Chirology with Children

“The Hand is the Instrument of the Mind.”    Maria Montessori

Children and teenagers tend to respond enthusiastically to the idea of having their hands read. They are naturally open and receptive and are mostly only too delighted to learn about their hands and about what their lines and fingerprint patterns might reveal.

As with adults, we print the hands of children of every age with a water soluble ink. The palm prints enable identification of the finer details of lines and glyph patterns. Babies hands are tricky to print, but it’s do-able, and quite fascinating to observe lineal changes as the infant grows. From around 2 and older, the kids participate with curiosity, and find the printing process fun.

Once I’ve taken the inked prints, I use chirology’s system of interpretation, called ‘the language of the elements’*, to create a visual ‘hand chart’. The hand chart is a visual representation that can be referred to and enjoyed in years to come.

For kids under 8 or 9, the hand chart provides an outline for a conversation with the child’s parent(s). We discuss what their child’s hands reveal about their social and communicative skills, their organisational abilities and how they best learn. We identify their special aptitudes, potential skills and talents, sensitivities, coping strategies, strengths or weaknesses, such as for example in friendships, sport, creativity, math, literacy and so on.

The lines on children’s hands change as their personality develops. Once the child is a little older, I like to spend an hour alone with them so as to read their hands directly. We work together with coloured pencils, with a different colour each representing a different element. As we draw in the lines and shade in patterns on their hands and on their prints, I explain meanings, and ask gentle enquiry questions. Children need to have their emotions taken care of, but are often unable to verbalise their feelings. This therapy facilitates for the child a safe enough space to explore, feel into, and to articulate what is most alive in them. We delve into their hands, empathically, kindly, cooperatively. From age 14, together we assume a more motivational stance and focus is more on aligning with an optimal educational plan.

A chirology analysis of a child’s hands assists parents generally, but can be especially helpful with children labelled ADD or ADHD, who are physically, emotionally, intuitively and spiritually so acutely fine-tuned. Chirology can help you to relate to, support and guide your child on a deeper, more patient and accepting level, in ways that meet the needs of their temperament, character and persona.

In my role as hand reader, engaging with a child about their hands is an alchemical experience for us both. The child’s eyes light up and magic happens when they realise that the forms and markings of their hands are so uniquely their own. It’s a joy to experience how much our focused, personal dialogue means to them.

As parents, we hope to optimally nurture, encourage and guide our children, to provide them with safety, security and love enough to ensure that they grow into happy, confident adults who follow their own unique paths, build fulfilling lives and who contribute positively to the world. Our children’s lives are initially in our hands, but ultimately their life path lies in the forms and markings of theirs. While this might sound like palmistic superstition, the truth is that when subjected to chirological interpretation, the features of our hands are our personal life map and compass. Chirology is an enlightening tool for self-understanding and is a dialogue therapy, comprising a blend of scientific research, eastern and western palmistry, counselling, coaching, therapeutic touch, and intuition.

* In chirology, the natural principles of the elements, earth, water, fire, air and chi facilitate the decoding of the hand’s forms and markings. An element is ascribed to every hand feature. In this way, we evolve an understanding of their orientations, physically, emotionally, vocationally, intellectually and spiritually. This is ‘the language of the elements’.