PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGELA MEDLIN
It’s a common misconception, that palmistry is about telling fortunes by interpreting the lines on the palm. Modern palmistry instead looks to the marks and characteristics of hands to gather information about an individual’s personality and life path. Hands can tell us about the level of emotional sensitivity of a person, if a person is rational or open-minded, a realist or a spiritualist. Palms also describe one’s innate archetypes and record formative life events. Anyone can learn to read palms. It’s a visual art, learned through practice and play. I recommend making a print of your dominant hand, the hand that you write with, in order to clearly explore its design. That’s the inspiration for my book Handful of Stars Guidebook and Hand-Printing Kit, to make the process of printing and reading your own palm accessible and easy.
I myself am a self-taught palm reader. I’ve been reading palms for two years out of a vintage camper, at festivals, shops, and pop-up markets in my hometown of Atlanta and around the United States. Atlanta has a wonderful and close-knit metaphysical community, so I regularly read the hands of mediums, psychics, astrologists, and witches. Over time I noticed patterns I hadn’t read about in my palmistry books. For example, lines on the outside of the hand in the few centimeters directly underneath the pointer finger represent spirit guides. Typically, a hand will have two or three lines living in this location, signifying a handful of spirit guides—angels, people who have passed, fairies, or whatever your interpretation of Spirit. One day I read the palms of two mediums and noticed both of their hands held a forked line in this area, resembling the letter y laying on its side. I interpreted this forked line as a marker of an opening to the spirit world, and now call it the mark of a medium. I’ve validated the meaning of this mark in many palm readings since.
More recently, I’ve coined the term witch hands after reading the hands of many magic-practicing friends whose hands broke the mold of what I would have expected to see knowing their personalities. Witch hands exude multiple markings of intuition, healing gifts, and a spiritual life purpose. The handprint shown here is of a good friend, Leah Tioxon. An esteemed tarot reader, Reiki practitioner, astrologer, herbalist, healer, and empowered woman—Leah is a fine example of a modern-day witch with witch hands. Use this guide and the handprint to uncover the mystic marks held in your own hands!
SHAPE OF THE HAND
When most people think of palm reading, they envision a study of the lines on the hand, but a hand analyst may begin a reading by observing the shape of the hand as a whole. The shape of the hand can be categorized as representing one of the four elements—earth, air, fire, or water—dependent on the proportion of the fingers to the palm. The elemental shape of the hand often aligns with the weight of one’s astrological chart toward one of these four elements. Earth hands have square palms with fingers of similar proportion, representative of someone with a grounded nature. Fire hands have short fingers and a rectangular palm, belonging to one who is active or restless. Water hands have a square palm and long fingers, communicating an emotional and sensitive person. Air hands are the longest type, with a rectangular-shaped palm and long fingers, representative of an intellectual and adaptable person. Leah’s hand is a great example of how a witch hand breaks the mold. Leah is a loud and proud Leo, a fire sign, so we would expect to see a long palm and short fingers, but notice how long her hands are in the print. It is believed that the longer the hand, the more empathetic and energetically sensitive the person, which also explains why water and air hands are the longest hands of the elemental shapes, as they are the most sensitive signs in the zodiac. Some hand analysts believe the lines flowing vertically up the fingers represent the energy in a hand connecting to its surroundings.
QUALITY OF THE LINES
The visual quality of the lines on the palm indicate the overall energy of a person. Lines that are deeply etched suggest someone with a grounded and intentional approach to life. Alternately, a multitude of light lines that web across a palm indicate a person driven by emotion, one who is sensitive. The lines on Leah’s hand are a unique combination of both types. The lines are deep but move in interesting ways. Her lines seem to snake across the hand, resembling knotty branches of an old tree, growing and exploring. This type of energy appears as both of the world and out of this world.
MARKS OF THE HAND
Marks of the hand that relate to intuitive ability include the Mystic Cross, Healers Marks, and the Mounts of Luna and Apollo.
Mystic Cross
The Mystic Cross is the most common mark of intuition. Resembling an X, this mark sits between the top two major lines on the hand, the heart line and the head line. A Mystic Cross represents an interest in the unseen and intuitive gifts. Some hands will have more than one cross. If you have many Mystic Crosses in this area, this suggests extremely active intuitive energy.
Healers Marks
Four or more vertical marks on the mount of Mercury, the padding located directly underneath the pinky finger, are called a Medical Stigmata, or Healers Marks. These marks can be on the hands of doctors or nurses, but more commonly they belong on a person who simply holds space for the healing process of others. Often career healers will have a double set of Healers Marks.
Mount of Luna
Mounts in palmistry refer to the fleshy pieces located just below the fingers and on the sides of the palm. The mounts represent the various archetypes inspired by their namesake mythological gods and goddesses: Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Luna. The most magical of the mounts is Luna, which occupies the bottom two thirds of the palm on the pinky side. The fleshier this mount, the more intuitive its owner. To discover how developed the mount of Luna is in your hand, push down on its surface with one finger. If the area appears fairly flat, it may be challenging for you to tap into and trust your intuition. However, if there is noticeable bounce back after pushing downward on Luna, that demonstrates deep connection to intuition.
Mount of Apollo
The mount of Apollo is located underneath the fourth finger. Apollo is the Greek god of the sun, music, poetry, and medicine; accordingly, this mount embodies the archetype of a creative person or a healer. To see if this mount is developed in your hand, hold your palm facing upward at eye level, like you’re balancing a tray, your fingers facing away from your face. If you notice two small bumps underneath your fourth finger, this is the mount of Apollo, and the talents associated with Apollo are yours, whether they have been realized or not. What I love most about Leah’s handprint is the heart shape on her mount of Apollo, a happenstance occurrence.
