Hand Charts
A creative technique to help you to rapidly learn to accurately ‘read’ the prints is called ‘creating a hand chart’. A hand chart is your visual written and illustrated reference guide which will assist you to articulate your analysis to your client with optimal efficacy.
Take a print of the hands, but before you apply the ink to the palm, examine their hands, and note down your observations and impressions. Do not expect yourself to know the meanings of each marking at this stage. You will research each aspect later, at your leisure, taking time to work both scientifically and intuitively.
Step by step, but in no particular order of importance, record the following, bearing in mind that these indications only have particular relevance when they are obvious, e.g. normal sized hands in relation to the body does not need recording.
* Do the hands seem particularly large or small in relation to the body?
* Gesture – how do they hold their hands? Are they in pockets, or hidden
from view in any way, or are they gesticulating expressively?
* On which fingers are the rings placed, if any?
* Are the fingers knotty or smooth?
* Are the hands moist or dry to the touch?
* Does the skin feel rough, smooth, dry, or moist?
* Do the nails appear ragged, bitten, marked, or well looked after?
* Do you detect any tremor?
* Do the hands look particularly red, yellow or pale?
* Did they extend their hands with the palms upward or downward?
* Do they feel soft and mushy to the touch, or are they hard, firm or stiff?
* Are there any ‘beauty spots’ or calluses or skin conditions?
* Does anything else strike you about the person’s hands?
Using your chosen system of research and interpretation, take your time to research each of the above signs. Then look at the hand shape, the forms of the thumbs and fingers, the various lines and of course the revealing glyph patterns which appear not just on our fingertips but also on the palmar surface.The 5 element system of chirology is, to my mind, the best system for reading hands.
Write down your findings around the set of prints. Use different coloured pens and develop a code, by deciding which colour best symbolises each realm of life. For example, blue may be used for emotions, red for career, orange for health, green for intellectual considerations, and purple for spiritual indications.
The chart should be as colourful and as vivid as possible. You may also decide to create something of a collage of your perceptions of the subject’s life, in which case you will need old magazines, reference books for appropriate quotes, scissors, glue, and any other items which symbolise, or trigger an association to, information which you would like to explore with the person. When they return for their reading, place the chart next to or in front of both of you, and use it as a reference to help you to remember your interpretations.
Your hand reading skills will progress rapidly with the use hand charts. Begin with the prints of people close to you, so that each aspect can be verified or disclaimed, without bias, by that person.