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What is palm reading? -

Palm reading, also known as palmistry and chiromancy, is the reading of a person’s future and characteristics in the palms of their hands. More specifically, in the hands’ lines and ondulations.

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Palm reading through history -

The art of reading palms has been both popular and feared throughout different periods of history.

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It’s all about hands -

While palmists will mostly use the palm of the hands to foretell the future, some also take into account the shape and size of the fingers, nails, etc.

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Origins of palm reading -

The origins are still unknown, but the art of palmistry can be traced back to different parts of the world, namely ancient Greece, Egypt, India, China, Tibet, Persia, and Mesopotamia.

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Origins of palm reading -

Indian scholar Samudra Rishi as well as Greeks Aristotle, Hippocrates, Anaxagoras, and Hispaunus all wrote about palmistry.

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Romani people -

Romani people, who are known for their fortune-telling practices (including palm reading), are likely the ones who brought the practice to the West.

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Romani people -

These nomadic people from the northern Indian Punjab region arrived in Europe between the 9th and 10th centuries.

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Romani people -

Romani people were often called “Gypsies” because Europeans believed they came from Egypt. To this day, this pejorative term remains. And what also remains is the Romani’s tradition of fortune-telling and palm reading.

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The trifecta of fortune-telling -

Romani people traditionally use palm reading, tarot cards, and crystals to read a person’s past, present, and future.

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Witch hunters -

Humans have always been obsessed about knowing the future. In the Middle Ages, this was no different. Ironically, palm reading was particularly popular among witch hunters.

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Witch hunters -

They would analyze hands for signs of pacts with the Devil. Things such as birthmarks and moles were definitive signs that the person was dabbling with the occult.

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Renaissance -

Palm reading was popular during the 1530s across Europe. However, England’s Henry VIII was not a fan. One of his statutes called it "a crafty means to deceive people."

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Renaissance -

By the 1650s, palm reading was pretty popular in Europe (as well as other pseudosciences), which prompted scholars to start looking for scientific evidence in palmistry.

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Change -

While no scientific evidence was attained, they ended up changing palmistry’s name to chirology to make it sound more scientific.

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Change -

In Britain particularly, men started to replace women in fortune-telling, to attract the interest of the upper class.

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19th and 20th centuries -

Palm reading saw a boom in popularity in the 19th century, with famous authors such as William Benham publishing books on the topic, such as ‘The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading’ (1900).

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19th and 20th centuries -

Not only did Benham write about the subject, but he went as far as founding a school of palmistry in New York.

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19th and 20th centuries -

Other prominent figures included the likes of the Irish astrologer and occultist William John Warner, also known as Cheiro, who wrote a book on palmistry at the age of 13!

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Psycho-chirology -

Psychologist Julius Spier wrote a book called ‘The Hands of Children: An Introduction to Psycho-chirology,’ where he touched on psychology, palmistry, and astrology.

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Psycho-chirology -

Famed Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung wrote the introduction, where he points to the fact that these ancient practices might have some utility and should not be discarded.

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Palm reading and religion -

There is reference to palmistry in ancient Judaic texts, namely in a chapter of Merkabah mysticism.

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Palm reading and religion -

Early kabbalists also mention palmistry, also known as hokhmat ha-yad, or the science of the hand.

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Palm reading and religion -

Practitioners of divination, sorcerers, mediums, charmers, and necromancers are condemned in the Bible. It’s safe to assume that palmistry falls within this scope.

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Palm reading and religion -

Palmistry is a big no-no for Muslims, too. Islam does not allow divination, so seeking to know the future via palm reading, or any other fortune-telling methods, is strictly forbidden.

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Current palm readers -

Nowadays it’s common for people who read palms to also apply elements of psychology and holistic healing in general.

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Dermatoglyphics -

These days we have dermatoglyphics, which, unlike palmistry, is indeed a science. It looks at patterns in the skin, including fingerprints, lines, mounts, and shapes.

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Dermatoglyphics -

Dermatoglyphics is particularly helpful in criminology and can be used to link a suspect to a crime. This is because everyone's ridge patterns are unique.

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Dermatoglyphics -

Dermatoglyphics can also help with the diagnosis of certain conditions, including some allergies, fetal alcohol syndrome, and even schizophrenia.

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What hands can actually say -

Divination aside, hands can indeed provide physical clues about a number of things, including a person’s cleanliness, occupation (e.g. manual labor), and even hobbies (e.g. guitar playing).

Sources: (Grunge) (OpenBible.info) (Scroll.In)

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