EVER WANTED TO KNOW the secrets of professional hand reading but been afraid to ask?

Vast progress has been made in the palmistry field in the last fifty years. It is now a powerful tool in character analysis, psychology, brain functioning and reasoning ability. Over four thousand research papers have been published on hand features and their links to medical and psychological traits. We'll bring you bang up to date and teach you all you need to know in our exclusive, two-part palmistry course.

There's more myth and mystery surrounding palmistry than hard facts. We'll try and dispel a few of the more dodgy ideas as we go.

The very first palmistry 'rule of thumb' is that you can ignore anything that's average. When examining a person's palm, you're always looking for an obvious characteristic which stands out: a very broad or narrow palm, an extra long or short finger, a broken line. Anything which is average can be ignored.

Always read both hands and compare them - the palms are divided into active and passive. The 'active' hand is the right hand if you're right handed and vice-versa if you're left handed. The passive hand is your deeper characteristics and represents your latent qualities and upbringing; see this as being more representative if you're under twenty years of age. The active hand is the developed personality and is more relevant to a person over twenty. See the palms as showing what's on the surface (active) and what's buried underneath (passive).

Hand Shape

To begin, examine your palms in a good light and start your reading with an examination of the hand shape.

The broader and heavier the palms the more a person is focused towards the physical, sensual and material; the domain of the body, property, material things and physical skills. Square-palmed folk are stable, solid, physical types.

As the hand narrows and becomes rectangular there's more adaptability, less physicality and a more changeable personality.

Narrow palmed people are responsive and less physically attuned than broad palms. When the hand is very narrow, there's a tendency to introversion, mood swings, responsiveness and refinement.

As the fingers become longer in relation to the palm, ideas become more sophisticated, abstract and specialised. The person is concerned with detail, they'll specialise in one field. Digits can be considered long if the middle finger is seven-eighths of the length of the palm or more.

As the fingers become shorter, ideas tend to become fast, holistic and realistic, practical skills are more likely to be developed. Short fingered people are impatient, hate fussing with details and tend to grasp the whole rather than the specific. Mentally, they like to know a bit about a lot rather than to specialise.

The fingers can be considered short if the middle finger is three-quarters the length of the palm or less.

The palm shape and finger phalange bones (phalanges are the small sections of finger bones between knuckles) have a strong relationship with the body shape and size. Broad, heavy palms tend to make for a solid, stocky body frame; narrow, delicate palms are found on the naturally slender. The length of the major limbs is related to the phalanges. Lower phalanges (nearest the palm) relate to spinal vertebrae; mid level phalanges relate to thigh and elbow length and the top phalanges relate to the shin and forearm bones. Long fingered people tend to be tall, short fingered folk are predisposed to be shorter.

Skin Texture

Now check out the skin in the middle of the palms. Is it fine and silky? Dry and papery? Grainy? Or coarse and rough? The skin is made of a multitude of ridges infused with a vast number of various types of nerve endings. The finer the skin, the closer packed and more numerous the ridges and more sensory perception the person has.

Silky Skin
If the skin feels fragile, moist, silky smooth and ultra thin, so you can't feel the skin ridges at all, you have the finest skin type - 'silk' skin. People with silk skin are highly receptive, sensitive and intuitive. They respond to 'vibes' and atmospheres, tuning in to their surroundings. They avoid conflict, and prefer gentle, harmonious situations. Usually they're pale skinned and avoid the sun as much as possible.

Papery Skin
Does the skin feel quite fine, dry and papery? This shows someone responsive to visual, verbal and information-based stimuli. They thrive in an environment where there's an exchange of ideas. Communication is important, people with this skin quality pick up on sound and images, words and pictures. However powerful the passions, on first meeting they're likely to appear 'cool'.

Grainy Skin
If the skin's firm and just slightly rough, with well-defined lines, this indicates a need for activity and stimulus. This is someone with quick responses, who's easily bored, likes to keep busy and is not prone to navel gazing.

Coarse Skin
If the skin's thick, hard and rough to the touch - almost like sandpaper, you have someone who responds to the physical world. They have a tactile orientation and need to be in the great outdoors; they're unhappy if confined by the walls of an office. This is the classic strong, silent type - physically hardy and definitely thick skinned as far as sensitivity goes!

Fingers and Thumbs

Okay, now let's look at the fingers and thumbs. Each digit has its metaphoric name to make it easier to interpret.

Index Finger - The 'Mirror'
This finger is most important digit as it's about how we reflect ourselves. Compare its length with the ring finger. If it's the same length or a little shorter, this shows balance. If it's a lot shorter (a centimetre or more) it indicates a tendency to put oneself down and serious self-esteem issues. The nurturing experience wasn't optimal - there's a need to re-asses personal qualities and develop more self belief.

If it's longer than the ring finger, this is indicative of someone who's always had to be independent, self reliant and responsible. There was no playful, carefree, irresponsible experience in childhood. Always they've been self supportive. Higher levels of oestrogen are present and self obsession, a strongly maternal nature and skin problems are the result. They're ambitious with a bossy side and strong ideals.

If this finger's bent, the support of others and need to belong is a strong trait.

Middle Finger - The 'Wall'
This finger controls our ability to form barriers and follow rules. If the whole fingernail stands clear above the other fingers from the back of the palm, this is a natural instruction taker and rule abider. Laws, tax forms and instruction manuals cause little panic.

If the finger's short, with only a centimetre or less projecting, they're rebellious, hating rules and restrictions. There's a good chance they'll want to leave the country of birth. If bent - someone easily bored, who always supports the underdog.

Ring Finger - The 'Peacock'
If longer than the index digit, there's an inbuilt sense of grandeur and need for public recognition. The overlong digit indicates higher residual levels of testosterone and the need for risk, attention and the development of a public mask. A talent needs to be developed to get the appreciation inherently desired. There's an inclination disguise inner feelings and lace them with humour. If this finger's bent, they can find it hard to enjoy themselves and can take things too seriously.

Little Finger - The 'Antennae'
Does this finger reach the top crease line of the ring finger or higher? If so, there's an inbuilt gift for words, language and business skills. Sexually, this person knows what they want. If it's short or low set, they may be inclined to be wary of expressing themselves clearly. There's a possibility of immaturity sexually. Short 'antennae' fingered folk need to think before they speak and to learn to express themselves. If bent, there's caution in language and an ability to bend the truth, an exaggerator.

Thumb - The 'Rudder'
The thumb shows the basic grip on life. If it's stiff, an unwavering and determined attitude to achievements is shown - someone that'll get what they want eventually! If bendy, an easy-going approach to life goals - someone that will smell the roses on the way.

Now check the flexibility of the fingers - if they bend back easily this indicates a flexible mind that jumps around and tries to do too many things at once. If the digits are rigid and immobile, this shows an immobile mind that lacks a quick wit, a stiff body and high levels of tension - relax!

That's it! Keep practicing and next month we'll continue with the lines and print patterns.

© Johnny Fincham, 2008

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Johnny Fincham has studied, researched, practiced and written about palmistry for 22 years. He’s "the UK’s greatest hand reader" according to the Daily M ail. He’s written over 200 features on palmistry and three books and has read the hands of various celebrities. His latest book, Palmistry – Apprentice to Pro in 24 hours (O-Books) has revolutionised palmistry, dragging it into the 21st century, and making it much easier to learn.