Chiromancy

From ArticleWorld

Chiromancy or cheiromancy stems from the Greek word cheir meaning ‘hand’ and manteia meaning ‘divination’. It is more popularly known as Palmistry or Hand-analysis. This name is self-explanatory meaning that chiromancy deals with reading of the palm to foretell the future.

It is considered as an obscure and imprecise branch due to lack of evidential facts and sound reasoning behind the rules, hence it is also known as a ‘pseuodoscience’.

Techniques

Chiromancy deals with reading of the lines and mounds of a person’s palm to foretell future on the basis of their size, shape and quality. Texture of skin, shape of palm, flexibility of hand and skin color are also important considerations. The ‘dominant’ hand is one with which a person writes and is the one usually read. Notably, there are various interpretations of predictive nature of lines & mounds but none of them are verifiably definite. Different “schools” of palmistry exist who advocate their own derivations that may be similar in some aspects and disparate in others.

The physical human palm consists of three main lines, namely the Head line, Heart line and the Life line.

1. The Heart line is usually the first to be identified. It symbolizes the heart both physically and emotionally. It acts as a barometer of strength of character, romantic inclinations and degree of misery. It also indicates the well being of the physical human heart.
2. The Head line is examined second. It represents the workings of a person’s mind, his clarity of thought, intellect and communication capacities. This line also indicates whether a person is creative or analytical by nature.
3. The Life line is an indicator of a person’s physical health and vivacity. It is said to reveal major changes in life including accidents and relocations. Some argue that the length of this line symbolizes the length of a person’s life but this is dismissed as mere superstition by modern Palmists.

Other major lines are the Simian Crease (indicating an impulsive nature) and the fate line (marks milestones like career choices, major failures and successes). Minor lines include the Sun line, Travel line, Union line and Mercury line.

Science versus Chiromancy

Palmists of today intertwine chiromancy with holistic techniques and psychology but scientists argue otherwise. There is virtually no accepted method or logic to prove its accuracy. Chiromancy dates back to the gypsy fortune tellers of yore hence lending it a mystic aura considered highly improbable by today’s scientific world.

Research has extended to vaguely relate the Simian Line to Down’s Syndrome but absence to conclusive evidence makes it a controversial subject.