Palmistry, also known as palm reading,chiromancy, or chirology, is the practice of fortune-telling through the study of the palm. The practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those who practice chiromancy are generally called palmists hand readers,hand analysts, or chirologists.

There are many and often conflicting— interpretations of various lines and palmar features across various teachings of palmistry. Palmistry is practiced by the Hindu Brahmins, and is also indirectly referenced in the Book of Job. The contradictions between different interpretations, as well as the lack of evidence for palmistry’s predictions, have caused palmistry to be viewed as a pseudoscience by academics.

Palmistry is the art of analyzing the physical features of the hands to interpret personality characteristics and predict future happenings. Chiromancy analyses are time-honored: Just as our ancient ancestors gazed into the night sky and created powerful correspondences between the movements of the planets and events here on Earth, palm readers observe how the hand’s attributes connect to greater themes. Occult traditions are based on the esoteric axiom “As above, so below,” and within palmistry, the palm is accordingly seen as a microcosm of the universe