty, die more often as a result of accidents
than from any other cause.
158
Another personality component which accounts for a certain

number of accidents is that of anxiety neurosis, especially a
feeling of remorse or guilt, resulting in an unconscious desire
for self-punishment. We have already discussed this type of
individual in the preceding chapter.

We have likewise discussed drug addiction, alcoholism and
the drive toward self-destruction, all of which lay the ground-
work for many serious accidents.
In traditional palmistry, certain areas of the palm have been
singled out as the sites where signs indicating accidents of a
specific kind are likely to be found. While it is obvious that
mishaps affecting the head or brain will be, at least in part,
indicated on the line of head, or that military wounds will be

reflected on the mount of Mars, it is less clear why eye troubles
should be shown by a on the line of life.
circle
A great deal of research remains before we have sufficient
trustworthy evidence upon which to base firm conclusions

regarding accidents as shown by special marks in the hand.
Hindu palmists, who are in the habit of making extravagant
claims for their art, stoutly insist that they can, from signs in
the hand, pinpoint the time of a tragedy, tell its exact nature
and predict the outcome in terms of the subject's chances for
survival or the extent of his injuries.
I have, in fact, witnessed two such feats in India but am
firmly convinced that they were the result of clairvoyance rather
than an application of scientific palmistry.
Here are some of the time-honored configurations commonly
believed to denote accidents:
When the lines of head, and heart are conjoined at their

life
points of origin, the subject will possess a temperament lacking

in good judgment and will be prone to rush blindly into
dangerous situations without any thought for his own safety.
159
Medical Palmistry
Unless this tendency is modified by other signs elsewhere in the

hand, the individual is almost certain to be involved in one or
more serious accidents during his lifetime.
If the line of head shows a complete, unmended break
beneath the mount of Saturn, it foreshadows sudden death by
misadventure. If this sign appears in both hands, the fatal
accident will involve a head injury.

A head wound is by a cross situated above the
also indicated
line of head and touching it at any point along its length. The
point at which it appears will denote the age at which the

misfortune will occur.
A circle on the mount of Luna in both hands warns of loss of
lifeby drowning.
Injury from a blow or a fall is indicated by a vivid red spot on
the line of head.
A line dropping from an island on the mount of Saturn and
running to the line of life suggests mortal danger to the subject
either from a serious fall, freezing or a mining accident; or if in
one hand only, of knee injury, sprained ankle or hip fracture in
the elderly. Cheiro notes that when such a line has a cross at its
termination, either directly on the line of life or beside it, it
foretells a narrow escape from some kind of serious accident. If

the island appears at the base of the mount of Saturn, animals
will be the cause of or involved in the mishap.
A line rising on the plane of Mars and cutting the life line
denotes an accident with knives or sharp-edged instruments.

According to the Indian school of palmistry, a cross at the
end from an accident. The exact
of the line of fate denotes death
nature of the mischance must be determined by examination of
the lines of head and life, and of accessory lines running from
the fate line.
A star or cross in the percussion of the mount of Jupiter
foreshadows injury from fire.
160
—
Violence and Aggression
Today, when we speak of violence, the picture which most

often comes to mind is that of crime in our large cities
muggings, airport massacres, murders in the streets, riots,
arson and so on. All of these atrocities are committed by
individuals who, whether acting alone or en masse , are motivat-
ed by reactive impulses from the basic, animalistic drives which
most civilized people long ago brought under control.
Some psychologists argue that the homicidal, destructive
drive in man is genetic — that he was bom with a "killer
instinct" inheritedfrom his brutish past. Such an instinct may
remain latent during an individual's lifetime or, under the right
stimulus or in the right circumstances, it will suddenly reassert
itself and a heretofore peace-loving, gentle member of society
will become an enraged animal.
The behaviorist school of psychology, on the other hand,
stresses environmental factors and argues that violence is
acquired behavior and that such behavior can be altered by

altering the kind of society which produced it.
The noted psychoanalyst Erich Fromm differentiates between

violence used in the protection of the individual's vital interests,
such as his family, home and property, and what he terms
malignant aggression, which the perpetrator seems to take
in
pleasure in destroying life without any reason or rational
purpose.
If, as it —
would appear, aggressive indeed, criminal be- —
havior has proliferated in our time; and if palmistry can make
its claim that such behavior has correlative marks in the hand,
one might reasonably expect to find the signs of violence in a

very large number of palms among certain coteries of contem-
porary society.
I have had the opportunity of examing the hands of a
161
Medical Palmistry
considerable number of young activists in California who have

participated in so-called revolutionary demonstrations, all of
them involving violence against either property or persons, or
both.
In a very large percentage (precisely 68 percent of the 322
hands scrutinized), I found one or more distinctly regressive
features. These included an abnormal thumb; a simian line; a
defective line of fate; a palm longer than the fingers; an
exaggerated mount of Mars, with a deep line rising at the base
of the mountVenus and running to a junction with the line of
of
Saturn; a narrow quadrangle; and so on.

It may be argued that the limited number of hands I analyzed
is not statistically significant, and this cannot be denied.

However, they were sufficient to be interesting and to call for
further studies.
A amount of agreement exists among palmists that,
certain
generally, a clearly marked cross on the mount of Mars beneath
that of Jupiter denotes a person who is likely to become involved
in acts of violence and, if there are supporting signs, to be
seriously injured or killed during impetuous clash with oppos-
ing forces.
Early palmistry described the markings of a murderer's hand
as: an exaggerated mount of Mars, upon which appears a cross
or grille, and when accompanied by a narrow quadrangle,
either a simian line or a broad, straight line of head, poorly
etched.
Any marking such as a clubbed thumb and twisted
atavistic
or defective finger of Mercury should alert the palmist to an
innate hostility or antisocial tendency which could produce
violence if and when the right kind of situation arises.
162
0
Chapter 1
Common Ailments: Signs to Look

For
An exact system of identifying disease by correlates in the

hand is far from being established. The material presented in
this book and in other contemporary texts, represents merely a
consensus by practitioners, (ancient as well as modem) based

upon experience. Some of the diagnostic signs included here
will in the futurebe supplanted by more reliable ones, as they
are discovered. Others will be preserved as accurate configura-
tions. In aword, the development of precise formulas is an
ongoing process in which the student can participate as a
careful researcher.
While the main thrust of such investigations must be the
gathering of empirical evidence to support or to disprove
currently accepted findings, statistical studies will also play an
important role. Much can be learned by a comparison of records
that have been kept with scientific thoroughness.
Much valuable research is being conducted by the medical
profession itself, which will emerge under new
the results of
terminology carefully designed to remove it as far as possible
from association with traditional palmistry, just as the science
of astronomy divorced itself from astrology, to which it owed
163
Medical Palmistry
Fig. 24. Alcoholism.
164
Common Ailments: Signs to Look For
much. As in the case of astrology, palmistry will continue to

employ the conventional wisdom of its ancient past, at the same
time incorporating into its teaching data abstracted from the
latest medical studies.
The information presented in the following pages is thus
derived from both traditional usage and from recent clinical
reports. In those instances in which authorities do not agree as
to basic configurations, both opinions are equally represented.
It will be readily apparent to the reader that the following
compilation of diseases and their palmistic correspondences is
by no means comprehensive. Many common ailments as well as

almost all rare ones are missing from the list. The reason is that
the present writer simply did not possess detailed information
on those not included. The gaps remain to be filled in by future
writers on the subject.
Addison's Disease. This ailment, named for the man who

first identified it, is characterized by a deficiency of the
suprarenal cortex, frequently tubercular in nature. Symptoms

include loss of weight, brown pigmentation of the skin and
extreme debility.
stigmata: Faint rim of pigmentation of the skin around the
nails; brownish discoloration over the knuckles.
Alcoholism. Clinically, we may define alcoholism as exces-
sive consumption of alcohol, with the resulting diseased states,
either of the body or of the personality. (See Chapter 7 for a

detailed discussion of the subject.)
stigmata: Deficient finger of Jupiter; weak thumb; bent or
short finger of Mercury. Also, line from line of life or of Mars,
terminating in a star on the mount of Luna.
Amnesia. Partial or total loss of memory is known as
amnesia. The disease is usually the result of morbid changes in
brain tissue due to a hardening of the arteries or to injuries.
165
Medical Palmistry
166
.
stigmata: The Sun lineshows breaks, islands or crossbars.

The hepatic line will be broken into islands or chains; and often
there will be an island on the line of fate.
Anemia. An abnormal condition in which there is a marked
reduction in the number of red corpuscles in the blood. Causes
include disease, damage to the bone marrow and hemorrhaging
or loss of blood.
stigmata: Short, colorless nails; very pale palm; the lower
mount of Luna elevated and heavily lined.
part of the
Aneurysm. The dilation of an artery, in which the pressure
of blood causes a weak place in the vessel wall to pouch out.
The condition may be caused by chronic inflammation, trauma,
infection or birth defect.
stigmata: A chained line of heart, intersected by an accesso-
ry line from the mount of Saturn.
Anxiety neurosis. Anxiety neurosis is an abnormal mental

state in which there are persistent feelings of fear, a rapid pulse,
sweating, trembling, and generally a loss of appetite.
stigmata: Long narrow palm bearing nexus of many fine,
crisscrossed lines; tapering fingers, with long narrow nails.
Skin is smooth and finely textured. Usually, line of head turns
downward upon mount of Luna. The Lunar mount itself is
prominent and elongated, being higher on the percussion side.

Apoplexy. The sudden rupture of a cerebral blood vessel is
commonly called apoplexy or sometimes stroke. Symptoms
(apparently only after the fact) include insensibility, stertorous
breathing and a greater or less degree of paralysis on the side of
the body opposite the lesion.
stigmata: An overdeveloped and much lined mount of Jupi-
ter; very red skin; plane of Mars hollow toward the head line; a
long red "scar" on the heart line;two perpendicular lines
running from the heart line to the mount of Luna (Fig. 25)
Arteriosclerosis. The condition known medically as arterio-
167
Medical Palmistry
168
sclerosis is called by laymen hardening of the arteries. The

artery walls gradually lose their elasticity owing to thickening
and calcification. Although more common in old age, the exact
cause of the disease is not known.

stigmata: Line of heart broken or crossbarred under the
mount of Saturn, together with an elevated and much lined
mount of Apollo. Nails usually have bluish tinge.
Arthritis. There are two main types of arthritis, a disease

which involves inflammation and often painful swelling of the
joints. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition of the articular
cartilage. Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by chronic
inflammation. At present there is no known cure for either kind.
Physical causes which have been cited by researchers include
infections, metabolic and digestive disturbances, nervous disor-
ders, allergies, tumors, degenerative diseases of the tissues.
Only a generalized palmistic formula is possible.
stigmata: Longitudinal ridges in nails, with splitting at the
ends; angulation deformity of the phalanges; grilled mount of
Saturn; a chain-of-islands-shaped line running from the line of
life to the middle of the mount of Saturn (Fig. 26).
Asthma. A kind bronchial spasm, which there is wheezing
in
and difficulty in expiration. The attacks may be brought on by

emotional upsets, by a hypersensitivity to foreign substances in
the air or by certain disorders of the nervous system.
stigmata: Abnormal convexity of the nails, known as
mount of Saturn (Fig. 27).

Biliousness. A condition characterized by an excessive secre-
tion of bile, which is regurgitated into the stomach. The most
frequent causes are infections, improper diet and jaundice.
stigmata: A prominent and much lined mount of Mercury.
The palm is of a yellowish hue, the skin often clammy to the
touch. When a hepatic line is present, it is usually wavy (Fig.
28).
169
Medical Palmistry
l J
Fig. 27. Asthma.
170
171
Medical Palmistry
Bladder Ailments. The human bladder is a membranous sac,

located in the pelvic cavity, providing a receptacle for urine
reaching it from the kidneys. The commonest bladder ailment is
that of inflammation caused by calculi infections or tumors.

stigmata: A line of head broken under the mount of Saturn
and sloping downward onto the lower mount of Luna, where it
terminates in a star. The lower part of Luna is covered with a

nexus of fine lines, and one ray of the star extends to the lower
palm.
Brain Disorders. Medically speaking, the human brain is
that portion of the central nervous system contained in the

skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblonga-
ta and pons Varolii or bridge of connecting tissue. The brain is
subject to many disorders, some of which have their point of

focus elsewhere in the body. Correlates for the latter will be
found in the hand in association with the particular disease that
causes the trouble. The following diagnostic configurations are
of a general kind.
stigmata: A wavy line of head, or a break in the line; or the
head by a deep bar. Also, an accessory

line starred or crossed
line originating on the mount of Venus and cutting the line of

head (Fig. 2$).
Bronchitis. An inflammation of the bronchi, caused by

infections, the common cold or influenza. Chronic bronchitis
may eventually result in organic change within the lungs.
stigmata: Deep forked lines crossing the palm from the
percussion to the upper mount of Mars. Confirmation of the
condition will be found in the nails, which will be convex when
viewed from the side.
Colitis. Inflammation of the colon, that part of the large
intestinebetween the caecum and the rectum. It may be caused
by a specific organism, improper diet or by emotional disturb-
ances.
172
1 73
Medical Palmistry
stigmata: Longitudinal striations or ridges on the nails.

Deafness. The inability to hear, or deafness, may be caused
by accident, infectious diseases or hereditary defects. Middle-
ear deafness occurs when there is an obstruction which prevents
sound waves from reaching the cochlea. The second most
common form of deafness is a disease of the auditory nerve.
stigmata: A series of dots along the line of head, sometimes
accompanied by a cross on the plane of Mars. The mount of
Saturn is usually prominent, and frequently much-rayed.
Dementia (Senile). Mental deterioration occurring usually
afterage sixty-five as a result of cerebral atrophy.
stigmata: Line of life tasseled at its end, with one branch
running onto the mount of Luna (Fig. 29).
Diabetes. A disease of the pancreas, characterized by an
excessive flow of urine having a high sugar content. Other
symptoms include debility, loss of weight, lassitude. When
untreated, death may occur.
stigmata: A long line running from the lower part of mount
Luna, cutting the line of life and usually accompanied by a star
on the mount. Some authorities say: a number of confused
crisscross lines at the bottom of the Lunar mount, accompanied
by a clearly defined cross on the mount.
Dropsy. A laymen's term to describe a condition in which
there is an excessive accumulation of fluid in body tissues or in
the peritoneal cavity. Medically it is known as edema.
stigmata: Chained and yellowish lines of heart and life,
accompanied by a star on the lower part of the mount Luna.

Epilepsy. A disturbance in the normal rhythm of cells in the
brain, accompanied by convulsions and, in the case of grand
mal, by loss of consciousness.
stigmata: Broken head slopes downward onto the
line of
mount of Luna; a cross on the mount of Venus, one branch
touching the life line; a chained or broken heart line; pale girdle
174
175
Medical Palmistry
of Venus, sometimes with sister lines; a raised mount of Moon,

crisscrossed with fine lines.
Eye Troubles (also. Blindness). A great many diseases
affect the vision, some temporarily, some permanently. The
degree of severity ranges all the way from slight impairment to
total blindness. There are, unfortunately no precise palmistic
signs to distinguish among specific diseases; but general
markings will serve to alert the analyst, who can seek for more
detailed information or recommend that the subject consult a
medical specialist.
stigmata: A defective line of Apollo extending high onto a
much-lined mount of Sun. Often, the line rises from a red
"scar" or heavy dot on the line of heart, beneath the mount of
Apollo. Some authorities give: broken head line under the
mount of Saturn, or mount of Sun. An accessory line from the
mount of Venus, running to the point of juncture of the head
and Sun lines, where it ends in a black dot or "scar" (Fig. 30).
Female Disorders. This generalized designation for ailments
peculiar to women is medically imprecise, but useful in palmis-
try where, in the present state of the art, only an overall
diagnostic picture is possible. The configurations given cover
all types of female disorders, including those of the womb,
uterus and ovaries.
stigmata: An undeveloped, much-rayed mount of Venus,
accompanied by a number of vertical lines on the mount of
Saturn and a life line which dips abruptly toward the lower part
of mount Luna, which is elevated and much-lined.
Fistula. An abnormal, hollow passage connecting a cavity or
organ of the body with the surface. The most common form of
fistula (and the one considered here) is that occurring near the
rectum.
stigmata: Two spots, one situated on the lower mount of
Luna, the other on the plane of Mars beneath the finger of
176
Fig. 31. Fistula.
177
Medical Palmistry
Saturn. A crossbar from the line of life terminating in a grille or
cross on the upper part of the mount of Luna (Fig. 31).

Gonorrhea. (See Venereal Diseases.)
Headaches. Headache is not a disease, but rather a symptom
of a disease, often one elsewhere in the body. It is very difficult
to determine the source, as there are 200 known causes. The
latter are usually cataloged under three main headings, toxic,
mechanical and functional.
stigmata: Chronic headaches are frequently indicated by a
chained line of head. Other signs are: a red, irregular hepatic
line; anumber of small breaks in the head line; a drooping line
of head cut by many crossbars.
Heart Disease. The term heart disease refers to various
disorders affecting that organ. Any malady or defect involving
the heart will have a correlate in the hand. The principal signs
to look for are given below.
stigmata: A crossbar cuts the line of life and terminates in an
island, spot or break in the heart line under the finger of Apollo.
Palpitations are indicated by dots along the line of heart.
Generally, the plane of Mars will be hollow toward the line of
heart. The mount of Apollo will be marked with a great number
of fine, vertical lines (Fig. 32).
Hemorrhoids. Dilated veins at the lower end of the bowel or
rectum, commonly referred to as "piles." They may be external
or internal. The condition is most often the result of poor
circulation in persons who lead sedentary lives.
stigmata: An elevated mount of Saturn, covered with many

fine lines. A line of influence extends from a dot on the line of
life to the upper mount of Mars, where it terminates in a star.
Hysteria. A psychoneurotic condition which manifests itself
in various forms of physical and psychiatric illness, including

anxiety, excitability and organic disorders. Psychiatry recog-
nizes five types of hysteria: conversion hysteria, hypochon-
178
Common Ailments: Signs to Look
Fig. 32. Heart Disease.

Medical Palmistry
180
driasis, neurasthenia, sexual disturbance and organic neurosis

with structural change.
stigmata: The mounts of Venus and the Moon are exagger-
ated, accompanied by a girdle of Venus which is crossed by
many fine lines. Also, a double or triple girdle of Venus,
intersected by several heavy bars.
Insanity. This term is almost obsolete in medical circles, but
wide use by laymen and legal authorities to denote
is still in
mental derangement or madness. Psychiatry refers to the

condition as psychosis, which is treated under the headings of
mania, schizophrenia and paranoia.
stigmata: The line of head slopes far down uponmount the
of Luna, terminating in a star. Some authorities add: a wavy
headline rising close to the line of heart under the mount of
Apollo or Mercury, with many confused lines on an elevated
mount of Luna
Intestinal Disorders. Various kinds of enteric maladies are
included under this classification, but at present palmistry
offers only a generalized profile. The configurations given
below cover all ailments of the alimentary tract. For stomach
troubles, see entry under that heading.
stigmata: The upper mount of Mars and upper portion of the
mount Luna are covered with fine lines, while a crossbar
of
extends from the line of life to the upper mount of Luna,
terminating in a grille or cross. Dr. Julius Spier gives a
particularly thick lower phalange of the finger of Saturn, with
the top phalange bending toward the finger of Apollo (Fig. 33 ).
Jaundice. The affliction known as jaundice is characterized
by a yellow discoloration of the skin due to the presence of bile
pigment in the blood. The latter condition develops when the
normal flow of bile through the bile ducts is disturbed. One
form of jaundice, called icterus gravis, which occurs during
pregnancy, is usually fatal.
181
Medical Palmistry
182
stigmata: A cross-bar extending from the line of life to a

wavy line of Mercury.
Kidney Ailments. The most common kidney disorders are
nephritis or inflammation of the kidneys (called Bright's dis-
ease), renal calculus (or stones) and cysts.
stigmata: A long line, rising on the mount
Luna and of
reaching almost to the line of life, forked at its end. The lower
part of the mount of Luna is usually elevated and covered with a
number of fine, but distinct, lines (Fig. 34).
Laryngitis. Inflammation of the larynx or voice box, causing
hoarseness and sometimes loss of speech. The condition may be
caused by infection, improper use of the voice or irritation by
chemical substances.
stigmata: Two horizontal lines running from the percussion
to the upper mount Mars, where they end in a fork.
of
Liver Complaints. Aside from temporary indispositions such
as "sluggish liver," the principal serious disease afflicting this
organ is cirrhosis, in which fibrosis occurs, interfering with the
proper functioning of the liver.
stigmata: The skin is cold and clammy to the touch. The

mount of Mercury is exaggerated and covered with fine lines.
The hepatic line is laddered and often fragmented. Pigmented
spots appear on the mount of Luna.
Malaria. An infectious disease caused by a protozoan paras-
ite that is transmitted from one person to another by the female
anopheles mosquito.
stigmata: A thin, often broken line of hepatic, accompanied
by bluish or black dots along the lines of head and heart.
Narcotics Addiction. The habitual use of narcotic drugs,
marked by an insuppressible craving, a growing tolerance and
increase in amount consumed; a physical and psychic depend-
ence; and an excruciating abstinence syndrome when the drug
is withdrawn.
183
Medical Palmistry
184
stigmata: An elongated mount of Luna; weak or defective

line of head; abnormal thumb, with short first phalange; fate
line absent or very feeble, originating at the line of life.
Nephritis. (See Kidney Ailments.)

Nervousness (Chronia). Excitability of the nervous sytem,
characterized by a constant state of mental and physical unrest.
stigmata: The palmar surface is covered with numerous fine
lines, presenting a complex, confused appearance. The mount
of Luna is exaggerated and much rayed. The first phalange of
the thumb is flat when viewed from the side.

Neuralgia. A functional disturbance of the nerves, resulting
in frequent sharp, stabbing pain.
stigmata: A deep, colorless dent on the line of head, often
accompanied by an island on that line.
Neurasthenia. The term neurasthenia, meaning nervous
exhaustion, is obsolescent in recent medical literature, but is
still used in psychiatric texts. The continuous nervous fatigue

experienced by the patient is of psychogenic origin.
stigmata: Lusterless nails, with cloudy moons. There are
numerous white flecks or spots on the nails, and the nail plate is
brittle.
Obesity. Overweight; excessive corpulence throughout the

body.
stigmata: Short, fat, pudgy hand and fingers. The latter
have tapered fingertips.

Paralysis. A general term referring to the loss of sensation
and power of movement in any part of the body, owing to a
cutting off of the nerve supply.

stigmata: Nails short and triangular; an exaggerated mount
of Saturn marked with many lines and sometimes a star. Some
authorities say that death by paralysis is indicated by two
stars, one at the end of the line of life, the other on the mount of
Saturn. The principal lines are usually feeble traced (Fig. 36).
185
Medical Palmistry
Pulmonary Fibrosis. A formation of fibrous tissue in the

lung as a result of chronic inflammation. The condition often
emphysema.
sets the stage for later
stigmata: Abnormal convexity of the nails, known as
"beaking."
Respiratory Disorders. (See also Asthma). Respiration or
the act of breathing consists of a gaseous interchange between
the tissue cells and the surrounding atmosphere. When infirmi-
ty, disease or accident interferes with this vital process of life,
the consequences are serious and sometimes fatal. Respiratory

disorders include pneumonia, emphysema, bronchitis, asthma,
bronchiectasis and lung tumor, among others.
stigmata: The palm is characteristically thin and somewhat
elongated, all lines being somewhat indistinct. Several islands
appear along the line of head, and a line of influence from the
head terminates in an island on the mount of Jupiter. The latter
mount is usually higher than the others in the hand. The nails
are brittle and curved or fluted.
Rheumatism. (See also Arthritis). In popular usage, the
term rheumatism is understood to mean any pain of unknown
cause occurring in the joints or muscles. In medical termin-
ology, it refers specifically to an acute fever associated with a
prior streptococcal infection. The disease most often attacks
children.
stigmata: A line intersected several times by crossbars, runs
down the middle section of the mount of Luna. The line of life is
forked and red at its termination, one branch proceeding toward
the mount of Luna.
Sexual Psychopathology. Properly speaking there is no
disease which, per se, is clinically definable as sexual patho-
logy. However, it can be considered and identified as a person-
ality disorder. The manifestations include a large variety of
deviate behavior, as described in abnormal psychology texts.
186
Fig. 36. Sterility.
187
Medical Palmistry
stigmata: A star or cross on an elevated mount of Luna,

linked to the mount of Venus by a well-defined line of influence.
Also, a line dropping from the line of heart onto the mount of
Luna and there terminating in a star. The thumb is sometimes
small, with an abnormally long third phalange. The finger of
Mercury is usually deformed or isolated.
Skin Ailments. The skin, or outer protective covering of the
body, develops from the same layer of embryonic cells as the
central nervous system, to which it remains closely related
throughout life. In addition to ailments caused by parasites,
nerve disorders and traumatic injuries, the skin is subject to
various kinds of eruption and inflammatory maladies such as
psoriasis, lichen planus, eczema, for which no definite cause
has been established.
stigmata: Very short nails. A chained line of heart, accom-
panied by a ladderlike line of hepatica and a long spatulate
thumb. Some writers give a star on the line of life, with a deep
black dot in the center of the star.
Sleepwalking. The psychological disorder known as somna-
bulism or sleepwalking is characterized by walking about and
carrying out complex or even hazardous activities while in a
state of sleep. The condition is technically known as dissocia-
tion. It sometimes occurs in cases of hysteria, epilepsy and
when there is low blood sugar.
stigmata: A long line on the mount of Luna, originating from
an island.
Sterility. The inability of a woman
become pregnant or of
to
a man to produce the sperm necessary to fertilize the ovum*
stigmata: The line of life lies abnormally close to the mount
of Venus. A weak line of heart terminates without a fork. Some
authorities add a cross on the mount of Saturn and a star at the
junction of the line of life with that of the head.
Stomach Ailments. Stomach troubles are varied and many.
188
but the most common are gastritis (inflammation of the stom-

ach walls), gastralgia, gastric influenza and ulcer. Most of
these illnessnes are reflected in a generalized configura-
tion.
stigmata: A ladderlike line of Mercury, from which an

accessory line leads to a crossbar which cuts the line of life.
Tooth Problems. The most frequent tooth troubles stem

from caries (decay due to penetration of bacteria through the
enamel), abscesses and ulceration of the gums.
stigmata: The line of Saturn (fate line) is long and wavy.
The second phalanges of all the fingers are abnormally long.
Thyroid Disorders. The thyroid is an endocrine gland
situated in front of the windpipe. When the gland is overactive,
the condition is known as hyperthyroidism, which causes an
increase in metabolism and respiration, exictability, insomnia,
excessive sweating and sometimes nervous diarrhea. When the
gland is underactive, the condition is called hypothyroidism,
which is characterized by and hands; dry,
a swelling of the face
rough skin; slow pulse; retarded metabolism; mental torpor;
and often a loss of hair.
stigmata: Hyperthyroidism is associated with long bony
hands and thin knotty fingers. Dr. Charlotte Wolff gives also
long, narrow, shiny nails that have large moons.
Hypothyroidism is denoted by small, fat, broad hands with
sausage-shaped fingers that have conical tips. The thin, fragile
nails are soft and fan-shaped. Sometimes there is a tapering
finger of Mercury.
Tuberculosis. An infectious disease caused by germs called
tubercule bacilli.The pulmonary form, affecting the lungs, is

the most familiar to laymen. However, the disease may also
affect the intestines, lymph gands, larynx, bones, kidneys,
suprarenals, skin and generative organs.
stigmata: The most reliable diagnostic feature in the hand
189
Medical Palmistry
190
indicating tuberculosis is the Hippocratic nail. This sign is

frequently accompanied by a line of influence running from a
bar across the line of life to a point of intersection with an
islanded line of Mercury.
Typhoid Fever. An acute, infectious disease caused by the
Salmonella typhi or typhoid bacillus. The usual seat of the
ailment is the gall bladder; the symptoms include high fever,
headaches, chills, intestinal disorders and generalized pain
throughout the body.
stigmata: A black spot or dot on the line of life, with a line of
influence extending to the dot from the plane of Mars.
Venereal Disease. The two principal venereal diseases
which attack man are syphilis and gonorrhea. Of the two,
syphilis is the more serious. When
germs Spirocheta pallida
the
enter the body, they spread throughout the system and, follow-
ing a latent period, gradually permeate every organ. Untreated,
the malady can cause debility, insanity and death. Gonorrhea is
also an infection, which invades the genital tract, causing
inflammation and a painful, purulent discharge. Both diseases
are spread by sexual contact.
stigmata: A triple, broken girdle
Venus, starred under the
of
finger of Saturn. One ray of the star joins a line from the mount
of Jupiter. A broken line of life will be found in both hands. The
nails are brittle, convex and long.
191
.
Medical Palmistry
Selected Bibliography
Beamish, R. The Psychonomy of the Hand. London: 1805.

Benham, W. G. The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading. London: 1901.
Berry, Theodore J., (M.D.). The Hand as a Mirror of Systemic
Disease. Philadelphia: 1963.
Bhat, B. R. The Indian School of Palmistry. Coimbatore: 1938.
Craig, A. R. The Book of the Hand. London: 1867.
Cutler, W. C., (M.D.). The Hand — Its Disabilities and Diseases.
Philadelphia: 1942.
Desbarrolles, Adolphe. Mysteres de la Main. Paris: 1879.
D'Arpentigny, Casimir. The Psychonomy of the Hand. London:
1867.
Gettings, Fred. The Book of theHand. London: 1972.
Heron-Alien, Edward. Manual of Cheiro sophy London: 1885.
Indagine, Joannes. The Book of Palmistry. London: 1666.
May, P.La Chiromancie Medicinale. Paris: 1665.
Saunders, Richard. Physiognomie and Chiromancie. London: 1653.
Palmistry (The Secrets Thereof Disclosed.) London: 1676.
.
Sen, K. C. Hast Samudrika Shastra.

Sorell, Walter. Story of the Human Hand. Indianapolis: 1968.
Spark, J. J. and Intuitional Palmistry. London: 1895.
Scientific
Spier, Julius, (M.D.). The Hands of Children. London: 1955.
Vaschide, N. Essays on the Psychology of the Hand. London: 1909.
Velma. My Mysteries and My Story. London: 1929.
Wolff, Charlotte, (M.D.). The Hand in Psychological Diagnosis.
London: 1951.
The Human Hand. London: 1942.
.
Studies in Hand Reading. London: 1936.

.
192
V
**“•-
êdicaipaimistryoostej
m
\ i
w^ CG^' nu ed from front flap)
clues of upheaval in the lines of

the palm— good or bad health-
rising or falling fortunes —a
change in career.
But the art of medical palm-

istry is enormously complex and
requires study and experience.
What you will learn from the
book is the result of decades of
research.
The human hand reveals the

total person— all the secret vices
— all the inherent goodness.
Your fate is in the palm of your
hand — discover it through
Medical Palmistry .
Marten Steinbach has con-

tributed extensively to para-
psychological literature in both
America and Europe.
University Books Inc.

120 Enterprise Avenue
Secaucus, New Jersey 07094
Jacket design by
Joan Walton Mudgett
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i

For thousands of years, ever

Do the lines in your hands

what do they say?

What can the lines in your

Marten Steinbach has put

You have only to study your

stances of your life. Even ama-

(continued on back flap)

Health and Character in the Hand

University Books Secaucus, N. J.

Queries regarding rights and permissions should be addressed to

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedanyin

Published by University Books, Inc.

1. Origins and Evolution of Palmistry 1

2. Basic Classification of Hands 20

It is book to explain and to put into proper

consciousness of observed details leading to the formation of

nothing supernatural about it."

demonstrate to his own satisfaction the close relationship

when I was working as a journalist on the staff of a metropoli-

had ever heard of an actress named Debbie Reynolds. He said

another aspiring young starlet. But, as the ensuing years

of peeping-tom, looking into the windows of a private boudoir

Origins and Evolution of Palmistry

For thousands of years —ever since man began take

began to evolve and more lines appeared with the growth of

answers to some of these questions, the exact relationship

any given moment, of a pair of hands and the configuration in

He adds that the mind-body relationship is, in fact, just as

Origins and Evolution of Palmistry

mentary patchwork of written material has come down to us

*V. A. K. Ayer, Palmistry For Pleasure and Profit (Bombay: 1965).

"Lines have not been traced without cause in the hands of

Revival of the Art

It was not until the early thirteenth century that written

together with the meaning of each and commentaries on the

"astral light" or universal energy, which is received by man

Origins and Evolution of Palmistry

|argen t, apud loannem Schottum,

sidereal motif more or less parallels the radical horoscope,

influences as those shown in the astrological chart.

John Indagine: The Informal Approach

In Germany, as in Italy and France, there was a great revival

his studieschiromancy which made his

Pardy as a consequence of this readability and pardy because

mist-physician Theophrastus Bombastus van Hohenheim (c.

1493 - 1541 ), better known as Paracelsus.

Church considered blasphemous and for which Cardan was

line of heart as a harbinger of personal grief, shock or mental

anguish related to emotional attachments; but I know of no

actually produced a stigma.

which have been translated into English and are available to

Fig. 3. Illustration from Johannes Rothmann's Chiromantia, pub-

the native to warlike arts, as to be an engineer, or a gun-smith."

In the seventeenth century, there was a brief revival of

One of these who deserves special mention is Richard