Fingernails come in many shapes and qualities. People with large broad nails are more open and frank and those with very short nails are more critical, argumentative, and nit-picky. People who bite their nails tend to be more self-critical and critical of others. Nails bitten down to the quick belong to people who enjoy being contrary. Even if they agree with you, they’ll choose the opposite side, just to make a point. If you know someone like that, check his or her nails. Sometimes a person will bite only one nail. Apply critical qualities to the meaning of that finger. Biting a pinky nail may mean being consciously or unconsciously critical about family, anxious about sexuality, or challenged by issues of communication, independence, control, or money. I obsessively began nibbling both pinky nails when I began editing my writing.

Stress depletes calcium in the body, which shows up in the form of white flecks in the nails. Wherever you see flecks (some medical studies diagnose these flecks as zinc deficiency), you must apply both a time and stress factor to the meaning of that particular finger. Your nail takes approximately six months to grow out. If you see white flecks in the middle of the nail on your middle finger, it may mean that three months ago you may have experienced a stressful situation in your career or work. If the white fleck is on the very tip of the index finger, then about six months ago, you may have experienced a blow to your self-esteem.

Nails are windows to a person’s health. What good are career or relationship potentials if a person doesn’t have good health? I always ask female clients to remove their nail polish before coming for a detailed consultation, so that I can observe the color and texture of their nails. Nails protect the delicate nerve centers in the tips of our fingers. When our nerve centers are operating in a healthy way, our nails appear smooth textured, pink, and clear. When nerve centers are impaired, this leaves an impression on the nail texture and color and must be judged accordingly. Fine and healthy people tend to have fine and healthy nails. The more the nails appear fluted (vertical ridges), the more problematic a person’s nervous system is. Fluting naturally occurs more with aging. Large moons tend more toward type A personalities. Small moons are normal. No moons can also be normal, but sometimes correspond to low blood pressure or a slower metabolism. Each detail is subject to change and needs to be examined in the context of the whole. For an in-depth reading, it’s important to first determine the nature of the hand as a whole and examine each finger’s proportions, knots, and tip, then look at the nails.

After I’ve finished my generalized overview of palmistry, I’ll begin sharing actual character studies. I plan to relate every feature in the hand to my narrative and hopefully, during that process, I’ll cover many of the specific shapes and qualities of nails.

Here are seven fingernail problems not to ignore.