Hocus Pocus: The Easy Guide to Palm Reading 101

I had never had my palm read until I met with Parvati the palmist last week. In fact, I’ve never had my tarot cards read, never looked into a crystal ball, never had my fortune told, never had an astrologer chart my stars. So, you could have pretty much called me a total beginner when it came to the world of divination. But last Thursday, all of that changed when a woman with ice blue eyes and long gray hair walked into our office…

I found Parvati, a palm reader, tarot card reader and star charter behind Add A Psychic to Your Party, through an app called Thumbtack, which is basically a Craig’s-List-meets-Task-Rabbit that sends skilled professionals to your home. You can Thumbtack anything—from tennis lessons with a tennis pro, to a one-on-one cooking class with a chef, to public speaking lessons with a true toast master (pretty cool, right?). When I was browsing the app and saw palm reader as one of their services, my curiosity got the best of me, and I went for it. Before I knew it, Parvati was on the way to our office and I was getting out my notebook to prepare to jot down any tips she might give me for how to do a palm reading myself. So, in honor of today being Halloween, I thought I’d share some tips for how you can learn the basics of palm reading (so that you can impress your friends this Halloween!). Ready? Your future is becoming very clear to me now…

First Things First:

Calm Your Mindset and Relax

When Parvati and I first met, she remarked at how calm and positive I seemed. This was refreshing, as she usually sees so many people get nervous going into a palm reading. “Most people come into palm readings all stressed about what I’m going to say,” she said. “But the interesting thing is that what I tell you is not set in stone.” That’s right, Parvati said you can actually change your palm lines by working on certain things in your life. What if she sees health problems? A diet change can adjust that line in your palm. What if she sees a deep stress line? It might be time to go to yoga regularly or learn to meditate. Partavi said she’s seen so many people make positive changes in their lives that actually change the lines in their palms. So, your future is still up to you! A palm reading is simply a reading of what’s happening now, and predictions for your future if you choose stay on this track. Keeping that in mind can help you relax about what a palmist will see or what you will learn about yourself if you read your own palm. And staying relaxed during your experience will make it much more enjoyable.

Put Your Right Hand Out

Parvati explained that you can’t just read any hand to get the same information—your right and left are very different. Parvati believes in the school of thought that claims that the left hand shows potential that could be, whereas the right hand shows potential that will be. In short, the right hand reads more certainly. “In Eastern countries in the world, they look to read the left hand because it has lines that indicate the more emotional side of your being—relationships, emotional struggles, etc.” She explained. “But in Western cultures, where work and career are often a key aspect in our lives and future, the right hand has more information about upward mobility, and provides a well-rounded reading of our lives—including the emotional sides too.” Before we dove in, Parvati also noted that really clear lines indicate a characteristic or part of your life that is strongly developed, and less clear lines reflect things in your life that need more work or attention. 

Cleansing Your Palms

The very first thing Parvati did after we got acquainted was take out her cleansing lavender hand spray and gave both of our hands a good spritz. “It’s important to cleanse both of our palms, and therefore our energies, before we get started. That way, we have a blank canvas to work with, and we won’t bring any outside energies into our session.” I loved this touch, and it really got me ready for my reading. The lavender was also calming, which made me even more ready to listen and observe.

And the rest was history! I won’t share everything that Parvati told me at my reading with you today, but I will go over five main lines you can look at on your own hand or your friends hand if you want to try palm reading for yourself. So let’s begin! To see your lines clearly as you begin, cup your hand and put under bright light and shift it around from side to side.

Ready? Here’s a basic guide for how to do a palm reading…

The Easy Guide to Palm Reading 101

the smart girl's guide to palm reading

1. Life Line

Your life line is one of the easiest lines to spot right away. This line starts at the base of your palm and arcs upward circling the ball of your thumb, ending between your thumb and forefinger. Contrary to popular belief, your lifeline actually doesn’t determine how long you will live (that would be your rings of life, but we’ll get into those another day). Your life line will tell you more about your general well being and your passion for life. This line will also indicate major changes in your life, like moving cities or major physical and emotional events. If your life line is long and unbroken, you are a solid, dependable person who people can rely on. A long, strong unbroken life life also indicated the inheritance of strong, healthy genes. A life line that is pretty straight, without any curve, means that you are cautious when it comes to relationships, and could benefit from instilling more trust in others. 

2. Head Line

The head line starts on the outside of your palm, on the side between the crease of your thumb and index finger, and ends in the center of your palm. This line represents your learning style, how well you communicate, and your desire for knowledge. A curved head line indicates creativity, spontaneity, and artistic ability, whereas a straight line represents a more logical, practical and structured approach to learning. A short head line might mean that physical achievements are super important to you—you might have interest in being an athlete or a dancer. A sloped, curved line that connects with the life line represents creativity. A line that does not touch your life line represents an adventurous person. And a deep head line represents being clear, focused and wise—you might be someone who is good at giving advice and should offer it more often. And a straight head line represents someone who is realistic and analytical—you’re a clear thinking and you always think things through.

3. Heart line

The heart line is the line that runs below the base of your fingers and ends at either your middle or index finger. This line will tell you about your emotional stability, romantic life, state of happiness, and the health of your heart. If you have a long, straight heart line that ends under your index finger, you’re a rational thinker with a generally content love life. If you have a short, straight heart line, you value your sense of independence when it comes to relationships and show your love through actions rather than words. If your heart line ends under your middle finger, you are a romantic and fall in love easily. If you have a long, curved heart line that arches up toward your middle finger, you are passionate and freely express yourself and your romantic desires. A short curved line, however, means you are more private about your romantic endeavors. A straight, parallel heart line means you are level headed and realistic about relationships. A broken heart line or a heart line that has other small lines crossing through it may indicate heartbreak or emotional trauma. And a break in your life line indicates that you might have a big change in lifestyle in your future—whether that means moving cities, changing career, changing relationships, or all of the above.

4. Fate Line

The fate line is a vertical line that runs straight up the middle of your palm, from the base towards your middle finger. This line represents how strongly your life will be controlled by your destiny—in other words, how closely you will follow a certain path in life. It can also be called the career line because it indicates your interests and how your career might follow or veer from those interests as you develop. A deep fate line indicates a life that will follow a strong path determined by destiny, which means you might have a strong desire to pursue one career and find success in doing so. This might mean you have a strong ability to start your own business. If your fate line begins joined to your life line, it means you have had a strong path from birth, and that you will continue to follow your interests and possibly pursue a very successful career based on those early interests. You are self-made and have big aspirations early on. If your fate line has a break at one point then continues on, it means you will have a change of career and then continue on with a different career path. Several intermittent breaks mean you will have twists and turns in your career. Don’t have a fate line? Don’t worry—it doesn’t mean you don’t have a career. Absence of a fate line means you might change your career often, or have many different interests you pursue throughout your life.

5. Sun Line

This line, also known as your Apollo line, indicates your talent, popularity and success. It is also called the line of success for that reason. Having a deep sun line means you will be very successful and that may even gain fame through your success. A faint sun line means you are refining your skills and will work hard for the success you want in career and marriage. A very clear sun line indicates good taste in art and literature. A sun line that breaks then resumes its course may mean that you will have great success and recognition after overcoming past experiences. If your sun line is parallel to your fate line, it is a very good sign and means that you could gain huge success and gain a great reputation throughout your life. If you have an absent or short sun line, it means you are a hard worker, but should stop and enjoy life every once in a while to take some time for yourself.

Pretty interesting stuff, right? Remember that none of this is based on science, just interpretation from palmists. So don’t take any of it too seriously! It’s meant to be fun and interesting. If you are interested in diving really deep into more palm reading, this website is a great source for learning about the intricacies of your lines, and other meanings of your hands and fingers.

As Parvati and I parted ways that day, I thanked her with a big hug for making my first palm reading experience so interesting and enjoyable. I then proceeded to take what I learned and examine the hand of everyone I knew to show my newfound knowledge as a palm reader. It’s a pretty fun party trick, don’t you think?

So, I’d love to know…

Are you going to use our palm reading guide to impress your friends this Halloween?

Would you like to see more diary-style posts like this in the future?

Let me know in the comments below. And Happy Halloween, everyone!

xx

Allison

Team LC

Photos: Bando; LaurenConrad.com