In the Palm of Your Hand
by Liz Gerstein

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An excerpt from the new book
In the Palm of Your Hand: Practical Palmistry for Career and Relationship Success

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The word palmistry tends to elicit a patronizing smile or a shrug of the shoulders, for most people don't believe that the study of hands has any genuine scientific merit. But we humans have always tried to untangle the complicated interaction between our physical, emotional, and intellectual realms so that we may uncover our "true selves." This search for identity is clearly confirmed by the countless self-help books on psychology, astrology, numerology, face reading, and graphology (the study of handwriting analysis) that are in bookstores today.

Speaking of graphology, I've been a handwriting analyst for more than 20 years--at first, it was just a hobby, but it later became a career. I'm particularly interested in assessing the body and mind connection of individuals. Our hands are simply tools for transmitting our thoughts to paper--hence, handwriting has been (and should be) called "brainwriting." Even people who don't have the use of their hands produce the same psychological, emotional, and intellectual profile by holding the pen between their toes or in their mouth.

My natural curiosity and belief that every part of our unique self is interrelated and forms a piece of the puzzle led me to study related sciences, such as phrenology, and in particular, palmistry. After all, our hands form a microcosm of our entire body (the macrocosm). The lines, creases, and markings etched upon the palmar surface are a result of the activities from our central nervous system, thereby forming a connection with our handwriting.

How did I get started learning about palmistry? I first went to some libraries, where many books on the subject were available. My most valuable sources, however, were used bookstores, where I found some out_of_print "old treasures." In my travels to Europe, I also collected French and German books on palmistry. Every book provided me with its own particular information, and I was able to verify and integrate this by studying many hands, starting with my own. Then came those of family members and friends, who were only too pleased to help in my research. The first opportunity to test my knowledge came when I was asked to read hands for a charity fund-raising event. My only request was that they call my service "palm reading" instead of "fortune telling"! I was gratified by the response to my hand analysis, as complete strangers verified much of what I told them about their abilities, interests, and oft-hidden talents. After that event, I felt the confidence to call myself a "palmist"!

The Origins and History of Palmistry

The origins of palmistry may be much older than we think. In fact, some anthropologists believe that some handprints found in prehistoric caves date back to the Stone Age and were used in religious initiation ceremonies.

Fingerprints have been called "the ancient key to identity." Two thousand years before Christianity, Babylonians put their fingerprints on soft clay to protect against the forgery of important documents. In ancient China, the impressions of fingerprints served as signatures by those unable to sign their name, and even the emperor resorted to using his thumbprint to sign important papers. Until l860, the Japanese followed similar practices; they also put their fingerprints on the front doors of their homes for protection.

During Alexander the Great's reign (356--323 b.c.), the Hellenic civilization reached great heights in the arts and sciences. Aristotle, the philosopher who was Alexander's tutor, imparted much of his knowledge and interest in all methods of prophecy, such as astronomy, astrology, graphology, and chiromancy (the science of hand reading) to him.

It seems only fitting that the study of the hands should be called chiromancy, which is derived from the Greek word cheir, meaning "hand"; and manteia, meaning "divination." The name was later popularized as palmistry, which is derived from the Latin word paume, meaning "palm." This reveals that the studies pertaining to the anatomy of the hand and those of the linear patterns and creases etched into the palm and fingertips were treated as separate sciences, even hundreds of years ago.

Interest in the study of the hands was clearly portrayed by artists during the l6th and l7th centuries. However, when gypsies from Northern India swarmed over Europe, they brought with them a different kind of palmistry. Their aura of mysticism contributed to the fear and fascination people had for their predictions. Sadly, these prophecies often materialized through the power of positive or negative suggestions, which only strengthened people's fears, and belief in the gypsies' fortune--and misfortune--telling abilities. Eventually, the gypsies found their way to the Court of England; it was rumored that King Henry VIII was a staunch believer in palmistry.

Captain Stanislas d'Arpigny of France (l798--l865) was said to have received his first knowledge of palmistry from a gypsy. Obviously fascinated and intrigued, he went on to study the old masters of chiromancy and later developed his own methods of reading hands. A lasting contribution is his classification of the six basic (and one "mixed") hand types, a technique that's still being used today. Because of this new method, d'Arpigny is considered by many to be the father of modern palmistry, a fame that is shared with another Frenchman, Adolphe Desbarolles (l80l--l886).

British scholar Noel Jaquin was another person who made great strides in the practical application and development of palmistry. In the early 19th century, he produced a book titled Scientific Palmistry, which contained some very forward-thinking ideas. For instance, he wrote that "the main object of the study of the hand is the prevention of latent diseases and the prevention of wasted years of effort and energy spent following a career for which the individual is unfitted," thus pointing to his studies in the field of career selection, a subject that I will discuss later in this book.

The 20th century produced--and the 21st century continues to bring forth--modern scientists who advance our knowledge of chiromancy. For instance, Julius Spier of Switzerland focused his studies on children's hands, and his work greatly impressed pioneer psychologist Carl Jung.

Cheiro

One of history's most colorful and charismatic palm readers, authors, and lecturers was Count Louis Hamon (l866--l936), better known as "Cheiro," which translates from the Greek as "hand reader." Cheiro's services were sought out by royal circles, and in 1896, The Language of the Hand was published in England. It gained immense recognition and was subsequently reprinted 33 times in England and in the United States, and was translated into many languages.

Celebrities from all over the world--including Mark Twain, Douglas Fairbanks, Eric von Stroheim, and Oscar Wilde--also wanted Cheiro to read their palms. Speaking of Wilde, in his book Cheiro's Complete Palmistry, Cheiro recounts an anecdote that took place during one of his fashionable parlor games in London. Cheiro would analyze anonymous hands that had been extended to him through a curtain without being able to see to whom they belonged.

As Wilde's hands were presented to him, Cheiro exclaimed in astonishment: "The left hand is that of a king, but the right one is that of a king who will send himself into exile." Wilde left the party without saying a word, for at that time he was the toast of London, having just produced his popular play A Woman of No Importance. But few people were aware of Wilde's decadence and debauchery, which later were made public during the sensational trial at "Old Bailey," where Wilde was accused and convicted of sexual perversion and corruption. He was sent to prison and later exiled to France, where he died penniless and was shunned by his former influential friends. I'm guessing that Cheiro must have seen brilliance and success in Wilde's left hand (his birth hand), while his right, or dominant, hand probably revealed a negative development of his character that included self--indulgence and a lack of morals. Unfortunately, Cheiro didn't specify or explain the signs and markings in Wilde's right hand upon which he based his analysis.

The Many Uses of Palmistry

As man is a microcosm of the macrocosm, the hand is a microcosm of our physical and mental entity, and is therefore a reflection of our personality. As Noel Jaquin said: "Success or failure is to be found in the combination of health and character."

An infant is born with its own blueprint of inherent characteristics, some of which are also indicated by the shape and structure of the hands, as well as in the lines, creases, and other markings imprinted upon the palmar surface and fingers. Some of the lines are subject to change through later development, while others, such as the patterns of the capillary ridges on fingertips, are permanently engraved. Being totally unique, they serve as a means of identification, as already mentioned.

The scholars studying hands realized early on, at least from the time of the Renaissance on, that lines don't appear by accident and aren't merely the result of repetitive folding or flexing of the hands. Each line and additional marking has a special significance and must first be interpreted separately, then evaluated and balanced against other findings. Thus, with the myriad of differences in lines and markings, it makes each hand truly unique, so unique that even the left and right hands of a person aren't exactly alike.

Experiences from early childhood through the later stages of development combine with inherited tendencies, which are in our DNA and are factors in the formation of the personality. Behaviorists and geneticists will always be divided as to whether inherited characteristics or the influence of the environment is more significant. Says Harvard sociobiologist E. O. Wilson: "Nature determines how the individual responds to nurture."

In the case of children and young adults, discovering potential strengths and weaknesses would be valuable and significant, as dormant mental powers and talents can be cultivated. But if one is aware of negative traits or tendencies, they may be eliminated or corrected by proper training and diets, as relates to the physical health of an individual.

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This excerpt is from the new book In the Palm of Your Hand: Practical Palmistry for Career and Relationship Success, by Liz Gerstein. It is published by Hay House, Inc., and available at all bookstores, by phone 800-654-5126, or via the Internet at www.hayhouse.com.

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