Feature by Helen Martin
By opening your palms to someone you are asking to be seen; vulnerable, hopeful and eager to link worlds and ideas.
Our palms are an intoxicating concoction of real-life bubbling with the need for affirmation. A peaceful guide with the ability to pinpoint you in the middle of a universe of bouncing minuscule dots.
“I see you,” the palm reader says and, for those minutes as you sit there, you stop. You have been found and your past, present and future beam out in great shards of light. As you sit in the warmth of the spotlight, your hands over the small cloth-covered table with coloured tassels to the floor, you feel acknowledged, special. Whatever happens, you’ll remember this.
A handy guide
Palmistry, also known as chiromancy, involves interpreting a person’s character and giving them an insight into their future by examining the palm of their hand.
From images of hands found in prehistoric caves in France and Spain with all the major lines intricately depicted, to the centuries of widespread practice in palmistry all over the world, it’s clear that humans have long held a fascination with the human palm.
Whether acting as a comfort, an indicator of the future, a method to tell stories of the past, or as a guide, perhaps palmistry is there to help us understand our life a bit more.
Modern palmists often combine traditional predictive techniques with psychology, holistic healing and other methods of divination.
While the origins of palmistry are not certain, it’s said that the practice originated in India thousands of years ago and has been known in China, Tibet, Persia, Mesopotamia and Egypt, before developments in Ancient Greece.
Palmistry underwent several spells of surges in popularity; in the 17th century during the Renaissance; then again in the 19th century in the Enlightenment, with the work of Louis Hamon, William Benham and Captain Casimir Stanislas D’Arpentigny. The latter introduced palmistry to France and grouped hands according to their shape and size, creating the following classifications: square, spatulate, psychic, knotty, and philosophic.
In the 20th century, followers included Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, which again led to renewed attention and interpretation.
“The hand is the visible part of the brain.”
Immanuel Kant
Recently, palmistry has seen another increase in popularity, along with tarot, astrology, crystals and other forms of spiritual awareness.
Darcey Leonard is based in Brooklyn, New York, and specialises in palmistry with the Tarot Society. Her focus is very much on pushing self-knowledge. She also believes the lines on our hands that we are born with, change over time according to our choices.
Darcey works by combining, “learned palmistry, sharp intuition, and pragmatic advice for a unique reading that will give you deeper understanding of yourself as well as action steps for the future”.
Meanwhile Gary Marwick in London, who has appeared on television with his work in palmistry, hopes to open people up to their potential through his readings. He says, “My aim is to help and show people how to find positive resources and intentions, by using one’s own skills in obtaining the full potentiality that exists within our life. Through positive thinking and the laws of attraction, we can bring forward endless possibilities into our lives.”
Popular palmistry
So many of us are interested in this practice these days that you may expect to have a palm reader at a variety of gatherings, from self-care workshops to hen parties.
There’s something exciting and unifying in the thrill of tapping into a deeper vision of yourself, of your future. It appeals to those looking for a blast of fresh air to rediscover themselves, reboot and take stock. It offers a ticket to freedom from work, relationships, technology and other pressures.
The image of a palm reader is also often of a female free spirit. She floats under layered fabrics, a halo of flowers in her hair, and a connection to sisterhood, the moon, Mother Nature, time and creativity; turning away from consumerism, capitalism and waste.
The free spirit believer is more eco-conscious, living in the moment and generally leading a more mindful life. Add to this the sense of community, enhanced by social media, and you can practically hear the electricity in the air.
Check out the hashtag #palmistry, and you will find nearly 62,000 posts by those connecting through this medium, all over the planet.
Opening up
Those who practise palmistry have said that people often assume that a palm reader knows more than they do. In many ways this makes sense. Even the most cynical may quietly wonder, while people are said to open up far more than they expect to. Carl Jung said, “Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.”
"About astrology and palmistry: they are good because they make people vivid and full of possibilities. They are communism at its best. Everybody has a birthday and almost everybody has a palm.”
Kurt Vonnegut
Raw and emotive, when do you ever show someone your hands laid bare? From a nine-month-old baby perfecting their pincer grip, to an elderly couple holding hands as they watch television, our hands move us through life’s love, loss and labour.
They can help us connect with others and express our feelings. It’s the possibility that the palm reader before you holds a higher power, that they can see your clear connection with the universe.
As protagonists within our own fairy tales, we want to hear the closing line: ‘And they all lived happily ever after’. However, as opposed to purely focusing on fortune telling and gazing into the future, modern palmistry is just as much about self-awareness and living your best life now.
Offering you their undivided attention, a palm reader sees you glimmering away underneath any anxieties or confusion. They encourage you to make choices right now to change your narrative.
The clouds that may mist our own vision are trusted to not exist for the palm reader. The hope is for some clarity and the help to open a door that perhaps we can’t find the handle of. Trust is the key, whether that’s in the palm reader or yourself. Ultimately, you have to believe in your own unique power.
Make a paper fortune teller!
Learn how to create the classic fortune teller origami with our step-by-step guide.
All you need is a sheet of square paper and a pen!
How to read your own palm
There are four types of hands: air – thinking, square palm and long fingers; earth – practical, square palm and short fingers; fire – intuitive, long palm and short fingers and water – feeling; long palm and long fingers.
Take a minute to look at the lines on your dominant hand, finger width, the way that you hold your hand. Every detail holds meaning, a truth, destiny. There are three major lines; the life line, wisdom line and love line.
LIFE LINE
From between your thumb and forefinger, this line runs down to the bottom of your hand. This indicates health and can apparently grow longer and change shape depending on your approach to your health.
The line’s depth will tell you how you will go through life, upward branches are positive, while downward are negative. A complete break may mean a significant change.
HEAD LINE
Also known as the Wisdom Line, this runs across your hand and represents intuition and intelligence.
Creativity is shown via wavy lines, a straight line may show meticulousness and materialism, while a single curve is said to show idealism and curiosity.
The shorter the line, the more impulsive, while a faint line may mean you struggle with focus. If you have a deep line, this indicates great memory.
HEART LINE
This is above your wisdom line. This line is for love, your emotions and relationships. The line can start above your index or middle finger. If it’s under the index, you look for satisfying relationships, while if it’s under your middle finger you may be quite selfish in love and affection.
Strong curves indicate comfort in expressing feelings and forks show skill in balance. A deep line means that you are very thoughtful and put a lot of meaning into your relationships and a faint line means the opposite. Breaks can mean intense emotional experiences with the self.
RELATIONSHIP LINE
The relationship line is at the top of your hand by your little finger. A deeper and longer line indicates that you enjoy long-term relationships, while a shorter and fainter line means you may prefer short-term.
FATE LINE
The fate line runs vertically through the middle of your hand and represents what may influence your path in life, including career and personal choices. A strong line means good luck and gains, breaks are big losses.
HEALTH LINE
Healing, care and support is shown via the health line, this runs down your hand from your little finger to the middle of the bottom of your hand. Breaks indicate your healing skills will be required one day, frays show that they may already have been called into action.
MOUNT OF VENUS
Indicating passion, love and romance, the mount of Venus lies between the thumb and life line. If this area is flat, it shows possible lack of connection to others. While if it’s very elevated you may be overindulgent. Those with theirs slightly elevated are said to be attractive and healthy, passionate about the arts and enjoy good friendships.
Make a clay hand dish
You will need:
- White Fimo air dry clay
- Fimo gloss varnish
- Black acrylic paint pen
- Black acrylic paint (optional)
- Round-bottomed bowl
- Paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- Rolling pin (or glass jar)
- Sandpaper
How to make it:
1. Create a template by tracing around your hand onto a sheet of A4 paper. Neaten up the sketch by evening out the length and width of the fingers and rounding out the bottom of the palm. Erase any unwanted lines.
2. Cut out your traced hand.
3. Roll out some clay until it’s around 0.5cm (1⁄4in) thick. Lay your paper hand on the clay and cut around it using a craft knife.
4. Place the clay hand over the bottom of your bowl. Dip your fingers in a bit of water and smooth out any cracks or rough edges. Then leave the clay hand to air dry.
5. Once the clay has dried, lightly sand the hand to remove any remaining rough edges.
6. Use your paint pens to draw patterns on the hand. For a tribal look, decorate each of the fingers towards the tips with little dots and lines, then decorate the centre of the palm with a tribal motif such as a sun, evil eye or simple geometric shapes. Use acrylic paint to fill in any larger areas.
7. Give the finished hand dish a coat or two of gloss varnish.
Discover the beauty and power of crystals
Crystals are one of the earth's most beautiful natural substances. Formed hundreds of years ago, each crystal is completely unique and it's believed they hold energy and power.
If you're a crystal fan like us, then you're going to love our guide to crystal crafts to make and sell.
