The practise of palmistry was unfortunitly forced underground by the catholic church who branded it devil worshiping. Anyone found to have an interest was quickly murdered. As the church started to lose its influence in society common sense prevailed. Notable people such as Paracelsus (1493-1541) and Fludd (1574-1637) brought respectibility to palmistry through their writings. Later Dr Carl Carus, physician to the king of saxony in the 19th century matched palms to personality. Advances in genetics, psychology and forensics have propeled palmistry into the modern age.
In 1901 scotland yard adopted the technique of fingerprinting in criminal investigation and identification. Medical researchers studying skin patterns (dermatoglyphics), have discovered a corrospondence between genetic abnormalities and unusual markings in the hand. Research has confirmed a link between specific fingerprint patterns and heart disease. These days palmistry is well accepted throughout the world. Proffesional palmists can be found reading palms in every country in the world. Pick up almost any copy of a womens magazine and there is some information on palmistry. There are thousands of books written on the subject and there are palmistry clubs the world across.
