Chapter One: An Abridged History of Palm Reading

Palm reading, or palmistry as it is also called, is often dismissed as another of those parlor tricks that psychics use to trick unsuspicious people into giving them a couple of bills. Many people don’t believe this practice is real in any sense. Some even believe that palm reading is a new practice recently introduced to the psychic world.

None of these beliefs are true. A lot of these beliefs are founded on a lack of knowledge about palmistry. This, precisely, is why I want to begin this chapter by giving you a brief look into the history of palm reading.

Palm reading, also called chiromancy or chirology, is the practice of reading a person’s character and personality and predicting their future through the lines and undulations of their palms. To put it simply, palm reading entails foretelling a person’s character and their future by reading the palm of their hands. It is not sure where palm reading originated from specifically. Palm reading experts don’t agree on one place of origin, but what is certain is that palm reading

has been around for centuries. Some believe that palm reading originated in ancient India and spread to other parts of the world.

Knowing that the Roma gypsies once had their homes in India, this may be where they first learned the art of reading the palms.

Regardless, palm reading has always been a widespread practice in China, Egypt, Tibet, Mesopotamia, and Persia. It was also popular in Ancient Greece, where it underwent significant developments.

Briefly, let’s talk about how palmistry spread from culture to culture.

According to Yoshiaki Omura, a renowned acupuncturist, palm reading has its roots in ancient Hindu astrology. This explains the relationship between palm reading and astrology, which you will learn about in a subsequent chapter. Millenia ago, the Hindu sage named Valmiki has produced a book on male palmistry with over 567

stanzas. The book’s title means “The Teachings of Valmiki Maharshi on Male Palmistry.” From India, palm reading traveled and spread to China, Tibet, Persia, and Egypt. From there, it spread to the European countries. The first place palmistry progressed was Ancient Greece. Some say that Anaxagoras, the pre-Socrates Greek philosopher, was an ardent practitioner of palmistry. According to reports, Aristotle, the philosopher, also found writing on the practice of palmistry on Hermes’ altar. Aristotle reportedly presented his finding to Alexander the Great because he had a great interest in studying his officer’s characters by examining and analyzing the lines on their hands’ palms.

During the Renaissance Age, palmistry was regarded as one of the seven forbidden magic practices. The others are geomancy, necromancy,

pyromancy,

hydromancy,

aeromancy,

and

scapulimancy. In the 16th century, the Catholic Church actively suppressed and fought the practice of palmistry. I should note that palmistry is referenced in one book in the Bible, specifically the Book of Job. Although this reference is indirect, it proves that palmistry has been around for thousands and thousands of years, contrary to what many people believe. The art of palmistry was soon revived in the 18th century, specifically in 1839, through the work of Captain Casimir Stanislas D’Arpentigny. This work was a publication titled La Chirognomie.

Katharine St. Hill later founded the Chirological Society of Great Britain in London in the year 1889. This society’s objective was to procure advancements in palmistry and make palmistry a strategic art so much so charlatans couldn’t abuse it. The Chirological Society’s American branch was founded in 1897, eight years after the British branch was established.

One of the prominent figures in modern palmistry study was William John Warner, an Irishman usually called Cheiro. Warner studied and learned palmistry under Indian gurus, after which he established a palm-reading outfit in London. Cheiro became a very popular palmist. He had several quite high-profile clients, including the author Oscar Wilde. Cheiro’s practice was pivotal in the spread of palmistry across Great Britain. Even people who didn’t believe in occultism went to Cheiro to read their fortunes through their hands. In the following years, there were several attempts to establish a scientific foundation for the art of palm reading. In the 1900s, William G.

Benham published The Laws of Scientific Reading for this very reason.

Despite the efforts made to suppress palm reading during the Middle Ages, the art has become one of the most popular occultic practices for divination. Palmistry is flourishing in this stressful modern age.

Humans are relentless in their journey to search for answers and know the truth about themselves. One thing to know about palm reading’s spread worldwide is that many original practice variations have developed in different cultures. This doesn’t mean that the variations are watered down or less effective. The variations are mostly due to slight cultural differences. Having learned about palm reading’s brief history, you must understand what palm reading entails in modern times.

Palm reading is a personal and ancient form of divination that reveals things within you and informs you of what you may expect in your future. Like any practice in esoterism and occultism, palm reading can be taught in different forms. It is also a very complicated practice, usually more complicated than other forms of readings or fortune-telling, such as tarot readings. Palm reading may be complicated, but this does not outrightly mean it is difficult or impossible to learn. It means that anyone who wants to learn this art

must dedicate themselves to learning and understanding the practice’s intricacies.

Reading a person’s palm entails observing the lines and mounts of their hands and interpreting them based on their sizes, texture, quality, and intersections. In some variations of palm reading, a palmist (someone who practices palm reading) may also observe the fingers, fingerprints, fingernails, skin color, palm shape, skin patterns, and the hand’s flexibility. Medical scientists and psychologists agree that the hands can reveal the truth about a person’s health, character, and mental states. While palmistry is generally considered a science and an art, you are more likely to understand a person if you also have basic psychic abilities. Intuitive gifts such as clairvoyance make palm reading much easier for psychics.

Many people often wonder if palmistry is as accurate as other forms of psychic reading. You probably have this on your mind as well. It is difficult to say whether palm reading is more accurate than other forms of readings. The accuracy of palm reading depends on several factors. The first factor is the skill level of the palmist. When you practice palmistry, you cannot expect your readings to be as accurate as those of an experienced palmist practicing much longer than you. The more experienced you are, the higher your chances of getting an accurate reading. To become experienced, you need to put in many practice sessions and devote yourself to learning the art.

Often, people learn palm reading to get it all in one go, but it does not work like that.

It may take months to get an accurate first reading. Now, getting one reading right differs from getting multiple readings right. To be consistent, you must practice often. Remember that palm reading is more of a learned skill than an innate ability one just possesses. You need to practice it as you would if you were just trying to learn a new language or a new musical instrument. The more you practice with yourself and other people, the more your reading accuracy will improve.

The second factor that determines palm reading accuracy is the age of the person getting a reading—your hands age alongside the rest of your body. In your younger years, the lines of your palms are as

sharp as possible. You can see them clearly, so they are easier to read and interpret. But as you get older, the lines on your palm may blur with age. Some may also become more pronounced with age.

Due to this, a palmist may find it challenging to get an accurate reading of your hand.

If you are a palmist, you may find it hard to read an older person’s palms because of their age. Thankfully, some lines remain easy to read regardless of changes in age. Throughout a person’s whole life, two main lines do not become difficult to read. You will discover more about these lines as you read on.

Accidents may also affect the accuracy of palm reading. Any accident that involves your hand may hinder your ability to read your own palms. Naturally, most people’s hands often show signs of wear and tears. But if a person gets into an accident that results in burns or cuts in their hands, it becomes difficult to get accurate readings of their palms. Depending on the severity of the burns or cuts, readings may become difficult altogether. This means that people with significant scarring in their hands are unlikely to get palm reading.

They must forego the possibility because the chances of getting accurate readings are arguably nonexistent.

Several other factors can affect palm readings’ accuracy, but these are the three most significant reasons. To read your own palm or that of another person, you begin from the right hand. This is often the hand that most people use the most. Interestingly, some people argue that the right hand for reading is the dominant hand.

Contextually, the dominant hand is whatever hand you regularly use to write, eat, and other activities. They believe that the dominant hand represents the conscious hand, while the other hand represents the subconscious. In some variations of palmistry, it is believed that the other hand contains information about hereditary traits or a person’s past life. It depends on the beliefs of the palm reader. In palm reading, you must know the dominant hand before you start reading. Knowing whether a person is right-handed or left-handed will make all the difference in your reading. If you don’t determine this before you begin your reading, you will probably end up with inaccurate results. The dominant hand reflects an individual’s position on their essential inborn traits and attributes.

But the non-dominant hand gives you insight into the individual’s family, parents, etc. By reading the non-dominant hand, you can ascertain which parent your subject takes after the most. More importantly, the information you find in a person’s dominant hand is verifiable by what you find in their non-dominant hand. More likely, the dominant hand in most people is the right hand. But you should try to ask your subject about their dominant hand before you begin reading. Even when a person is versatile at using both of their hands, they often have one they utilize the most.

Your left hand is controlled and managed by your right brain, which is the part of your brain responsible for relationship understanding, pattern recognition, and other functions. The left hand represents your natural self, inner self, anima, and your lateral thinking ability.

You may think of it as part of your personal and spiritual development. Your right hand is controlled and managed by the left hemisphere of your brain, which is in charge of language, logic, and reason. The left hand represents your objective self, outer self, education, social environment, and experiences. It also reflects linear thinking.

In palm reading, the right hand determines 80 percent of the reading, while the left-hand dictates the remaining 20 percent. Overall, a palmist focuses on reading the right hand and then adds or subtracts depending on the information they get from the left hand.

There is a scientific or systemic approach to palm reading that most people don’t realize. To tell whether a palmist is real or a charlatan, you can do this by observing how they read the palm lines. As funny as this may sound, some palmists don’t understand the science of palm reading. They just stare intensely at your palm and pretend to receive some revelation. Your hands form in the early gestation stages. Scientific researchers believe that the hands possess fossilized records of early human development. These records can be used to gain insight into what is yet to come.

Symmetry is one of the key things to observe in palm reading.

Symmetrical hands in people can indicate athletic traits in people. If a man has symmetrical hands, it may mean he will have many children in his future. Abnormality in fingerprints is another thing that matters when taking a scientific approach to palm reading. According

to researchers, men have more abnormal fingerprint patterns than women. This is usually because of their vulnerability to their environment. Suppose a man has an abnormality in their fingerprint patterns. There, it may indicate underlying health conditions such as diabetes or schizophrenia. Sweaty fingers in people indicate they are likely to be food addicts.

The bottom line here is that you have to be systemic in your approach to palm reading if you want to be more than just another palm reader. Many people already believe that palm reading is not real or authentic. To convince skeptics, you have to let them understand that palmistry is both a science and art by combining both approaches to improve your accuracy level.

Before I move on to the next chapter, below are some of the most frequently asked questions about palm reading and their answers.

Commonly Asked Questions About Palm

Reading

It is natural to be curious. As a matter of fact, you require curiosity to be an accurate palm reader. The purpose of curiosity is to help you get answers, which is highly important. Understandably, there are lots of questions surrounding palm reading and practice. Unless you actually understand palm reading and what it entails, it will be difficult to practice yourself or the surrounding people. So, to aid your understanding of palm reading and how it can help you unlock hidden knowledge about yourself and your future, here are detailed answers to five of the most commonly asked questions about palmistry.

1. Is Palmistry a New Psychic Gift?

First, palm reading is one of the oldest psychic practices in history. It has been around for thousands of years, and it isn’t going anywhere.

Second, I like to tell people that palm reading is a skill anybody can hone, rather than a psychic gift that only a few possess. When people hear something like “gift,” they automatically assume that it is an ability possessed by a select few.

Contrary to what we were made to believe through movies and shows while growing up, psychic gifts don’t belong to a handful of

“special” people. Every human has latent psychic skills that can be awakened through understanding and consistent practice. You need not pay a fortuneteller to reveal your future to you. You can become your own fortuneteller. While learning on your own can take a long time, it doesn’t negate that you have that natural ability to hone whenever you feel like getting started.

2. Why are Palms so Important?

Everything about your palm is unique to just you, from your fingers to fingerprints. Your hands and palms are unique to you. Nobody else has the same fingers, palms, or hands as you. At a glance, our hands may all look. But when you take a more in-depth look, you can notice the slight changes in sizes, texture, colors, etc. Energy healers generally believe that one’s hand is the extension of one’s heart.

In retrospect, the heart is an extension of the soul and holds the secrets hidden deep in your soul. Basically, you can always tell whatever is in a person’s heart by observing their hand (or palm).

You can easily see that your hands are indeed an extension of your heart. You need your hands to touch, caress, express love, care, hug, and make love. You need your hands to give and receive. To hurt another person, you also need your hands. How you use your hands reflects the person you are deep within your soul and what you carry in your heart.

3. Is Palm Reading a Proven Science?

Palm reading didn’t just originate out of nowhere in this modern day.

It is a vast ancient practice that has survived thousands of years. So, you can tell it is more than just uninformed speculation like people assume. Over the years, modern authors have expanded on the knowledge of palm reading.

With the practice of palmistry, some palmists use a combination of psychology, astrology, superstition, and intuition, plus tiny bits of the original ancient palm reading knowledge. This discredits palmistry to many people. Even though intuition is accurate, sometimes it is not credible to make it all about palm reading. The reading itself is not the most important part of palmistry; interpretation is. Reading is one thing, and interpretation is another thing. Without proper understanding or knowledge, you can read correctly and then interpret inaccurately.

In answer to the question, palm reading is a science, but it is not yet a proven one backed by scientific research. But like I said, some studies in science have highlighted that the hand is truly a window to the soul, implying that palmistry is most likely an authentic practice. I like to compare the science of palmistry to Psychology. Even though there are founding principles on which palm reading operates, what matters the most is diagnosis and experience. Diagnosis is the reading, and with time, you become more experienced and versed at interpretation.

I should reiterate there is a scientific basis for palm reading. The number of nerves in your hands, which is outrageously enormous, is directly connected to your hands.

4. Is There a Connection Between Palm Reading and Astrology?

Contrary to what many people think, there is no connection between palmistry and astrology. If there is a connection, it is that both practices are used for fortune-telling and divination. Other than this, palmistry and astrology are two different streams of esoteric knowledge. But it is possible to combine readings from palmistry and astrology; this is up to the reader’s discretion. Ancient palmists may have named the mounts of your hands after the planets, but this doesn’t make astrology and palm reading intertwine. If you wish to combine both practices, that is your prerogative.