What Is Palmistry? (Explanation, Example, Secrets)

Reading the lines of the hand, also called “palmistry”, is an ancient divinatory practice.

Since the dawn of time, clairvoyants from all walks of life have been practicing it, with often… disturbing results.

But actually, what is behind palmistry?

Where does this form of clairvoyance really come from?

And me, can I practice? What do I need to know to get started?

Together we will answer all these questions in this article on discovering palmistry.

Contents :

Principle of palmistry

A brief history of this form of clairvoyance

Palmistry for beginners

Lucky charm featured in this article

Principle of palmistry

Palmistry is one of the most popular forms of divination in the world.

Basically, it consists of observing a person's hands to “read” certain key information about their life, their destiny and their future. By analyzing the typical lines, shapes and colors of our palms, soothsayers can make their predictions.

You should know that the palm of the hand naturally develops lines. Some people see them as wrinkles, but since children have them, they are something different. These are the hand lines, or “ lines of destiny ”.

Yes, we are in fact all born with these famous lines already drawn. Esotericists often say that these lines remain fixed throughout our lives, and that they represent our destiny (hence their name).

As with other forms of clairvoyance, palmistry is not recognized by science. No study has ever indicated that reading the palm of the hand could help define a person's future... except for a few small details!

Scientists know that the level of health, occupation and daily stress are all elements that affect the appearance of our hands. Someone nervous will bite their nails, that's for sure. Is someone destined to be nervous going to have certain characteristic lines?

Here is all the question.

A clairvoyant will speak of an intuition, another medium will be able to predict the future thanks to a precise line on your hand. For those who do not believe in occult forces, all this esoteric gibberish will be bizarre gibberish, of little interest.

In short, knowing whether palmistry is a tangible divinatory practice will remain an unanswered question. Some people believe in it, and others don't.

A brief history of this form of clairvoyance

It has been said: palmistry is today practiced all over the world.

But in fact, where does this form of clairvoyance come from?

The answer to this question is simple: palmistry originates from India and, more particularly, from the Indus Valley.

The oldest known text mentioning palmistry is a collection of teachings by a mystical poet known as “ Valmiki Maharshi ”. A central sage of the Hindu tradition, he was considered a great scholar, an enlightened being and a guru.

Even if palmistry was perhaps even older, this is the first indisputable historical trace.

In short, this form of clairvoyance quickly spread throughout the world. From China to Persia, via Egypt and Greece: the entire ancient world recognized the powers of palmistry.

Illustrious authors have praised it, such as Aristotle who described palmistry in his work “ De Historia Animalium ”, more than 2500 years ago. (For the curious, here is his Wikipedia page. )

The tradition of palm reading then spanned the centuries until the early Middle Ages, where this technique was recognized as an effective means of fighting against the forces of evil. In particular, it was said that certain spots present on the skin of the hand indicated a pact made with the devil...

Like many other magical, esoteric or mystical practices, palmistry was banned by the Church around the middle of the millennium. If it was once used to flush out witches, practicing it began to be seen as an act of witchcraft in itself.

It was not until the Renaissance, and more particularly the Age of Enlightenment, that the curiosities of palmistry reappeared. Turning tables, communications with spirits and other psychological experiments were very fashionable in the worldly society of the Belle Époque, and palmistry benefited from this aura of the forbidden.

Palmistry for beginners

Yes, palmistry is an ancient divinatory art which has reached us not without difficulty, its tradition growing in the face of its adversaries and their attacks.

But in fact, what about practice? What are the ways to read the palm of a hand?

Without being exhaustive (palmistry is a complex art which requires years of study to be mastered), we will here give you some indications as to the clues left by the folds of our skin.

If, however, you wish to explore the subject further, you can refer to such a poster from our store, which describes in detail the different characteristic elements of a hand.

Which hand to read on?

This question may seem a bit silly: our two hands are identical, we can read them the same way, right?

Well absolutely not!

There are many rules for choosing whether clairvoyance will be done on the right hand or the left hand. The simplest is to rely on the gender of the person wanting to know their future.

If it is a man, the left hand corresponds to innate traits, and the right hand to traits acquired through our efforts and experience. If it is a woman, the right hand describes the destiny obtained at birth, while the left allows us to read everything she was able to create in her life. In short, it's the opposite.

The four elements in palmistry

Before deciphering the lines of the hands, it is always necessary to determine to which elementary principle they are linked. Concretely, this will be an indication as to how to read the lines and, more particularly, the most significant lines.

Palmistry is well linked to the natural principles that make up our world. Astrology, Chinese horoscope or even tarot: these are in fact all divinatory practices which respect these great vectors of existence.

Here is a short description for each of these four elements:

• The fiery hands are rather rectangular and the skin is full of blood, full of life. They indicate a stronger influence of the heart line.
• Water hands are more oval, with long fingers that are sometimes a little curled. They indicate a predominance of the life line
• Earth hands are stocky, broad and short-fingered. This is the money line which will be more important.
• Air hands are slender, with long fingers and their skin is often dry. This type of hand is most related to the mind.

The main lines of the hand

Palmistry is a complex science. There are dozens of lines that she interprets, but also hollows, “valleys”, particular shapes, colors, moles…

Again, this article is just an introduction. However, there are some indications that are more important than others. The four main lines, for example, are really decisive.

To see which lines we are talking about, you can refer to the previous image.

In short, we can define:

• The life line, expressing health, vitality and inner energy.
• The heart line, linked to love, friendship and emotions.
• The money line, which speaks of success, fortune and luck.
• The head line, associated with spirituality, intelligence and awakening.

The analysis here will be quite simple: a long and marked line will indicate a well-developed facet of the human being, while a less perceptible or more finished one will indicate a shortcoming, personal work to be done or, sometimes even, an internal blockage.

Other resources

Palmistry is an astonishing science which, like other forms of clairvoyance, has many schools and variants.

This short guide from the WikiHow site can, for example, give you another way of doing things. This one, more focused on shapes and fingers, will offer you another one.

In the end, it will always be good for you to undertake your own research and, above all, to always remain open-minded.

Lucky charm featured in this article