The Tupelo journal., 1910-04-22

dogmas of the elder palmistry, con.
trast the tangled and contradictory
doctrine of to-day. and then conclude
by quoting what real scientists say
of the evolution and meaning of the
curious features of the hand-that
wonderful tool which Aristotle called
1.-The instrument of Instruments"
1t may help the laity if l first out
line the major states and territories
of the hand-map as palmists e 1t. If
you open your palm as widely as pos
sible, you will see certain protuber-
ances and certain lines. The p%rotuber-
ances, according to evolutionists, are
remnants of the pads of our ancient
~quadrupeial ancestors. BY palmists
they are called mounts" and they
are not only named after the Greek
gods of %astrology, but are still sup
posed to indicate the qualities typif1ed
by those gods and the influences ex-
hailed by their namesake planets.
There is something really sublime
in this process. An ancient race grad
ually invented a group of gods. These
gods were fortunate enough to have
a number of marvellous poets, dra-
matists, and sculptors as press agents.
They became very popular and their
fame remained long after their power
had vanished. Some of these gods
got their names arbitrarily affixed to
certain large but remote chunks OF
whirling Stag called planets. Then the
~stupendous idiocy of astrology was
evolved, and by jugglery of dates and
zeniths and things, it was-and still is
asserted that these chunks of Stag
affect the soul-structure, the complex
ity and destiny of the individual born
under" them. If Saturn was In the
ascendency' when you were born, you
will be sour and saturnine; If Jupiter,
you will. be jovial, etc. One might as
we'll say that a person born in Wash
ington square could not lie, and a per-
son born in Lincoln square would be
assassinated.
Now lengthen the ears of these
jackastrologers n yard more and
you reach the palmists. Certain
Jumps of muscle in what used to be a
foot but is now a hand are arbitrarily
given the arbitrary names OF these
planets and then assigned the qualities
of those imaginary gods by whose IT,
ties these planets were dubbed as they
were identified. And so we reach the
uttermost tip of the top icicle on the
peak of idiocy and are told that since
somebody called the large thumb
muscle 'the mount of Venus" there
fore the thickness of your thumb-mus-
Gle is the exact gauge of the quantity
you posses of those qualities for
which Venus was a proverb.
There is nothing in all palmistry so
incredible as the credulity of the be-
levers in it.
So we have a mount of Jupiter"
which measures the J%upiterian quail
ties. So we have lines which indicate
intellect, sentiment, wantonness, and
even destiny. And we have little sub
sidiary quirks of pattern called stars,
crosses, grilles, and the like, which
mean other things.
But to outline the hand: At the base
of the thumb is the mount of Venus;
at the base of the first finger is the
mount of Jupiter; second finger, Sat
urn; third, Apollo (who had no plan
et); little finger, Mercury. Under.
meath Mercury is the mount of Mars;
and underneath this at the base of the
hand is the mount Of the MOON. The
hollow of the palm is the plain of
Mars.
The large wrinkle made by the
thumb turned in is the lifeline, on
whose clarity and length depend
longevity and health. This line can
be charted off for dates by beginning
at the top and dividing it into nearly
equal arcs for periods of five or ten
years. The fate-line which runs up
the middle of the hand can be charted
off for dates by beginning at the top
and dividing 1t into nearly equal arcs
for periods Of five or ten years. The
fate-line, which runs up the middle Of
the hand-if it does-can also be
charted in five-year periods, begin
ming at the base. If the fingers are
folded inward they form in most palms
two wrinkles. The upper is the
heart-line and 1t shows the satisfied
or unsatisfed state of the affections"