What Is It?

Palmistry is the practice of "reading hands," of gaining knowledge about personality, past individual history, and likely future events by examining the shape, size, and configuration of the fingers and, most important, the lines and protuberances of the palms themselves.

History

There is some evidence that palmistry may have begun in the Stone Age. Hand outlines can be
seen in black and red-ocher pigments on the walls of the ancient caves of Altamira in Spain and in other European grottoes. Palmistry as it exists today probably had its origins in ancient India long before recorded history and found its way into western Europe through nomadic bands of Gypsies, who made contact with Europe in the 15th century. These Gypsy bands can trace their roots to
a single village in northern India.