"The soul contains in itself the even that shall presently befall it. The event is only the actualizing of its thought" - Emmerson

By continued study and observation of the lines in the hand, and by carefully tabulating the results of innumerable experiments with them, it has been shown that lines found in certain places always indicate the same thing, and that certain formations of these lines invariably show the good, bad, or weak operation of the things they indicate. It has also been proven in like manner that lines show details of the life, and that, when events have strongly impressed themselves upon the brain of a subject, lines have appeared in certain parts of the hands, have disappeared, broken, or changed in various ways as these events have produced good or bad results for the subject. by observing thousands of results, it has been possible to locate where in the hand these various emotions or influences appear, and what kind of lines indicate their good or bad effect. Lines are seen in the hands of newborn babes as well as of adults; they cross in various directions, often make their appearance where the skin has formerly been smooth, and in many cases strong lines fade and disappear, leaving a smooth surface of skin, that shows no sign that any line has ever been there. Lines increase in depth and grow in length, often clearly cutting their way across the hand. They also vanish entirely, beginning at the end and gradually deminishing until the whole line has disappeared. These changes follow profound impression made on the mind of a subject.

Many believe that every detail in the anatomy of the human being is constructed for a specific purpose, and that nothing was created without a reason. thus we are either force to declare that the lines in the hand are an exception to all the rest, and the the Creator did a vain and useless thing when these lines were put in the hand, or lese we must acknowledge t hat the lines are there for a purpose.

Not so very long ago the medical profession knew comparatively little about the human organism. Thee are organs whose functions anatomists have not yet discovered, but these students of the human body do not, for this reason, claim that such organs have no usefulness. One by one the mysteries of our construction are being discovered, and it is the belief of progressive students that in time the function of every part will be revealed, and nothing found that is not necessary to the operation of the human machinery. As long as every physician undertook to master the entire range of medicine and to treat every form of disease, we had the general practitioner, who possessed only a general knowledge of anatomy, disease, and treatment. During this period the real information about the several parts of the body possessed by any one man was necessarily limited, the practice of medicine and surgery was crude, and the results obtained were comparably unsatisfactory. But when one man began devoting his entire life to a study of the eye, another of the ear, another of the skin, and so on through every organ of the body, we had the evolution of the specialist, and at once great progress was made and wonderful results were achieved. The whole body was too complex and too big a subject for one man to master, but the specialist, by giving a life study to one organ, began to understand that organ thoroughly, and in each was found such an infinite number of details that it has taken more than a lifetime to accumulate the present stock of information about them all. Strange as it may seem, the hand has been neglected in this separating of specialties, and this, most important and wonderful part of the whole body, the organ which bears the stamp of the type to which each subject belongs, and which contains the map of their natural course through life, is only beginning to receive the attention it deserves.

As palmists, we are specialists with the hand, and in reaching the point where we are to study the purpose for which lines are in the hand, we claim to have found and proved this purpose. There is a natural course through life that every subject would follow if nothing took place to change it, and no effort was made to improve. In other words, we believe that there is a general outline of the course and limitations of the life of each subject, which exists at the beginning of that life. This general course is what the subject would naturally do through life, because of the combination of type qualities which they possess. This natural life plan comprises those things which the possession of these type qualities would naturally lead them to do, the kind of health their type qualities would cause them to have, and the result is stamped upon him by the lines in their hand, which thus form a map of their natural life's course. if no change takes place in their mental or physical attitude, and no accidents occur, this course will be followed. thus the lines in the hand are the writing placed there by the Creator of the subject, and when the key to their meaning is used, it enables us to interpret the life map and to judge what the natural course of that life will be. Many earnest thinkers, having followed the study of the hand through Chirognomy, have halted when the lines were reached, and, while admitting that lines do enable us to read the events in a life, and being forced to acknowledge from what has been seen of actual cases that the future is often outlined, they pause for the explanation as to how this is accomplished.

There are no two well established facts, which when brought into combination explain these functions of lines in the hand. First, it has been positively proven that lines change in unison with changes in the mental attitude of a subject, when these changes are great enough to alter their temperament and characteristics. It is also proven that the lines respond to changes in health and constitution, that they indicate mental strength and reveal details in the life, when certain events have produced a powerful impression on the mind of a subject. Therefore we may say with positiveness that the lines in a hand are the direct reflex of the subjects mind, and that their mind produces, controls, or alters them.
This statement completely explains the accuracy of lines in outlining past events, for things which have impressed the brain are a part of the past, and it has proven a satisfactory explanation of this part of their usefulness. It is the accuracy of lines in outlining future events which has been difficult to explain. Recent experiments by scientists have demonstrated that the human being is possessed of a double consciousness or mind. One part operates in our material existence and makes us conscious only of those things which we can see or handle, and the other part operates on the plane of our spiritual existence, and gives us SPIRITUAL, consciousness of things which we cannot see, touch nor fully explain. This second mind rarely manifests itself in an objective way, and this is why it was not sooner discovered. The first, or worldly mind has limitations. It is conscious only of things which have happened, or are happening before our very eyes. This side of our consciousness cannot pierce the veil of the future, or rise above our material existence; it only knows the things of to-day, which soon become the things of yesterday. Our inner consciousness, or spiritual mind, has no such limitations as have the objective. It knows not only what has happened, but what will happen. it is not confined within the prison of our earthly body, but it can rise above earth, and peer into the future. it it be true that mind produces, controls, or alters the lines in the hand, these lines must be subject not only to the influence of the worldly or objective consciousness or mind, but also of the subjective or spiritual. If one consciousness has dominion of the past and present, and the other of the future, manifestly our past, present AND future are in the possession of the TWO MINDS, and through their influence this past, present, and future is stamped upon us by means of the lines in the hand which we know reflect the mind.

The accuracy of this hypothesis rests upon the two statements:
First, that mind produces, controls, or changes the lines in the hand; and,
Second, that there are two minds, the worldly or objective and the spiritual or subjective, with the function ascribed to them.

If these two statements are true, the logic of our reasoning is unassailable, our hypothesis correct, and this will give the much-sought answer to the question, "How is it possible that line in the hand can presage the future?" In support of the first basis of our hypothesis, I offer my own experience and that of many student of the hand, who have watched the formation of new lines and the change or disappearance of old ones, in perfect accord with the established rules of line reading. The fact can be proven by anyone who will take the trouble to observe. during the past five years I have made a special study of this subject, and have many recorded cases where these changes have occurred. It would be impossible, owing to their length, to present individual cases in this work, but the fact the lines are thus formed and changed is so well know to thousands of students of the hand, that I do not believe this point will be gainsaid by anyone. As to the correctness of our second basis, that the dual mind exists and operates as has been stated, I refer to the many scientific worked now in existence on this subject, which have fully proven the fact. Many of the greatest scientists and scholars of the day and age have recorded the results of their investigations in such clear and concise form, that no room is left for doubt that the mind is dual in its nature, that it operates in illimitable space, is unhampered by material surroundings, and that it has in many cases looked into the future. It is not my purpose here to present the individual cases which have demonstrated these facts. It is not the place, and the literature on the subject is so voluminous and easy of access that all who wish may read it. I only state fact that have been proven, so that we may use them in support of our hypothesis. To sum up the matter: we have started from a given basis, contained in two statements which, if true, make our hypothesis correct, and explain the function of the lines. These two basic statements we have found are true, therefore our hypothesis is correct, the lines are produced, controlled, and changed by the mind, the dual mind has knowledge of past, present, and future, and, reflecting itself through the lines, forms the life map of a subject, easily read by one who understands it.

No one will claim that the map of any life may not be altered. Our life plan may be changed by many circumstances. These may be the influence of other people, accident, strong desire to change back by determination, or perhaps failing health. thus when these changes do or are to occur, new lines appear, and cross, obliterate, weaken, or strengthen, as the case may be the Main lines, which are the original map of the life, and strong lines fad and disappear as the mind changes upon the matters these lines indicate. There has been a popular teaching that in paralysis the lines in the hand disappear, and the obliteration of lines occurring when this death of nerve force takes place has been cited to prove that lines are formed and controlled by the brain. The lines do not disappear with all paralytics. The course of the life in some cases goes on uninterrupted by the paralysis, though impeded by it, for though the body may often be helpless the mind may remain keen. In such cases the lines only become dulled and dimmed, but not obliterated. when the brain softens, as in paresis, the lines do fade and vanish, in the same proportion as the mind is destroyed, for as mind disappears there is nothing that will sustain vitality in the lines and preserve them as they were. Thus though there may be a brain, it will not control the lines unless it has a mind behind it, and though motion of the body may be lost by the paralysis, the mind may still be bright and in operation, in which case the lines will be retained. In the hands of insane whose lunacy comes from a lack of mental balance but not from cellular brain destruction, we find strong lines. In this case mind is present, but in an unbalanced conditions, for the possession of mind does not always mean mental balance. In every case where mind is obliterated, the lines in the hand disappear.

The Main lines indicate what the natural course of the life is, new lines just beginning to form show emotions and ideas just starting within the subject. Humans are an enigma; you do no know the workings of individuals minds as you talk to them, often they do not themselves fully understand them. If you looked at their brain you could not learn their thoughts. Patient students are, and have been, giving years of life to the search for a key with which they can unlock the secrets of the human mind. They have been working from many different directions, but the objective point has always been the same. One key is the hand, the servant of the brain, plainly in sight; and with this key you can unlock the secret chambers of any mind. and, while I do not say that there are no other keys, I do say that this is the most reliable of which I know, for while people may be dissemblers, they cannot change the expression of the hand as they can the face. by the hand is revealed the person as they are, not as they may pretend to be, and you can learn from it their mental attributes and their probably outcome. One thing you must never forget. You cannot find the same events marked in every hand. And if your subject are closely examined, it will be found that they are not all profoundly impressed by the same things. Therefore never claim you can read a certain series of events before examining your client's hands. Only the matters which are hereditary or are natural tendencies with them, or those things which have developed in them, and have created a profound impression upon their mind, will be shown in their hand. Manifestly, as all subject are not impressed alike, and not knowing in advance what has most force itself upon any mind, you cannot, until you have examined the hand itself, tell what it is possible to read from it. So the claim of any palmist that they will tell everyone who consults them all about love, marriage, wealth, or any certain set of events, is based either upon their ignorance or their dishonesty. Every hand tells only its own story, and it is impossible to tell what that story is until you have looked into the hand. Reading from lines is the delicate part of Palmistry. It is where consummate skill is required, and where an absolute mastery of the science is needed. There is one great danger in the work of the amateur, and that is, that they attempt too much in the beginning- they are apt to be too daring. The best method to pursue is to confine your work at first to the Main lines, and gradually as you find you skill increasing being to used change lines and combinations. By proceeding cautiously, confidence in the science and in yourself will be gained, and your proficiency rapidly increased.

Every palmist finds their investigation leading them into channels corresponding to their trend of mind. Some will see every hand from its business side, some from its artistic, others from its scientific or health sides, and in this way palmists become specialists in certain directions. As their number increase this will be more marked, and it will add much to the value of the practice, just as it has done in medicine. My advise is, to note the trend of your greatest interest, and quip yourself for this specialty. In the beginning be satisfied to locate two or three prominent events in the life of a subject, and increase that number as skill increases, and the life map becomes easier for you to read.