For this reason the student is warned not to form his judgment by one indication only. He can arrive at no reliable solution to the riddle of character until he has studied every portion of the hand and linked together the various peculiarities it expresses.
The thumb is, as it were, the figurehead of the hand. There is more character to be discerned in its form, habitual attitude, phalanges, and the space between it and the first finger, than in any other signs conveyed by the physical formation of the rest. The first phalange indexes strength or weakness of will power, constancy or fickleness, affection or coldness of disposition. The second phalange shows by what degree of reason the will is guided. Should it be much thinner towards the base than at the apex, a certain degree of narrow-minded, one-sided views is indicated.
The third phalange represents emotions. The two angles stand for music, and are strongly marked upon the thumb of the musician and composer. The first indicates time, the second harmony.
When the length of the third phalange preponderates over the first and second, a passionate character, uncurbed by the power of will, discipline of reason, and self-control is shown.
In a well-balanced, warm-hearted nature, these phalanges are in proportion. Extreme length in the first phalange shows a tyrannical and dogmatic will, which will surely prove a stumbling-block through life, unless the thumb of the right hand modifies this natural obstinacy.
The palmist should beware of, as it were, labeling the hand. He cannot be too cautious in reaching an ultimate conclusion. The hand possesses a range of complexities. Strength and weakness are mingled. Great talents may be mitigated by signs of almost equal inefficiency. Therefore all the links of circumstances and character depicted should be consolidated into a chain before the exponent ventures to voice his convictions.
The left hand indicates natural tendencies; the right shows how far the good and bad propensities of the individual have been developed. It is possible that the former may represent an intellectual type which the latter does not verify. For instance, a clear and unbroken head line in the left hand may be marred and broken in the right, thus showing that ability in this direction has been neglected; or it may be that an inefficient head line in the left palm continues clear and deep on the right; and the conclusion arrived at is, of course, that, by dogged will and perseverance, inherent incompetency has gradually been remedied.
Upon the palm six important lines are inscribed, as shown in [Fig. 6]:—
The life line, which forms a semicircle at the base of the thumb.
The head line, which traverses the palm, and forms an angle with the life line.