Holding the Future in the Palm of Your Hand

A New WBURG Column Featuring Palm Readings of Local Residents

by Shelley Marlow

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What is Palm Reading?

Aristotle, Pliny Cardamis, Emperor Augustus, and many others have practiced palm reading in India, China, Persia, Egypt, and Rome through the ages. One of the first books was on palmistry, Die Kunst Ciromantia, printed in the year 1475. After the discovery that no two sets of fingerprints are alike at the turn of the 19th century, French police began using fingerprinting to solve crimes by making records of previous criminals' fingerprints.

Palm reading uses intuitive detective work to interpret the energy, shape, length, and depth of each line or mark in order to analyze the map that is a palm.

Palm reading is a tool for understanding yourself and what your purpose might be, as well as the big picture, from birth to death. A responsible palm reader will never tell someone when that person is going to die. (So please don’t ask.) It is always important to remember that nothing is written in stone, since your own free will can change even the lines on your hand.

Learning to Read Palms

I have been reading palms for the past 11 years. My earliest memory of a psychic moment was when I was ten, watching the TV show called Laugh-In. Lilly Tomlin was on screen when I got a flash that she is a lesbian, then in a flash my ten year old mind forgot what that word Lesbian meant. At the time, I was fascinated with witches and magic. I believed that if you went to the right place — which might not be on maps — you could find a magic carpet that would fly. It still maybe possible in some way with prayer rugs, meditation, hallucinogens or ???

As I grew up, I had a strong desire to experience life in a mind expanding way. I experimented with hallucinogenic drugs. I studied various eastern religions, meditated with Sufis and had visions of angelic spheres not unlike Blake.

I studied palm reading through books from all over the world.

My favorite palmist from the turn of the century was called Chiero. He had a live stage show for a while where he would read the palm from a hand that was sticking out from behind a curtain keeping the identity of the palms a mystery until after the reading. The (often famous) person would come out surprised about how accurate the reading was. Once Cheiro had Oscar Wilde as a guest. Before he met him he read that it was a time when the person behind the curtain should follow the law to the extreme, and that it was a dangerous time for the person who belonged to the palm — he could end up in ruin if he didn’t heed this warning. The story goes that Oscar Wilde stepped out from behind the curtain and said, "Que será será." This was right before he got involved in a lawsuit that sent him to prison where he became ill and never fully recovered.

One of my favorite books to study from was William G Benham’s large volume on palmistry, The Art and Science of Palmistry, copyright 1900, 13th printing. A previous owner of the antique copy I studied from had written ‘634 Bedford Avenue’ in pencil inside the cover. This book was complete with prints of the palms of Frenchy, a rather famous pickpocket, and other various assorted characters. There is always an elucidation that you have to bring with you when reading the older books with their antiquated names for diseases, as well as out dated ideas about artists, sexuality and gender roles.

This is the first palm reading column at WBURG. If you would like to have your palm read please send a photocopy of both palms to WBURG, 302 Bedford Ave No 147, Brooklyn 11211. Please include your name and contact email or phone in cae we have questions and to let you know when you have been chosen for an upcoming column. Your real name and contact information will be kept confidential. Your palms will be used in a future column if I can clearly see all of the lines and (finger) prints of your hands. Please indicate which hand you sign your name with on the photocopy itself. Please include very specific questions. For example:

Does my hand indicate which would be a better career for me, visual artist or stockbroker?

I am willing to consider most questions no matter how strange you may think it is. If you have a question about love, please include the side of your prominent hand that shows the lines below your little finger.

The Reading

Dear Palm Reader,
I’m wondering what level I should pursue my interest in writing?

Sincerely,
Alex [right-handed]

Dear Alex,
I see that you have a space in between your heart line and head line. This implies that you are an independent thinker who can introduce new ideas and new ways of doing things to the world. Your headline curves, which implies a creative mind. The "writer’s" fork on the end of your headline implies that you have literary talents, though sometimes you see a writer's fork on the palm of a photographer or someone else who uses literal and literary references. The longest phalanges on your fingers imply that you come up with practical applications of your creativity.

The islands on many of your lines indicate someone who runs on nerves and coffee. It looks like you are going to stop this in your 30’s as a move to improve your health. Your success line is becoming stronger in your thirties as well.

Shelley F Marlow is a writer/visual artist/reader. She just finished writing the fiction novel Swann In Love Again/The Lesbian Arabian Nights. A special edition of one chapter can be bought at Perogi 2000. Shelley is available for private readings, tarot, palm and astrology.

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