HANDS, HARD AND SOFT
Even in the simple act of shaking hands, one can form conclusions about character.
Beware of any man or woman whose hand seems to slip from yours when you grasp theirs in greeting. Such persons are deceptive and treacherous. They may smile at you with their lips, but instinctively they regard you as their prey and will only use you for their own object.
A soft, fat hand is the indication of an indolent and more or less lazy person.
A firm hand is the sign of an energetic, reliable nature.
A very thin hand denotes a restless energetic disposition, but one that is given to worry, and fretting and is generally discontented.
A thin hand that feels listless in one's grasp denotes a weak constitution that has only sufficient energy to live.
A cold, clammy hand is also a sign of poor health, but generally that of a very sensitive and nervous person.
A person who keeps his hands closed while talking, is distrustful in his nature, has little self-reliance and can seldom be relied on by others.
A man or woman who gives a good firm grasp of the hand, is self-confident, energetic, and generally reliable.
When all the fingers (especially if the fingers be long) are seen always clinging, sticking, as it were, or folding over one another it denotes very doubtful qualities in the nature of their possessor and a decided tendency towards thieving and general lack of moral principal.
Remember that the hands are the immediate servants or instruments of the brain. There are more motive and sensory nerves from the brain to the hand than to any other portion of the body and, whether sleeping or waking, they continually and unconsciously reflect the thought and character of the mind or soul of the individual.
It will, then, be seen from these observations that without looking at the lines of the hand, one may be able to obtain certain details of character that are more trustworthy than those given by the face, and that these rules, if followed, should be of the greatest assistance and value to people in all walks of life.
Many of these observations are further amplified in subsequent chapters of this work. There is not a single one of these rules that has not been proved by me in my long professional career, and knowing that they will bear the strictest inquiry and observation, it gives me pleasure now to offer them to the readers of the American Edition of Palmistry for All.
Cheiro.
London.
INTRODUCTION
It was on July 21, 1894, that I had the honour of meeting Lord Kitchener and getting the autographed impression of his right hand, which I now publish for the first time as frontispiece to this volume. The day I had this interview, Lord Kitchener, or, as he was then, Major-General Kitchener, was at the War Office, and to take this impression had to use the paper on his table, and, strangely enough, the imprint of the War Office may be seen at the top of the second finger—in itself perhaps a premonition that he would one day be the controlling force of that great department.
Lord Kitchener was at that moment Sirdar of the Egyptian Army. He had returned to England to tender his resignation on account of some hostile criticism about "the Abbas affair," and so I took the opportunity of his being in England to ask him to allow me to add his hand to my collection, which even then included some of the most famous men and women of the day.
As Mr. T.P. O'Connor, in writing recently of Lord Kitchener, said: "One of his greatest qualities, at once useful and charming, is his accessibility. Anybody who has anything to say to him can approach him; anybody who has anything to teach him will find a ready and grateful learner."
My experience can indeed bear out the truth of this clear judgment of one of the leading traits in Lord Kitchener's character. That very year, 1894, was a notable one in his life; his strong-willed action over the Abbas affair was completely vindicated; he was made a K.C.M.G., and returned to Egypt with more power than ever.
Once in his presence he put me completely at my ease, and in a few moments he appeared to be deeply interested in observing the difference between the lines in his own clearly-marked palm and those in dozens of other impressions that I put before him.
He was then almost forty-four years of age, and I remember well how I explained the still higher positions and responsibilities that his path of Destiny mapped out before him. The heaviest and greatest of all would, I told him, be undertaken in his sixty-fourth year (1914), but how little either of us thought then that in that year the most terrible war of the century would have broken out.
Believing, as I do, in the Law of Periodicity playing as great a rôle in the lives of individuals as it does in nations, it is strange to notice that the same radix numbers that governed Lord Kitchener's career when he was planning out the Egyptian campaign, which resulted in his great victories of Atbara and Omdurman in 1896 and 1897, are exactly the same for him in 1914-1915, and 1916 gives again the same radix number that in 1898 saw him receive a vote of thanks from both Houses of Parliament, and a gift of £30,000 from the State.
From the standpoint of those interested in this strange study of hands, the accompanying impression of Lord Kitchener's cannot help but be regarded as of great importance. In it, the rules of Palmistry that I have given in the following pages are borne out in all their details.
Returning to the impression of this remarkable hand; even in shape alone one may read by the rules of this science the following clearly-marked characteristics:
Length of fingers—intellectuality (page [134]), strong determination and will-power (chapter on the Thumb, page [127]), mentality and firm determination of purpose (see Line of Head, page [17]).
The remarkable Line of Fate running up the centre of the hand and turning towards the first finger, denotes ambition and domination over others (page [52]).
The Line of Success and Fame, starting on the hand from the Line of Life and ascending to the base of the third finger, exactly coincides with the period in Lord Kitchener's career when he began to find recognition and success (page [63]).
As in my larger work on this subject I published Gladstone's hand as a remarkable illustration of the truth that may be found in this study, so in this present work with the same confidence I give this illustration of Lord Kitchener's as another proof of character indicated in the shape and lines of the hand, and as it has been said so often that "Character is Destiny," so it is surely not illogical to point out that in following the rules laid down by this study one may obtain a clear idea of the destiny that the Character, Will, and Individuality trace out in advance—tracks, as it were, stretching far out into the distant future for the engine of purpose and achievement to find already laid and ready to be used at the "appointed time."
In conclusion, as I have now completely retired from all professional work, I may be allowed to point out that I am not publishing this book with the idea of seeking clients. I have no desire but to see this strange study taken up as a useful and practical means of obtaining an exact judgment of the character, qualities, and hidden tendencies that might otherwise be ignored.
I think that if all parents knew at least something of Palmistry, the vast majority of children would be more usefully trained and their proper tendencies developed.
It is often too late when a child discovers—and most probably by accident—some tendency or talent that had never been suspected by its parents.
It is no wonder that so few persons find their true vocations in the world, when it is remembered the random, haphazard way in which children are brought up—educated for the most part in some scholastic mill that grinds down all to the same dead level of mediocrity, and then turns them into the Army, the Church, or into trade.
If, on the contrary, all these studies that teach the understanding of character were more encouraged, parents would have less excuse for the supreme ignorance they now show as to the real nature of those children who hold them responsible for their entry into the battlefield of existence.
These same parents would lift up their voices in righteous indignation if soldiers were sent into battle untrained, without their proper equipment, and yet these same parents have never, in the whole course of their lives, made the simplest study of any one of those many subjects by which they could in knowing the nature of their child, have strengthened weak points in the fortress of character, or by developing some talent or gift, doubly armed him for his entry into the battle of life.
It is from this standpoint that I earnestly hope this study of hands may some day be taken up. It was from this standpoint that I interested such men as Gladstone, Professor Max Muller, of Oxford, Lord Russell, when he was Lord Chief Justice, King Edward VII., and many others too numerous to mention; and lastly, it is from the same standpoint that I have now written this book, which under the title of Palmistry for All, will, I hope, appeal to all classes, and cause such an interest in the Study of Character that, instead of such an art being left in the hands of a few, it will, on the contrary, become universally used for the benefit of all.
Cheiro
Note.—Cheiro retired from all professional work some time ago, and the public is therefore warned against persons pretending that they are the real "Cheiro," and endeavouring to pass themselves off as the author of his well-known works.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | ||
| Preface | [iii] | |
| Introduction | [xv] | |
| PART I | ||
| PALMISTRY OR CHEIROMANCY | ||
| CHAPTER | ||
| I. | A Brief Résumé of the History of the Study of Hands Through the Centuries To The Present Day | [1] |
| II. | The Line of Head or the Indications of Mentality | [8] |
| The Line of Head and its Variations | [10] | |
| The Line of Head joined to the Line of Life | [16] | |
| The Line of Head separated from the Line of Life | [19] | |
| The Line of Head and its Secondary Signs | [22] | |
| Changes in the Line of Head | [26] | |
| Crosses and Squares in connection with the Line of Head | [30] | |
| Double Lines of Head | [31] | |
| The Line of Head on the Seven Types of Hands | [33] | |
| III. | The Line of Life and Its Variations | [36] |
| IV. | The Line of Mars Or Inner Life Line | [44] |
| V. | The Line of Destiny Or Fate | [47] |
| From the Line of Life | [50] | |
| From the Wrist | [50] | |
| From the Mount of the Moon | [51] | |
| From the Middle of the Palm | [55] | |
| Influence Lines to the Line of Fate | [57] | |
| Double Lines of Fate | [57] | |
| VI. | The Line of the Sun or Success | [61] |
| From the Line of Life | [63] | |
| From the Line of Fate | [63] | |
| From the Plain of Mars | [63] | |
| From the Mount of the Moon | [63] | |
| From the Line of Head | [63] | |
| From the Line of Heart | [63] | |
| VII. | The Line of Heart as indicating the Affectionate and Emotional Nature | [67] |
| VIII. | Signs Relating to Marriage | [73] |
| The Line of Marriage: | ||
| At the Base of the Fourth Finger | [73] | |
| Influence Lines to the Fate Line | [77] | |
| Influence Lines on Venus | [79] | |
| IX. | Lines denoting Children, their Sex, and Other Matters concerning Them | [81] |
| X. | The Line of Health or Hepatica | [83] |
| XI. | The Girdle of Venus | [88] |
| The Ring of Saturn | [90] | |
| The Bracelets | [91] | |
| XII. | The Line of Intuition | [92] |
| The Via Lasciva | [93] | |
| XIII. | La Croix Mystique | [95] |
| The Ring of Solomon | [96] | |
| XIV. | Travels, Voyages and Accidents | [97] |
| XV. | The Island, the Circle, the Spot and the Grille | [101] |
| XVI. | The Star, the Cross, the Square | [104] |
| XVII. | Different Classes of Lines and Right and Left Hands | [107] |
| XVIII. | The Great Triangle and the Quadrangle | [110] |
| XIX. | How to tell Time and Dates of the Principal Events in the Life | [112] |
| PART II | ||
| CHEIROGNOMY—OR THE SHAPES OF THE HANDS AND FINGERS | ||
| I. | The Study of the Shape of the Hands | [117] |
| The Seven Types of Hands: | ||
| The Elementary | [119] | |
| The Square | [119] | |
| The Spatulate | [121] | |
| The Philosophic | [122] | |
| The Conic | [124] | |
| The Psychic | [125] | |
| The Mixed | [126] | |
| II. | The Thumb | [127] |
| The Supple Jointed | [128] | |
| The Firm Jointed | [128] | |
| The First, Second and Third Phalange | [131] | |
| III. | The Fingers | [133] |
| Length of Fingers to one another | [133] | |
| Smooth Jointed | [135] | |
| Knotty Jointed | [135] | |
| IV. | The Nails | [136] |
| Long Nails | [136] | |
| Short Nails | [137] | |
| Flat Nails | [138] | |
| Their Indications of Disease | [139] | |
| V. | The Mounts of the Hand | [140] |
| VI. | The Mount of Mars | [144] |
| VII. | The Mount of Jupiter | [150] |
| VIII. | The Mount of Saturn | [154] |
| IX. | The Mount of the Sun | [158] |
| X. | The Mount of Mercury | [162] |
| XI. | The Mount of The Moon | [168] |
| XII. | The Mount of Venus | [173] |
| XIII. | Advice to The Student: the Best Means to make Casts or take Impressions of the Hands | [178] |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| PAGE | ||
| Cheiro | [Frontispiece] | |
| The Lines of the Hand | [1] | |
| Lord Kitchener's Hand | [2] | |
| PLATE | ||
| I. | The Three Principal Positions for the Commencement of the Line of Head | [11] |
| II. | The Line of Head joined to the Line of Life and its Terminations | [18] |
| III. | The Line of Head separated from the Line of Life | [20] |
| IV. | Islands on the Line of Head | [24] |
| V. | More Variations of the Line of Head | [27] |
| VI. | The Line of Head and Line of Heart running together | [29] |
| VII. | Double Lines of Head, also Crosses and Squares | [32] |
| VIII. | The Line of Life and Sections of Influences from the Mounts | [37] |
| IX. | The Line of Life and its Variations | [40] |
| X. | The Line of Life and Line of Mars | [45] |
| XI. | The Line of Destiny and its Modifications | [51] |
| XII. | The Line of Destiny and its Variations | [53] |
| XIII. | The Line of Destiny and its Modifications | [56] |
| XIV. | The Line of Destiny, Islands, and other Signs | [59] |
| XV. | The Line of Sun and its Modifications | [62] |
| XVI. | The Line of Heart and its Variations | [68] |
| XVII. | The Line of Marriage | [74] |
| XVIII. | Marriage Lines and Influence Lines which further help in denoting Marriage | [78] |
| XIX. | The Line of Health | [84] |
| XX. | The Girdle of Venus. The Ring of Saturn. The Bracelets. The Line of Intuition. The Via Lasciva | [89] |
| XXI. | Travels, Voyages, Accidents, and Descending Lines from the Mounts | [99] |
| XXII. | The Island, the Circle, the Spot, the Grille, the Star, and the Square | [102] |
| XXIII. | Minor Marks and Signs | [105] |
| XXIV. | Minor Marks and Signs | [108] |
| XXV. | The Great Triangle and the Quadrangle | [111] |
| XXVI. | Times and Dates of Principal Events | [113] |
| CHEIROGNOMY | ||
| ILLUSTRATIONS | ||
| I. | The Elementary Hand | [120] |
| The Square or Useful Hand | [120] | |
| The Spatulate Hand | [120] | |
| The Philosophic Hand | [120] | |
| II. | The Conic or Artistic Hand | [123] |
| The Psychic Hand | [123] | |
| The Mixed Hand | [123] | |
| III. | Thumbs: | |
| The Clubbed Thumb | [129] | |
| The Supple Jointed Thumb | [129] | |
| The Firm Jointed Thumb | [129] | |
| The Waist-Like Thumb | [129] | |
| The Straight Thumb | [129] | |
| The Elementary Thumb | [129] | |
| IV. | The Fingers: | |
| The Smooth | [134] | |
| The Square | [134] | |
| The Knotty | [134] | |
| V. | The Nails: | |
| Delicacy of Throat | [137] | |
| Chest and Bronchial | [137] | |
| Spinal Weakness | [137] | |
| Weak Action of the Heart | [137] | |
| Paralysis | [137] | |
| VI. | The Mounts of the Hand: | |
| The Mount of Venus | [141] | |
| The Mount of Mars | [141] | |
| The Mount of Jupiter | [141] | |
| The Mount of Saturn | [141] | |
| The Mount of the Sun | [141] | |
| The Mount of Mercury | [141] | |
| The Mount of the Moon | [141] | |
