Featured Hand Analyst for Autumn 2007

For several years I've been selecting featured palm readers and posting their names on the International Directory of Professional Hand Analysts (The Palmistry Directory). Featured for Autumn 2007 is Edward Campbell, for his continuing work on hand analysis and biometrics. His IBMBS 2007 Conference took place on August 19-21 in Budapest, Hungary.

The Biggest Palmistry Blog

Today is post number 100, making this by far the biggest palmistry and hand analysis related blog in all the blogosphere. (Well, at least in English - There may be larger palmistry blogs in a different language that I haven't found yet.)

So what's next? I expect there'll be a palmistry tutorial coming soon enough, perhaps using someone's hand images and analyzing them step-by-step. (Any volunteers that want to have their hands analyzed here?)

Before I can started on the tutorial, though, there are still many website updates to be done. So until then you'll have to settle for the beginners palmistry guide that's already on the website here.

Working From Home

Days like today sure make me appreciate being able to work from home. It's been one of the first quiet days here in awhile, with the construction noise mostly just on the far side of the building. A perfect day to catch up on a slew of emails, relax, and spend time with family.

If things stay this quiet, I'll be able to start doing daytime hand analysis readings at home again!

Intuitive Life Coach

It was suggested to me yesterday that I should not call myself a hand analyst or palm reader because that doesn't completely describe what I do, nor is it accurate enough. I was told that a much better description might be "Life Coach", or "Intuitive Life Coach".

When I do a private session with a client, or even the short readings at corporate events, my focus is not the typical palmistry hand readings. I examine both hands carefully to assess the person's natural talents and traits, and to see what areas are currently identified as difficulties, problems or limitations. (The "negative" or "bad" markings.) These problem areas can show as almost anything - Cuts and scrapes, faded fingerprints, fingernail problems, palm lines, etc. It's different for every set of hands, and the problems indicated change over time.

Next comes evaluating and comparing all the different problem areas to narrow it down to 1 or 2 "root causes". Most of the other issues and difficulties can be seen stemming from this root cause. It's like a knocking over a row of dominoes - You can either push them over one at a time (treating symptoms instead of the cause), or you can tip over just the first and let them all go down one after the other (dealing with the cause and let the symptoms disappear on their own).

Finally, I make suggestions or recommendations on how to directly deal with the root cause in the most efficient way possible - Their maximum gain from minimum effort. Sometimes it's a major issue that needs to be tackled head-on, other times it can be something as simple as reducing the intensity of exercise or doing a bit of basic meditation.

This can all be done in just a few minutes per person, which is how most corporate events go. A private session last much longer, of course, and usually includes palmar massage with directed energy work to make handling the root cause(s) much quicker and easier.

It goes way beyond just hand analysis as well. With each reading I also draw on my experience in meditation, martial arts, shamanism, hand gestures, and other metaphysical fields.

So it's probably correct that a better description of what I do is "Intuitive Life Coach". Time to think about getting some new business cards...

USA and the Middle Finger

This one is a couple of years old, but perhaps even more true today. It's Indra Nooyi's remarks that caused a bit of a stir in 2005.

BusinessWeek:
"As I grew up and started to study geography, I remember being told that the five fingers can be thought of as the five major continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.

• Think of the little finger as Africa. Africa is the little finger not because of Africa's size, but because of its place on the world's stage. From an economic standpoint, Africa has yet to catch up with her sister continents. And yet, when our little finger hurts, it affects the whole hand.
• Our thumb is Asia: strong, powerful, and ready to assert herself as a major player on the world's economic stage.
• Our index, or pointer finger, is Europe. Europe is the cradle of democracy and pointed the way for western civilization and the laws we use in conducting global business.
• The ring finger is South America, including Latin America. The ring finger symbolizes love and commitment to another person.
• The long middle finger for North America and the United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively.

However, if used inappropriately -- just like the U.S. itself -- the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I'm talking about.

Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand -- giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers -- but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal."

Not really correct as far as hand analysis interpretations, but I think I'd agree with the bit about the middle finger's signal right now...

Animal Hands - Ostrich Feet

It can be fascinating to observe animals' hands and paws, and then apply palmistry and hand analysis interpretations to the characteristics. The shape, size and structure of the hands/paws/feet may give some insight into how each animal lives and thinks.

When my daughter and I went to the zoo on Wednesday I was looking at animal paws, and couldn't help but notice that the ostriches had only 2 toes. Apparently they are the only bird with just 2 toes (and also the fastest land animal on 2 feet). An ostrich's feet look as if the inner toe was cut off - For a bird, where the thumb would be. No thumbs would indicate a serious lack of intellect, and according to the zoo ostriches are perhaps the dumbest bird of all. (Their brain is even smaller than one of their eyes.)

Fingerprint Loops May Not Relate to Alzheimer's

From time to time I get questions from people who are very concerned that they have 10 ulnar loops on their fingerprints, and they have heard that 8 or more loops shows a risk for Alzheimer's. This bit of misinformation originates from the Arch Neurol, Vol. 42, No. 1. (January 1985), pp. 50-54.

"Fingerprint dermatoglyphic patterns in 50 patients with presumed senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) were compared with a control group of 50 patients with other neurologic diseases and with population norms. Patients with SDAT showed a significantly increased frequency of ulnar loops on their fingertips and a concomitantly decreased frequency of whorls and arches. A pattern of eight or more ulnar loops was found significantly more often in patients with SDAT (72%) than in the control group (26%). Fourteen patients with SDAT had ulnar loops on all ten fingers; this occurred in four patients in the control group. Radial loops on the fourth and fifth digits were more prevalent in patients with SDAT."

I have several problems with this study.

1. The study used only 100 people total - 50 in the Alzheimer's group and 50 in the control group with other neurological diseases and with population norms. The results cannot be considered statistically accurate with such a small group until the same results are duplicated with further test groups.


2. According to the Avdeychik/Lagerstrom fingerprint coding system (which compares fingerprint combinations of more than 50,000 individuals) a radial loop on only the 4th and 5th digits is coded as R:4/X or R:X/4 (X can be any number). This shows a definite congenital health anomaly, regardless of what the other fingerprint patterns are - The ulnar loops are irrelevant.


3. Fingerprint whorls show an elevated risk for heart attack (myocardial infarction) but loops do not. Heart attacks are a risk at a much younger age than Alzheimer's, so some of the people with whorled prints die before they can develop senile dementia. This means that there would naturally be a higher occurrence of ulnar loops among the elderly.


4. With the human body, it's a matter of "use it or lose it". Just as with the muscles, the brain will lose efficiency if it's not used enough. People with whorled prints are more focussed and driven in their own specific areas of interest, so they tend to keep challenging their mind well into old age much more than people with ulnar loops.

For the reasons stated above, simply having 10 ulnar looped fingerprints DOES NOT appear to indicate much of a heightened risk for Alzheimer's, and even that risk is minimized by continuing to challenge the brain.

Nominated for Bloggers Choice Awards

Palmistry and Hand Analysis is nominated for the Bloggers Choice Awards in 4 categories:



Show your support and cast your vote - Remember to vote for this blog in all 4 categories!

Blog Directory

Whatever Happened to Merlinscope?

One of the first palmistry software programs I ever saw was called "Merlinscope" - It was a large photocopy machine connected to basic hand analysis software, and located in several shopping malls. It came out in 1987, and was run by Merlin Systems Ltd. You made a copy of the left palm for men, or the right palm for women, and for about $25 you got back a printed 5 paragraph analysis. I still have the analysis done for myself and my wife from back before we were married.

Even today when I read over my Merlinscope analysis, it still seems uncannily accurate. Better, in fact, than any other palmistry software I've seen since. Some of the details could perhaps be attributed to the Forer Effect. Most people received very similar content to each other in their reports, but not me. Here are a few pieces from my analysis:

"...able to work out simple solutions to very complicated problems."

"...enables you to make new discoveries"

"...rather impatient and rebellious"

"...the opposite sex fails to understand you"

"...willing to sacrifice your personal wealth and career for the sake of love"

"...you have your own way of thinking and this baffles others"

"...others may consider your behaviour rather odd"

"...your talent is yet to be discovered"

Pretty much sums me up. I haven't seen a Merlinscope booth for years - Too bad. Anyone know if the're still around somewhere?

Work Disruptions

Our building restoration work is continuing, and starting today the noise level became disruptive. Some heavy equipment and scaffolding being set up outside. Unfortunately the noise is far too loud to be able to do any private hand analysis here, and the project will continue for the rest of the year.

I've had to cancel all my private readings scheduled for weekdays and Saturdays, and rebook them to just Sundays. Quite the hassle...

Splitting Fingernails & Osteoporosis

One early warning sign for osteoporosis is vertical splitting of the fingernails. This usually indicates a long-term calcium deficiency. My mother has osteoporosis so it runs in the family, and I have also had these fingernail splits a few times over the past decade. Each time I (eventually) added calcium supplements to my diet and the splitting disappeared in a few months.

These images were taken today, and show my own middle fingernail on the left hand. It was difficult to get a good photo of the fingernail split, so I played with the image color a bit so you can see it better.



Starting today I'm again taking calcuim supplements. The one that works best for me is "Mega Cal" soft chews by Jamieson. 650 mg twice per day.

I'll add new photos every once in a while so you can see the changes to the fingernail over time.

Horizontal Fingernail Trenches and Spinal Problems

Horizontal trenches across the fingernails are usually interpreted as revealing injuries or problems with the spine. The thumbnail shows the top 2 vertebrae, the index fingernail is C3-C7, middle fingernail is T1-12, ring fingernail is L1-4, and baby fingernail is the sacrum and coccyx.

Horizontal trenches are not always due to whiplash or other spinal injuries, however. They can also be caused by simply digging away at the cuticle with a metal object (such as nail clippers). This changes the meaning completely, and is then interpreted very much like bitten nails and cuticles (but more obsessive/compulsive).

You can still apply the related area of the spine to the interpretation. If the thumb shows the deep horizontal trench, for example, expect to also find pain caused by excessive muscle tension located near the base of the skull.

Working at Larger Events

Tonight's corporate event is the AFABC's "Jazz at the Station". A six hour function with about 800 guests.

Larger events have their own unique challenges. With so many people, each hand analysis gets kept to about 3-4 minutes. At a glance you've got to be able to zero in on the most significant issues or problems shown on each set of hands, and keep the analysis as direct and specific as possible. Further, each reading needs to be unique - Not just telling each person nearly the same thing.

The clientelle at larger events is usually different as well, with higher expectations. For example, the hosts for tonight are Senator Larry Campbell, Catherine Pope from Global TV, and Fred Lee from CBC.

Holistic Cheirology™ Goes to Malaysia

Holistic Cheirology™ is a unique method of hand analysis that incorporates palmar massage and internal energy to correct imbalances as they are identified. The method is now being evaluated by Caason Tan for use in Malaysia as an alternative medicine technique.

Caason Tan heads the complimentary therapy division at SivaSanta clinic in Malaysia. The clinic provides free traditional and alternative medicine services to the poor on Penang Island.

One of My Favorite Events

Some corporate events are more fun to read hands at than others. One of my favorites is coming up again next Saturday - The AFABC's annual jazz music evening. This year it's Jazz at the Station.

AFABC: The very cool evening of dancing and partying with Vancouver's top jazz musicians is back! Join us this year at the funky Rocky Mountaineer Train Station for an even bigger and better "Red Hot Jazz" night. The evening will be hosted by Catherine Pope, Global TV, Fred Lee, CBC's Man About Town, and Senator Larry Campbell.

If you're near Vancouver and enjoy great jazz music, this is one party you don't want to miss. See you there!

Holistic Cheirology™ Now an Official Trade-Mark

Holistic Cheirology™ is now the official name for the system of hand analysis and therapy that I created, use and teach. It's a method that combines and incorporates palmistry, finger movements, palmar massage techniques, and internal energy.

The Holistic Cheirology™ system and certification course are already approved by both the International PalmTherapy Association and the 18 Daoist Palms Kung Fu System - two world leaders on the subject of how vital energy moves through the hands.

Schwarzenegger's Thumbs

California governor Schwarzenegger is here in Vancouver today. When you see his hands, one of the first things you notice is the very flexible thumbs. In hand analysis and palmistry, the flexibility of the thumbs shows how fixed or flexible the personality is, including the morals and ethics. Extremely flexible thumbs show a changeable and chameleon-like personality - Someone who adapts easily to any new group or set of circumstances. Moral and ethical views can be just a changeable.

So what do Schwarzenegger's thumbs say about his real motives and interests? - Just look at who his current associates and friends are. When he's spending his time with philanthropists and thinkers, there's almost no limit to the improvements he can make in countless lives. When he's spending most of his time with people of questionable character, the opposite is true.

Today he's once again spending time with politicians and the media...

More Info on Osteoporosis

Another common hand analysis question I receive is what to do when the fingernails show vertical splitting that could indicate calcium deficiency or possible osteoporosis. As with any health condition, consult a professional for a proper diagnosis. Two of the best sources I've ever found for osteoporosis information are EndocrineWeb.com and MayoClinic.com

Science Confirms Another Palmistry Interpretation

Cheirognomy is the interpretation of the shape and structure of the hands. For example, most palmistry and hand analysis systems interpret a longer ring finger than index finger as showing (among other things) a "technical-minded" individual.

This week, the British Journal of Psychology partly confirmed this cheirognomy interpretation with a report on how the shape of childrens hands is connected with how well they do in mathematics.

Times Online: Scientists from the University of Bath found that seven-year-olds whose ring fingers were longer than their index fingers tended to get higher marks at maths. Though the results were due to the children’s brains, the shape of their hands appeared to matter.

The probable reason why owes nothing to palmistry. It is well established that the length of the ring finger, relative to the index finger, is affected by exposure to the male hormone testosterone in the womb. Men tend to have longer ring fingers, while in women the index finger is usually longer or both are about the same size.

There is some evidence that high testosterone exposure can improve spatial reasoning, and this skill is as useful in maths as in map-reading. The contours of the hand may thus be a signpost that is suggestive of mathematical ability.

But before you start looking at your children's fingers to see where they might excel, remember not to make too much out of this single hand characteristic.

This is valuable research that casts new light on how human physiology is influenced by hormones in the womb. But the information it reveals must be handled with great care, because the associations between fingers and physical or mental traits are only associations. They reflect averages that may apply at the level of the general population, but which mean little or nothing for individuals.

Thus, while it is tempting and well-intentioned to use traits like this predictively, perhaps to tailor educational strategies to children so they benefit most, that would be utter folly. Many children with the “wrong” finger profile are going to be perfectly good at maths, or even excel.

So once again, it takes more than just one characteristic or marking to make an accurate hand analysis interpretation.

Holistic Cheirology Course 3rd Edition is Done!!!

Hooray! The 3rd edition of Holistic Cheirology is finally done! New layout, new format, and new information. The file size is also down to less than 3Mb total and can be downloaded directly from the website at http://www.humanhand.com/ebooks/hccourse.exe

Only enrolled students can read this eBook, but the format is the same one being used for the hand analysis eBook coming out in June.