Palmists may look at various qualities of the hand, including the shapes and lines of the palm and fingers; the color and texture of the skin and fingernails; the relative sizes of the palm and fingers; the prominence of the knuckles; and numerous other attributes of the hands. In most schools of palmistry, hand shapes are divided into four types. Hand shape is believed to indicate character traits corresponding to the type indicated:
Earth hand consists of a square palm and short fingers. People with this type of hands are reliable, down-to-earth and practical. They are conservative, reserved and possessive. However, like earth itself, they can also react violently if they deem it necessary.
Air hand consists of a square palm and long fingers. These people tend to use logic more than their intuition. They can express themselves clearly. They enjoy communicating and often make careers in these fields.
Water hand consists of an oblong palm with long fingers. It is also called intuitive hand as these people are extremely aware and receptive. People with type of hand are changeable, impressionable and emotional. They are idealistic and highly imaginative.
Fire hand consists of an oblong hand with short fingers. Someone with a hand like this is likely to be emotional, enthusiastic and creative. The short fingers indicate dislikes for detailing, and the long palm adds intuition.
Some of the important lines of the hand in palmistry are Heart line, head line, Life line, Girdle of Venus, Sun Line, Mercury Line and Fate Line. The three lines found on almost all hands, and generally given most weight by palmists.
heart line is the first of the major lines examined by a reader and represents love, attraction, subject's emotional life, romantic perspectives and intimate relationships. The heart line is indirectly associated with heart health.
head line represents subject's mind and the way it works, including learning style, communication style, intellectualism, and thirst for knowledge. It also indicates a preference for creative or analytical approaches to information (i.e., right brain or left brain).
life line is perhaps the most controversial line on the hand. This line is believed to represent the person's vitality and vigor, physical health and general well-being. The life line is also believed to reflect major life changes, including cataclysmic events, physical injuries, and relocations. Modern palmists generally do not believe that the length of a person's life line is tied to the length of a person's life.
The combined length of these three main lines (heart, head, life) can also be of interest. It is said that if this combined length is longer than the subject's foot, they may be overbearing, and if it is shorter they may give in too easily to other people, whereas a similar length suggests a well balanced individual.
Other minor lines
- Sun line indicates fame or scandal.
- Girdle of Venus indicates to emotional intelligence and the ability to manipulate.
- Union lines indicate close relationships, sometimes romantic.
- Mercury line indicates persistent health issues, business acumen, or skill in communication.
- Travel lines represent a trip taken by the subject, the longer the line, the more important the trip is to the subject.
- Apollo line indicates a fortunate life of the subject.
- Other markings include stars, crosses, triangles, squares, tridents, and rings under each of the fingers; their supposed impact and meaning varies by location on the palm and freedom from other interfering lines.
