Short Fingers       

Fingers which may be classed as short (60) are found among all types of people, and are equally divided between the sexes. Usually they may be recognized at a glance, and you will never fail to read them aright if you master a knowledge of short-fingered qualities. The fingers which are properly classed as short, will reach hardly to the center of the Mount of venus, and will appear short in proportion to the rest of the hand. Having carefully fixed in your mind the appearance of long fingers, there will be no possible trouble ever after in recognizing the short. Of course there will be found varying degrees of shortness. the fingers may reach nearly to the middle of the Mount of Venus, the normal length, or they fall far short of that.
- The palm of the hand may be a long one, and the fingers short. In this case the will reach far short of that of the normal line, and their peculiar qualities will be very pronounced. There will be added to the latter combination the strength of the large palm, which if square, will make them practical.

Short fingered qualities are exactly the reverse of long. Instead of wishing to go into detail, short-fingered people despise it. Instead of dealing in minutiae, they want every thing considered as a whole. To be compelled to think of little things gives them positive pain. They think quickly, if the fingers are normally short, like a flash if they be very short, and they also act as quickly as they think. In stating a proposition to such people come right to the point. There is no element of slowness in the operation of their minds nor any desire to go into details; all is quickness and action.

They are highly intuitive and correctly judge whether you are telling the truth or trying to humbug them. Their minds work rapidly, and , while you are still talking, they have formed their opinion, before the last words are fairly spoken. No analysis, no detail, no minutiae with them. Things as a whole are what they deal with, and this without any delay. What they of the short fingers want to get at is the meat, the result of a thing, not the details of how it was done. If trying to interest them in a new scheme, talk fast and to the point. What they wish to know is whether there is money in it, not the details as to how you are going to get it. They will tell you, "We can leave all the minutiae to someone else," in which case " someone else" means long fingered folk. Short fingers are often hard to handle. Their owners think rapidly nd make up their minds so quickly that you do not get a chance to tell your story before they say, "I have heard something like this before, and don't believe I want to go into it." They are impulsive, act on the spur of the moment, and do many hasty things for which they are afterward sorry. They are in danger of falling into error through jumping at conclusions. While they possess very brilliant possibilities, they often ruin them by impetuosity. They are hot-headed, and once started, push with extreme diligence any enterprise undertaken.

These short-fingered people are never satisfied to be doing any but big things. They plan the gigantic enterprises that move the world, they build enormous buildings, lead armies, and, casting aside detail, control large matters, settle lines of police, and leave long fingers to attend to the minutiae in carrying them out. While people with long fingers are plodding, saving, careful, even sting, those with short fingers are dashing, impetuous, quick, full of big plans, looking down on small matters such as are engrossing the attention of long-fingered ones. Short-fingered people are not always careful of appearance, they are planning big enterprises, so little things, like care for the toilet and clothing, must be for others than themselves. They are too much occupied with large matters to attend to the trifles of etiquette or society. They do not notice a slight which would drive the sensitive soul of a long-fingered subject to despair. While long-fingered subjects eye you with distrust, and feel suspicious of the words you are uttering, short-fingered ones are thinking nothing of the kind, they are quickly digesting what is said in order that they may determine at what you are driving. Short fingers not not indicate hyper-sensitiveness, consequently, as a rule, these people are happy and lively companions. At all times you feel, when in their company, the force of their impulsiveness, quickness, intuition and, with good qualities behind them, their brilliancy.

Of one thing you may be always sure, they are quick witted in the extreme, and are very concise in their method of expression. Their letters are marvels of brevity, as they have a great facility of saying much in little. This makes them excellent newspaper reporters or short story writers. It stands to reason that such pronounced qualities, as those indicated by short fingers, need great strength behind them in order to give success.

One of the first matters to consider, in this regard, is the finger tip.
- The pointed tip, with its ideality, fervor, poetry of heart and soul, impressionability, and indifference to worldly interests, is the most dangerous companion for short fingers. The impractical view indicated by the pointed tips will lead short fingers to be much more impulsive, and quick, in which case the subject is in positive danger from excess of their short-fingered qualities.
- Conic tips will not lead short fingers into quite so great danger, but will still demphasize these qualities.
- Square tips, when found, will direct the short-fingered impetuosity into more practical channels, make it less impressionable and less likely to "go off half-cocked."
- Spatulate tips will add great activity and originality, but are not such good tips for short finger as the square, which add more calmness and common-sense than any of the others.

- Flexibility of the hand with short fingers, will add elasticity of mind to short-fingered qualities, showing a great adaptability to a large range and variety of subjects. It adds much to the keenness, but is likely, on account of the versatility and predisposition to extreme views, not to be a good combination. You can see how bad for the subject, pointed tips, short fingers, and flexibility would, for, with this combination the boiler would surely burst.
Flabby consistency will make these people lazy and will pull down the force of their qualities. They think quickly, but being lazy will not act with the same quickness. It will be purely the mental attributes of short fingers that will be called into play in this case.
Soft hands will be more active than flabby ones, but still not intense.
Elastic hands will bring out fully the force of short-fingered qualities, and as the elastic hand stand for intelligent energy, it will not be a bad combination. Hard hands showing the energy of an unelastic brain, will push short-fingered qualities, but thus the best with short fingered qualities, but perhaps mush them too much. Elastic consistency is thus the best with short fingers. Knotty joints reduce the short-fingered qualities of quick though, and are in consequence excellent companions. The knotty qualities of analysis, if possessed by the subject, and the faculty of always having a reason for everything, will check the impetuous impulse of short fingers.
- If only the first knot is developed, the quick thought of short fingers will have mental order and arrangement added to it.
- If only the second knot be developed, the short-fingered subject will not be so careless in their dress and surroundings.

The thumb plays a most important part, with short fingers, for add to their strong qualities the determination of a large thumb, and if it is not of just the right sort you will have a very bad combination.
- The clubbed thumb with short fingers will add the brutal obstinacy of that thumb, and drive the short-fingered qualities to an intolerable extreme,
- The flat, nervous thumb will add nervous excitement to a set of forces already too quick, producing bad results.
- A thumb with a short phalanx of logic will show that reasoning qualities are not behind the already unreasoning short fingers; this is an unfortunate combination. It requires thumbs of intelligent and healthy strength, balanced in al parts, to operate favorably on short fingers.

Short fingers will operate strongly on all the Mounts.
- With them the ambition, pride, religion, and honor of the Jupiterian will have impulse and quick though behind them.
- Saturn will be less taciturn, slow, stingy, and superstitious.
- Apollo will be more brilliant, will scintillate, as intuition is already one of their strong qualities.
- Mercury will be quick as a flash, whether they be orator, business man, professional man, scientist, or thief.
- Mars will be in need of much help strong some source, to keep short-fingered impetuosity from running away with them, and causing them to undertake hazardous ventures.
- The Moon will be quicker, less selfish, and less dreamy.
- Venus will have an added fire of quick thought and impulse.

Note the individual phalanges of the short fingers to see whether the mental, the abstract, or the material worlds rule, for the direction in which the short-fingered qualities will operate can be determined from them. This will either be in mental projects (first phalanx), business enterprises (second phalanx), or in providing a meal with plenty of wine (third phalanx). You can judge the probable outcome of short fingers by estimating whether ambition is behind them or whether too much Martian aggression will force them into extreme positions. Apply all the Mount qualities as a force behind, and see what this driving-power will do.

Then, most important of all, look at the Head line: see if it is strong, clear, and straight; whether drooping, or if it be a line showing, by islands and chains, defects in mental strength and balance. A good clear Head line, showing sound and healthy judgment, will do more to bring short fingers to perfection than any other factor. I regard short fingers as a fine possession if the proper qualities are back of them. There is nothing little or mean about them; they are not cramped or dwarfed in their views. But with their abhorrence of detail, quickness of though and action, with impulse, hasty conclusions, and the great distaste for doing anything slowly, they are in constant danger of making mistakes as the result of a lack of deliberate and careful thought. Brilliant as they are in constant danger of making mistakes as the results of a lack of deliberate and careful thought. Brilliant as they are, they need square tips, elastic consistency, proper thumbs, and fine, straight Head lines. With such companions they are capable of any achievement. Give them the company of pointed or conic tips, hard hands, coarse or nervous thumbs, and poor Head lines, and you know what the result must be- utter failure.



References
The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading- A practical Treatise on the Art Commonly called Palmistry 1946 Benham, William. Printed and published by R. J. Taraporevala for D. B. Tarporevala Sons & Co. Bombay