Palm lines and what they mean
Palm lines are the creases on the inside of your hand, and palmistry reads them for character, love and the direction a life takes. The four main lines are the heart line, the head line, the life line and the fate line; most hands have the first three, and many have a fate line too.
Each line, mark and hand shape below has a guide of its own: start with the one that answers your question.
| Line | Where it runs | Palmistry reads it as |
|---|---|---|
| Heart line | Across the top of the palm, below the fingers | Love, feelings and how you bond |
| Head line | Across the middle of the palm | How you think, learn and decide |
| Life line | Round the base of the thumb | How you meet life and its big turns |
| Fate line | Up the center toward the middle finger | Work, direction and outside influence |
| Sun line | Up toward the ring finger | Recognition and creative success |
| Relationship lines | On the edge of the hand, below the little finger | Close bonds and commitments |
How to use these guides
Start with your dominant hand, the one you write with: palmistry reads it as the life you are making, and the other hand as what you were born with (which hand to read). Find the four main lines, then open the guide for any line that looks unusual to you, whether long, short, broken, forked or crossed. The palm reading chart labels every line and mount on one drawing, and how to read your palm goes through it step by step.
Lines, mounts and the shape of the hand
The lines are only part of a reading. Palmists also look at the shape of the hand, read through the four elements, the mounts, the fleshy pads under each finger named after the planets, and the length of the fingers. Smaller signs, such as an M on the palm, an X or a simian line, where the heart and head lines join, have guides of their own.
When your hand doesn't match a chart
No two hands are alike, and your own two hands differ. Lines can be faint, doubled or joined, and many people have small extra lines that a chart doesn't show. Palmistry reads the clearest, deepest lines first and treats the rest as detail.
Palm line guides
- Heart line meaningHow you give and receive affection, read from the line above your palm's centre.
- Head line meaningHow you think and decide, read from the crease across the middle of the palm.
- Life line meaningVitality and the shape of your path, read from the curve around the thumb.
- Fate line meaningCareer and direction, read from the vertical line up the centre of the palm.
- Sun line meaningRecognition, creativity and satisfaction, read from the line toward the ring finger.
- Marriage and relationship linesThe short creases on the edge of the palm, read as important bonds.
- Which hand to read in palmistryDominant hand or non-dominant hand: what each is said to show.
- How to read your palmFive steps, from the hand's shape to the four main lines.
- Palm and hand shapes: earth, air, fire and waterThe four hand types, from palm width and finger length.
- Simian line meaningWhen the heart and head lines run together as one crease.
- The letter M on your palmWhen the main lines form a clear M across the palm.
- An X on your palmWhat a cross or X on a line or a mount is read as.
- The mounts of the handThe seven fleshy pads of the palm, and the planet each is named for.
- Finger length meaningLong and short fingers, and the ring and index compared.
- Girdle of Venus meaningThe faint curved line above the heart line, and its reading.
- Travel lines on the palmThe small lines at the palm's outer edge and near the wrist.
- Palm reading chartA labelled map of the five main lines and the seven mounts.
- Marks on the palm: stars, triangles, squares and moreWhat the small marks mean: stars, triangles, squares, grilles, islands, tridents.
Palm lines: questions people ask
What are the four main lines on your palm?
The heart line, the head line, the life line and the fate line. The heart line runs across the top of the palm, the head line across the middle, the life line curves round the thumb, and the fate line runs up the center toward the middle finger.
Which hand do you read in palmistry?
Most palmists read your dominant hand as your present and the life you are building, and the other hand as your nature and what you started with. Reading both shows what has changed.
Is it normal not to have a fate line?
Yes. Many hands have a faint fate line or none, and palmistry doesn't read that as a bad sign. It is read as a life you steer yourself, without one fixed track.
Can your palm lines change?
Palmists say the small lines can change over the years while the main ones stay much the same, which is one reason they compare your two hands.