The mystery of palmistry

PALMISTRY, or ‘the practice of evaluating a person's character or future life by reading palms of the hands,’ has been an object of fascination for many. Even if it was merely for fun, I remember huddling around a teacher in school who was famous for palm reading. It used to take him five minutes to make predictions, many of which matched reality.

In those five minutes, he would examine the palms intently, which gave him the image of someone holding considerable knowledge of the unseen.

My earliest encounter with a palmist was when I was roughly ten years old. This palmist was a local religious leader, a 'maulana.' Upon reading my palm, he too described certain characteristics of mine accurately.
A decade later, I was surprised to learn that palmistry is forbidden according to some religious interpretations, although Biblical and Vedic sources made many references to palmistry.

The Catholic Church categorises palmistry as one of the seven forbidden arts. Islamic traditions too demonise this practice.  On condition of anonymity, a graduate of Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB) solemnly remarks, “I heard palm readers can utilise the information they read about you to harm you.” Despite strong opposition from religious leaders, palmistry continued to flourish to the extent that the English Law distinguished it from witchcraft in earlier acts.

Palmistry dates back to ancient times. It is said to have developed in India before spreading across the world. Many Greek philosophers and rulers have reportedly spoken on the subject with great interest. Julius Caesar is said to have judged men through the use of palmistry. Features of the palm are often associated with Greek gods ruling the territories of harmony, beauty, fame, and wealth.

Gradually, palm reading developed a cult following in the UK, France, and the USA. The Chirological Society of Great Britain was established to advance a systematic study of palmistry and to prevent charlatans from abusing this art. Later, a similar society was formed in the USA. By then, palmistry had an entire journal, 'The Palmist's Review,' dedicated to it which was widely disseminated. However, it was the renowned Irish palm reader William John Warner, known as Cheiro, who made palmistry manstream.

His clients included distinguished figures, such as Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and Thomas Edison. He even convinced sceptics to have their palms read by him. Mark Twain is said to have commented that Cheiro had exposed Twain's character with “humiliating accuracy.”

Palmistry crept into the scientific realms of medicine, forensics, and psychology. Researchers discovered a link between genetic abnormalities and unusual patterns on the palm. Some studies confirm a link between heart disease and specific fingerprint patterns.

Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung was a follower of palmistry and much of his work was based on it. During the 1900s, William G. Benham attempted to lay the scientific foundations of this practice in his publication 'The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading.' However, to this day, no empirical evidence has been found supporting palmistry, and this remains one of the biggest criticisms of this mysterious subject.

Popular culture has portrayed palm reading in several nuances. It has been depicted as a life transforming practice (Eat Pray Love, 2010); as a bad omen (Jacob's Ladder, 1990); as a practice deserving ridicule (Simpsons); and as an accurate predictor of future events (Are You Being Served?, 1975). The most popular depictions in mainstream media are to be found in the Harry Potter series.

Today, there are thousands of books and clubs dedicated to this art of palm reading. One reason for its popularity could be that palmistry is an easier form of fortune-telling than other ways, such as crystal-ball reading, tarot card reading, and astrology, as no calculations or birth-charts are involved.

Modern palmists do not believe that a person's life expectancy can be gauged from the palm. The emergence of palm readers who extort money or who misguide emotionally vulnerable clients into taking radical steps has meant that palmistry has lost its charm in the contemporary world. Some also see it as a superstitious belief. “A palm reader once predicted I will be travelling abroad a lot but this prediction has yet to come true!” exclaims a 57-year old homemaker.

Critics also say that palmistry capitalises on the self-fulfilling biases of people. When clients hear, for instance, that they will face an accident or that they will never get married, they develop a negative outlook and are unable to think of marriage or are unable to look past the likelihood of an accident, making way for self-fulfilment of the prophecies.

On the positive side, some people use palm readings to know more about their temperaments or to be warned about probable harms so that they can make changes in their lives. For instance, the principles of palmistry assert that too many markings on the palm reflect stress in a person's life. Knowing this, a client may choose to include stress-reduction steps in the daily routine.

Some people frequent palm readers simply because they feel uplifted upon hearing that good events will occur in the near future, although the exact knowledge of the 'near future' is not withheld by the palmist.

Palmistry is also perceived as a form of entertainment with no fixed outcomes. The palm lines usually continue to change throughout our lifetimes, indicating that destiny cannot snatch away your free will, and this view is also advocated by many palm readers. Therefore, you can overturn that bump in your fate readings, excel in your career, get married, and live happily.  In any case, the validity of palmistry is still a mystery.