The Art and Science of Hand Reading

A comprehensive guide to the inner psychology revealed by the hand • Details how to interpret the entire hand--the shape of the palm and fingers, mounts, lines, fingerprints, flexibility, nails, and skin texture • Reveals the personality archetypes, strengths, and weaknesses connected with each of the seven mounts and how the rest of the hand modifies these traits • Explains how lines change and the decisive influence of the person’s own mind in healing defects found on the lines Palmistry is a science and a universal language. The hand tells a story about your talents, relationships, health, and how you feel about yourself. It reveals periods of ease or challenge in your life, and it speaks about your weaknesses and the traits you need to develop. As you change, so do your hands, reflecting the progress you have made. In this comprehensive guide to hand reading, based on Ellen Goldberg’s 40 years of teaching palmistry and the Western Mystery tradition, the authors make the powerful insights of the hand accessible in an inviting and user-friendly manner. The book presents the character traits and personality archetypes associated with each of the seven mounts of the palm and shows how to determine which are most influential in the nature of the individual. The mount archetypes reveal the lifestyle, love,sex, and marriage preferences; the best career choices; and the unique strengths and weaknesses for each person. The book also examines other factors that enhance the qualities revealed by the mount types, including the flexibility of the hand, texture of the skin, and the shapes of the fingers, fingertips, and nails. The meaning of each major and minor line is described in detail as well as the influence the person’s own mind has in healing defects and obstacles found on their lines. The authors also provide accurate timing guides for each line, making it possible to locate specific events and to see how your lines change over time. Presenting the hand as a guide to self-fulfillment, The Art and Science of Hand Reading incorporates correspondences to other mystical sciences such as astrology, Kabbalah, the Hermetic teachings, and archetypal psychology. It also includes practical examples and more than 600 illustrations to show how to integrate the meanings of each part of the hand to form a complete picture of your inner psychology and your ever-changing destiny.

Ellen Goldberg is an internationally known teacher of Tarot and palmistry. She is the founder and director of the School of Oracles and has been on the faculty of the New York Open Center since 1986. She is also a psychotherapist and has maintained a private therapy practice in New York for more than 30 years. She lives in New York.

An Introduction to Hand Reading The Hand-Mind Connection PART ONE The Basic Modifiers The Attributes That Make Each Hand Unique 1 Texture, Flexibility, Consistency, Coloring, and Size of the Hand Texture of the Skin: Fine, Coarse, and Medium • Flexibility of the Hand: Stiff, Flexible, Extremely Flexible, and Straight • Consistency of the Palm: Flabby, Soft, Elastic, and Hard • Color in the Hands and Lines • Hair on the Hands • Nails: Color, Texture, and Shape and Size • The Three Worlds of Palmistry: Mental, Practical, and Physical 2 The Fingers Carriage • Setting • Structure: Bent, Twisted, and Leaning • Finger Lengths: Long, Short, and Standard • Smooth and Knotty • Three Worlds in the Phalanges of the Fingers • Fingertip Shapes: Spatulate, Square, Conic, and Pointed • Sensitivity Pads 3 The Thumb The Three Parts of the Thumb • Size and Setting: High, Medium, and Low • How to Measure the Size of the Thumb • Carriage • Shapes: Elementary, Nervous, Broad, and Balanced • The First and Second Phalanges • Supple and Stiff Thumbs • Checklist for Reading the Thumb PART TWO The Mounts The Seven Archetypes of the Palm 4 How to Judge the Mounts Physical Characteristics of the Seven Mounts • Designating Mount Prominence • Other Factors Influencing the Prominence of the Mount 5 The Mount of Jupiter Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Jupiterian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Absence of the Mount • Jupiter and the Basic Modifiers 6 The Mount of Saturn Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Saturnian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Absence of the Mount • Saturn and the Basic Modifiers 7 The Mount of Apollo Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Apollonian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Absence of the Mount • Apollo and the Basic Modifiers 8 The Mount of Mercury Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Mercurian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Absence of the Mount • Mercury and the Basic Modifiers 9 The Mount of Mars Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Martian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Mars and the Basic Modifiers 10 The Mount of Luna Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Lunarian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Absence of the Mount • Luna and the Basic Modifiers 11 The Mount of Venus Archetypal Associations • How to Judge the Mount • Personality Traits • Lifestyle • Love, Sex, and Marriage • The Lower Type of Venusian • Physical Characteristics • Health • Career Choices • Signs on the Mount • Absence of the Mount • Venus and the Basic Modifiers 12 Mount Combinations PART THREE The Lines The Road Map of the Hand 13 General Principles of the Lines How to Judge the Lines • The Checklist • Signs on the Lines: Defects, Repairs, and Strengthening Agents • Age on the Lines 14 The Heart Line Quality • Curved or Straight • Color • Proportion to Other Major Lines • Beginning of the Line • Influence of a Forked Line • Defects • Repair Signs and Strengthening Agents • Heart Line and Head Line • Length of the Line • The Quadrangle • Branches and Splits • The Simian Line 15 The Head Line Quality • Curved or Straight • Color • Proportion to Other Major Lines • Beginning of the Line • Defects • Repair Signs and Strengthening Agents • Length of the Line • Influence of a Forked Head Line • Deflections, Splits, and Branches 16 The Life Line Beginning of the Line • Factors that Help Determine Life Span • The Line of Preservation • Quality • Color • Proportion to Other Major Lines • Chance Lines • Defects • Breaks • Splits • Repair Signs and Strengthening Agents • Termination of the Line 17 The Line of Saturn Age on the Line • Quality • Absent Line of Saturn • Proportion to Other Major Lines • Color • Beginning of the Line • Childhood on the Line of Saturn • Line of Saturn as a Sign on the Mount • Defects • Repair Signs and Strengthening Agents • Length • Multiple Lines • Partnership • Inheritance • Use of Chance Lines • Branches and Splits 18 The Line of Apollo Quality • Age on the Line • Color •Beginning of the Line • Defects • Repair Signs and Strengthening Agents • Special Strengthening Agents • Termination of the Line and Signs on the Mount • Branches • Apollo and Risk Taking 19 The Line of Mercury Health on the Line of Mercury • Age on the Line • Beginning of the Line • Quality • Health Defects of the Archetypes • Color • Defects • Repair Signs and Strengthening Agents • Termination of the Line and Signs on the Mount • Branches 20 The Lines of Influence Read Both Hands • Timing on the Line of Influence • Worry Lines • Chance Lines • Influence Lines at Different Stages of Life • Special Formations on Influence Lines • End of the Line • Maturity, Friends, and the Public 21 The Minor Lines Girdle of Venus • Ring of Solomon • Mystic Cross • Line of Mars • ia Lascivia • Ring of Saturn • Line of Intuition • Lines of Affection • Children Lines • The Rascettes, or Bracelets • Lines of Travel Conclusion. Reading a Palm Putting It All Together Appendix A. The Hand Classified by the Four Elements Fire, Water, Air, and Earth Appendix B. Fingerprints Acknowledgments Index About the Authors The Authors’ Stories • The Hands of the Authors and How They Work Together