| Judging by the number of hands painted
in prehistoric caves it would seem the human hand held
a interest for humans since the stone age. Archaeological
discoveries have discovered hands made of stone, wood
and ivory by ancient civilizations. The emperor of china
used his thumbprint when sealing documents in 3000 bc.
Information on the laws and practice of hand reading have
been found in vedic scripts, the bible and early Semitic
writings. Aristotle (384-322 bc) discovered a treatise
on palmistry on an alter to the god Hermes. The Greek
physicians Hypocrites and Galen (ad 130-200) were both
knowledgeable about the use of palmistry as a clinical
aid. Julius Caesar (102-44bc) judged his men by palmistry.
The practice of palmistry was unfortunately forced
underground by the catholic church who branded it devil
worshiping. Anyone found to have an interest was quickly
murdered. As the church started to lose its influence
in society common sense prevailed. Notable people such
as Paracelsus (1493-1541) and Fludd (1574-1637) brought
respectability to palmistry through their writings.
Later Dr Carl Carus, physician to the king of Saxony
in the 19th century matched palms to personality. Advances
in genetics, psychology and forensics have propelled
palmistry into the modern age.
In 1901 Scotland yard adopted the technique of fingerprinting
in criminal investigation and identification. Medical
researchers studying skin patterns (dermatoglyphics),
have discovered a correspondence between genetic abnormalities
and unusual markings in the hand. Research has confirmed
a link between specific fingerprint patterns and heart
disease. These days palmistry is well accepted throughout
the world. Professional palmists can be found reading
palms in every country in the world. Pick up almost
any copy of a women's magazine and there is some information
on palmistry. There are thousands of books written on
the subject and there are palmistry clubs the world
across. |
