“Cross my palm with silver, luvvie” smiles the deeply tanned, middle-aged palmist in true gypsy tradition, her beautifully manicured hand held out across the velvet-clad table. I duly hand over my 10-pound note, as instructed by the sign at the entrance, and my reading begins.

The palmist asks to see my left hand and promptly tells me that I’ve experienced a recent relationship crisis. How clever! The fact that there’s a slight white band around my third finger where a wedding ring once sat might have been a clue, but I let it slide. “Yes, that’s right,” I confirm, not wanting to show my scepticism towards palmistry.

“You have children, but I see at least one more in your future.” Another good guess. My two children are waiting outside with a friend, and it’s certainly not uncommon for a woman entering into a new relationship whilst still in her twenties to have another child, is it?

The ‘reading’ continued in much the same tone, with the palmist—‘Gypsy Rose Lee’, was it?—offering vague information about events that would happen in the future. A few warnings were thrown in— “beware of a serious health problem around your 40th birthday”— and by the time I left her tent, I was firm in my belief that ten pounds had just gone sailing up the Swanee.

A Short History of Palmistry

Cave drawings of hands showing the major lines are commonplace and indicate that there has been some kind of interest in palmistry since prehistoric times. Medieval stone, wood and ivory carvings of hands are abundant and are almost certainly part of the first gypsy traditions.

Modern palmistry was once part of “Samudrik Shastra” or, translated into English, “The Ocean of Knowledge”, a set of skills that originated in India over three thousand years ago. These ancient traditions eventually spread from the Far East through Egypt and Greece to the West, where they were quickly condemned by the Catholic church as part of the “Devil’s work”. With the threat of torture looming, very soon only rebellious gypsies dared practise them.

How Palmistry Works

Just as every fingerprint is unique, so it is with palm prints. Every line and mark has its story to tell, connected either with our past, our present, or our future.

The lines and markings we’re born with are added to as we progress through life and no matter what action a person takes, once a line has developed, it’s there to stay. Even if the skin is surgically removed, when it grows back those same lines will again be present.

While some lines will appear on the passive hand, the hand that shows our future rather than our past, most will develop on the dominant hand—the hand that we write with—and are connected with events of that have gone before. Our hands are, in other words, our personal diaries.

Most curiosity towards palmistry is based around the palmist’s potential to foresee the future. But can they really do that? With the passive hand being the hand that holds the key to future events, you’d think ‘fortune telling’ would be an easy enough task but never forget that we’re personally in control of our own destinies, so palmistry can only give us an indication of possible future events and of the strengths and weaknesses on which we can base future choices.

It’s said that some health problems could be avoided by reading the hands, as forewarned is forearmed. Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen both used palmistry as a clinical aid and today’s medical profession acknowledges that certain generic and psychological abnormalities are reflected by unusual markings in the hand.

However, it isn’t just the lines and markings in our hands that palmists look at. The colour of the skin, the shape of the hands, the length of the fingers, the finger nails, and even the way in which we present our hands, all say something about us.

Finding A Reputable Palmist

Palmistry is practised all over the world, although not every practitioner is a true palmist.

Flamboyant hoaxers abound at funfairs and along many seaside promenades, most basing their deceptions on old gypsy traditions, often bringing the true gypsy palmist into disrepute. Such ‘palmists’ should be avoided, as while some may be honest, it’s impossible to know beforehand.

Instead, seek advice with a reputable association such as the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain or a similar, local body. Ask to be recommended a palmist in your area. When you contact the reader to request an appointment give no information about yourself other than your first name and a contact number.

Oh, and just for the record. I did have another child, and I did become very ill around my 40th birthday. Hmmm ... maybe I shouldn’t have knocked this particular ‘gypsy tradition’, after all.

Sharon Jacobsen is a freelance writer living in South Cheshire, England. For a very competitive fee, Sharon will happily write compelling articles for your website, e-zine, newsletter or other publication and on any subject from parenting to pig farming, although her main areas of interest are environmental and social issues.

To contact Sharon, please visit her website at http://www.sharon-jacobsen.co.uk

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