Palmistry is a method of interpreting the shape of the hand and the lines of the palm, to project the character and possible life experiences of an individual. The science is divided into two broad areas: the study of hand structure, or cheirology, and the study of the lines of the palm, or cheiromancy.

The modern theory is that the lines of the hand represent a graphic shorthand of the circuits of the brain. The nerve group that controls the hands is exactly in the centre of the brain, and all the electrical energies of our thinking pass through it. Palmists feel that the lines on the hand are formed in some relation to thought patterns, nerve linkages, or even chromosomal structures.