PALMISTRY ANDASTROLOGY(ASTROPALMISTRY)
In earlier times when the general populace’s knowledge of astrology extended beyond
newspaper predictions and sun signs, astrology was more than just the science of the
stars. Properly understood, astrology was a universal language or symbolic code that
contained widely recognized archetypes of general principles, types of humanity, and
aspects of personality. Given the usefulness of this symbolic code, it was natural that
astrological language and symbols would be adopted by other occult arts, such as the
tarot and palmistry.
In palmistry, the planets, including the luminaries (the Sun and the Moon),
were used to name as well as to represent the principles of certain parts of the hand:
Mercury, the little finger; the Sun, the ring finger; Saturn, the middle finger; Jupiter,
the index finger; Mars, the center of the palm; Venus, the root of the thumb; and the
Moon, the lower mound of the hand. Various other lines and areas also bore the
names of planets. The classical elements were utilized in certain systems of hand clas-
sification, so some palmistry books refer to water hand, earth hand, fire hand, and air
hand. As a student of astrology might anticipate, a water hand indicates a sensitive
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [511]
Palmistry and Astrology (Astropalmistry)A diagram depicting the ancient art of palm-reading or handprint analysis. Reproduced by
permission of Fortean Picture Library.