(If you have not read, please read Lesson #2 first)
The most important part of Cheiromancy is the study of lines on the hands. We have, in the previous lessons, discussed Cheirognomy which is the study of mounts on the palm. No two hands are alike, not even of the twins. In fact no two hands are alike even if they belong to one and the same person. Most often, the left hand is significantly different from the right. As mentioned by Cheiro, there is an old saying on this point: 'The left is the hand we are born with; the right is the hand we make’. Therefore, the left hand is the inherited one showing the subconscious mind and natural characteristics of the person and the right hand shows the discipline, training, learning, environment, experience and the traits the person has acquired since birth. For this reason, the right hand changes more frequently and reflects the conscious and the operative mind.
Major lines do not change significantly but minor lines come and go. They represent the hopes and frustrations, the present circumstances, the future planning and coming events. In traditional Indian palmistry, the left hand was given more importance for women and the right hand for men. But in our experience, we have found that even for women, the right hand should be given more importance while reading the hands, since the modern woman is also an entity that is thinking, learning, evolving, managing and planning all the time. And these changes are better reflected in the right hand. The fact that women’s left side of the brain (intuitional side) is more developed than the man’s, is not important here. After all most women are also right handed just as most men are. For left handed men and women, the left hand may be seen more closely.
If the right hand is better marked than the left hand, it means that the person has improved since birth and is living up to his fuller potential. Events marked in both hands are surer to happen as the sub-conscious and the conscious mind are operating in tandem.
Major Lines in the Hand
There are five major lines and several minor lines in the hand. Minor lines may not be found in a great majority of hands. It is not necessary that even all the major lines are present in every hand.
1. The Line of Life
Starting from under the mount of Jupiter it encircles the mount of lower Mars and the mount of Venus. Its exact course on the hand gives vital clue about the health and vitality of the person. Though disease is seen from every part of the hand but it must have a corresponding mark on the life-line too. Astrologers relate it akin to Lagna and Lagnesha.
For any line to indicate the best results, it should be long, narrow and deep, pinkish in colour, without irregularities, breaks or crosses. A life-line like this promises long life, good health and strong vitality.
If the life-line starts from the base of the mount of Jupiter instead of the side of the palm, it means that the person has been quite ambitious right from the beginning.
2. The Line of Head
Its normal starting point is the same as that of life-line but it travels across the palm and divides the palm in two parts. It normally ends below the mount of Mercury or, if a little short, below the mount of the Sun. Line of head primarily indicates the mentality of the subject, intellectual strength or weakness, level of concentration, and quality and direction of thinking. It is extremely important to realise that the same head-line will give vastly different indications as per the type of hand. Line of head, when straight, clear, unmarked, indicates practical commonsense and a love of material things. If it is sloping towards the end, it denotes imaginative mind as opposed to practical mind. If the line is sloping right from its start, there is a leaning towards imaginative work in accordance with the type of hand, like music, painting, literature or mechanical inventions. When the line is too sloping (drooping towards the mount of the Moon, it denotes romance, idealism divorced from pragmatism, and Bohemianism. Ending in a fine fork will mean literary talent of the imaginative kind. If rest of the hand also indicates so, too drooping a line ending on the mount of the Moon indicates suicidal tendencies. When the life-line and Head line are closely connected in the beginning, the life is guided by reason, but the subject is extremely sensitive about one’s self. He is also very cautious in all enterprises related to self.
When the space between life-line and head-line is medium (1 to 4 mm), the subject feels free to carry out his plans as per his thinking and ideas. This spacing also denotes self-reliance, energy, quick decisions and a strong go-ahead spirit.
But if the space between life-line and head-line is too wide (5mm and more), it indicates all the above qualities in excess: overconfidence, foolhardiness, impulsiveness, jumping to conclusions without paying attention to reason. Such people specialise in ‘act first, think later’.
When the head-line is very high in the hand so that the space between it and heart-line is too narrow, it means that the head will rule over heart completely if that line is the strongest, and vice versa.
3. The Line of Heart
It starts from the mount of Jupiter (or in its vicinity) and travels across the palm, under the mounts, up to the percussion. This line reveals not only the muscular and vital strength and action of the heart itself but as a result of these conditions also the strength and character of love and affection. The heart-line is a repository of our love affairs and emotional entanglements as also of our heart-breaks. When it runs clear and deep with good pink colour (not red, not white), it indicates a well adjusted, emotionally satisfied sympathetic, warm hearted individual.
When the line rises from the middle of mount of Jupiter it denotes development of the sentimental and idealistic side of the affections. Such a man is firm, strong and reliable in his affections. He does not marry beneath his station and will rarely have extra-marital relationships. The idea of love is heavily tinged with sensualism and self gratification in preference to mutual satisfaction for a man whose heart-line starts from the middle of mount of Saturn. Such people place minimal value at fore-play in sexual practices. If the line of heart rises from between the two fingers or mounts, it indicates ‘middle ground’– idealism in love with practical and commonsensical attitude.
4. The Line of Fate
This line is variously known as the line of destiny or Saturnine line. It starts from the wrist and traverses upto (or in the direction of) the mount of Saturn. This line indicates ‘material success’ and some authors call it the 'satisfaction derived from material possessions'. All events related to professional rise and fall are best indicated on this line. When fate-line rises from the wrist upwards and goes unhindered upto the mount of Saturn, it indicates extremely good fortune and success in all enterprise. If this line rises from the mount of the Moon, success will be dependent on the help, fancy and caprice of other people. In a woman’s hand such a fate-line may mean marriage in a wealthy family or assistance from some one influential. If the fate-line rises from life-line it denotes success through hard work and personal merit. If it is entwined with the life-line in the beginning, it means that the early period of one’s life has been sacrificed to the wishes of parents or relatives. A fate-line that terminates on the mount of Jupiter is a sign of great success and achievement and realisation of one’s ambitions.
5. The line of Sun
It runs from the wrist to the mount of the Sun but only in a rare hand does it appear full length. Often it is short and appears only above the heart-line. This line is also known as the line of Apollo or line of Fame. According to Benham its most appropriate name should be line of capability (or possibility). Those who have this line well marked have a certain talent, brilliance or facility to shine in ‘some’ sphere of life. It is wrong to say that this line always denotes artistic pursuit and fame as many authors would like us to believe. Which sphere of life the person is likely to be successful in will be indicated by the type of hand and whether he belongs to mental, practical or material world. This line acts as a sister-line to the fate-line and it augments the weaknesses of the fate-line. This line is not necessarily present in the hands of successful people, but when it is present it surely makes success easier to achieve due to the innate brilliance of the subject.
The major lines undergo transformations in their indications according to several modifiers. That will make the subject matter of a separate lesson.
© Vinay Aditya, Vedic Astrology