Cheiromancy, the art of foretelling the events of life by the lineaments
of the hand, derived its name from the Greek word _cheiros_, the palm,
and _manteia_, to foretell, whence it has been vulgarly called
Palmistry—as it is named in a recent Act of Parliament to forbid its
practice for gain or reward. In Coleman's _Mythology of the Hindoos_, p.
202, it is written: "On the Buddha's foot is the mark called the
'chakravarti,' wheel or discus, which should have been on the palm of
the hand, by which the sages at his birth divined that he would rise to
considerable eminence." He says (p. 19): "Various data have been
assigned to the period of Buddha's existence. The most correct seems to
be about 550 B.C., whence, as the sages practised cheiromancy at
Buddha's birth, its existence must have been much earlier known among
the Indians." "In the year 1652," writes Zadkiel, "the celebrated
astrologer, Geo. Wharton, Esq., published a translation of 'a matchless
piece' as he terms it, on the subject, written in Latin by Dr. J.
Rothman." Since that period the art of cheiromancy has gradually fallen
into disuse, chiefly from the extensive nonsense published by recent
writers. One of the writers makes a shallow attempt to disprove the
connection which exists between astrology and palmistry, while another
says it is based on the principles of the Kabalah, the latter being
nothing more than a mnemonical system of astrology. From the writings of
Dr. J. Rothman and Geo. Wharton, Esq., I propose now to give, together
with some of the choicest of those of the East, the principal matter,
and to explain in the ordinary language used by palmisters such points
as may require elucidation. Mr. Wharton, a careful student in these
subjects, clearly proves that palmistry can only act in accordance with
astrology, and that the art of cheiromancy cannot be relied upon beyond
the period of from one to two years at most, for he observes in his
preface, "What more convincing than if, by inspection made into the hand
of any man, I truly pronounce this or that planet essentially dignified
or angular in his geniture, or in such or such a position with other
planets or stars, another unfortunate, afflicted or defected? Or if, on
the contrary, by looking first into the geniture and considering therein
the several positions of the planets and their configurations one to
another and with other stars, I tell him, and that distinctly and truly,
the lines and signatures engraven upon his head or hand—what, I say, is
or can be more satisfactory than this to rational men, as touching the
power and influence of the planets and stars upon these inferiors, and
consequently of the lawful use and truth of the science called
astrology, cheiromancy and metoposcopia, between which three sciences
there appear to be such a secret coherence and harmony?"
It is also written in the _Book of Job_, xxxvii. 7: "In the hand of all
men he shall put a mark that everyone may know his own work"; but in our
translation of the _Bible_ it is written as follows: "In the hand of all
men he putteth a mark that every man may know his own work." This alone
proves that Job believed in this science.
The author does not claim that there is anything new in this work,
although the method of translating and setting may be original.