To read a person’s character or to foretell his or her future, several lines on the palm are interpreted by the palm reader. This includes the heart line, the head line and the life line. The bumps and creases on the palm are also interpreted. The shape of the person’s hand is also a factor in chiromancy. In some palm reading practices, the fingernails, palmar skin patterns, fingerprints, fingers, skin color and texture and palm flexibility are also being considered.
Most readers would prefer to read a person’s fortune or character using the person’s dominant hand. This is the hand that the person uses most of the time for writing and doing other tasks. The reading from the non-dominant hand is also taken. The readings for this hand would represent the person’s karmic information, or past life, and hereditary traits.
The most common method of palm reading is related to Greek mythology in which the areas of the palm and the fingers are named after the gods and goddesses. The reading done in that portion of the palm is also being related to the qualities represented by the god or goddess to whom that area is named after.
Different palmist will concentrate on different areas of the hand depending on the type of palmistry being practiced. The other markings on the palm like the triangles, stars, crosses, rings, tridents and squares are also taken into consideration. Their meanings vary depending on the area in which these are found and whether they intersect other lines.