Palmistry: reading hands
Palmistry was popular last century, but in a lot of places now seems to be a dying art.
Palmistry, also known as chiromancy or palm reading, is the practice of examining the lines and features of the hand to gain insight into a person’s character, health, and future. The history of palmistry can be traced back to ancient civilizations such as India, China, and Greece, where it was used as a tool for divination and spiritual guidance.
In ancient India, palmistry was known as hasta rekha shastra and was considered an important branch of Ayurvedic medicine. The earliest known text on the subject is the “Valmiki Ramayana,” which dates back to around 500 BCE. In China, the practice of palm reading can be traced back to the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), where it was known as “shou shu” or “the art of the hand.” The Greek philosopher Aristotle was also known to have studied the lines of the hand and believed that they could reveal a person’s character and fate.
In the Middle Ages, palmistry was associated with the occult and was often considered a form of witchcraft. However, during the Renaissance, the practice experienced a resurgence in popularity and was studied by scholars and scientists such as Girolamo Cardano, a 16th-century Italian physician and mathematician, who wrote one of the first books on palmistry.
I have dabbled in Palmistry and it takes a long time and much hand-holding to learn about the different lines and how they can change over time. It is interesting to learn a little bit about reading the palms but will take a person a long time to be proficient.
Palmistry, as we know it today, began to take shape in the 19th century. The French mystic and occultist Jean-Baptiste Pitois, writing under the pseudonym “Paul Christian,” published “The Arts of Astrology and Palmistry” in 1858 which became a best-seller and popularized the study of palmistry in the Western world. In the late 19th century, palmistry became a popular pastime in the United States and Europe, and many books and guides on the subject were published.
Today, palmistry is considered a pseudoscience and is not recognized by the scientific community. However, it is still widely practiced and many people believe in its ability to provide insight into a person’s character, health, and future. The art of reading palms involves analyzing the various lines, shapes, and patterns on the hand, including the life line, heart line, head line, and fate line, as well as the shape and size of the fingers and nails. Each feature is believed to have a specific meaning and can provide information about a person’s personality, health, and future.
Palmistry is still a popular practice, many people still find it interesting and a good way of self-discovery. It is considered more of a self-help tool than a precise science, but it is still widely used by many people around the world.