Roberta Vernon - 31 July

Copyright 2018 Zambezi Publishing Ltd.

Text 2018 Zambezi Publishing Ltd.

Unless otherwise noted on page , illustrations Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

First published in 2018 by Wellfleet Press,

an imprint of The Quarto Group

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Digital edition: 978-0-76036-118-4
Hardcover edition: 978-1-57715-172-2

Cover and Interior Design: Ashley Prine, Tandem Books

This book provides general information on various widely known and widely accepted images that tend to evoke feelings of strength and confidence. However, it should not be relied upon as recommending or promoting any specific diagnosis or method of treatment for a particular condition, and it is not intended as a substitute for medical advice or for direct diagnosis and treatment of a medical condition by a qualified physician. Readers who have questions about a particular condition, possible treatments for that condition, or possible reactions from the condition or its treatment should consult a physician or other qualified healthcare professional.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Malcolm Wright, who was a wonderful palmist, artist, and friend.

B arbara was bitterly disappointed. Her marriage was in tatters; she had lost her home and was almost broke. She could do little to help her family in either financial or practical terms, and her health was letting her down. She had spent money that she really couldnt afford to pay on a consultation with a highly regarded palmist. She needed some hope and guidance for her future, and on the decisions she needed to make. What she got was a deep and accurate description of her character, and while shed found the reading interesting, it wasnt much use to her at that time. So what went wrong? Was this palmist a charlatan? No. The problem was that he specialized in reading character and personality rather than information about the ups and downs of life.

Hand reading does give information about the future, but within certain limitations because the whole of ones life is shown in ones hands, so questions about a current situation can be hard to answer. Most palmists, however, quickly develop a bit of intuition and even a psychic nudge as they learn the art, and later in this book I will suggest ways of adding a little magic dust to a scientific palmistry reading.

There are the things on a hand we can see scientifically, without using any ESP at all. These are the evergreen topics upon which a palmist can throw light. As you will see, they all have a predictive element within them, so even a palmist who is as psychic as a brick should be able to answer questions on the following topics:

Love and relationships

Sexuality

Money

Business

Career

Aptitudes and talents

Successes and failures

Parents and in-laws

Children

Other people of influence

Home and property matters

Health

Travel

Pets

I f you are even vaguely interested in hand reading, you should get into the habit of looking at hands and the way people use them. This is easy to do because you can observe others without them knowing what you are up to. You can watch celebrities on TV and ordinary people in any place, and, in time, the knowledge that you gain will show you that certain hands belong to certain types of people.

The illustration below is a map of the hand, and you will see it often in this book, wherever it is needed. A key to the astrological symbols that are shown on the illustration is also provided. (Please note, masculine pronouns have been used throughout this book for simplicity.)

Map of the Hand and Fingers

History and Origins

Hand reading is so ancient that nobody knows how it got started, but palmistry as we now know it began to take off after the last ice age, when nomadic people settled into agricultural and village life in the Indus River region of northern India. Texts and illustrations that go back over 5,000 years refer to hand reading by the Sanskrit name of Jyotish.

Palmistry spread around the areas now known as the Persian Gulf, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East, and, in time, eastward into China and Japan. Whether something similar arose in other early societies around the world is anyones guess, but we do know that Australian Aboriginal cave paintings show an early interest in hand shapes. It seems a fair bet that some members of every primitive society in existence would have taken notice of their own hands, and maybe some of those people endeavored to learn more about their meanings.

Moving forward a little, the Bible has various mentions of hand reading. Here is a very famous biblical quotation.

She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. Proverbs 3:12

In 497 BCE Pythagoras wrote about hand reading. Starting in the thirteenth century, the expansion of the Turks forced Gypsy tribes to migrate outward in all directions, taking their fortune-telling skills with them, while the Crusades brought East and West into contact and carried new ideas from the Middle East into medieval Europe.