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The Importance of Creating Balance between the Major and Minor Lines
The presence of major lines (reflecting our subconscious) without the support of minor lines (reflecting our conscious) suggests a life lived unreflectively; either we are not aware of our rich inner potential, or we have not learnt how to focus our unique passion and bring it into being. The presence of too many minor lines prevents us from accessing the subconscious; we are so overwhelmed with day-to-day detail that we have no time for reflection. It is best when the major lines are equal in strength to the minor lines. This allows the potential resources of our subconscious to find a conscious outlet of expression.
Fig 1
Examining the balance between the major lines of heart, head and life, and minor lines of Saturn, Sun, Mercury and girdle of Venus. (A) Strong major lines, faint minor lines, (B) too many minor lines, (C) major lines equal to minor lines.
Three Case Histories
Gary – Absence of Minor Lines
Gary had just gone through a divorce that left him physically and emotionally drained at the time of the first print. He understood that part of the reason for his failed relationship was his inability to express himself freely and openly. Many ideas and goals were subdued due to his lack of confidence. This frustration can be seen in the hand by the absence of minor lines. For example, there is no Mercury line (which relates to self-expression) or Sun line (relating to belief in oneself). Gary decided to leave the past anguish and heartache behind and to focus on the future. He began group therapy, returned to school, and tried to maintain a positive outlook on life. The later print shows the development of both a Mercury line and a Sun line, revealing greater ease of self-expression and inner contentment.
Mick – Too Many Minor Lines
This individual was the manager of a busy foodstore chain. On the verge of burn-out, Mick realized that he had to regain control of his life. The excess of minor lines reflects his agitated state of mind. He began yoga classes and breathing exercises, which we can see reflected in an improvement in the balance between the major and minor lines in the later print. Mick is now back at the same job. However, due to his change in attitude, he is now able to cope with the same level of stress.
Too many conscious lines can result when we are preoccupied with the demanding environment around us. An overabundance of minor lines is like having a garden overrun with weeds. One needs to prune the excessive minor lines in order for the subconscious to express itself more easily.
Pierre – Major and Minor Lines Equal
Pierre is a chiropractor who loves his work. He is confident and self-assured and highly regarded by his family, friends and many clients.
Pierre’s minor lines of Saturn, Mercury and Sun are as equally developed as the three major lines of heart, head and life. When the major and minor lines are equal, we can access our deepest level of awareness, our superconscious.
In Pierre’s case, this connection manifests as an ability to heal. Being attuned to this unlimited source of energy, he has become an open channel—a person who can receive and transmit healing vibrations.
Fig. 4 — The balance between Pierre’s major and minor lines reflects confidence and passion for living that comes from recognizing his abilities and weaving them into the fabric of his life.
Centuries ago, the sages of India established a system of knowledge stemming from the Vedas, the earliest sacred Hindu writings. They studied the hands as a means to unveil and understand the self and relationships with others. They saw that the unique patterns of lines and signs in the hand come into being as a direct result of the way we think. Just as a pebble thrown into the water creates ripples, so our thoughts create similar effects.
Our hands offer us an objective view of who we really are. Through the study of palmistry, we have the opportunity to see to what extent our thoughts and feelings influence our happiness and the harmony of those around us. As we exercise our will in choosing positive patterns of thinking to replace any negative ones, we see our lines begin to change, reflecting a shift in our consciousness. As Shakespeare observed, we are masters of our own fate, that “the fault...is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
For example Paul, a happy, rambunctious nine-year old boy, lived a carefree life. This is reflected by a well-defined, unbroken line of head in the handprints taken at that time. During his teenage years, he could not reconcile the fact that his parents had decided to divorce. The mental breakdown that he suffered is reflected by the broken head line in the prints taken when he was 16 years of age. This break reflected his inability to comprehend the dissolution of his family. However, Paul has a strong heart line, indicating the inner resources to survive this traumatic experience. Handprints taken several years later showed the break beginning to repair.
Paul’s long heart line signifies his ability to feel deeply. He had a choice. He could have allowed negative feelings to overwhelm him and make him bitter—first toward his parents, then in his own dealings with others. Instead, he overcame his pain and learned to recognize that human relationships are complex; he became forgiving and compassionate. In his adult life, he was able to develop healthy bonds with others. He became a personal trainer and enjoyed coaching others to develop their strengths. In time he established a family of his own. By recognizing human frailty and being able to accept it with understanding brought about the transformation in Paul that is reflected in his changing head line. Lines and signs on our hands, present at birth, change as we evolve, signifying the accumulated experience of our lives. Increasing self-awareness leads toward greater personal magnetism and happiness.
In the prints of this nine-year old boy, we find his head line is consistent and free from any breaks. At the age of 16, his prints show a head line with a clearly discernible break. Note the repaired head line in the prints taken when he was 33.
Our Health Revealed through the Life Line
“Is my life line too short?” “How long am I going to live?” “Can you explain why I have so little energy?”
These are some of the questions palmists frequently hear. People often expect that palmists can and should make predictions about matters of health, love, and other vital concerns in life. And as a matter of fact, a thread of prediction does run through the entire history of palmistry. But in its purest form, palmistry is meant as a tool for self-enquiry and self-mastery to help us make more informed choices in life by use of our own free will. In this way, problematic situations, habits, and attitudes can be corrected or prevented. And we can literally write our own future well-being onto our hands.
Palmistry offers a unique opportunity to understand the roots of our present state of health. But it shouldn’t be used to predict future health or to estimate longevity, even if certain trends can be detected in this area. The life line in Hindi is referred to as the jeevan rekha, which signifies the immortal essence of our consciousness that has come into physical being in order to fulfil our past karma as a living human being. The palmist knows that timely advice can help us to take positive steps towards improving our lives, including our physical well-being. With proper direction and preventive measures, such as ayurvedic massage, exercise, nutrition, gems, magnet and colour therapy, our hands can show measurable improvement over time.
The ideal life line forms a semi-circle around the mount of Venus, the pad of flesh at the base of the thumb. Generally speaking, a deep, well-rounded life line, free of interruptions, is considered to be positive, and shows a healthy spontaneous flow of energy.
Mounts (the pads of flesh on our palms) are storehouses of energy, related to specific planets. The mount of Venus itself is an important area in relation to physical health. Venus stands for love, beauty, harmony, sexuality, as well as the physical body. The mount of Venus and the corresponding life line will show with what ease and to what purpose we are using our body.
In some cases, the mount of Venus is overdeveloped, with too large and wide a pad of flesh. In this case, we have yet to learn how to assimilate and channel Venusian energies constructively. Instead there may be an over-identification with the physical form leading to obsessions, expectations and disappointments. This tendency may eventually leave us feeling exhausted. This is especially so if this type of Venus is seen in connection with coarse hand texture, hot temperature, and many grilled lines.
A smaller, flatter mount of Venus indicates a more delicate constitution. We will consequently have less drive and energy. Yet some other mount or line of the hand may provide us with the drive to accomplish. If, for example, the head line is strong and vibrant, or the mount of Jupiter is well-developed, we are able to live more for intellectual stimulation. Though not physically robust, we may, for example, be a great teacher or researcher.
However, if we decide to re-program our enthusiasm for living, the mounts and lines in our hands will in time reflect our new resolve. Sabrina is a good example of how a change in attitude is confirmed by the changing lines.
A comparison between her two handprints shows that Sabrina’s life line has grown. When the first print was taken, Sabrina was feeling emotionally distraught due to the recent break-up of her marriage. She had lost her sense of direction. The second handprint, taken two years later, reveals her renewed inspiration for living. She found a satisfying and challenging new career in teaching. With her more stable lifestyle, Sabrina became more self-reliant and less emotionally fragile. Awareness of our behaviour patterns is the key to positive change.
Before and After Hand Prints of Sabrina
A comparison of these two prints shows that Sabrina's life line has grown, revealing her renewed inspiration for living.
The Quadrangle: The Landing Strip of the Angels
The quadrangle has an hourglass shape that is outlined by the two major lines of heart and head. Sometimes referred to as the “landing strip of the angels”, this important area represents two fundamental aspects of our nature. The heart line indicates our feeling nature, represented as the potential for unconditional love or devotion.
The head line, indicating our reasoning faculties, represents the potential for clear, objective, and far-sighted vision. When imbalance occurs, for example: if the head line overpowers the heart line, we may rationalize our feelings, and if the heart line overpowers the head line, we may be emotionally biased when we make decisions.
It is essential, then, that these two important attributes - reason and feeling – work in harmony. Consequently, to successfully interpret the quadrangle, we need to examine both lines in relation to each other.
Ultimately, having achieved harmony between our reason and feeling, neither one then pulls the other out of alignment - we have created a balanced quadrangle. Moreover, in the peace and serenity created within this equilibrium, we become receptive to “angel visits” in the form of good friends, wise teachers, visionary dreams, intuition and sound advice.
What’s your “Love Quotient?” Remember, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Try our
Karmic Analysis to check out your loving disposition.
The Importance of Looking at Both hands
“Which hand do you look at?” is one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to Palmistry. Essentially, both hands need to be studied to understand more about our thoughts and habits stored in our subconscious, and how they influence our will to change in the present.
Our instinctive use of one hand over the other, for such dexterous applications as writing or using tools, reveals our dominant hand. In Palmistry, this hand - whether right or left - is then considered dominant. Ninety-nine percent of the time, this hand will show a more progressive pattern of lines and signs than those in the less dominant hand. This reflects an evolution of consciousness taking place from past, deep-seated, subconscious patterns of thought and behavior toward making more conscious, positive change in the present.
The non-dominant hand indicates our ingrained habits stored in the subconscious. How these habits influence the present and future is seen by weighing the strength of our subconscious traits in this hand, together with the progressive influences seen in the conscious, dominant one.
To better understand the nature of our conscious and subconscious nature – represented in the hands - picture the conscious (dominant) hand as the visible tip of an iceberg. Allegorically, this 1/10th portion is what others initially see upon first meeting us. It is also how we consciously perceive ourselves as thinking, feeling individuals. Our more veiled, subconscious nature, however, is much like the vast, 9/10th submerged portion of the iceberg – an aspect of ourselves that we are mostly unaware of. Consequently, we can fall prey to ingrained behavior patterns that can leave us at times bewildered, wondering why we attract difficult circumstances or why we overreact to them.
With this understanding of the importance and significance of checking both hands to see our evolutionary progress - for example, in regards to the quality of our relationships - a look at the heart line in both hands gives a significant clue as to how we are progressing. A comparative analysis of the heart line reveals the evolutionary process unfolding in our emotional makeup. Ideally, the formation of the heart line should be improving from the non-dominant to the dominant hand.
To give an example (see hand prints below), Audrey has a long heart line in her right, dominant, conscious hand, and a shorter heart line in her left, non-dominant, subconscious one, indicating that her emotional bank account is pretty much in the red. Therefore, even with good intentions, Audrey continues to attract - by the effects of subconscious behavior that unpredictably comes out in the open - people who might not behave nicely toward her.
Whether the new Audrey – shown by the long heart line in her dominant hand - pays off old debts or incurs further ones, depends on how she reacts to others’ negative behavior towards her. If she fails to recognize her past tendency to be unloving, she may perceive herself to be victimized. She may respond by disliking people further causing the heart line in her dominant hand to shrink. In this case, she would be repeating the trends of the past. If, however, she maintains her positive resolve to be more loving in spite of encountering negative behavior, her non-dominant heart line will grow to reflect the expectations shown by the longer heart line of the dominant hand. Audrey’s positive resolution to be more generous toward people is no longer a wish but has become a reality.
Similarly, we can all significantly increase our self understanding, ultimately recognizing why we think and behave the way we do; why we attract - at times - challenging situations; and what we can do to eliminate them from our lives, through a comparative study of our two hands.
The Serpa Kal Yoga
A Cloud of Tension over the World ...... with a Silver Lining
In the context of Vedic astrology, yogas are defined as planetary placements or combinations – each having a distinct, and specific effect. One such yoga – the Serpa Kal Yoga occurs when all the planets – either in an individual’s chart, or simply where they are placed in the heavens at a particular moment in time - are hemmed in between the Moon’s nodes - Rahu and Ketu. As a visual reference point, one can view Rahu and Ketu (which are always placed 180° opposite each), as dividing a circle (the traditional western astro chart) in two halves, with all the planets placed in either one of these two sections.
This yoga came into effect in August 2008 and will continue to run until the end of February 2009. Although we may experience challenges, increased stress and demands during this period, interestingly enough, individuals who have this placement in their birth chart, are often those who have made history. On a larger, world scale, we can see that history is being made as evidenced by the recent election of Senator Barack Obama.
In Hindu astrological texts, all kinds of “dire consequences” are hinted at during this time. However, it is our firm belief that with our free will, we have the choice as to how we react to external stimulus – specifically the challenges of this yoga’s influence. At least it is good to be aware that there is some difficult influence affecting us, and that it is only temporary. So take a deep breath. And look at this yoga as a “sparring partner”, strengthening your will power and perseverance to be even more successful in the future. Who knows, maybe you’ll even make history..... Obama did!
What is Vedic Palmistry
By Ghanshyam Singh Birla, excerpt from his book Destiny in the Palm of Your Hand: Creating Your Future through Vedic Palmistry Copyright 1997.
Vedic palmistry, or hast jyotish, is the study of the structure and markings of the human hand. This ancient art and science began in India about 5,000 years ago. The ancient rishis or seers believed that there was a correlation between the visible features of the hand, the conscious and subconscious thought processes of the mind, and the superconscious intuitions of spirit. The study of Vedic palmistry provides a language for expressing this body/ mind/soul connection. Its purpose is to help us gain self-understanding.
Our Personal Signature
We all know that no two fingerprints are identical. But in fact, the entire hand is unique in its pattern of lines. The lines are unique precisely because each of us has personal memories, hopes and individual character traits. Since there is a traceable link between our personality, thoughts and experiences, and the way the lines form on our hands, our handprints represent a kind of personalized signature.
The Lines Change
Just as we continuously change and evolve, so do the lines on our hands. As our personality matures, our attitudes, priorities, activities, and companions may also change. These important changes are all reflected in the hand. A study of our prints provides us with a method of analyzing ourselves objectively. We are, therefore, likely to make more positive choices regarding our work, our dealings with people around us, and many other important aspects of life. We will find ourselves less likely to repeat or perpetuate mistakes. With time, the improvements we make in our lives will register on the hands.
Prevention Versus Prediction
Palmistry is associated in the minds of many people with the notion of prediction. This idea comes from an incomplete understanding of palmistry. We all have predispositions towards certain kinds of behavior. For example, if someone we admired betrayed our trust when we were young, we may have difficulty being open to finding a loving partner. A study of the lines and signs of the hands can show us the patterns we have developed in response to past hurt. Unless we take positive steps to change, we will continue to perpetuate the pattern.
By learning to understand the significance of the lines and signs on our hands as indicators of predispositions, we can decipher trends in our behavior. An experienced analyst can suggest the likelihood of future behavior and occurrences. Armed with this information, we have the freedom both to confirm and nurture our strengths and potentials, and to decide what changes we wish to make in our lives.
Much of the fun in studying palmistry comes from seeing how we can exercise our free will in more informed and effective ways. Each time we take a new direction in our lives, we are able to see corresponding changes in the lines and signs on our hands. No two palm readings will, therefore, be identical. As professional palmists, we can best assist our clients by pointing out precisely how our past and present thoughts and actions have set us on a certain course. With guidance, effort and patience, we can improve in attitude and behavior. As our thinking changes, and new behavior patterns become familiar, the lines and signs, and even the mounts (the underlying tissue of the hand), will undergo detectable changes. Our hands will reflect personality changes. Even lines indicating future trends can change. Broken lines can be mended; lines showing interferences and obstacles can fade and disappear; lines showing positive associations and relationships can appear and so on. Admittedly, deeply ingrained major lines indicating entrenched tendencies in our subconscious are slower and more resistant to change. Nevertheless, these too can respond with patient effort.
Examples Illustrating How the Lines Change
Marcel is a retired sales representative. After concentrating for many years on the practical concerns of business and family life, he found retirement a wonderful opportunity to explore his creative, inventive side. He enrolled in painting and sculpture courses at his local visual arts center. His head line and Mercury line reflect these changes in the before and after handprints.
This case illustrates that our destiny isn’t carved in stone. We can take active steps to improve our lives, once we have gained better self-understanding. We can help both ourselves and others to understand the past, deal with the present, and mold the future in such a way as to bring forth the best qualities of heart, mind and soul. This is the challenge and also the reward of undertaking a serious study of palmistry.
The Author
Ghanshyam Singh Birla founded the Palmistry Center in Montreal, Canada, in 1972. Dr. Birla has lectured and written extensively on the powerful insights of the Vedic sciences, including his latest book, Introduction to Hast Jyotish: Ancient Eastern System of Palmistry. He was interviewed on Living in Balance on Wisdom Television, WebMD and Good Morning America. In 1998, Dr. Birla established The Birla Center for Hast Jyotish, a 500-acre lakefront retreat center in Chénéville, Québec, which serves as an international facility for studies and services in palmistry, astrology, and Ayurvedic healing.
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