CHAPTER XXIII.
CONCERNING THE FINGERS AND THUMB AND NAILS
As the shapes and relative proportions of the fingers to the palm modify the indications given by the lines and mounts, it is necessary to consider them very attentively before giving a judgment in Chiromancy.
Fingers longer than the palm and with pointed tips show idealism; they are the expression of the Moon's influence when she is well-dignified at a birth. The Mount of the Moon in these hands would always be large. People with these fingers see everything in the golden light of imagination and find happiness in dreams of intangible beauty; poetical expression (ethereal, not passionate) is their natural language. They always incline to the marvellous—the sublime, the spiritualistic side of all things. Theirs the belief in omens, in occult literature, in the supernatural. Without, perhaps attaching themselves to any fixed creed, they are, by nature, worshippers; and the mysterious moan of the sea, the song of the brook, the roar of the torrent, and the sighing of the wind, are to them but so many revelations of the Deity. They are loyal to old associations and are never in advance of their age. They are easily moved to tears and are graceful in all their gestures. They can, in exalted moments, do without the necessaries of life and yet, from their intuitive worship of the beautiful, they are lovers of the luxurious superfluities which make up an elegant and refined existence. People with these fingers do not age much; their hearts are eternally young, for they live a life of perpetual illusion and though often, alas! necessarily disappointed in both men and things, they never entirely lose faith in the poetry of existence.
Fingers the same length as the palm, and with slightly pointed tips, show refinement, correct taste and love of art—these are the fingers of those born under the dominant influence of the Sun.
Fingers the same length as the palm, but fleshy at their base and square at the tips, show practicality, family affection, love of animals, good judgment, respect for the world's opinion and much appreciation of material comfort. These fingers show the strong influence of Jupiter.
Long fingers, knotty at the joints and with square tips, show reasoning power and taste for science. Persons with these fingers are always in harmony with progress and have little or no veneration and are, therefore, never stirred by associations; with the antiquity of Catholicism, its mystical and somewhat sensuous worship, its celibate priesthood and golden aureole of saints and martyrs, persons having these fingers have no sympathy. If they belong to any fixed creed (and their logical powers are rather against this) they prefer Protestantism—or its offshoot, Dissent—where their real deity, Reason, is permitted full sway. These people love—with all the force of their nature—the study of history, jurisprudence, mathematics and the exact sciences. They are naturally clever at calculation and have much sense of order. Such fingers show the influence of Saturn, but not when most dignified; Saturn when most exalted gives mysticism, but then the fingers are not knotted at the joints and the tips are always spatulated.
Fingers that are shorter than the palm and with spatulated tips, show sensuality in love and materialism in all things, energy, love of field sports and indomitable courage. Such fingers indicate the influence of Mars at birth.
Fingers shorter than the palm, but with very pointed tips and thick at the base, show self-indulgence and love of luxury. Persons with such fingers are very sensuous and are, therefore, ardent pursuers of material pleasures, but yet with a certain refinement of taste which prevents their becoming grossly sensual. Such fingers are often seen in the hands of singers of both sexes; they indicate the strong influence of Venus in the nativity.
Fingers that are slender and longer than the palm, but with spatulate tips, indicate versatility, wit and intuitive perception. Such fingers show the dominant influence of Mercury.