Palmistry Basics: Exploring Lines on Your Palm

Illustration of the basic lines of palm reading

Learn Religions / Ashley Nicole Deleon

When analyzing your hands, a palm reader will look for three basic areas: lines, mounts, and shapes. Of the four major lines, the first three (heart, head, and life) should be relatively easy for you to locate on your hands. The fourth major palm line is the fate line, which is sometimes broken, faded, or even missing altogether.

Don't worry if you struggle to locate your fate line or any other important lines. For palmistry practitioners, missing or fragmented lines simply provide more insight. To get started, explore the major lines and some of the better-known minor lines, comparing your own palm to the images provided.

01
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Heart Line

Illustration of the placement of the Upper Palm Heart Line
Placement: Upper Palm Heart Line.

The heart line runs horizontally across the upper part of your palm.

Basic Heart Line Meanings

  • Long Line: Idealistic, Dependent on partner
  • Short Line: Self-centered
  • Deep Line: Stressful
  • Faint Line: Sensitive Nature, Weak Heart
  • Straight Line: Intense Feelings
  • Curved Line: Intellectual Bent
  • Broken Line: ​Troubled relationships
  • Chained Line: Intertwined relationships, Karmic relationships
  • Forked Line: Heartbreak, Divorce
  • Absent Line: Ruthlessness, Logic rules the heart
02
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Head Line

Illustration of the placement of the Middle of the Palm Head Line
Placement: Middle of the Palm Head Line.

The head line represents intellect and reasoning.

Basic Head Line Meanings

  • Long Line: Ambitious
  • Short Line: Intelligent, Intuitive
  • Deep Line: Excellent Memory
  • Faint Line: Poor Memory
  • Straight Line: Materialistic
  • Broken Line: Disappointment
  • Chained Line: Mental Confusion
  • Forked Line: Career Change
  • Double Line: Talented, Inspired by a Muse
  • Absent Line: Laziness, Mental Imbalance
03
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Life Line

Illustration of the placement of the Mid to Lower Palm
Placement: Mid to Lower Palm.

The life line begins somewhere between your thumb and index finger and runs down toward the wrist. The life line is generally curved.

Basic Life Line Meanings

  • Long Line: Good Health, Vitality
  • Short Line: It is a myth that a short life line means a short life. If the life line is short, look closer to other signs (broken, deep, faint, etc.)
  • Deep Line: Smooth Life
  • Faint Line: Low energy
  • Broken Line: Struggles, Losses
  • Chained Line: Multiple Walks (meaning that your life path is multifold)
  • Forked Line: Various meanings depending on fork placement on the hand. Generally, forks indicate diversion or life change. Although they can also mean scattered or split energies.
  • Double Line: Partner with soulmate, or another person nearby (i.e. family member or friend) who serves as a guardian or caregiver.
  • Absent Line: Anxious, Nervous
04
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Fate Line

Illustration of the placement of the Fate Line
Placement: At the center of palm, a vertical or slanted line dividing the palm in half.

The fate line is often depicted as a straight line that splits the palm into two sections, but it is not uncommon to have an arched or curved fate line. This line may look more like a garden path than a direct highway. Neither is better. A straight line can indicate a focused life plan, whereas a twisted or wavering fate line could indicate the path of someone who spends time exploring or searching for the best fitting path to undertake.

Basic Meaning of Fate Line

Not as easily define as the three dominant palm lines (heart line, head line, and life line), your fate line will give indications of the challenges you may experience as you pursue your life's purpose.

  • Absent Line: Preplanned Life
  • Deep Line: Inheritance
  • Faint Line: Failures, Disappointments
  • Forked Line: Conflict or Dual Destiny
  • Jagged Line: Struggle, Indecisiveness
  • Broken Line: Trauma, Difficult Circumstance
  • Chained Line: Highs and Lows
05
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Fame Line

Illustration of the placement of the Fame Line
Placement: Parallels Fate Line.

The fame line gives light to a person's fate or destiny, indicating brilliance or artistic ability that enhances life purpose. Note: This line is not always present.

06
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Love Lines

Illustration of the placement of the Love Line
Also called "Palmistry Marriage Lines" Love Lines.

Love lines are short horizontal lines found on the side of the hand underneath the pinky.

How many love lines do you have on your hand? Multiple love lines indicate the number of significant relationships you have had (or will have) in your lifetime. Sometimes it is easier to see these lines if you bend your pinky slightly toward your palm to see the line creases.

Note the appearance of the individual lines. For example, a troubled relationship will often be reflected as a fragmented, jagged, or wavering line. A love line that is forked could indicate a parting of the ways through divorce or separation. A deeper groove is usually a solid sign of a strong-lasting bond.

Smaller or faint lines branching off a love line are the offsprings born out of a relationship. These children lines are not as easy to see because they are smaller and often faint lines branching off the love line.

The spacing between two love lines can also tell a story. Spaces may indicate the span of time that lapses between relationships. A wider gap could indicate several years, while a narrow space could indicate less time between loves. For example: Let's say that a young couple marries, but their partnership ends in divorce within two years. The man remarries within a few months, but the woman remains single for eight years before she gets involved in another relationship. If you were to look at their individual palms it is likely you would find two love lines butting up to one another on the man's hand, but the woman will likely have a 1/8 to 1/4 inch space between two love lines on her hand.

Your love lines map significant heart-connections or karmic relationships. Keep in mind that palmistry does not distinguish between a legal marriage, a common law marriage, or a love affair. Marriages of convenience will likely not get mapped onto the palm at all. In other words, a loveless marriage or less-than-significant partnership will not show up as a love line on the hand. 

07
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Children Lines

Illustration of the placement of the Children Line
Placement: Vertical lines beneath pinky finger Children Lines.

Children lines commonly root out of marriage lines or love lines indicating births that are a result of corresponding relationships.

Lines in the palm that indicate the children in your life are any vertical lines underneath the pinky finger or between both pinky and ring finger.

Children lines can be isolated or rooting upwards (or downwards) from a love line.

The children that are indicated on your palm are not necessarily born of you, they can also be adopted, or foster children. Any child that you have a special bond with will be marked on your palmistry life map. These children are not necessarily your biological offspring but could be grandchildren, nieces or nephews, an adopted child, or even a neighbor's child for whom you've taken on a maternal role. 

Children lost to miscarriage or stillbirth can also be reflected on the hand. These lines will look shorter, fainter, or broken. Live children's lines can also appear broken if the child is challenged with a health issue. Imagine a vertical children line as an upright person. The head of the child would be at the top, the feet at the bottom. So, if you see a break or diversion in a vertical line look at the placement for health indications. Is the mark at the head, neck, chest, stomach, leg, or, knee? This would be the location where a child might have a health concern.

08
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Intuition Line

Illustration of the placement of the Intuition Line
Placement: Parallel to Life Line (either side) Intuition Line.

Intuition lines generally shadow the life line because intuition indicates keen insight into one's life.

Basic Intuition Line Meaning

The more prominent this line appears (deeper, longer) the stronger the indication that psychic ability is a dominant characteristic for the person. Intuition lines are not the easiest to detect​ and may be absent entirely.

09
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Health Line

Illustration of the placement of the Health Line
Placement: Vertical line begins below ring finger Health Line.

The degree of health challenges during your lifetime is indicated by the strength or weakness of this line.

In addition to the physical health of a person, the health of one's finances can be reflected in the health line. This is not surprising when you consider the diet and lifestyle of a poor person would likely be lacking as they do not have access to the health resources that wealthier people have. Stress of any kind is a major factor in one's health.​

Exploring the Health Line

  • Breaks: Monetary concerns or losses
  • Criss-Crosses: Possible accidents (clumsiness, ungrounded)
  • Circles: Hospital confinements, Surgeries
  • Wavering or Jagged Line: Multiple health concerns
  • Forked Line: Chronic or debilitating diseases

An absent health line usually indicates that health is not an issue.

10
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Bracelets

Illustration of the placement of the Bracelets
Also called "Rascettes".

Placement: Bracelets are the lines at the bend of your inner wrist.

It is most common to have two or three bracelets. Although, some people have only one bracelet, and having four or more is possible. More bracelets indicate a longer life, broken bracelets indicate ill health or lowering of chi energies.

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Travel Lines

Illustration of the placement of the Travel Lines
Placement: Mid to Lower Palm Underneath Pinky Finger Travel Lines.

Travel lines may indicate travel or simply a desire to travel.

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Girdle of Venus

Illustration of the placement of the Girdle of Venus
Placement: Semi-circle between index and pinky fingers.

The shape of the Girdle of Venus is similar to a ​crescent moon hanging over the heart line. This palm line configuration intensifies the emotions.​​

Girdle of Venus appears on the hands of individuals who tend to be ultra-sensitive. Symbolically it can indicate a need for shielding or creating emotional boundaries.

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Desy, Phylameana lila. "Palmistry Basics: Exploring Lines on Your Palm." Learn Religions, Feb. 16, 2021, learnreligions.com/palm-reading-lines-4051982. Desy, Phylameana lila. (2021, February 16). Palmistry Basics: Exploring Lines on Your Palm. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/palm-reading-lines-4051982 Desy, Phylameana lila. "Palmistry Basics: Exploring Lines on Your Palm." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/palm-reading-lines-4051982 (accessed March 28, 2024).