Observing Human Character: The Science behind the Back of the Hand

Chirognomy (the study of the human hand), an art which has been practised over the centuries, has brought about new discoveries into the understanding of human behaviour. Chirognomy, which relates to the outward physiognomy of the hand, that is it’s shape, size, pattern, style, nails, fingers, fingertips, etc forms a major branch of what is known in modern day as palmistry.

The study of the hand is best understood by first taking the following into consideration as depicted in the picture: (a) The hand as a whole, (b)   The hand proper, (c)   The finger nails, (d) The fingers, (e) The finger length, (f) The finger tips, (g) The knuckles, (h) The wrist, (i)  The thumb.

One fact which every Chirognomist understands is the close relationship that exists between man and the primates. For instance, for monkeys, the length of the fingers is shorter than that of the hand proper, whereas, for chimpanzees (which possess higher intelligence), there exists an almost equal length between the length of the fingers and that of the hand proper. It thus implies that, a man’s intelligence could be determined through the length of his fingers. This observation is a result of simple logic and has no diabolical explanation, because the fact is that our daily activities or professions are indicated on our hands.

 Hence, the scholar or learned professor generally possesses long slender fingers. As mental development is uppermost in the subject’s life, little or no room is left for the physical development of the fingers and hand proper through physical or manual labour. The reverse is the case for those involved in manual jobs, who due to their intelligence level have to rely on their physical strength for survival and hence results in a fellow possessing short, stumpy and broad fingers. His finger tips are flattened indicating proper or maximum use of the hands. In summary, his hands are not very artistic.

In judging human character, you need to bear in mind the size, sex as well as the age of the subject, making allowances for all. Very small hands are indicative of bohemian instincts. Possessors of such hands are usually characterised as having cruel instincts since small hands are indicative of a delicate brain, making little room for order in ideas and action, tempered with lofty ideas and imagination uppermost in the subject’s life.

Small hands indicate delicacy of the mind, broad ideas and mastery of synthetic talents. From a practical point of view, since those hands have not been used for any extensive physical activity, that individual’s love for activity is greatly reduced and he/she thus has a lazy disposition towards life. Hands of average size are known as the hands of common sense, practical gifts, good health as well as the gift of imagination and intuition. Here thought and action are balanced.

Large hands are understood to have a love for minutiae and details as well as analytical talents. Bearers of such hands have a craving for useless details and belong to the driven and insatiable employer category. With extremely large hands, love for detail (useless details inclusive) governs the subject’s life.

Hair on the back of the hands could also be used to deduce the character of a person. For a woman, it signifies cruelty and mannish instincts. Here, the observer finds himself face to face with the perfect “tom boy”. For a man, moderate hair denotes prudence, energy and self possession. Like the ape, violence could also be judged by the length and degree of hairiness. The less the hair on the fingers of a man, the closer he is to effeminacy, cowardice, and presumption as the latter two are closely related.

The location of hair on the hand should also be taking into consideration before final judgment is passed on the subject. Hair on the two lower phalanges of the fingers indicates lack of simplicity, while hair on all phalanges is an indication of an ardent easily aroused disposition.

Well pronounced upper knots indicate order in ideas while a well pronounced lower knot denotes order in material things.

The closeness of the subject’s fingers is also indicative of his character. Meanness and avarice are indicated in hands, which allow no light pass in between (when at rest). On the other hand, people possessing hands that allow light to pass in between them show a high level of inquisitiveness. The greater the level of light, the greater the inquisitive nature of the subject. This feature also helps to determine one’s ability in their profession, i.e. whether one is a good writer, teacher, doctor, etc. To attain the state of perfection in our different fields, there must be good brain development and to achieve this, ignorance can never be pardoned. This implies that we are constantly learning in life and we die the minute we stop learning.  Hence, we ask ourselves in our different fields of study, why do we do this? How is it done? etc. It does obtain that a properly developed or used hand should allow adequate light to pass through. The reverse is the case in a poorly developed hand.   

Large space between the thumb and the first finger indicates generosity. Generosity tending to a fault is indicated by an extremely wide gap between the thumb and the first finger. Here, it means generosity and commonsense are unevenly distributed in the subject’s life.

The final position of the hand when at rest should also be studied. Fingers falling apart easily portray unconventionality. If the fingers remain close to each other, stiffness in intercourse could be inferred. This observation is most certain as it is related to the previous paragraph on inquisitiveness as there is a direct relationship between the level of inquisitiveness a person possesses and his ability to mix with the public. Handshakes, wrestling, child games, clapping etc develop the hands and require a high social ability. Hence introverts do not have well developed hands. Stiff hands denote a practical   nature while flexible hands are the opposite and depict bohemian instincts and lack of will power.

This long study of human character might prove useful someday as understanding human traits might as well prove useful when we find ourselves face to face with our most dreaded interviewer or employer.