Contents:
Albert Einstein - Palmistry, Handprints And Hand Lines
Michael Jackson - Palmistry, Hand Lines And Natal Chart
From Palmistry To A Revised Chirology
Dominant Planets In Astro-Palmistry
ALBERT EINSTEIN: PALMISTRY, HANDPRINTS AND HAND LINES
The German chirologist Marianne Raschig collected hand prints of VIP's between 1924 - 1936 in Berlin. She also made prints of Albert Einstein and in her book "Hand und Persönlichkeit" she wrote the following interpretation:
"Albert Einstein’s hand speaks for itself without any extensive explanation. In great harmony, with widely arcing and beautifully drawn lines, including many brightly shining dots and an expansive web of markings like rays of light on the mount of Venus,it speaks of the vigour of this great thinker and scholar.
The head line on the right hand is long, wide, and clearly drawn without any interruption. In the last third of its course, this line becomes particularly interesting. It covers the entire mount of Moon and it is strengthened by wide, intense travel lines originating from the back of the hand.
The heart line of the left hand is chained; on the right it is tighter and denser. Indeed, the right hand shows a much more harmonious shape altogether. Truth through clarity! Here as well, we have the image of a tree laden with fruit springing forth from the heart line on both sides. Under the middle finger we find a sloping cross, on the left side of the mount of Jupiter a wide star that sends a strong ray up into the finger. On the left mount of Mercury many small 'tuning forks' are visible.
The straight fingers strive upwards, slender and flexible, mirroring his extremely delicate and tender signature, and betraying the strongest empathy."
Translated by Romy Hume.
MICHAEL JACKSON - PALMISTRY, HAND LINES AND NATAL CHART
Sometimes the hand will give us much faster and more detailed information about the inner life of a person than the natal chart*. If we look at the hand of Michael Jackson, for example, we see at on glance that he lived in a dual world an suffered from depression.
The head line gives us an indication. It starts at the edge of the hand between thumb and index, runs almost horizontally through to the middle of the hand, and then suddenly takes a downward turn. After a brief break, it finally descends deeply to meet the lower corner of the hand.
Hand reader call the area in which it ends the lunar lount. It has been known traditionally as an indicator of fantasy and dreams. Owner of a head - or "Persephone" - line such as this have an active fantasy rich in images, which can become a source of inspiration for strong creative action. However, it also harbours the danger of its owner getting lost in a world of dreams and finding it hart to maintain a mental balance between fantasy and what we call reality. The danger of succumbing to melancholy and depression is as significant as mental collapse or even loss of consciousness.
In Michael Jackson's horoscope, we find this indication represented by a strong placement of Pluto. His Pluto position signals public confrontation with the themes of power and disempowerment. It forms an oppositon with the emotional Pisces Moon, which is located near the lowest point of his chart. In addition, this constellation is closely tied up with dreamy Neptune who likes escaping to a world of illusion.
Lilith at the South Node hints at an inherited, instinctual and powerful dark side, which can manifest itself in the roles of outsider, breaker of taboos, and outcast. The entirely of the complex gives his life something dramatic, alien and pussling.
On closer inspection we discover a second head line. It is located higher in the hand, closer to the fingers, and it is less bent. Via this line, Michael also has access to a rational, calculating way of thinking that can deal with everyday life, and a second personality that is reminiscent of the Jekyll / Hyde phenomenon. In times of physical and mental strength, it enabled him to control or suppress the depressive tendencies of his second, dark, phantom personlity.
We find the astrological equivalent in his Sun, which is located at the highest point of the chart in perpectionist Virgo and in close connection with clever Mercury. The juxtapositon between Michael's charismatic public side and his very vulnerable private siede is indicated by the opposition of Sun and Moon.
Only very few people have a doubble head-line in their hands. Therefore it is a highly individual and distinctive marker of character, which carries great weight in the overall interpretation. If we consider both "lines of thought", we recognise a dual personality. Eastern hand readers sometimes describe a second, phantom-like personality from a previous life, which doesn't quite fit into the present times. Perhaps this also forms the deeper reason for his constant need for change until his face was finally so disfigured that he had to hide it.
When Michael Jackson was in a positive state of mind and in good health, he could control his different sides with an alert intellect. In times of heavy strain, he might have experienced the hidden one as a dark threat, which he tried to escape by avoiding sleep and dreams.
*Michael's birth time is unsure, because he gave different times. I'm following Claude Weiss from Astrodata / CH.
Translated by Romy Hume. Also many thanks to Jennifer Hirsch for her help.
JULIUS SPIER
Julius Spier was a psychological palmist and had worked with C.G. Jung. His first and only book in English was published in 1944, and it was named "The hands of children". Due to the inclusion of psychotherapeutic thinking it is a highly regarded work even today.
Spier's hand-reading method is not very suitable for beginners and very individual. His great success in the 1930 - 40s was probalby due more to his sensitive, "extrasensory" perception than on pure hand-reading technique. In German-speaking countries, he is virtually unknown today.
J. Spier was born on 25th April 1887 in Frankfurt / Main*. His father was an assimilated Jew and came from a long-estabished family there. Already at the age of seventeen he attended a lecture on chiromancy, which was held by an unspecified doctor. He was so impressed that henceforth he worked intensively with the study of hands.
After he had increasingly discoverd his talent for palmistry, he left his employment in the metal trading company Beer Sontheimer & Co. in 1927, where he had mostly recently served as a chief of staff. Between 1926 - 28 he studied with C.G. Jung in Zurich. Analysis by Jung encouraged him to become a professional chiologist. In 1929 Spier moved with his family to Berlin and opened a psycho-chirological practice, which was very successful soon.
In particular, the ladies quickly spread his reputation as an unusual, "magic" personality. In 1935 Spier divorced his wife because he was "a femme homme" as his son says in his biography and wrote to me. Shortly after the "Kristallnacht" in 1938 Spier emigrated to Amsterdam, where his sister was married to a Jewish banker. He also met Etty Hillesum there. His psycho-chirological consulting practice in Dutch exile flourished after a short time.
In September 1942 Julius Spier died of lung cancer, the day before the Gestapo stood in front of his door to deport him to the transit camp Westerbork. The warrant for deportation was in his bag. - Translated by the help of Romy Hume.
I. FROM PALMISTRY TO A REVISED CHIROLOGY
Palmistry has something fascinating: Its origin lies far back in the dark and who hears of it usually thinks of gypsy women with doubtful reputations. If you meet them in Southern French Saintes-Maries-De-La-Mer, in the pilgrim’s village of their "Black Madonna”, escapes them only with trouble. They address more or less everyone. And who is not concerned with his own future or predictions about love and money?
What is problematic is the rapidity with which one comes into a fatalistic direction. Later on, one will be surprised, how persistent the prophecies in the memory are and that actually some of it happens. One doesn’t get any information about the interpreting rules, because palmistry is a secret knowledge. Who is interested, must content himself with looking for literary tracing, because real masters (almost only women) are rare.
We find the oldest excessive quantities in India by the time before the Vedanta was written. Together with other techniques, as for instance pointing out legends from omen or dreams, palmistry belongs to the seven classical Indian prognosis methods. It is said, that their founder should not be smaller than the sea God Samudra. Therefore its name is Samudrica Shastra, the science of Samudra. The Hindus are convinced that there are counterparts to all Gods and holy rivers in the hand. Therefore they are holy to them, too. If we replace those by the names and symbols of the classical Gods of Greece, it makes sense.
By Aristoteles fortune-telling palmistry changed to chirology, that later on the well-known Paracelsus used like astrology for his medical diagnosis. With the ascent of the natural sciences, the “irrational” arts came rapidly out of reputation and their official use disappeared. The tragedies of the 20th century and the awakening interest in the human psyche helped the Astrology to get to a new renaissance in Europe. But palmistry, her “little sister”, still leads an existence in the shadow.
In more recent times, it was only taken seriously by few renowned researchers like C.G. Jung. In the 1930s he was a friend of Julius Spier*, a well known German chirologer, who had emigrated from Berlin to Amsterdam in 1938. He came to the following judgment after having the opportunity to attend his consultations several times: “I must say, I was deeply impressed by his results.” He specially appreciated Spier’s use of chirology as a characterology.
It includes primarily:
- our spiritual, psychical and physical aptitudes
- what we’ve made out of it
- striking shapes
- the view, where the personal development could go
- associated chances and dangers.
Here something similar to the modern astrology applies:
The more self-confidently humans arrange their life, the more they free themselves from the repetition obligations.
This leads from the old fortune telling palmistry to a new “revised chirology”, which moves humans as self-creators of their fates into the center. For astrologers the relationship to the own subject is specially interesting. In this area lies the main work of my consulting and research.
Foto credits:
- Sarah la Kali (The Black Madonna), Saintes-Maries-De-La-Mer
- Julius Spier , ca. 1940 with friendly permission of the Collection Jewish Historical Mueseum Amsterdam
Text about palmistry:
- From the first chapter of the book: Manfred Magg, Hand und Horoskop – Was Handlesen mit Astrologie verbindet, Chiron Verlag, Tübingen 2002
II.: DOMINANT PLANETS IN ASTRO-PALMISTY
When one interprets a birth chart, one often asks the question: What is the most important influence?
Usually it isn’t easy to find the right answer. For those who know palmistry it is much easier, because the hand gives clear indications of dominant elements and planets. Often the trained eye discovers the most important astrological element, sign of the zodiac and planet with one glimpse. Even the outer part of the hands give one important clues, without digging through the confusing net of lines.
The best way to judge the astrological elements is to concentrate on the form of the hand (Chirognomy) and compare this with all the hands in one’s memory:
Big, hard and heavy hands which are broad and thick at the wrist tell of a strong emphasis of earth.
Slim, long-fingered hands with narrow, dainty and insubstantial palms primarily stand for the influence of air.
Full and soft pawn-like hands, always well padded and sometimes moist, reveal much water.
Flexibly tensed, strong hands which bear an impressive thumb and which shake hands very firmly indicate blazing fire.
To establish which of the seven old planets dominates, one mainly has evaluate the fingers. If you want to test it for yourself, lay your relaxed right hand flat on the table. For this the fingers should be stretched out in a straight extension of the arm. They should not be twisted sideways.
- First you have to put the thumb close beside your index finger. Now look at the middle of the lowest part of the index finger (the lower segment). If the tip of the thumb is above this middle point, you will have a strong influence of Mars / Aries in your birth chart. If the thumb is (much) shorter, your ability to assert yourself and your energy of Mars is lacking.
- Since ancient times the index finger is said to have normal length if the tip reaches the middle of the nail of the middle finger. If the index finger is longer, you can count on a strong Jupiter / Sagittarius. If the index finger is noticeably shorter, the Jupiter will retreat more into the background, or is somehow damaged. This is especially true, if the ring finger is longer than the index finger.
A long index finger likes to dominate. It is not a team player and very bossy. If it is short it has a low self-esteem, specially if the life and head line go long together in their beginning. - The middle finger represents Saturn / Capricorn. It should always be longer than all the other fingers. Only in this form one can count on having enough sense of responsibility for oneself and toward others. If the middle finger is remarkably long, broad or heavy, the person suffers from his duties very much. In this case he takes everything too seriously.
- A long elegant ring finger always indicates a considerable influence of the Sun, and sometimes also that of an aesthetic constellation of Venus. A long ring finger likes to show itself in public. At stage it shows its best. A long ring finger has also a strong empathy and often a good, artistic or aestetic taste. It likes beautiful things and often it has charisma. Usually it is popular and a typical team player.
- The little finger (Mercury / Gemini) reveals a lot about the ability to communicate. A very short finger set low in the palm indicates childlike behaviour. Someone with a thick base of the finger likes a very easy going and comfortable life. He is very interested in the material and sensual world. The Mercury qualities are said to be normal if the little finger reaches the upper joint of the ring finger. (It’s easier to see this on the palm side of the hand.) A long little finger is regarded as a sign of talent. The person will be able to express himself extremely well. This form speaks of a strong Mercury influence.
- The attributes of the Moon / Cancer are located on the edge of the hand, opposite the thumb. If there is a very thick and sometimes soft ball on the hand, the influence of the moon is very strong. Moon in the hand means imagination, fantasy, moods, the leaning for changes or journeys, specially voyages. Every artist needs a strong Moon in the hand. It also shows influences from other countries or life styles that are different to the origin family. The Moon in the hand also means folk. If the mount of Moon is accentuated and the head line goes in a slightly, nice curve not too deep down to it, are a lot of public contacts and no routine at work recommended.
The attributes described are not always easily recognizable for beginners. But the longer you train your perception, the better your judgment will be. After the first steps you will see how well astrology and palmistry complement one another.
Link to old download books
A Palmistry and Chiromancy special Collection on CD that contains six original, rare Renaissance sources with over 1700 pages on palmistry and chiromancy: www. renaissanceastrology.com/cdlibrary.html