CHAPTER III.

THE FINGERS--LENGTH TO ONE ANOTHER.

THE SMOOTH AND THE KNOTTY.

The First Finger is called the Finger of Jupiter.

The Second is called the Finger of Saturn.

The Third is called the Finger of The Sun.

The Fourth is called the Finger of Mercury.

The Finger of Jupiter, when long, gives love of power and command over others. When short it denotes dislike of responsibility and lack of ambition.

The Finger of Saturn when long gives prudence, love of solitude and a reserved, studious disposition. When short it denotes frivolity and general lack of seriousness in all things.

The Finger of the Sun when long gives love of the beautiful, desire for celebrity and fame, but when excessively long, the tendency inclines more toward notoriety, risk in speculation, the love of money and gambling. When short it denotes a dislike of all these things.

The Finger of Mercury when long gives mental power, grasp of languages, and power of expression, especially in speech. When short it denotes difficulty in speaking, and in the expression of thoughts. When crooked, with an irregular Head Line, it is an evil sign of the Mentality.

The fingers should be long in proportion to the palm; they then denote greater intellectuality and mental power. When short and stubby looking, the subject is inclined to animalism and gross materialism.

When the fingers lean towards one another, they take after the qualities expressed by the finger towards which they lean.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SQUARE WITH SMOOTH JOINTS.

THE POINTED.

THE KNOTTY.

PLATE IV.

PART II.

DIFFERENT SHAPES OF FINGERS.]

A wide s.p.a.ce between the thumb and first finger denotes independence of will and fearlessness.

When wide between the first and second fingers, independence of thought; between the second and third fingers, independence of circ.u.mstances; and wide between the third and fourth fingers, independence of action.

When the fingers are found loose and inclined to curve backwards, the subject is "open-minded" and quick to grasp ideas or suggestions. They will not, however, have the more methodical stick-at-it quality of those whose fingers are found firm and stiff.

When the fingers are curved inwards, the subject is slower to grasp new ideas, very cautious, and inclined to hold on to what he knows or what he has.

Smooth-jointed fingers are more impulsive than those with "knotty joints". The "knotty joints" arrest the impetuousness of the disposition and give reflection, love of detail in all their work and are more frequently found in the hands of all great organisers and those who require thought and reflection in carrying out their plans.

CHAPTER IV.

THE NAILS OF THE HAND.

A study of the Nails of the Hand is a remarkably accurate guide to many diseases. This part of Palmistry is now recognised by the majority of medical men, who seldom fail quietly to observe the appearance of the nails on a patient's hand.

They are peculiarly indicative of hereditary diseases, especially lungs, heart, nerves, and spine.

They are divided into four very distinct cla.s.ses. Long, Short, Broad, and Narrow.

LONG NAILS.

When the Nails are found very long, the general const.i.tution never appears to be so strong as when they are medium in size.

Persons with long Nails are more liable to all diseases of the Lungs and Chest (Plate V., Part II.), and still more so when these long Nails are

seen ribbed or fluted, with the ribs running upward from the base to the edge of the nail.

The same type of Nail, but shorter in appearance, indicates that the delicacy lies higher up towards the throat, and denotes tendencies for laryngitis, inflammation of the throat, and all bronchial troubles.

When especially long Nails are bluish in colour, they denote a still more delicate const.i.tution, coupled with poor circulation of the blood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SHORT SQUARE NAILS. WEAK ACTION OF THE HEART.

Sh.e.l.l-SHAPED NAILS. STRONG TENDENCY TOWARDS PARALYSIS.

DELICACY OF THROAT.

CHEST DELICATE AND BRONCHIAL.

LUNGS DELICATE.

SPINAL WEAKNESS.

SPINAL WEAKNESS.

PLATE V.

PART II.]

SHORT NAILS Nails short in appearance denote a tendency towards weak action of the heart, more especially so when the "moons" are very small or barely noticeable. When the Nails appear very flat and sunk into the flesh at the base they denote nerve diseases. When they are "ribbed" across the Nail from side to side, the danger is still more apparent.

When a deep furrow is found across the Nail, it is a sign in any hand that an unusual call has recently been made on the nervous system by illness. If the following rule be studied, the date of this illness or strain can be very clearly indicated.

As it takes about nine months for a nail to grow out from the base to the outer edge, the nail can easily be divided into sections. When the furrow or very deep "rib" is seen close to the edge, the illness took place about nine months ago; when the furrow is seen about the centre, the date was about from four to five months, and when at the base, about one month previously.

White spots on the Nails are a sign of general delicacy, and when the Nail is seen covered with small white flecks, the whole nervous system is in a low state of health.

LONG NARROW NAILS.

Very narrow Nails (Plate V., Part II.), show spinal weakness, and when

extremely curved and very thin they indicate curvature of the spine and great delicacy of the const.i.tution.

FLAT NAILS.

When the Nails appear very flat and inclined to lift themselves up from the flesh towards their outer edge, the threatened danger is towards paralysis, and still more so when they look like a sh.e.l.l and are pointed towards the base (Plate V., Part II.). When these Nails are without any

signs of moons, and whitish or bluish in colour, the disease is in a very advanced stage.

THE MOONS OF THE NAILS.

Large "Moons" always denote strong action of the heart and rapid circulation of the blood, but when unusually large they indicate too much pressure on the heart, rapidity in its beat, the valves over-strained and danger of bursting some blood vessel in the heart or in the brain.

Small "Moons" indicate the reverse of this; they always denote poor circulation, weak action of the heart and anaemia of the brain.

When close to death the "Moons" are the first to take on a bluish look, and later on the entire Nail becomes blue or almost black in colour.

CHAPTER V.

THE MOUNTS OF THE HAND AND THEIR MEANING.

The Mounts of the Hand (Plate VI., Part II.) vary in the most remarkable

manner in accordance with the character and dispositions of races and their different temperaments.

In almost all the Southern and more emotional races, these Mounts are more noticeable than those belonging to Northern countries. It has been observed that all people with the Mounts apparent or prominent are more swayed by their feelings and emotions than those people who have flat palms and undeveloped Mounts.

The names given to the Mounts of the Hand are those also given to the seven princ.i.p.al planets that sway the destiny of our earth, viz., the Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

These names were given to the Mounts by the Greek students of this subject, and were a.s.sociated by them with the qualities attributed to these seven planets, such as: Venus = Love, sensuality and pa.s.sion. Mars = Vitality, courage, fighting, etc. Mercury = Mentality, commerce, science. Moon = Imagination, romance, changeability. Sun = Brilliancy, fruitfulness, success. Jupiter = Ambition, power, domination. Saturn = Reserve, melancholy, seriousness.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE VI.-- PART II.

THE MOUNTS OF THE HAND]

In my own long experience I could not help but remark the intimate relation between the effect of these great planets of our Universe and humanity in general. Although it would not be within the scope of this work to teach also Astrology in these pages, I must, however, in order to help all earnest students and readers of this book, put before them the following curious evidence of the influence of the planets on our lives. This is also demonstrated by the position and shape of the Mounts on the Hand, and, as far as I know, has never been published in any book dealing with Palmistry before.

In the accompanying pages it will be noticed that I have for the first time dealt with these Mounts as Positive and Negative. The following explanation of my reason for doing this should be of the greatest a.s.sistance to my readers, and will also be useful in showing the close relationship between the two sciences Astrology and Palmistry.

There are, it is well-known, in the Zodiac which surrounds our earth, what are called "the twelve Houses" of the seven princ.i.p.al planets of our Solar System.

The Zodiac itself is described both by Astronomers and Astrologers as a pathway in the Universe, about sixteen degrees broad, in which the planets travel. It is divided into twelve Signs or Houses of thirty degrees each, and our Sun enters a new sign on an average of every thirty days. At the end of twelve months it has completed the zodiacal circle of 360 degrees, or one Solar year.

The Sun, the creator of life, and itself the greatest mystery of our Universe, is in bulk 330,000 times larger than our earth. It therefore follows that in entering a new sign of the Zodiac, it changes the magnetic vibrations of the effect of each sign towards our earth. Consequently it is reasonable to presume that a person born, say in April, and another in May, would have very different characteristics and naturally a distinct destiny, because character is Fate or Destiny.

My readers will now easily follow me when I state that, especially as regards health and disease, the following tables concerning the Mounts of the Hand, taken in conjunction with the date of birth, will enable them, when reading the hand, to tell many things with an accuracy that will be most convincing both to themselves and to their hearers.

CHAPTER VI.

THE MOUNT OF MARS.

This Mount has two positions on the palm (Plate VI., Part II.); the first

is to be found immediately under the upper part of the Line of Life, and the other opposite to it in the s.p.a.ce lying between the Line of Heart and the Line of Head. The first relates to the physical characteristics and the second to the mental.

The first if large is Positive, and it has more importance when the person is born between the dates of March 21st and April 21st, and in a minor way until April 28th, which portion of the year in the Zodiac is called the House of Mars (Positive).

The second is considered Negative, and it has more importance when the person is born between October 21st and November 21st, and in a minor way until November 28th, because in the Zodiac this portion of the year is denoted as the House of Mars (Negative).