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May/June 2008 Alternative Health
How to Read Your Child's Palm (and Your Own)

by Johnny Fincham

Is your child born with innate talents? Or maybe he or she will have the gift of making innumerable friends. Are they the studious type? Could those stumbling leaps around the lawn show a drive to succeed in sports?

The palm is an extraordinary snapshot of the inner nature of any child - it shows you the fixed, genetic traits and those qualities liable to change as he or she grows up. The hand shape, the fingers and the finger prints indicate the nature aspects of character that will be there from birth to old age. The lines are the nurture side of personality - they change and develop as a child adapts and develops.

Is your child on the right life path? Read the map of your child's hand and find out.

Take My Hand

Start by looking at the shape of your child's hands. All palms are one of four basic elemental shapes corresponding to the archetypal elements of earth, water, fire and air. The palm very often corresponds to the element of the child's birth sign. However, the palm's element is the summary of all the elemental qualities of the child and if it doesn't agree with the horoscope sign, the palm's element is the one to go by.

Earth palms are square and fleshy. They have big mounts, short fingers and show few palmer lines. An earth palm shows that the instinctive and physical drives are strong. The practical, the material and the sensual are the primary perceptions. A child with an earth hand is down to earth, taking stability, pragmatism and, in particular, security seriously, often sacrificing opportunity for familiarity. They live a physical life - they love to play in mud and get close to nature. They're unpretentious, stubborn and tremendously strong.

Water hands have a narrow, pale, rectangular palm with longish fingers. These hands give a nature highly receptive to outside influences and the length of the fingers gives a distance from the material world. There's a preoccupation with the inner life, with sensation and feeling. Relationships dominate water-handed children's experiences and they have vivid imaginations. Your child is intuitive, magical, artistic and deeply aware.

Fire hands are firm and rectangular, the fingers are three quarters of the length of the palm, (the palm being slightly broader than that of the water hand). The fire hand is usually warm and pink. This gives a drive to action. Lively, dynamic and goal orientated, the fire-handed child will become frustrated if things don't happen quickly - impatience is a key fault. They're ostentatious, bold and adventurous in all things.

Air hands are square palmed, but unlike earth palms, they have flat mounts, are light-boned and have long fingers. The middle digit is around seven-eighths the length of the palm or more. Air handed children are talkative and ask endless questions. They naturally inhabit the world of thought, and they can't stop thinking. They love to read, analyze and argue, and are often considered a touch eccentric.

Check for Finger Prints

Now cross-check what you've learned about the hand shape by looking at the fingerprints.

The prints are always one of five basic forms: the double loop, simple arch, tented arch, whorl and loop.

On the fingertips, the most common pattern is the loop. If your child has seven or more of these, they'll always have lots of friends and they're highly sociable. They should be encouraged to do drama, to perform and to meet other children and build on their social skills. They'll make a great people-person as adults. If there are 10 loops, performing arts skills are guaranteed and a big address book of friends and intimates.

If whorl patterns dominate the palm, particularly if there are five or more of these, your child will display an early sense of independence and a need for space. Don't be concerned if he or she locks themselves away a lot - they love their own company. They'll be an inventive and creative soul with lots of skills to develop and they need private time to incubate. Also they'll want to collect things - another trait that needs encouragement.

If there is a dominance of simple arches, this is a sign of tremendous stubbornness. Stubborn kids have the guts to get what they want and they don't give up easily. The simple arch is the sign of the budding football player or marathon runner. Manual skills and sports are an inborn need. Their highly repressive natures need physical outlets for their emotions.

A high number of tented arches is rare, but hyperactivity and over-excitement are likely. The child needs both stimulation and to learn how to relax. They can be a bit over dramatic, but they'll always be lively and passionate souls. You mustn't get too clingy -  this is a child that simply has to go on that dangerous-looking amusement park ride. They must have excitement or they'll feel frustrated.

Double loops are again rare, but represent a duality of nature and difficulty in deciding anything. This is a child that needs strong boundaries and clear guidelines. They're very good at advising or counseling others and highly intelligent. Traditionally, this is the sign of the priest or person of wise counsel. You must never be frustrated when they change their mind as they often will.

Long Fingers

Now compare the lengths of the ring and index fingers. You need to know which is the longer, this quality is a response to early childhood. When the index finger is long compared to the ring finger, the child can be something of a perfectionist, striving for high ideals with a maturity way beyond their years.

The opposite effect, where the ring finger is much longer than the index can indicate an artistic and attention-seeking personality.

It's that simple to read a child's palm and to know how to give them a helping hand in life.

Johnny Fincham, author of Palmistry: Apprentice to Pro in 24 Hours, has spent 22 years practicing, researching and teaching palmistry. Visit www.johnnyfincham.com.