Palm Reading Perspectives

- THE TOP 10 HAND SIGNS FOR RECOGNIZING DIABETES MELLITUS - TYPE 2 -

This TOP 10 is composed from a list of 34 hand signs for Diabetes Mellitus – type 2, and the hand signs are ranked by Log Odds Ratio – which are calculated from the prevalence (%) among Diabetics & controls.

1 - Neuropathy: loss of function: movement / sensation (Tinel’s sign, Phalen’s test, preacher sign / prayer sign, limited joint mobility) [Log Odds Ratio = +3.36]
2 - Fingerprints: radial loop on pinky [Log Odds Ratio = +3.16]
3 - Fingerprints: radial loop on ringfinger [Log Odds Ratio = +3.09]
4 - Half white, half pink nails (Terry’s nails) [Log Odds Ratio = +3.09]
5 - Pink patches on back of the hand / fingers (granuloma annulare lesions)  [Log Odds Ratio = +2.73]
6 - Shiny patches, first: red-brown & painless, later: yellow & ulceration (necrobiosis lipoidica) [Log Odds Ratio = +2.71]
7 - Little skin pebbles on back of the hand / fingers (Huntley’s papules) [Log Odds Ratio = +2.64]
8 - Locked finger, a.k.a. ‘trigger finger’ (stenosing tenosynovitis) [Log Odds Ratio = +2.50]
9 - Palm: radial arch on hypothenar [Log Odds Ratio = +2.28]
10 - Simian line [Log Odds Ratio = +2.24]

The so-called ‘prayer sign’ (or ‘preacher sign’: see the photos above & below) is listed as the most significant sign according the log odds ratio statistics. And it is interesting to notice here that 4 of the 10 hand signs relate to the skin of the hand (see hand signs 5, 6 and 7), including one that relates to the nails (hand sign 4) – NOTICE: In the field of medical dermatology the nails are perceived as being a part of the skin! 

Additionally, studies have shown that skin abnormalties become very signficant when these are also featured by motoric problems.

And it is fascinating to notice that these TOP 10 hand signs significant for Diabetes Mellitus – type 2 [= non-insuline dependent diabetes] is a mix of hand features that relate to both the palm (8 hand signs) and fingers (4 hand signs) – hand sign five and seven relate to both the palm and the fingers.

And these 10 hand signs also relate to five of the seven perspectives described by Multi-Perspective Palm Reading, including: the skin quality of the hand (3 hand signs), fingerprints & palmar dermatoglyphics (3 hand signs), hand motorics (2 hand signs), primary lines (1 hand sign), fingernails (1 hand sign).

 In the last post a few hand markers were described which signal the presence of congenital heart defects. How come that hands present clues about congenital heart defects?

The answer is relatively simple: the basic structure of both the hands & the heart is developed in the same period of the prenatal development. Below follows an overview of landmark developments in the heart and the hands from week 4 to week 8 after conception.

WEEK 4 AFTER CONCEPTION:

- HEART: A pipe-shaped heart is formed and begins to beat.

- HANDS: - (the hands are not yet formed)

WEEK 5 AFTER CONCEPTION:

- HEART: A dividing wall is formed in the heart (heartbeat continues in one chamber).

- HANDS: The hands are shaped like paddles.

 WEEK 6 AFTER CONCEPTION:

- HEART: The heart has devided into right and left chambers.

- HANDS: Finger soon take shape.

 WEEK 7 AFTER CONCEPTION:

- HEART: The main structure of the heart is now complete.

- HANDS: Fingers are forming, but are still joined by webs of skin; the ‘volar pads’ become manifest which preceed the formation of the fingerprints – notice: the shape of the ‘volar pads’ correlates with the fingerprint type that is later formed.

 WEEK 8 AFTER CONCEPTION:

- HEART: Continues growing.

- HANDS: As the hands develop they have lost their paddle like look. The touch pads of the fingers form and already have fingerprints.

More details are available in the article:
The embryology & the morphogenesis of the hand lines 

Long before the hands was discovered as a diagnostic tool, many great philosophers have described the significance of the hand perceived from various perspectives.

The following quotes represent a few early examples describing the philosophical importance of  hands:

Aristotle (384BC - 322BC)

“… (the hand) is the organ of the organs, the active agent of the passive powers”

Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842).

 
“The hand is essentially the organ of the mind, the medium of its expression, and the Instrument whereby its promptings are carried into execution”

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961).

 

Carl Gust Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist said:

“Chirology [hand reading] is an art which dates back to very ancient times. The ancient physician never hesitated to make use of such
auxiliary systems as chiromancy and astrology for diagnostic and prognostic purposes as is shown, for instance, by the book of Dr. Goclenius who lived at the end of the sixteenth century. … The totality-conception of modern biology which is based on the evidence of a host of observations and research does not exclude the possibility that hands, whose shape and functioning are so intimately connected with the psyche, might provide revealing and therefore, interpretable expressions of psychical peculiarity, that is, of the human character. …”

Hand prints in on the walls of Chauvet Cave, southern France (width of each hand print is 8cm).

 The earliest known ’portrait of man’ was found in Chauvet Cave (south-east of France) – which was discovered 1994. Containing the earliest known cave paintings, the cave art has been attributed to Aurignacian Man (c.35,000 BC) through the use of carbon dating. Interestingly, among the many cave paintings there are quite a lot of hand prints; one of those hand prints became known as ‘the oldest portrait of man‘ – made c.32.000 BC!

The oldest portrait of man - a 32.000 year old hand print found in Chauvet Cave, France.

Whereas some scholars consider these cave handprints to be early attempts at human artistic self-expression, others believe they must have magical significance. And because the hand prints occur in the innermost parts of caves, on the walls of which primitive men painted  pictures of horses, cattle, bears, mammoths, and other animals that roamed Europe in their epoch, it has been suggested that these locations must have been  places of prayer and magical ceremonies.

Since these were the main tools primitive people had to capture the animals they relied on for sustenance, the hands must have seemed not only mystical, but also symbolic of the entire human being. As Jack Mauduy says, if the hand print is taken to be the hand itself and, by an extension, the entire body, the spirit-strength within the hand can be thought to represent all of the energy stored in the entire being.

And today, the capturing of the hand prints of celebrities can in a way be perceived as a likewise ritual as the ancient art from the Chauvet cave in France. Nelson Mandela’s hand print art collection (see the picture below) is an example of this. 

Nelson Mandela's hand print art.

HAND PRINTS & RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS:

Religious customs associated with the hands still persist among premitive peoples today. For example, the African Bushmen cut of a finger to symbolize suffering at the loss of a family member or loved one. Other peoples cut of a finger to use a talisman against danger of plague. Plainsmen of New Guinea make hand prints of walls just as primitive man did twenty thousands years ago and cut of fingers to give to the gods in gratitude for good harvest. Interestingly, it seems that, as time passed, primitive people stopped performing bodily mutilation of this kind and resorted to finding mystical qualities in hand print, which came to replace severed digits and hands in their religious ceremonies.

Hand print of a Japanese Sumo wrestler.

HAND PRINTS AROUND THE WORLD:

 The same psychology maybe traceable in old Japanese customs of displaying on walls hand prints of Sumo wrestlers as charms and good-luck signs.

But there many likewise habits are found all over the world. Muslims, for example, use such a charm that looks like a hand with the five fingers extrended. And in some parts of Arabia, people make good-luck signs over the entrances to their houses by dipping their hands in sheep’s blood and pressing them against the wall.

In brief, since the dawn of civilization, human beings, not only in Europe, but also in Asia and Africa, have been fascinated by the mystical nature of the hands.

Hand print of 'James Bond 007' - Sir Sean Connery, Leicester - UK.

THE EARLIEST SIGNS OF PALM READING:

The ancient Indians  were the first to conceive the idea of telling a man’s ‘fate’ from his hands (3000 BC), and palm reading in New Delhi is still a classic source of entertainment for Western tourists. 

Then the ancient Chinese became known for being the first who associated man’s health with his hands (2500 BC), a palm reading in Hong Kong will nearly always include a reading of your ‘health’.

And the Greeks were probably the first who associated man’s psychology with his hands (350 BC). And maybe therefore it is not really surprizing that a palm reading in London will often include a reading of your ‘personality’!

After describing in the last post a few hand conditions (eczema & granuloma anulare) that may look scary but are relatively harmless, in this new post we focuss on a fex examples of hand skin conditions that typically indicate serious health problems.

The following 3 hand conditions were e.g. presented in a Medscape slideshow, and they can usually be described as ‘worrisome’:

LICHEN PLANUS:

Lichen Planus (see photo above) manifest typically as a rash made up of reddish-purple, flat-topped bumps that may itch like crazy. It usually appears on the wrists (or on the ankles of the feet, but may be on the lower back, neck, legs, and genitals). The cause of Lichen Planus isn’t known — but if you have it, you’ll need to get liver tests. It could be a sign of hepatitis C.

TRIPE PALMS:

Tripe Palms (see photo above) describes a skin condition in which the skin of the palm becomes thick and velvety-white with pronounced folds in the lines of the hand. The skin resembles boiled tripe. It’s a sign of cancer. If only the palms are involved, it’s most likely lung cancer. If tripe palms is accompanied by acanthosis nigricans, it’s most likely gastric cancer.

NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS / WOODEN HANDS:

Nephrogenic System Fibrosis (see photo above) was first described in 1997. Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis starts ussually as a brown discoloration and indentation of the lower arms and legs. Very soon, the hands and feet become brown and like wood. NOTICE: Sometimes there’s also a small yellow spot in the eye. Researchers only recently found that the gadolinium contrast agent used during MRI exams triggers this condition in some patients with kidney failure.

Read more about the role of skin quality conditions in Multiple-Perspective Palm Reading:

http://www.multiperspectivepalmreading.com/palm-reading-hand-skin-quality.htm

Your skin can be a window to your underlying health, says Joseph Jorizzo, MD, one of the experts who wrote the book ‘Dermatological Signs of Internal Disease‘. Many underlying health conditions — some very serious — first appear as skin problems.

In an earlier post you were able to read how your fingernails can be used as a barometer for your (past) health – during the past sixe months. As a matter of fact, medical science classifies the fingernails as a part of your outer skin systems which surrounds your body. So it should not be surprizing that your skin can provide clues about your health as well. 

But first of all: not all skin conditions are scary!  Many skin conditions do not indicate that anything else is wrong with you. For example, granuloma annulare is raised, reddish or flesh-colored bumps forming ring patterns on the hands and feet. They usually go away within two years, and don’t mean anything is wrong with you.

The difference betwen ’harmless’ hand skin conditions & ‘worrisome’ hand skin conditions will be discussed in the next series of posts.

Read more about the role of skin conditions in Multiple-Perspective Palm Reading:

Palm Reading & Skin Quality

Discussions about Multi-Perspective Palm Reading are available at the Modern Hand Reading Forum, see forum section IIIb:

Multi-Perspective Palm Reading – discussions

Beyond Multi-Perspective Palm Reading various other types of hand reading are being discussed at the Modern Hand Reading Forum, including: Psychodiagnostic Chirology, Elemental Chirology, Life Purpose Hand Analysis & Vedic Palmistry.

A male hand + a female hand.

Hand shape varies between the sexes: males typically haver larger + relatively broader hands. Hand shape also varies among the races: in Asia the avarage hand shape is relatively narrower than in European & North American countries. And there is even a link between hand shape & intelligence!

But in order to understand these patterns properly, one first has to understand the relations ship between hand shape & body length. Because in general, all longer populations in the world (males, Europeans & North Americans) typically display a relatively broad hand shape, while all small populations (females, Asians) typically display a relatively narrow hand shape.

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HAND INDEX:

A good measure to describe the shape of the hand is the so-called ‘hand index’, which is defined as the ratio between the ‘hand width’ (= palm width measured at the metacapals) vs. the ‘hand length’ (= the distance between the tip of the middle finger and the distal wrist crease).

The average ‘hand index’ in human kind is close to 0.44, and is typically much higher than the ‘hand index’ seen in primates, which is typically (far) below 0.40 (though in gorillas - the largest of all primate species – the ‘hand index’ is higher than 0.40).

NOTICE: Finger length can also be measured relative to ‘hand length’ & ‘hand width’, but that topic will be discussed later.

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HAND SHAPE & SEXE:

In males the ‘hand index’ is typically higher than 0.44, and measures above 0.45 are often seen. While in females the ‘hand index’ is typically lower than 0.44, and measures below 0.43 are not rare at all. These sexe differences are for a large part the result of the body height differences between males and females.

HAND SHAPE & RACE:

The average ‘hand index’ among the various races differs significantly, and is typically lower among asians. In people from China does not vary a lot from the average of human kind, but among for example people from Japan & India the ‘hand index’ is typically close to 0.43 or even lower. At least partly these differences are explained by racial differences in body height.

HAND SHAPE & IQ:

A high hand index typically correlates with a low IQ. And this link between hand shape & IQ has been confirmed in quite a few studies among various types of populations.

In a 1980 study in the former Yugoslavia reported among 540 men a negative correlation between hand index & all 10 measures for IQ.

And the two most common causes for mental retardation (Down syndrome & fragile-X syndrome) are known for having typically a relatively broad hand (= high hand index).

Regarding the sexe differences, one has to be aware of the earlier mentioned point that tall populations typically have a higher ’hand index’. The fact that women have a lower ‘hand index’ compared to men, is largely neutralized by the fact that women are smaller than men. And therefore there one should not associate this sexe difference with IQ differences among the sexes (because so far there is no evidence for that at all).

And finally there is evidence that when the ‘hand index’ is corrected for body height, then this appears to explain a significant part of the IQ differences that are typically seen between the nations of the world. Though this issue has not been studied thoroughly.

HIGH OR LOW ‘HAND INDEX’ IN INDIVUALS:

The above describes patterns for hand shape implicate that regarding the implications of a high or low ‘hand index’ indivuals, one always has to consider sexe & race before jumping into conclusions!

Time for a hand shape palm reading… what is your ‘hand index’?

 The earliest known written reference to palm reading in the World literature are found in two writings in the ancient Vedic literature of India: ‘The Laws of Manu’ and in the ‘Vasishtha Rules’ – which include a list of rules given to guide the ascetic in the correct way to lead the religious life. But what are the origins of the ’idea’ of  palm reading: what is described about how it must have started?

First of all, while the world literature started around 3000 BC (written on clay tablets),  we have to be aware that the printed written literature on paper dates from about 400 years ago. 

Around that time an Indian Sanskrit text, titled: ‘Sariraka Shastra’, was published which includes Vedic stanzas that describe how ‘Hasta Samudrika Shastra’ (translated: ‘body knowledge of the hand’) has evolved in the early days of human kind. The text was translated by an Indian palmist (V.A.K Ayer) and published in 1960 under the title: “Sariraka Sastra – Indian Science of Hand Reading based on Kartikeyan System”. The book describes how long ago when Lord Vishnu was enjoying his ‘yoga nidra’ in the company of his consort Lakshmi, the sea-lord Samudra showed up and began to write down the auspicious marks on the bodies of the divine couple – for the guidance of humanity. This story explains how classic Indian Palmistry became an art of reading signs via the hand!

 The Laws of Manu:

“Manu was the legendary first man, the Adam of the Hindus.”

(Quoted from sacret-text.com)

Chapter X in “The Laws of Manu” describes as a guidance for the ascetic:

“21. ‘Neither by (explaining) prodigies and omens, nor by skill in astrology and palmistry, nor by casuistry and expositions (of the Sâstras), let him ever seek to obtain alms.’”

Inborn hand markers vs. Indian hand signs:

And in a way, the modern academic science of studying ‘minor physical anomalies’ is basically not really very different from how the Indians used palmistry to speculate about their future.

While the ancient Indians studied body signs to know the future of individuals (with a speculative philosophic purpose of course), is modern science basically interested in studying body signs to understand the etiology of diseases and disorders. And while the Indians formulated theories about ‘dynamic’ signs (which may change or even disappear in time), is modern science more focussed on inborn body markers.

So, while Indian palmists typically focuss on tiny little marks of the hand (lines, spots, moles, etc) – are modern hand researchers much more interested in relatively stable hand markers such as: the fingerprints, palmar dermatoglypics, simian crease and the so-called ‘digit ratio’ (= the finger length ratio between the index finger and the ring finger).

The new Palmistry?

Over the past few years quite a few academic researchers have published interesting studies which suggest that the hand can be used as prognostic marker for certain common diseases.

And the new Multi-Perspective Palm Reading represents a direct result of the many (tousands) studies that have been perfpormed so far on 100+ hand markers – read more about these developments via: What is Multi-Perspective Palm Reading?

But typically, these studies have been welcomed with a considerable dosis of scepticism. A few of recent examples of these reviews are presented below:

• April 2011: The New Palmistry?

• July 2010: Digit ratio: A measure of two hormonally-based temperament dimensions

• June 2010: Reading the Body – Finger Length Ratio predicts Athletic Ability!

• April 2009: Palmistry’s Digital Analgue?