So, you want to know how to read your palm…to begin on this journey, you must first understand that there is more to your hand than just your palm. Second, you must remember that you have two of them, not just one, and there are fingers attached to that palm as well. Keep in mind also, that there are differences in interpretation between your active hand and your passive hand. Your passive or non-dominant hand reflects the path that your life was destined to follow and was predetermined before your birth. Your active hand is a reflection of the choices you have made for yourself in this lifetime. In some people you will see that the lines on the passive hand and the lines on the active hand are almost identical. These people are content to let life happen as it happens. In others, you will see great differences between the two. These are the people who are creating their own futures.
Palmistry can help you get to know yourself (although reading your own palm is often the hardest, because of our tendency to see only what we want to see), and others. It can help you identify your talents, potential, fears, and limitations. It can also shed light on your health conditions, emotions, relationships, and behavioral patterns.
When reading for yourself and for your own personal reasons, it is important to be as open and honest with yourself as possible. When reading for others, it is always best to use discretion in the way you say something that you observe. It would not be in anyone’s best interest to call someone a liar. If that is what you see, it would be more tactful to say that they like to tell people what they would like to hear, and safer yet, to say nothing at all on the topic.
This is not intended to be an all-inclusive instruction manual, but I do hope to hit the highlights and tell you where to look for direction on the common questions that come to mind, including: “How long will I live?”, “Am I really compatible with my significant other?”, “How many children can you see?”, and “Will I be rich and/or famous?”, just to name a few.
In these studies, you may find it useful to have a piece of paper and a ruler handy, as proportional things can be deceptive to the naked eye. The straight edge will make leanings, curves, and comparative measurements more clear. Notating measurements and observations on paper can save you the time of measuring finger sections and reviewing relating observations as you see them other places in the hand.
History
The study of palmistry is a practice that dates to as far back as far as 15,000 years ago. The earliest recorded interest in the shape, lines, and overall appearance of the palm is seen and recorded on the walls of prehistoric caves discovered in Spain, where detailed pictures of the hand are abundant. The pictures on the walls of these caves, showed the hand and palm in great detail. The drawings included the size, shape, major lines, and minor lines, including fingerprint styles, preserved in exquisite detail.
The practice of palmistry was mentioned in scripts dating back as far as the Bible and early Semitic writings. Laws and principles concerning Chiromancy were also detailed in the Vedas, the earliest known sacred writings of the Hindu people.
Throughout history, we see the usage of the principles of palmistry for a variety of purposes. Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen used the art as a clinical aid in the diagnosis and treatment of physical ailments. Julius Caesar used the art to judge the battlefield worthiness and trustworthiness of the men he chose to fight with him. Palmists were consulted to predict the success of Napoleon as well as to determine the compatibility of Napoleon and Josephine.
The first known book on Palmistry was written in 1477, by Michael Scotts De Philsiognomia, as a part of his study of Physiognomy focusing, in part, on all the aspects of the human hand. He discussed size, shape, and texture of the hand as well as the meanings of major and minor distinguishing lines and fingerprint analysis as well. Around this same time, we find writings on Chiromancy by the notable, Paracelsus.
In the early 1700’s, the Catholic Church used the concepts of Palmistry to determine if someone had made a pact with the devil, believing that the appearance spots on certain areas of the hand indicated this. They, later, deemed the practice of palm reading itself, to be a form of devil worship. Declaring that anyone who showed an interest, or was caught practicing the art of Chiromancy, should be killed as quickly and painfully as possible, for the crime of participating in active devil worship.