Aspects of Palmistry

The importance of palm lines in palmistry

The shortcut to the four limbs in the Xiangli Hengzhen says: "The four limbs refer to the two hands and two feet. Therefore, the four limbs represent the four seasons. If the four seasons are not in harmony, all things will have difficulty growing. If the four limbs are not in order, the whole body will suffer. If the hands and feet are like the branches and trunks of a tree, a tree with many knots is a useless tree. The scars on the wood represent the nature of the wood. A disorderly one is a bad scar."

The book describes a person's hands and feet as the four limbs. Since there are two hands and they are on the top, the "hands" are called the upper limbs; the feet are located at the bottom and there are also two of them, so they are also called the lower limbs. The human limbs can also be likened to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The coming and going of spring and autumn follow certain rules. If the laws of nature are destroyed, all things will find it difficult to survive. That is to say, the proportions of a person's body and limbs all have certain standards. For example, if a person's hands are too big, he will be constantly busy with his hands throughout his life, which is a form of tiring. Those with larger feet will run around non-stop throughout their lives, which is the purpose of labor. If one's limbs are large, one's hands and feet will be moving all his life, which is tiring. Those who want to make money through hard work will inevitably achieve limited success.

The destiny represented by the lines on the palm

Furthermore, the tree's trunk must be thick, the bark must be smooth and the knots must be small, the annual rings must have even texture, and the wood must be straight and round. This is the best wood that can be used as pillars. But if there are too many branches, the texture is messy, the trunk will be uneven and twisted, and it can only be used as low-quality wood for firewood. Human hands and feet are made up of bones. According to physiognomy, bones represent yang and nobility, and are in charge of a person's wisdom and fortune (including leisure and hard work). If the bones are hidden, the person is noble, but if the bones are exposed, the person is lowly and will have difficulty achieving great success. Even if a person is thin, the bones should not be exposed or have joints. If this happens, even if a person is rich, he or she will not look noble. Therefore, the bones of the hands should be round and even, and straight without being pointed or exposed. Flesh grows outside the bones, and flesh represents yin and wealth, which determines whether a person is poor or rich. The meat should be thick and elastic, but not fat. Otherwise the owner will die young. The meat is covered by skin and has tendons, which reflects the quality of a person's temperament. Therefore, the skin should be smooth and soft, without tendons or lines. Even a thin person should not have rough skin with exposed tendons. If this happens, the person will suffer from hard work and poverty.

The hand in physiognomy actually refers to the entire hand, including the part from the shoulder to the elbow, which is the upper arm called the dragon bone, and from the elbow to the wrist, which is the forearm called the tiger bone, collectively called the arm; the wrist is connected to the palm, and the outside of the palm is the fingers, collectively called the palm. The structure of the hand is also a topic of study for physiognomists, and the so-called palmistry nowadays mostly only focuses on the study of the palm.

Every industry must have a set of established rules for newcomers to follow, and palmistry is no exception. The "Tips for Getting Started" can provide inexperienced palmists with initial guidance on how to read people's palms.

The secret is: "The method of palmistry is to first look at the shape of the palm, then the eight trigrams. The palm has thickness, the fingers have length, the lines have depth, the color has brightness. It is important to make sure that the ruler and the minister are in the right positions, the five elements are matched, the eight trigrams are in place, and the host and the guest are balanced. Only the host can go to challenge the guest, and the guest is not allowed to come to challenge the host."

Palmistry experts divide the palm into five major categories based on the shape of the metacarpal bones and finger bones: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. These categories are called the Five Elements Palm and represent five talents and tendencies. For example, wood-shaped hands represent wisdom. People with this type of hand tend to value spirituality and therefore tend to focus on ideals and achievements when dealing with things. Therefore, when discussing palms with others, you should first observe the palm shape to predict the future direction of the trend.

The destiny symbolized by the palm

The eight trigrams on the palm, namely Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui and Qian, represent one's wife, wealth, children, salary, property, father and mother. If the area is thinner, the blessing belonging to that hexagram is thinner; if the area is raised like a hill, it means that the blessing belonging to that hexagram is heavier. A person's fortune can be carefully divided into eight categories. If all the eight trigrams are activated, it means that all kinds of fortune in life are evenly distributed, that is, the palm flesh is plump. If the back of the hand has thick bones, it is called a thick palm, and the fortune will be even greater. It can also determine, among people with the same wood-type hands, who is a poor scholar, who is respected, and who is a well-off academic researcher. Therefore, the thickness of the palm divides the Five Elements Palm into several levels.

In palmistry, fingers are likened to dragons and palms to tigers. People with longer fingers are good at thinking, but people with short fingers are more action-oriented, which is like a tiger swallowing a dragon, which is not beautiful. Each finger represents a different ideological orientation. By observing whether the shape of each finger matches the shape of the palm, one can determine whether the person can exert the power of the Five Elements Palm.

The bones, flesh and shape of the palms and fingers are difficult to change once they are formed. The fortune and talents they represent are innate, that is, talent. The study of this field is classified as "palmology" by palmists.

The quality of the palm shape is equivalent to whether the car is produced by the famous Mercedes-Benz factory; or it is manufactured by an ordinary car factory. The factory that produces it determines the performance and value of the car. A car from a famous manufacturer will naturally be even more powerful when it is equipped with an excellent driver; if it is produced by an ordinary manufacturer and driven by a good driver, it can also play its role, but it can only slightly exceed the limits of the car and can never be compared with a car from a famous manufacturer. The palm lines represent the driver. If the palm shape is not excellent and there is no innate talent or fortune, one must rely on good palm lines to enable oneself to have the ability to learn after birth, and can achieve something with hard work. If the palm lines are also bad, there is no ability to learn, and it is easy to achieve nothing.

A person's mental and psychological journey will more or less affect his or her abilities and orientations, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. This inner change will be reflected in the palm lines, so by observing the changes we can trace back to his or her future encounters. This is the study of "palmiography".

No matter how superior a person is, his luck also varies. Color refers to the color of the complexion (the palm only has color but no qi), not the color of the skin. By observing the color on the palm, one can know whether the person is in power at the moment and predict good or bad fortune, which is the "color science".

China has always attached great importance to the doctrine of moderation and balance. If one aspect is too strong, many other aspects will be too weak and unable to coordinate. Therefore, the fingers, palms, flesh and texture of the hands must all be properly coordinated. Palm shape and eight trigrams are the main and king; texture is secondary and ministerial. Those with strong palm shape and Bagua can achieve something even if their texture is slightly poor; but those with strong texture but weak palm shape and Bagua will have limited achievements in life.