"About astrology and palmistry: they are good because they make people vivid and full of possibilities. They are communism at its best. Everybody has a birthday and almost everybody has a palm." ― Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Palmists study the shape of palms and various markings on them, in order to predict―although objectively―the future of a person. However, a palmist can only help a person to a limited extent. Here's what palmistry can and cannot tell you: ➥ It can tell you, in a very general sense, the kind of person you are. But, it will not tell you how you will behave in a certain situation, as only you can control your own thoughts and ideas. ➥ A palmist can give you a brief idea about the good and bad events that would happen in your future. He/she might also suggest ways to handle your troubles. However, a palmist cannot tell you with precision, the exact events that will occur in your life. ➥ According to some palmists, it is possible to tell the reason why you might face health problems in future. However, only a doctor can tell you what is the exact nature of the problem, and how it can be treated. ➥ Similarly, though palmistry cannot answer as to what kind of a career you may pursue in the future, it may help you know whether or not you will have enough money and success. ➥ Palmists can also, to some extent, predict the nature of people's relationships. Even if a palmist may be able to tell you whether you will be happily married or face problems, he/she cannot tell you things, such as the exact date of your marriage, the name of your would-be spouse, or the date of your divorce. ➥ Some people also consult palmists to know how many children they would have, and what their future would be like. However, this cannot be ascertained accurately. It is important to note that the lines of each person's palms are different. Also, some people have even more lines on the palms than the others. Furthermore, some symbols on the palms that a palmist may try to find meaning in, actually result from the way a person tends to fold his palms. It has also been scientifically proven that our palms tend to undergo certain changes with the passage of time, and owing to this, the markings and lines on them also tend to change. Therefore, if a palmist tells you that you have a short life line, make use of your rational thinking. A short life line does not necessarily signify a short life span, neither does a longer life line signify a long life. Palmistry can only show the current patterns and trends, which the present shape and position of the lines on your hand may depict. The answers that you get may be, in fact, some of the most natural outcomes of the problems. However, these results can never be permanent in nature, as when the lines on the palm would undergo a change after a certain period of time, the palmist is bound to come up with new interpretations.

The technique of palmistry is not supported by any kind of scientific or empirical evidence. It is solely a matter of personal belief, and so, there are believers and non-believers. It may not be right to dismiss palmistry as a hoax, as there might be some people, who have genuinely mastered the technique. However, palmists, in general, have been facing repeated criticism in recent years on the grounds that they seem to tell people what they want to hear, or what may scare them, rather than what may actually be the case. It is necessary to understand that not everybody who claims to be a palmist can actually read palms. In fact, more often than not, it has been proven that people claiming to be actual palmists have no knowledge about the technique whatsoever. Some people have made fortune-telling their business and one of the easiest ways to extract money from people. Fake palmists are found in every nook and corner of the world these days, taking advantage of people's worries and giving them false hope of a bright and happy future.