the line of life and its variations

the line of life is that line which runs round the base of the thumb and lies directly over a large blood-vessel called the great palmer arch (1-1, plate viii.). this blood-vessel is more directly connected with the heart, stomach, and vital organs which may have given use to its term "the vital," as used by the ancients.

it is reasonable to assume that it is this intimate connection with the vital organs of the body which enables it to foretell the length of life from natural causes.

if the student will bear this in mind it will make clear and plain to him many difficulties in connection with predictions as to health and disease, and he will follow more easily the following explanations.

the first rules to master are, that to be normal the line of life should be long, clearly marked, and without any irregularities or breaks of any kind. such a formation would indicate length of life, vitality, freedom from illness, and strength of constitution (1-1, plate viii.).

bearing the first observation in mind it will be noticed that as the line of life represents the stomach and the vital organs, when well marked the[pg 37] stomach and digestion must necessarily be in a good condition.

plate viii. the line of life and sections of influences from the mounts. plate viii. the line of life and sections of influences from the mounts.

when made up of little pieces or linked like a chain, it is a certain sign of poor health, weak stomach and lack of vitality.

at this point i must ask the most careful attention to the following rules—which no other book on the subject contains, and which i have not published in any of my other writings, viz.: as the line of life[pg 38] seems in every sense to be the representative on the hand of the body or trunk of the man—so the position of these breaks, marks, links, or islands denotes the portion of the body most affected.

before we go further i must also impress on the student to grasp the fact that every line or sign on the hand plays a dual r?le. by one of their r?les these lines indicate the disease the person is most liable to for the entire run of the life, and in another r?le these lines indicate the date when the illness will reach its greatest gravity.

to explain carefully this strange phenomenon of nature, i have divided this line into sections (see plate viii.), and although i am not writing on astrology in these pages, yet all believers in that science may be interested to find how wonderfully these twin sciences agree when the comparison is pointed out by an impartial observer such as i claim to be.

in plate viii. are shown the sections of the line of life with their various tendencies divided by the mounts at the base of the fingers. this will materially assist the student to comprehend their significance and, together with the influence of the month of birth as set out in the chapters on the mounts of the hand (page 140), will enable him to obtain an accuracy on all matters relating to health, diseases, and dangers to the life that up till now has never been attained.

we will now proceed to consider the details as regards the line of life itself.

the line of life

it is very important at the outset to consider the qualities of this very important line. in some hands[pg 39] it is broad and shallow on the surface of the hand, in others it is deep and fine; the appearance of this line is very often deceptive, and leads students astray when they have not had their attention called to its appearance.

the broad, shallow line of life often leads people to suppose that it is a sign of a very healthy, robust constitution; but, on the contrary, such an indication is not nearly as good a sign as a clear, thin, deep line. the broad life line seems to belong to people who have more robust animal strength, whereas the finer line relates to people who have more nerve or will-force. under any strain of ill-health, it is the finer line that will hold out, whereas the broad-looking line has not the same resisting force.

very broad lines on the hand denote more muscular strength than will power, and i cannot impress this difference too strongly on the minds of my readers. if the line is made of chain formation (1-1, plate ix.), it is a sure sign of a tendency to bad health, and especially so if the hand be soft. the same marks on a hard, firm hand would not indicate as much delicacy, because hard, firm hands denote in themselves a robust constitution.

another important point to consider is, whether the line of life goes straight up to the side of the mount of venus and narrows that mount (2-2, plate ix.), or whether it forms a well-defined curve or semicircle out into the palm (3-3, plate ix.). in the first case it indicates a naturally more delicate constitution, and less force of animal magnetism. this explanation will be readily understood by readers when i again call their attention to the fact that one of the most important blood-vessels going from the body to the[pg 40] hand is called the great palmer arch, which carries the blood up to the hand towards the root of the thumb, and carries the circulation back on the other side of the arch almost underneath the line of life. it will, therefore, be seen that people who have a weaker constitution are more likely to have this great palmer arch narrower in construction than those who have a robust constitution and strong circulation of the blood. this is the reason why, when the mount[pg 41] of venus is large and wide on the hand, it gives rise to the idea that it indicates a more passionate animal nature than when this mount is thin and narrow.

plate ix. the line of life and its variations. plate ix. the line of life and its variations.

while speaking on this particular point, i must also call attention to the fact that when the line of head is curved downwards instead of running straight across the palm, that it seems to be more attracted to the qualities indicated by the mount of venus and gives more to the imaginative, romantic nature, showing a greater tendency to fall in love, than with people who possess the line of head running straight across the hand, as if it were not attracted to the qualities indicated by the mount of venus. it will thus be seen that every point of this study bearing on character can be reasoned out from a logical standpoint. this places the study upon a higher foundation than when it is considered purely from the superstitious standpoint with which it has so long been associated.

if the line of life is seen to rise high on the hand towards the mount of jupiter (4-4, plate ix.), the subject has more control over himself, and his life is more governed by the ambitious side of his nature. when, however, the line of life rises lower down on the palm, more from the mount of mars (5-5, plate ix.), it gives less control over the temper. when this sign is noticed, especially in the case of young persons, it will be found that they are more quarrelsome, more disobedient, and have less ambition in connection with their studies.

ascending lines

when the line of life is found with a number of ascending lines, even if they are small, it denotes a[pg 42] life of greater energy; and the dates at which these lines ascend from the line of life may always be considered points at which the subject has made a particular effort towards whatever may have been the special purpose of his destiny at that moment. when these lines are seen ascending towards or on the mount of jupiter (1-1, plate x.), it indicates the desire and ambition to rise in life, especially in some way that would give the subject control or authority over others. if one of the lines be found partly arrested or stopped at the line of head (2-2, plate x.), it indicates that the subject has by some mental error of judgment or stupidity, broken or prevented the effort, which started well, from reaching a successful termination. if one of these lines reaches and stops at the line of heart, it indicates that the affections have, or will, interfere with the subject's special effort in whatever direction this line indicates. if one of these lines crosses and joins the line of fate (3-3, plate x.), it indicates and gives two distinct dates which are very curious in their meaning. the first date it gives is when this line leaves the line of life on its way towards the line of fate. the date of this start towards the line of fate will be given on the line of fate itself, right opposite where this line begins to grow from the line of life. this mark will denote that the subject has made a determined effort at that moment in his career to make his own destiny, and to break free from the circumstances or people that surround him or tie him down.

it is always a successful sign when this line is found to join the line of fate, especially if the line of fate looks stronger at or about this point of the junction.

the second date is given at the period in the line[pg 43] of life when one is reading down the line of life itself. the singular point about this is that a repetition of circumstances will be found to occur in the destiny. suppose, for example, one saw this line going towards the fate line at twenty-six years of age—a circumstance or repetition of the occurrence will be found to occur at almost double that age, namely, fifty-two years of age, which would give a more or less exact date of this occurrence when reading the line of life. as an illustration to help the reader i may say that i have generally found that this mark will indicate that the subject has, in the first instance, broken free from some tie at an early date, and that a similar occurrence will take place at the second date, viz., late in life, when again the subject seems to break free from some tie, and goes out more into the world for himself.

this curious sign very often helps in deciding matters as regards marriage. the man, or woman, will apparently assert his independence more, and leave the ties of home life, and again go out in the world and fight the battle for himself, as he did in the earlier part of his existence, when he probably left his parents' influence and forged ahead for himself.

when the ascending line is seen crossing over towards the mount of saturn, and running as an independent line not joined to the line of fate (6, plate x.), it will be found that the subject has carried out a kind of second fate. the date when this line left the line of life will give the first date of its commencement, i.e., opposite it on the fate line. if the line be a good one it would give its second date when reading down the line of life, where, if the line were good, it carried out this second fate to a successful culmination.