Can Palmistry predict behavior?

Whether it is possible to predict future events by reading hands was discussed earlier, and this post addresses another question. Whether a person’s actions and behaviour can be predicted by the hand. As personality traits and even one’s inner psychology are clearly marked on the hand surely the hand should be able to predict behaviour?

Actually no. Reality is too complex for such a clear connection, and while this may be obvious to some, there are some who believe that hand reading or palmistry is a supernatural art which mysteriously predicts behaviour.

Will a person whose hand shows greed, steal? Will a highly sexed person be
promiscuous? The truth is that even if a person has a personality trait like greed or even dishonesty, does not necessarily mean that he/she will steal or cheat or make money by some dubious method.

Coincidentally, in today's Mumbai Mirror, there was an interview with neuroscientist James Callen asking his opinion on the psychology of the perpetrator of the recent horrific sexual assault on a foreign national in Mumbai. What he said was that “many of us have the potential to be violent” but “the interaction between your genes and your early life experiences determines whether you will falter.”

Let’s take subject A who has inherited an aggressive, impulsive and even violent life-threatening situation. Thus there is no sure way of knowing how exactly the person will behave even though we know that somewhere deep within his/her subconscious there is a violent streak.

Callen’s reasoning has two implications when it comes to hand reading. One, that traits like violence and aggression can lie dormant (because of a good, stable upbringing), and thus, these traits will be seen on the passive hand, which tells us about our subconscious mind. If these traits are not evident on the active hand, it means that aggression lurks too deep under the surface to be evident, and will only surface in an extremely stressful situation, for example, if the person's life is threatened or someone he/she loves is in danger. This is why some people become violent and revengeful if their loved ones are hurt. Of course, the person’s judgment, temperament and intelligence also come into play when it comes to what he/she perceives as a threat.

The second scenario is when a person who has inherited a violent nature remains violent due to his/her upbringing. This aggression will, therefore, be evident on the active hand and lurks just under the surface and does not require too much of a trigger. How often this flares up depends on the person’s inherent judgment, intelligence, frustration tolerance, and also what is considered acceptable in society. In some societies violence is accepted and in some it is not.

Thus, even a person with a “violent” streak may therefore never commit murder or any violent act although many tend to channel their aggression towards the weak, like a spouse, children, or those lower in the social hierarchy. Personality characteristics like willpower (ability to control a violent impulse), the level of excitability, impulsiveness and ego all come into play. The nature of the violence exhibited depends on the type of person ... is it do with rape, assault, abuse, or murder? Violence can be emotional and verbal. Physically weak people resort more often to emotional abuse.

The reason for writing this post is to answer the comments and emails I get asking me to predict behaviour. Predicting behaviour is not possible from the hand. Hand-reading cannot predict behaviour, especially as each individual's environment is different. And therefore the future too cannot be predicted.

Hand reading can, however, show inherent tendencies, developed personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, which is also very important because none of us knows ourselves as well as we think. Knowing the self is the first step towards happiness and fulfilment, the first step towards leading an aware and disciplined life.

More about what Palmistry is all about:  Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Hand Reading (Palmistry FAQS) or Palmistry Myths and Misconceptions or Palmistry Explained 

If interested in the predictive aspect of Palmistry, there are other posts here you might also like to read: How hard is it to change the future, Why do you want to know your future, Stars, Crosses, Symbols and Superstition in hand reading, Death and hand reading, or instead check out this collection of posts on the unreliability of predictive palmistry.

You might also like The Myth of the Marriage Lines, or Love, Marriage and Relationships or just check out all the posts filed under the label Palmistry.

Find out How To Read Hands (the methodology) Remember, your hand lines are a reflection of you; and not vice versa and your hand reflects your own opinion of yourself. 

If you want to get your own hands read, know more about What to expect from a private hand reading. You can also read the Testimonial pages, starting with the first one.

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