LIBRA & HANDS

You don’t need a Libra sun, moon, planets, aspects, or houses to be Libra. Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius are ‘thinking’ types with square palms and long fingers. Dominant Libra has low set thumbs, widely spread fingers, round and square fingertips, and loop fingerprints. Many Libras have judiciously engraved long unobstructed headlines that fork at the end. Thinking and Intuitive types dominate political, publishing, public speaking, public relations, education, legal, marketing, sales, and entertainment fields.

Note: I’m basing my generalizations on over 40 years of reading hands of every age, race, religion, education, career, politics, and long term clients. My observations are subject to other possible interpretations, which may all be right or wrong by degree.

It’s not easy for Libras to make up their minds. They see every side of an idea or situation and it’s hard to limit options. Dominant pinkie fingered folk with large broad nails communicate clearly and frankly. Strong  index fingers embody ambitious managers, powerful directors, and courageous leaders. Dominant bottom and middle finger phalanges work best in banking, real estate, and restaurants. Dominant first phalanges make the best public speakers, lawyers, directors, journalists, educators, and religious leaders. Libra can be idealistic, romantic, aesthetic, refined, manipulative, controlling, selfish, and unethical.

Widely spaced head and life lines embody spontaneity, love of freedom, need for action and personal space, and not caring what others think. Like a Samurai swordsman, Libra wields logic, tact, and diplomacy. They compartmentalize, analyze, and rationalize feelings until they achieve their desired goals. Changing a Libra’s mind is like playing mental monopoly. Be direct. Make good sense. Don’t get emotional. You’ll regret it otherwise.

Libra handshakes are firm and sincere. Pink elastic skin and long graceful heart lines flow from the pinkie to index finger, combining grace and romance. Firm elastic hands add energy and practicality to balance a sentimental nature. Branches from the heart line that touch the head line reveal one or both parents withheld emotions early in life. The child learns to rationalize, analyze, and compartmentalize difficult feelings that they are unable to verbalize. Stiff thumbs with a firm percussion under a pinkie reveal strong will, dogged determination, and unrelenting persistence. Gently curving lines following along inside life lines are lucky because they have real intimate family ties and true friends. Lines parallel within the lifeline are blessed with quality time and intimacy!

Athena, Greek archetype of Wisdom and Justice, is one of a trifecta with Aquarius and Gemini. Athena holds the ‘Scales of justice’ in one hand and a sword of thinking in the other. She balances ethics with action. Aries wins battles, while Athena rules the strategic thinking required to win wars. Odysseus (Libra), Achilles (Aries), and Theseus (Gemini) were heroes who worshiped Athena. Sometimes pictured as a handsome Goddess dressed in battle armor, Athena sports a shield of Intuition with an owl of Wisdom on her shoulder. Athena’s sword is applied with icy detachment as she cuts to the quick as she discards emotions in favor of clarity of thought.

Libra is the Autumn Equinox, 7th sign of the zodiac, and 7th house of marriage. October offers an opportunity for real partnership, sharing, and giving without expectation. Libra strives for balance, idolizes harmony, hates discord, despises confrontation, but faces conflict honestly when it’s unavoidable. Decisive when it matters, Libra is notoriously indecisive when it doesn’t matter. Questions like what and where to eat and what to wear are challenging. Libra can be aggressive and passive at the same time. Being frank and direct doesn’t understand acting and pretending. ‘Nice’ is easy. ‘Safe’ is unsatisfying. Honesty is the best policy…

Everyone has Libra in their symbolism and psyche. Twelve different characters rule our character. As ruler of our 7th and 2nd houses, Venus knows our truths, values, boundaries, and the difference between right and wrong. Two popular Libra aphorisms are “Locks keep honest people honest” and “Contracts are as good as those who make them”. 

“Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to a legalistic wheel of fortune, a game of chance, somewhat fixed in favor of the criminal, that the participants play interminably.” Truman Capote…

A wealthy lawyer friend reminds me that rich people are innocent until proven guilty while poor folk are guilty until proven innocent. Wealth encourages players to shirk social responsibility, justify awful personal and social behaviors and actions, and manipulate the law. Poor folk are cursed to an eternity of scraping for pennies at the bottom of the barrel while HAVES have privilege and a birthright of those who can afford to have. Why must we lose what we value to value what we had?

Libra knows something could change an outcome, and fails to mention it. Philip Morris knew cigarette smoke was toxic. Monsanto knows ‘Roundup’ causes cancer. Bayer knows they’re murdering bees and butterflies. Politicians in Flint, Michigan, knew they were poisoning people who were depending on them for protection. GE was aware it was polluting the Hudson River. Giant companies choose profit over the health of our people and planet. Trump knows the potential of the Corona Virus, of Climate Change, and of promoting hatred. Partisan politicians rule public health. Donald deceives and exploits us by preaching poisonous political propaganda, empowering spiritually bankrupt religious fanatics, encouraging morally and ethically bankrupt business behavior, and enraging hordes of clueless gun lovers. Greta is an Athena/Artemis.

“EXPELIOSIS!”

Learning to judge hands is the most challenging aspect of palmistry. Long and firm may appear short and soft, based on context and by degree. Rigorous practice and learning to ask the right questions is key to understanding and interpreting human character as reflected in the morphology and topography of our hands. Few of us are pure types. Many of us behave contrary to our sun signs. No matter what hands say about a person, it’s not what you see, but what you say and how you say it that matters.

My brother Gary is a Pisces, a mutable feeling type. Gary may be Neptunian on the inside, but his hands reveal he’s ruled by Libra. His behavior is rooted in cardinal thinking. Supported by practical firm thumbs, healthy, smooth textured, elastic skin, and pink coloring, Gary’s analytical and logical thinking merge gracefully with his compassionate feelings and intuition. His commitment to working with frustrating clients and stressful situations reveals a natural empathy many Libras lack. They analyze, rationalize, and compartmentalize feelings rather than trust them. Gary is a loving husband and father, devoted son, generous brother, compassionate friend, and healthy human being. Gary is also an adventurous geriatric psychiatrist, practical philosopher, and prankster. I used to tease Gary that I was going to go completely crazy with age. I conjured and shared scary fantasies of how he’d be stuck with me. Lucky for both of us, as a Gemini, I decided not to get old.

Andrea, Gary’s middle daughter and my niece, is a Libra with Libra hands. Independent. likable, and easy to be with, Andrea is a giver. I read Andrea’s hands when she was young, but old enough to understand me. I mentioned how she likes getting her way and usually does. She giggled as if I had discovered her secret. Matching Sun Signs and hands can be good or bad, depending on what a person does with them. There’s no substitute for noble intent, clear choice, critical thinking, and right use of free will.

Cousin Richie, Libra extraordinaire, philosopher, sculptor, and inventor, is father of Tangle, the infinite sculpture (series of interactive interlocking elbows). Our mothers were sisters. We share the ancestral “happiness” and “seeker” genes, and we have similar existential queries. I once suggested to Richie, “If you put the same religious fervor into saving the world as you put into plastic elbows, we’d be saved”. “I am saving the world”, he replied, “one Tangle at a time.” He meant it.

My cousin has sold tens of millions of Tangles worldwide. A mutual friend from NYC visited a monastery in Tibet and saw a poster of the Dalai Lama playing with with a chrome Tangle. “Nothing surprises me”, I told him. When I visited Richie at the annual gift show at the Javits Center in NYC. He was selling Tangles to a conservative buyer from Wal-Mart. I leaned closer and heard him say, “Let me show you the only product in this show worth more than money”. He meant it.

Blending astrology and hands is how I view character. Few of us are pure types. Most are mutts. Richie’s fingers may seem short for a thinking type. He’s got dominant air and fixity, and very strong Aquarian energy. Richie loves new ideas and enjoys sharing his opinions with incorrigible tenacity. I might see Richie’s hands differently if I didn’t know him. Libra opposes Aries as Autumn opposes Spring. A Libra and Aries opposition is a quest for higher awareness and a journey from light to darkness and back. Odysseus fanned the flames of Jason’s inspiration on his quest for the Golden Fleece. Richie quests to untangle truth, maintain inspiration, channel passion, and harness desire. Healthy intent, right thinking, careful actions, and a handful of good luck wins the fleece.

LIBRA & PSYCHE

Fall Equinox 2020~ outer planets and their transits symbolize our transforming psyche through cardinal, fixed, and mutable modalities. Massive paradigm shifts take place in both inner and outer worlds. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transited the sign of Libra in the 20th Century. Forces of good and evil clashed. Humanity was incapable of balancing optimism with pessimism, tolerance with intolerance, justice with injustice, and progress with regress, which promoted social and political instability.

Without good sense, common sense is nonsense!

Uranus transited Aries (opposite Libra) into Taurus in 2018, entering Gemini in 2026. Neptune in Pisces with Pluto in Capricorn co-create poisonous partisan politics and cultivate calculating plutocratic politicians who deceive voters with empty promises. Morally and Spiritually bankrupt leaders are fueled by fear, hubris, hate, greed, and gluttony.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Neptune (Pisces) transited Libra from 1942 to 1957. Nuclear weapons were deployed. Atomic Bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Congress had considered bombing Tokyo and Kyoto, but chose not to destroy Japanese culture for eternity. President Truman ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to create an even bigger `Hydrogen Bomb’.

The human race has become a race against bad shit happening. Neptune in Pisces is a deluded Emperor without care, empathy, or compassion. He promotes terror, fear, and hatred while punishing and tormenting have-nots and our planet. Humanity must be healthier for future generations. We need to choose healthy thinking, feelings, habits, behavior, values, ethics, relationships, and actions. We must exercise right use of will power, dare to dream, be creative, and be spiritual. We can all be our own best friends and bullshit detectors.

The United Nations was born on October 24 1945. The Charter was ratified by China, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States. International cartels firmly established themselves. The European Common Market was recognized. The Civil Rights Movements flourished. Group Psychology became popular. The World Council of Churches was established. Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini, founder of Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, became the first American Citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

What Happened?

Religion without morality is bankrupt. Religion without spirituality is blind. Devils are hard at work in our houses of worship. An eternity in hell awaits confused and corrupt priests, politicians, and plutocrats, tempted by wealth, power, erotic desires, and the abuse of the sacred souls they were entrusted to protect.

REPUGLICAN’T KAKISTOCRACY

As Above, So Below’

When Neptune exited Libra in 1957, a bestselling novel, Peyton Place, focused on sexual intrigue in a small town. Allen Ginsberg, a popular poet wrote, “I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”. People born 1942 ~ 1957 over idealize relationships, seeing them as they want them to be instead of how they really are. A majority of our most clueless political leaders fall within these birth-dates.

Uranus (Aquarius) transited Libra from 1968 to 1975. The spirit of nationalism shifted from optimism to pessimism. Faith in progress turned into disillusionment in national institutions and world progress. The period was marked by useless popular inventions like a pet rock, giant platform shoes, and shag haircuts. Punk Rock, Primal Therapy, and Streaking became popular. The Supreme Court Legalized Abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy (Roe vs. Wade). Patriarchy isn’t working for most of us.

Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn are pressuring ultra-conservative forces to bias a Supreme Court that will curtail Women’s Rights. Bumbling bureaucrats choose money over values, promote religion over spirituality, embrace greed over good health, and offer a heaping helping of fear, hate, confusion, and delusion. Where has honesty, integrity, dignity, courage, strength, grace, virtue, and wisdom gone. Our personal and planetary health is controlled by too many pussy grabbers, vampires, zombies, and gluttonous shitholes. We must take responsibility for our thoughts, actions, well-being, and happiness.

EVIL INCARNATE

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Governor George Wallace, racial bigot from Alabama, announced he’d be running for President in 1968, on a newly formed American Independent Party ticket. He threatened to repeal the “so called civil rights laws”. In 1971, an assassination attempt left candidate Wallace paralyzed from the waist down. Perhaps history will repeat itself. Diplomat Henry Kissinger approved the financing of clandestine CIA activities in Chile aimed at preventing the election and inauguration of Salvador Allende as Marxist President.

Patty Hearst popularized ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ after she was kidnapped and brain-washed by the Symbionese Liberation Army. A military junta deposed Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. The most popular show on TV was a comic satire about a racist named Archie Bunker. Racism is a popular topic for pundits these days, but it’s not funny.

In Taurus, Uranus brought us a naked Emperor who chose to build walls between us and our closest neighbors and build ideological, philosophical, and spiritual walls while we need bridges between us and the rest of the world. While preaching ‘Christian Values’, he practices hate and greed.

Pluto (Scorpio) transited Libra from 1971 to 1983. ‘RRR’ ‘Reuse, Recycle, and Recreate’ marked the launch of the environmental movement. Growers and pickers reached a settlement that ended nearly ten years of grape boycotts (led by Cesar Chavez). Farm workers had bargaining power as they struggled to accept, compromise, and sacrifice to achieve their goals.

In 1954, Neptune in Libra and Pluto in Leo gave us the case of Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court ruled racial segregation of schools was unconstitutional. On April 20, 1971, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools. Sadly, creating a law, doesn’t erase hatred. ‘Haves’ Have. ‘Have-Nots’ have not.

EXPELIOSIS !!!

An arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization terrorized the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich. Prime Minister Idi Amin slaughtered over 300,000 Ugandans and alienated his country from the rest of the world. Violence in Ireland forced Britain to seize control of Northern Ireland and suspend the Protestant controlled parliament. In 1975 South Vietnam crumbled, bringing an end to the Vietnam War. Because of the Karen Ann Quinlan case, `right to die’ rulings were enacted all across the USA. The serial killer “Son of Sam” was put away after terrorizing NYC. Religious extremist Jim Jones’s followers drank the cool aid and died.

“The Lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the Ears of Understanding” Hermes

Imagine there’s no country,

It isn’t hard to do.

Nothing to kill or die for,

And no religion, too.

Imagine all the people.

Living life in peace”

John Lennon

LIBRA & HANDS

You don’t need a Libra sun, moon, planets, aspects, or houses to be Libran. Pure Libra, Gemini, and Aquarius character types have thinking hands with square palms and long fingers. Many Libran hands have carefully engraved gently curving unobstructed headlines that fork near or at their end.

Libra sees every side of an idea or situation. That’s why it’s notoriously hard for them to make up their minds. They hate limiting their options. Librans with straight and strong dominant pinkie fingers and large broad nails communicate clearly, effectively, and frankly. Strong index fingers rule ambitious managers, creative directors, and natural leaders. Dominant bottom and middle finger phalanges are designed for banking, real estate, and food businesses. Prevailing top phalanges make great public speakers, lawyers, directors, journalists, educators, and religious leaders. Librans can be idealistic, romantic, aesthetic, and refined. Thinking types in general dominate political, publishing, public speaking, public relations, marketing, sales, and entertainment fields.

Wide spacing between head and life lines reflect spontaneity, love of freedom, and a need to act. Wide spaces don’t care what others think and do what they want. Librans wield logic, tact, and diplomacy like a Samurai swordsman. They can analyze, rationalize, and compartmentalize their feelings until they achieve their desired goals. Changing a Libran mind is like playing mental monopoly. Be direct. Make good sense. Don’t get emotional or you’ll regret it.

Healthy Librans have firm sincere handshakes, pink elastic skin, and long graceful heart lines that flow from the pinkie to the index finger.  Graceful hands embody a romantic and sentimental nature. Branches at the end of the heart line that reach down to touch the head line means that person probably had a parent who withheld emotions during their formative years. It’s easier for them to rationalize, analyze, and compartmentalize difficult feelings than it is to verbalize them. Black and white, love and hate, good sense and nonsense are threads in the weft and warp of the same cloth, differing only by degree. Strong stiff thumbs and firm percussions beneath the pinkie finger reveal strong will, dogged determination, and relentless persistence. Librans with gently curving vertical lines inside their life lines are lucky because they have intimate family ties and close friendships. Actually, anyone with lines running parallel to and inside the lifeline is blessed with potential to have real intimacy!

Athena is a powerful Libran and Greek archetype of Wisdom and Justice. Backed up by Aquarius and Gemini, Athena clasps the ‘Scales of justice’ in one hand and the sword of thinking in the other. She balances ethics and action. Athena rules the strategic thinking required to win wars. Odysseus (Libra), Achilles (Aries), and Theseus (Gemini) worshiped Athena. Sometimes pictured as a handsome Goddess dressed in battle armor, she sports a shield of Intuition and wears an owl of Wisdom on her shoulder. Athena’s sword is applied with icy detachment as she discards emotion in favor of clarity of thought and cuts to the quick.

Fall Equinox, Libra, 7th sign of the zodiac, 7th house of marriage, offer us an opportunity for partnership, sharing, and charitable giving without any expectation. Librans strive for balance and idolize harmony. They hate discord and despise confrontation. They’re decisive when it matters, and notoriously indecisive when it doesn’t matter. Where to eat, what to wear, and when to go is challenging. Librans can be aggressive and vague at the same time. Many prefer frank and direct and don’t understand why others don’t. ‘Nice’ is easy. ‘Safe’ is not satisfying. Dishonesty is easy. Honesty is hard.

Everyone has Libra in their psyche. As one of twelve equal, but different characters, Venus / Aphrodite rules our 7th and 2nd houses. We know our truths and have ethical values and moral boundaries of right and wrong. That’s how we get aphorisms like “Laws and locks keep honest people honest.” “Contracts are only as good as those who sign them”. 

Librans must balance ethics with honesty.  A lawyer friend often reminds me that rich people are innocent until proven guilty while poor folk are guilty until proven innocent. Great wealth empowers players to shirk social responsibility, manipulate laws, and justify personal and social behaviors and actions that are selfish, greedy, and clearly hurt have-nots. Poor folk will forever be scraping for pennies at the bottom of the barrel. American Dreams entitle the bearer an opportunity to earn a privilege that is a birthright of those who can afford it. Why must we always lose what we value to value what we had?

‘Where’s Greta?’

“Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to a legalistic wheel of fortune, a game of chance, somewhat fixed in favor of the criminal, that the participants play interminably.” Truman Capote…

The Libran part of you knows something would change an outcome, and yet fails to mention it. Philip Morris knew cigarette smoking was toxic. Monsanto knows ‘Roundup’ causes cancer. Bayer knows they’re killing bees and butterflies. Politicians in Flint, Michigan knew they were poisoning the people who were depending on them for protection. They chose partisanship over public health. Profit is more important than poor people. Donaldemort deceives and exploits us by preaching poisonous political propaganda, empowering spiritually bankrupt religious fanatics, encouraging morally and ethically bankrupt behavior, and enraging hordes of clueless bigots and gun lovers.  

The most challenging task in reading hands is learning to judge hands. One person’s long may be another’s short. Firm can feel soft, compared to hard. Rigorous practice (examining many thousands of hands) and asking the right questions is key to seeing, understanding, and interpreting human character as reflected in the topography of our hands. Even so, it’s not what you see, but what you say and how you say it that matters.

Few of us are pure types. Many people behave contrary to their sun signs. It’s hard to see my brother Gary as a Pisces, a mutable feeling type. He may be Neptunian on the inside, but Gary’s hands reveal Libran behavior rooted in cardinal thinking and supported by a very practical firm thumb, healthy elastic skin, smooth texture, and pink coloring.

Gary is a geriatric psychiatrist, practical philosopher, and prankster with an adventurous spirit. I used to tease Gary that I’d go completely nuts with age and he’d be stuck with me, but then (luckily for both of us), as a Gemini, I decided not to get old. Gary’s analytical and logical thinking merge gracefully with his innate feelings, intuition, and compassion. Gary’s commitment to working with stressful and frustrated clients and situations reveals a natural empathy that many Librans lack because they’re too busy analyzing, rationalizing, and compartmentalizing their feelings to trust them. Gary’s an amazing psychiatrist, devoted husband, father, son, brother, friend, and human being.

Andrea is Gary’s middle daughter, my niece, and a healthy Libran. Independent, likeable, and easy to be with, Andrea is a great mother, care taker, and loving person. When sun signs and hands match, that can vary from very good to very bad, depending on the person’s choice, critical thinking, and right use of free will.

Cousin Richie, Libra extraordinaire, philosopher, sculptor, and inventor; is father of Tangle, the Infinite Sculpture (a series of interactive, interlocking elbows). Our mothers were sisters. We share the ancestral “happiness”, and “seeker” genes, and have similar existential queries. I once confronted Richie, “If you put the same religious fervor into saving the world as you put into plastic elbows, we’d be saved”. Richie replied, “I am saving the world, one Tangle at a time.” He meant it.

Richie has sold tens of millions of Tangles worldwide. I ran into a mutual friend on the streets of NYC who had visited a monastery in Tibet and saw a poster of the Dalai Lama with a chrome Tangle in his lap. I wasn’t surprised. When I visited Richie at his annual gift show booth in NYC, he was selling Tangles to a very conservative buyer from Wal-Mart. I leaned closer to hear what he was saying, “Let me show you the only product in this show worth more than money”. He meant it.

Blending astrology with behavior affects how I view hands. Few of us are pure types. Most of us are mutts. You might see Richie’s fingers as a bit short for a thinking type. They are, but he still has dominant air and lots of fixity in his astrology. Shorter fingers makes him more conceptual and less detail oriented. His Aquarian side is strong, confirmed by his love of new ideas, strong opinions, and incorrigible mental tenacity. I might have viewed Richie’s hands differently if I didn’t know him.

A Libra and Aries opposition is a quest for higher awareness. Libra opposes Aries as autumn opposes spring. Life is a journey from light into darkness and back into light. Odysseus’s wise counsel fanned the flames of Jason’s inspiration on his quest for the Golden Fleece. Richie’s quest is to untangle truth from inspiration, passion, and desire. Right thinking and careful planning will win the fleece.  

LIBRA & PSYCHE

2019 ~ Fall Equinox ~ massive paradigm shifts are causing huge transformations in personal and collective psyches. Outer planets, symbolizing our inner and outer worlds are transmuting us through cardinal, fixed, and mutable modalities. As Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transited through 20th Century Libra, forces of good and evil clashed. Unable to balance optimism with pessimism, tolerance with intolerance, justice with injustice, and progress with regress we had little social and political stability.

Uranus transited Aries (opposing Libra), to Taurus in 2018 and enters Gemini in 2026. Neptune in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn point toward poisonous partisan politics and calculating politicians who deceive voters with empty promises, fueled by hubris, hatred, greed, gluttony, and a morally and spiritually bankrupt leader.

While Neptune (Pisces) transited Libra from 1942 to 1957, nuclear weapons boomed. The Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. President Truman ordered The Atomic Energy Commission to produce an even bigger `Hydrogen Bomb’. Neptune in Pisces has given us a deluded Emperor with his finger on the button. Why can’t we see we’re in this together? Our obligation is to all of humanity. We must nourish future generations and cultivate healthy behaviors, values, ethics, thinking, feelings, will power, physical habits, relationships, creativity, philosophies, purpose, dreams, and spirituality.

Where does fear stop and accountability begin? When do we take charge of our own destiny? Can humanity prevent ‘bad shit from happening’ instead of always racing towards it?  

The United Nations was born on October 24 1945. Their Charter was ratified by China, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States. International cartels firmly established themselves. The European Common Market was recognized. Civil Rights Movements flourished. Group Psychology became popular.  World Council of Churches was established. Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini, founder of Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, became the first American Citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Devil is hard at work in our churches. An eternity in hell awaits confused and corrupt priests, who are tempted with erotic desires that encourage them to misuse their power and spiritually abuse the sacred souls they were entrusted to protect. No matter what your religion, humanity is one huge dysfunctional family.

‘As Above, So Below’

When Neptune exited Libra in 1957, bestselling novel, Peyton Place, focused on sexual intrigue in a small town. Allen Ginsberg, a popular poet wrote, “I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”. People born 1942 ~ 1957 tend to over idealize relationships, seeing them as they want them to be instead of how they really are. A majority of our political leaders fall within these birthdates and are utterly blind.

Uranus (Aquarius) transited Libra from 1968 to 1975. The spirit of nationalism shifted from optimism to pessimism. Faith in progress turned into disillusionment in national institutions and world progress. The period was marked by useless popular inventions like a pet rock, giant platform shoes, and shag haircuts. Punk Rock, Primal Therapy, and Streaking became popular. The Supreme Court Legalized Abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy (Roe vs. Wade). Patriarchy certainly isn’t working for most of us. Isn’t it time for Matriarchy?

Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn have gathered ultra-conservative forces to bias a Supreme Court that curtails Women’s Rights. Bumbling bureaucrats choose money over values, promote religion over spirituality, embrace greed over good health, and offer us a heaping helping of fear, hate, confusion, and delusion. Where has our honesty, integrity, dignity, courage, strength, grace, virtue, and wisdom gone. Our personal and planetary health is controlled by too many pussy grabbers, fearful haters, and gluttonous shitholes. We must take responsibility for our own well-being and happiness.

In 1968, Governor George Wallace, a racial bigot from Alabama, announced he’d be running for President on a newly formed American Independent Party ticket. He threatened to repeal the “so called civil rights laws”. In 1971, an assassination attempt left candidate Wallace paralyzed from the waist down. Will history repeat itself? Diplomat Henry Kissinger approved the financing of clandestine CIA activities in Chile aimed at preventing the election and inauguration of Salvador Allende as Marxist President.

Patty Hearst popularized ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ after she was kidnapped and brain-washed by the Symbionese Liberation Army. A military junta deposed Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. The most popular show on TV was a comic satire about a racist named Archie Bunker. Racism is a topic of pundits these days, but much less funny.

In Taurus, Uranus has brought us a naked Emperor who has chosen to build walls between us and our closest neighbors as he builds ideological, philosophical, and spiritual walls between us and the rest of civilization. While preaching Christian Values, he practices the seven deadly sins: lust, greed, envy, wrath, pride, gluttony, and sloth.

Pluto (Scorpio) transited Libra from 1971 to 1983. That period marked the launch of the environmental movement   RRR ~ Reuse, Recycle, and Recreate. Growers and pickers reached a settlement that ended nearly ten years of grape boycotts (led by Cesar Chavez). Farm workers finally had bargaining power. They strived together to accept, compromise, and sacrifice to achieve their goals.

In 1954, Neptune was in Libra and Pluto was in Leo. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled racial segregation of schools was unconstitutional. On April 20, 1971, United States Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools. Unfortunately, making something law, doesn’t erase hatred. ‘Haves’ must learn to understand what ‘Have Nots’ have not.

An arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization terrorized the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich. Prime Minister Idi Amin slaughtered over 300,000 Ugandans and alienated his country from the rest of the world. Violence in Ireland forced Britain to seize control of Northern Ireland and suspend the Protestant controlled parliament. In 1975 South Vietnam crumbled, bringing an end to the Vietnam War. Because of the Karen Ann Quinlan case, `right to die’ rulings were enacted all across the USA. The serial killer “Son of Sam” was put away after terrorizing both males and females in NYC. Religious extremist Jim Jones’s followers drank the cool aid and died.

“The Lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the Ears of Understanding” ~ Hermes

John Lennon was murdered.

“Imagine there’s no country,

It isn’t hard to do.

Nothing to kill or die for,

And no religion, too.

Imagine all the people.

Living life in peace”

LIBRA & PSYCHE

Autumn Equinox 2018

Outer planets powerfully influence our collective psyche as they change sign. They also catalyze massive transformations in our personal psyches. We can observe our inner and outer worlds transform in cardinal, fixed, and mutable modalities. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transited Libra in the 20th Century. Forces of good and evil clashed as we tried to find a balance between optimism and pessimism, tolerance and intolerance, justice and prejudice, and progress and regress with little social or political stability.

Uranus transited Aries (opposite Libra), arriving in Taurus May 2018 and transiting into Gemini in April 2026. Neptune in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn are impelling poisonous  politics by deceiving  voters and conning partisan politicians with empty promises fueled by the hubris, hatred, greed, and gluttony of a philosophically and spiritually bankrupt Emperor.

 

Our future is at risk. While Neptune (Pisces) transited Libra from 1942 to 1957, Nuclear weapons proliferated. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. President Truman ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to produce a much bigger `Hydrogen Bomb’. Now, Neptune in Pisces has provided us with a deluded Emperor with his finger on the button.

Why won’t the United States see that we’re all in this together? Our obligation is to ourselves and each other. We have a responsibility to nourish future generations. We need to cultivate healthy behaviors, values, thinking, feelings, will power, physical habits, relationships, creativity, philosophies, purpose, dreams, and spirituality.

When will fear stop, accountability start, decision begin, and taking charge take place? Is it possible to prevent ‘bad shit from happening’ instead of always racing towards it?

The United Nations was born on October 24 1945. Their Charter was ratified by China, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States. International cartels firmly established themselves. A European Common Market was recognized. Civil Rights Movements flourished. Group Psychology became popular.  A World Council of Churches was established. Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini, founder of Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, became the first American Citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Devil is hard at work in the church. He confuses and tempts priests with tainted money and evil fantasies while giving them the permission and power to physically and spiritually abuse and corrupt sacred souls they were entrusted to protect. No matter our religion, we’re one big dysfunctional family. Each of us has a unique story.

‘As Above, So Below’

“THE ALL is in ALL, while ALL is in THE ALL”

“The Lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the Ears of Understanding”  Hermes

When Neptune left Libra in 1957, the bestselling novel was Peyton Place, focusing on sexual intrigue in a small town. Allen Ginsberg was a popular poet writing, “I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”. People born between 1942 and 1957 tend to be overly idealistic about relationships. ‘Haves’ must learn what the ‘Have Nots’ have… to strive, accept, compromise, sacrifice, and let go.

Uranus (Aquarius) transited Libra from 1968 to 1975. The spirit of nationalism shifted from optimism to pessimism. Faith in progress turned into disillusionment in national institutions and world progress. The period was marked by useless popular inventions like a pet rock, giant platform shoes, and shag haircuts. Punk Rock, Primal Therapy, and Streaking became popular. The Supreme Court Legalized Abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy (Roe vs. Wade). Is it time for some Matriarchy for a change?

Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn have enabled ultra-conservative forces to conspire to bias a Supreme Court that will curtail Women’s Reproductive Rights. Bumbling Bureaucrats choose Money over Values, promote Religion over Spirituality, embrace Greed over the Good Health of our Planet, and offer generous helpings of Fear, Confusion, and Delusion as alternative facts instead of Honesty, Integrity, Dignity, Courage, Strength, Grace, Virtue, and Wisdom. Our health and our Planet’s health are controlled by too many pussy grabbers, fearful haters, and greedy gluttonous shitholes. We must be in charge of our own well-being.

 

In 1968, Governor George Wallace, a racial bigot from Alabama, announced he’d be running for President on a newly formed American Independent Party ticket. He threatened to repeal the “so called civil rights laws”. In 1971, an assassination attempt left candidate Wallace paralyzed from the waist down. Diplomat Henry Kissinger approved the financing of clandestine CIA activities in Chile aimed at successfully preventing the election and inauguration of Salvador Allende as Marxist President.

Patty Hearst shed new light on ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ after she was kidnapped and brain-washed by the Symbionese Liberation Army. A military junta deposed Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. The most popular show on TV was a comic satire about a racist named Archie Bunker. Racism is not so funny these days.

 

In Taurus, Uranus has brought us an empty and valueless Emperor who has chosen to build physical walls between us and our closest neighbors while building ideological, philosophical, and spiritual walls among and between us and the rest of our world.

 

 

Pluto (Scorpio) transited Libra from 1971 to 1983. It was the official launch of the environmental movement ~ Reuse, Recycle, and Recreate. Growers and pickers reached a settlement that ended a nearly ten year grape boycott (led by Cesar Chavez). Farm workers finally had bargaining power. In 1954, Neptune was in Libra and Pluto was in Leo. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of schools was unconstitutional. On April 20, 1971, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools. Unfortunately, making something law, doesn’t erase hatred.

An arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization terrorized the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich. Prime Minister Idi Amin slaughtered over 300,000 Ugandans and alienated his country from the rest of the world. Violence in Ireland forced Britain to seize control of Northern Ireland and suspend the Protestant controlled parliament. In 1975 South Vietnam crumbled, bringing an end to the Vietnam War. Because of the Karen Ann Quinlan case, `right to die’ rulings were enacted all across the USA. The serial killer “Son of Sam” was put away after terrorizing both males and females in NYC. Religious extremist Jim Jones’s followers drank the cool aid and died.

John Lennon was murdered.

“Imagine there’s no country,

It isn’t hard to do.

Nothing to kill or die for,

And no religion, too.

Imagine all the people.

Living life in peace”

Libran Hands

You don’t need a Libra sun, moon, planets, aspects, or houses to be Libran. All Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius hands have square palms and long fingers. I’ve read many Libran hands with long deep clear gently curving unobstructed headlines that fork at the end. Librans see every side of a situation. Straight strong pinkie fingers communicate clearly, effectively, and frankly (with full broad nails). Strong index fingers are pervasive on ambitious hardworking managers and powerful leaders. Dominant bottom and middle phalanges are well suited to banking, real estate, and food businesses. Dominant top phalanges make great public speakers, lawyers, directors, journalists, educators, and religious leaders. Librans are idealistic, romantic, aesthetic, and refined. You’ll see Librans in chic designer clothing taking clients to trendy restaurants. Thinking types dominate political, PR, publishing, marketing, sales, and entertainment fields.

Wielding logic, diplomacy, and tact like Samurai swordsmen, Librans analyze, rationalize, and compartmentalize their thoughts and feelings until they fulfill their desires. A wide space between head and life lines reveals initiative and spontaneity. Wide spaces care less what others think of them. Changing a Libran’s mind is a game of mental monopoly. You must be direct and make good sense. Don’t get emotional. You’ll regret it.

Healthy Librans have sincere handshakes. Firm pink elastic skin with a long graceful heart line flowing from the pinkie to the base of the index finger symbolizes a romantic and sentimental nature. A branch at the end of the heart line that reaches down to touch the head line means the person can think their feelings to oblivion. Black and white and hard and soft are the same, only different by degree. Librans with vertical lines within their life lines are very lucky.  Anyone with long vertical lines parallel to their life lines has intimate family ties and friendships. They’re wealthy in love and spirituality.

Libra is the 7th sign of the zodiac, the 7th house of marriage in western astrology, and the autumn equinox, time for partnership, sharing, and giving. Librans strive for balance, idolize harmony, dislike discord, and despise confrontation. As negotiators, they’re very decisive when it really matters, although they’re notoriously indecisive when it doesn’t really matter like what to eat, what to wear, and where to go. Librans can be aggressive and vague at the same time. Many prefer being frank and direct, but then they can’t figure out why some people don’t like them.

Athena is a Libran archetype with Aquarius and Gemini backup. Greek for Wisdom and Justice, Athena rules the strategic thinking required in combat. Scales of justice and an owl on her shoulder symbolize balance and wisdom. Odysseus (Libra) and Achilles (Aries) worshiped Athena. Pictured as a handsome Goddess in battle armor, she holds a shield of Intuition in one hand, and a sword of Thinking in the other. Athena’s mighty sword is applied with icy detachment. She discards emotion for clarity and cuts to the quick.

 

 

We all have Libra, Venus, and 7th houses in our symbolism. We know what’s honest, true, and fair, and must set ethical and moral values and boundaries in order to know right from wrong and see truth. It’s easy to compartmentalize, rationalize, and analyze the ideas, thoughts, and actions of ourselves and others. Some Libran aphorisms are: “Laws keep honest people honest.” “Locks keep honest people out” “Contracts are as good as the people who sign them”. Laws protect us only after the reason for those laws has been severely abused. Why must we lose what we value in order not to take it for granted?

Truman Capote understood the truth behind the insanity. “Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to a legalistic wheel of fortune, a game of chance, somewhat fixed in favor of the criminal, that the participants play interminably.” Legal power enables players to shirk social responsibility, manipulate others, and justify whatever personal and social behavior and actions. Librans need to balance ethics and honesty. Maybe a Libran knows something that would change everything, but fails to mention it. Did Philip Morris know cigarette smoke is unhealthy? Does Monsanto know that ‘Roundup’ causes cancer? Do Republicans know they do not care about the masses? Mountains of money have been amassed by self-appointed Emperors who have deceived, exploited, and manipulated the huddled masses. Cream rises to the top. Poor folk will forever scrape for pennies at the bottom of the barrel.

Many years ago, an Athena type of questionable ethics came for a private consultation. As a corporate strategist and master business plan writer, he seemed totally out of place in my east village tenement apartment, dressed in his expensive designer suit and power tie and me in my “Since I gave up hope, I feel much better” t-shirt and worn jeans. His friend had been to one of my palmistry talks and encouraged him to see me.

Athena rules arts and crafts, especially weaving. My client’s specialty was weaving tailored cloaks of investment opportunity for himself and his clients by threading a weft of his finest illusion through a warp of potential profit. He’d revive floundering companies by creating innovative new products and services that pointed them toward prosperity. An emperor of crystal clear vision, Athena would charge a substantial fee and generous stock options in exchange for a first class business plan and assistance in executing it. Athena would revive companies who’d been competing for pennies forever. He shifted their paradigm by changing their thinking. As Athena’s plans came to fruition, his stock would become more valuable. He guided management through the churning rapids of dramatic change within company structure. When the project could survive on its own, Athena sold large chunks of stock and invested in his next project. Although his visions sometimes failed, Athena always prospered.

Athena had been indicted in a $150,000,000+ securities fraud. Insider trading is much more common than you know and extremely discreet. Knowing something secret can be very powerful, but getting caught is bad for everyone. The IRS was a monkey on his back. He desperately needed a strategy for what to do next. He wanted to take a symbolic look at his situation. Despite our totally opposite worlds, we hit it off.  Thinking types can bounce ideas off each other for hours. Athena was Pinocchio. I was Jiminy Cricket, there to be his conscience. Brilliant, but surprisingly naïve, Athena easily rationalized being legal, unethical, and immoral at the same time. He got his nose pruned by sticking it in the wrong place at the wrong time. Athena offered me a generous retainer to be his “Jiminy Cricket”. I declined, but accepted occasional gifts and payments for my time and advice.

Athena’s hands revealed a healthy Libran type. He was charming, calming, and curious. Astrology described his behavioral patterns, life cycles, and timing. Tarot cards provided insight into business relationships, but no matter how many times we spread the cards, tact and diplomacy could not save the King of Swords from being tortured by the eight of swords, judgement, and the Tower. Athena needed to learn his lesson the hard way.

Athena’s square palms, long fingers, strong pinkies and well-balanced phalanges are great for commerce. His long unobstructed straight headline is innately practical, honest, and reliable. Ambitious strong index fingers embody a strategic hardworking nature. His strong stiff thumbs show determination and persistence. Separation between his head and life lines reveals initiative, impatience, and independence. I would never have seen his problem in foresight.

 

I had no idea how to help Athena with his problem. Blinded by desire for power and wealth, Athena had unwittingly compromised his morals and ethics. His natal chart appeared to be healthy and well balanced, but his astrological transits weren’t promising. There seemed to be no positive outcome unless it was spiritual. I knew I needed to be direct and make good sense. The horizontal lines crossing Athena’s dominant vertical lines showed he was no stranger to challenges and obstacles. He was very good at bouncing back and landing on his feet. Jiminy Cricket guided Pinocchio to find his truth and become a real boy. Athena and I never got that chance.

Athena lost everything. Too late for hindsight, there was little I could do. I appealed to his future. “Does the world really need another greasy French fry, addictive beverage, or pornographic violent video game?” Why not design and market healthy products like Paul Newman? Why not give profits to charitable causes? I suggested ‘Vita-Fries’, the world’s first truly healthy French fry. Why can’t the same resources be used to create healthy products and services? A graceful heart lines extends to Athena’s index finger, revealing a romantic and sentimental nature. Check out the long gracefully curving vertical lines within his ball of thumb, Athena has a healthy and loving support system.

“Why not make products more expensive and exploit less people on the way?” I asked. Athena loved the idea, but rationalized needing more personal financial stability before giving money away. “More expensive means more grease”, he told me. Higher prices mean more time and money spent romanticizing and glamorizing products and services. More for less is a great concept, but doesn’t come cheap. “It’s the grease”, Athena said. Why pay more for caffeine at $tar Buck$?  Why buy expensive designer brand names when you can get the same generic item for much less? Revolutionary new products and services do happen ~ like when Kleenex became generic for tissues, ubiquitous in the marketplace, and highly profitable. Most products are variations on a theme.

In Libran style, Athena started over again with fresh enthusiasm, new ideas, and a dollop of grease. Last time I heard, he was offering virtual alternatives to utilitarian products that make good economic sense. Pinocchio is wheeling and dealing and mastering his Libran nature. He and Jiminy are friends, but no longer consult for $.

The most challenging task in reading hands is learning to judge hands. One person’s long is another’s short. Your firm might be my soft, depending on the person. Rigorous practice is necessary to truly observe and judge hands.

Few of us are pure types. Many behave contrary to our sun signs. My brother, Gary, is Pisces, a mutable feeling type. He’s Neptunian, but his Libran hands reveal a cardinal thinking type. Gary is a geriatric psychiatrist. Lucky for him, I used to threaten I’d go completely crazy with age, but then as a Gemini, I decided not to get old. Gary’s Libran temperament graciously emerges and gracefully merges with his Pisces sun to sooth the most stressful clients and situations. Pisces gives Gary natural empathy and the intuition that many Librans lack. He’s an awesome psychiatrist, partner, father, brother, son, friend, and human being.

Palmistry for Astrologers ~ Three Modalities

hand with symbols

Traditional palmistry identifies seven basic archetypes based on seven planetary places in the hands. Even the newest palmistry books promulgate traditional methods and impart obsolete knowledge derived from centuries of unoriginal thinking. Palmistry and astrology need each other. Astrology establishes twelve basic archetypes based on combinations of four elements and three modalities. Palmistry has embraced the four elements, but has ignored the three modalities. Learning to judge modalities in hands is challenging, but absolutely necessary.

The devil is in the details and there are many levels of details. No matter what your archetype and lines say about you, modality modifies interpretation. Knowing a modality is fundamental to knowing a person. If your hands are hard and fingers are stiff, you’ll fight change with every molecule in your psyche. Getting started and letting go will be major life challenges. People whose hands are soft and fingers are very supple and flexible are challenged to be disciplined, structured, and focused. Major life issues include avoiding distraction and saying ‘No’. Mutable types must be more patient and persistent in order to build strong structures on solid foundations that support greater purpose and meaning.

four types

Modalities separate traditional palmistry from modern palmistry. I discussed the four elements in a previous blog post. Multiplying four elements by three modalities gives twelve unique character types. Anyone who knows astrology agrees that sun signs are distinctly different from one another. Palmistry represents the same twelve types and shares the same mythology. The greatest challenge is seeing the modalities and judging the degrees to which they’re affecting the elements. That takes practice.

twelve hands

                      Four Elements         Cardinal               Fixed               Mutable

Here’s a brief generalized description of how to see the three modalities in the hands.

FlashCardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. Solstices and equinoxes are changes of seasons. Aries (spring), Libra (fall), Cancer (summer), and Capricorn (winter) are new beginnings. Cardinal types have boundless energy and enthusiasm when they’re feeling inspired and passionate. Powerful ambition blends with magnetic natures to impel action and achieve goals. They’re best at starting things and not so good at finishing them. When the work becomes mundane or routine, impatience, intolerance, and impulsiveness is imminent.

‘Pure’ types have enthusiastic handshakes, openly held fingers, low set thumbs, and resilient pink elastic skin. Their head and life lines are frequently separate where the thumb joins the hand. I frequently see one or more conical or spatulate fingertips and multiple whorl fingerprints on cardinal types. Flash Rosenberg is an initiator, a great friend, Guggenheim award winning visual artist, profuse performance artist, professional photographer, prolific writer, and artist in residence for ‘LIVE from the NY Public library’. Check out her remarkable live drawing and direction: IMAGINE: How Creativity Works – http://vimeo.com/38798735

Dr. BryksMid-seasons embody fixity. Taurus (mid-spring), Leo (mid-summer), Scorpio (mid-fall), and Aquarius (mid-winter) are fixed signs. Fixed types maintain, support, and nourish what exists. They’re logical and practical. You can depend on them. They say what they do and do what they say. Their greatest challenge is to see the proverbial handwriting on the wall and then accept and embrace change.

They have firm honest handshakes. Their hands and fingers are stiffer than cardinal and mutable types. Large stiff thumbs embody abundant will, supported by dogged determination, and sustained by relentless persistence. Square shape fingertips and developed second knots represent an organized, practical, responsible, reliable, and dependable nature. Cautious types hold fingers closely together and are better team players. Fixed head and life lines are often intertwined at their beginnings. I’ve observed multiple arch finger prints on fixed hands. Procrastination can be a substantial problem.

Dr. Bryks is my dentist. He’s a great craftsman and a compassionate, competent, and caring person with a huge ball of thumb. Full ball of thumb people are givers and lovers of home, food, comfort, nature, children, beauty, and art. It’s hard for them to say “No”. Dr. Bryks appreciates everyone. He hums his favorite melodies as he mines for decay in my teeth. If someone has to dig around in my mouth, I’m glad it’s Dr. Bryks.

self for three modalitiesGemini (late-spring), Virgo (late-summer), Sagittarius (late-fall), and Pisces (late-winter) are mutable signs. They represent changeability. Mutable types generally have warm handshakes that convey honesty and sincerity (which may not be the whole truth). They’re clever, hate conflict, and work hard to avoid confrontation while employing the fine art of tact and diplomacy. Mutable types have the most openly held, flexible, and elastic hands and fingers of all three modalities. My open hands and strong straight pinkies are saying I have nothing to hide (although I hold many others’ secrets).

Cardinal types create, fixed types maintain, and mutable types communicate. Mutable does what cardinal and fixed don’t do or don’t want to do. As a mutable type, I love language and words. Anyone reading my blog knows I’ve chosen to speak for one of the most esoteric and obscure subjects on the planet. I hope to shift the false paradigm of palmistry as a gypsy fortune-telling scam (before I kick the impending bucket). As an expert on hands and a clear communicator, my mission is to give everyone a helping hand, their own. Priceless treasure waits to be discovered at the ends of our arms.

Libra – Search for Other

Libra 2

Libra, the 7th sign of the zodiac rules the 7th house of marriage in western astrology. The autumn equinox is a time for partnership, sharing, and giving. Libras strive for balance, idolize harmony, dislike discord, and hate confrontation. They’re the best negotiators. Libras can be very decisive when it really matters, but they’re infamous when it comes to deciding where to go, what to eat, or what to wear. Libras love being frank and direct, but must realize that they may not be liked for it. They can be aggressive, indirect, and vague at the same time, and still manage to get their way. Some Libras tread a thin line between ethics and honesty. Maybe they know something that could change everything, but fail to mention it. Libras wield logic, tact, and diplomacy like a Samurai Swordsman. Athena’s mighty sword is applied with icy emotional detachment.

You don’t have to be born under the sign of Libra to have a Libra personality. Thinking types have square palms and long fingers. Dominant Libra types have long clear gently curving unobstructed headlines that fork near the percussion of the hand. A cultivated Libra sees every side of a situation. With straight and strong long pinkie fingers, they communicate clearly and directly. Dominant bottom and middle phalanges are favorable for commerce, banking, and real estate. A long top phalanx is best for public speaking, journalism, or law. Strong index fingers make ambitious hardworking managers and powerful leaders. A separation between head and life lines increases personal initiative and spontaneity. The wider the space, the more the person doesn’t care what others think. They do what they must do no matter what. Some Libras are blinded by their need to get their way. Trying to change a Libra’s mind is like playing a game of mental monopoly. The best strategy is to be direct and make good sense.

Healthy Libras have strong handshakes and firm pink elastic skin. Long graceful heart lines extend from under the pinkie to the base of the index finger, embodying romance and sentimentality. Sometimes a branch at the end of the heart line reaches down to touch the head line. These Libras can analyze, rationalize, and compartmentalize their feelings. It’s part of their duality to be hard and soft at the same time. Long vertical lines on the ball of the thumb within the life line are soul commitments to family and friends. The happiest Libras will have several clear lines parallel to their life lines.

Libras are idealistic, romantic, and refined. Aesthetics are important to them. You’ll see Libra professionals in chic designer clothing taking clients out to trendy restaurants. Political, legal, publishing, public speaking, public relations, marketing, higher education, and entertainment fields are burgeoning with Librans.

AthenaAthena is my favorite Libra archetype. Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Justice, Athena rules the strategic thinking required in combat. Odysseus (Libra) and Achilles (Aries) worshiped her. Often pictured as a handsome Goddess in battle armor, Athena holds a shield (Intuition) in one hand and a sword or spear (Thinking) in the other. She discards emotion to think with crystal clarity and cut to the quick. Athena is often pictured with the scales of justice and an owl on her shoulder to symbolize wisdom.

 

An Athena type came to me for a reading many years ago. I’ll call him Athen. Athen arrived on my doorstep dressed in an expensive designer suit and power tie. I greeted him in my t-shirt and jeans. As a master business plan writer, Athen seemed out of place consulting a palmist in an east village tenement apartment. A friend of his had attended one of my palmistry lectures and gave me a radiant referral.

Athen’s modus operandi was to find floundering companies and create compelling new products or services to point them in the direction of prosperity. In exchange for writing a first class business plan, Athen would receive a nominal fee and substantial stock options. An emperor of illusion, Athen would weave a sophisticated cloak of investment opportunity. Like a tailor, he threaded his needle with enough preferred non-voting stock to begin weaving his wardrobe. As plans took form, the company’s stock would appear more valuable. For a substantial retainer, Athen would help execute his concepts and guide management through the churning rapids of dramatic changes taking place within the company structure. Once the company was able to survive without Athen, he sold off large chunks of his stock and quickly moved on to the next project. Athen attempted to resuscitate several companies that failed without his help. He always prospered.

Athen explained that he was embroiled in a mid-eight-figure fiasco concerning securities fraud. The IRS was a monkey on his back. He needed strategies for the best ways to proceed. Although we resided in totally different worlds, Athen and I immediately hit it off. Thinking types can bounce ideas off each other for hours. We were archetypal from the get go. Athen was Pinocchio. I was Jiminy Cricket. Like Pinocchio, Athen was smart, but surprisingly naïve. Jiminy appeared because Pinocchio lacked a conscience.

It’s possible in business to be legal and unethical or immoral at the same time. If Athen were to put his ever growing nose in the wrong place at the wrong time, it might get chopped off. That’s what was happening. Athen offered me a generous retainer to be his “Jiminy Cricket”. I declined, but accepted occasional payments and gifts in exchange for my time, advice, and friendship. I used astrology to examine Athen’s timing and behavioral patterns. Tarot cards helped us gain better insight into his relationships.

Libra HandAthen is a thinking type with square palms and long fingers. His long unobstructed straight headlines and long straight and strong pinkie fingers with long bottom phalanges are great for commerce. Athen was inherently an honest and caring person. He was ambitious (strong index finger), hardworking, and blinded by his desire and need for freedom, power, and wealth. You can see from the separation between his head and life lines that Athen doesn’t lack initiative. He couldn’t care less what others think of him.

I decided the best way to communicate with Athen was to be direct and make good sense. His long graceful heart line extends to his index finger, representing a romantic and sentimental nature. You can see from the vertical lines within the ball of his thumb that Athen is deeply committed to his family and friends. I first tried appealing to his compassionate nature.

Why not design and promote healthy sensible products (like Paul Newman) and give as much profit as possible to charitable causes? Athen claimed he loved that idea, but rationalized that he needed to be personally more financially substantial before giving money away. I disagreed.

“Does the world really need another greasy french fry, addictive brew, or violent video game? Why can’t the same resources and labor be used to make healthier products and services? Why not make products more expensive and exploit less people along the way?” “More expensive means more grease”, according to Athen. A higher selling price means more time and money spent romanticizing and glamorizing a product or service. Selling less and making more money is a great idea, but doesn’t come cheap.

“It’s the grease”, Athen would say. Why do consumers pay so much more for caffeine at $tarbuck$?  What makes a person buy an expensive designer brand name when they can get the exact same generic item for less? Revolutionary new products or services are sometimes created and protected. Some become generic and incredibly profitable. Most products and services are just variations on existing themes. Athen offered viable alternative business strategies that seemed likely to happen well if well implemented.

It was easy to see who’d actually benefit and who wouldn’t. The cream always rises to the top. The problem is that every scheme where someone is making heaps of money means others are being deceived, exploited, or used. The poorest people are always scraping for pennies at the bottom of the barrel. Laws that protect masses of ordinary people are created long after the reason for them has been abused. It’s no secret that Philip Morris always knew cigarette smoking was unhealthy. By manipulating the legal system, they shirked their responsibilities and justified their actions.

Truman Capote, a Libra, innately understood how easy it is to manipulate truth and the legal system. “Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to a legalistic wheel of fortune, a game of chance, somewhat fixed in favor of the criminal, that the participants play interminably.”

Jiminy Cricket guided Pinocchio who eventually found truth and became a “real boy”.  Athen and I weren’t so lucky. Athen ended up losing everything. In Libran style, he started over with fresh ideas, enthusiasm, and a dollop of grease. He’s still wheeling and dealing. Pinocchio and Jiminy keep in touch, but no longer collaborate.

ScottLisa

Scott is a Cardinal Thinking type. His Sun, Moon, Mars, and Jupiter are in the sign of Libra. That’s a lot of Libra. Scott has Scorpio rising and three planets in Scorpio. That’s a lot of fixity in the feeling department. Scott is head ruled, but soft hearted. Much of his emotional growth can be attributed to his partner Lisa, who is a Cardinal Feeling type. Her Sun, Venus, and Uranus are in Cancer. She’s heart ruled, but also a strategic thinker. She has to be in order to partner well with Scott. Scott and Lisa balance each other beautifully. Scott’s strong and firm hardworking hands have designed and built sustainable housing, planted and tended bountiful gardens, and nourished community. He’s also a Tai Chi master, baker, musician, song writer, and good friend. Lisa has strong hardworking multi-talented hands that create many wonderful multi-media works of art and produce many healthy expressive venues for children. www.pompanuck.org.

susan alancraigSusan was born on the same day and year as Scott. She has the same planets at the same degrees in different astrological houses. You’d think their hands would be very similar, but they’re very different. Observe the separation between Susan’s head and life line. She has long index fingers that are ambitious, but in a very different way than Scott. Notice how the fingers on her right (dominant) hand lean towards the index finger. A motivated natural giver, she has traversed much of the Third World In the Peace Corp with her partner Orin, helping less fortunate people live better lives. Her language and communication skills are refined. Susan sings in a chorale; her wonderful voice is a finely tuned instrument. She’s a great gardener, cellist, documentary photographer (my website photos), and good friend.

Cousin RichieMy Cousin Richie, Libra extraordinaire, philosopher, sculptor, and inventor; created Tangle, The Infinite Sculpture (designer series of interactive, interlocking, plastic elbows). Our mothers were sisters. We share the ancestral “happiness”, and “seeker” genes. I once said to Richie, “If you put the same religious fervor into saving the world as you have into plastic elbows, we’d be saved”. He replied, “I am saving the world, one Tangle at a time” He meant it.

Dalai LamaRichie has sold tens of millions of Tangles worldwide. I ran into a mutual friend on the streets of NYC who said he visited a monastery in Tibet and saw a picture of the Dalai Lama with a chrome Tangle in his lap. I wasn’t surprised. When I visited Richie at his gift show booth in NYC, he was talking with a very conservative buyer from Wal-Mart. I leaned closer to overhear what he was saying, “Let me show you the only product in this show worth more than money”. He meant it.

 

The hardest task in reading hands is learning to judge hands. One person’s long, rectangular, and firm might be another’s short, square, and soft. Rigorous practice is necessary to learn to observe and judge hands. Few of us are pure types. You may look at Cousin Richie’s fingers and see them as a bit short for a thinking type. I admit that if I didn’t know Richie, I may have seen his fingers differently, but the opposition between Libra and Aries is powerful. Dominant Libra opposes Aries as autumn opposes spring. Odysseus’s strategy fanned the flames of Jason’s passion on his quest for the Golden Fleece. Knowing Richie’s astrology and behavior has influenced how I see his hands.

GaryMy brother Gary has a Pisces sun. He’s a mutable feeling type. With Libra hands, he behaves more like a cardinal thinking type. Gary is a geriatric psychiatrist. I used to threaten to become one of his craziest patients, but then as a Gemini, I decided not to get old. Gary’s Libra temperament graciously and gracefully deals with the most stressful situations. Pisces gives Gary an ability to have the natural empathy and intuition that many Libras lack. Gary is a wonderful psychiatrist, husband, father, brother, son, and friend.

Heart line touching head lineYou don’t have to be an expert palmist to see certain truths in hands. When the end of a heart line dips down to touch the beginning of a headline, it’s unlikely the person will verbalize their deeper feelings, especially their negative emotions. Their rational mind controls a very impressionable heart. Add a short index finger and that wreaks havoc on a person’s self-esteem. It makes trying to offer advice to anyone with that combination a challenge for anyone who wants to help. From their personal history, you may learn that one or their parents was emotionally or physically absent during the person’s formative years.

Mohandas GandhiOne highly principled Libra was Mohandas Gandhi, spiritual leader, lawyer, and civil rights champion in early twentieth century India. He promoted non-violent disobedience and began India’s freedom movement. Gandhi must have had huge empathy and unshakable conviction to overcome the inertia of his short index fingers. Dennis Kucinich, a Libra, and a long shot in the 2004 presidential campaign, promised to make non-violence a priority by establishing a “Department of Peace”. Russian president Vladimir Putin is a Libra. He was nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Bruce Springstein “The Boss”, has captivated masses for 30+ years with his charisma. Jim Henson and John Lennon were also Libras who mesmerized masses of followers.

SleepingBeautySleeping Beauty symbolizes a search for self through other. Prince Charming (Aries) rescues SB from her hundred year sleep. He bestows a magic kiss that enables her to awaken. They ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. Many Libras have unrealistic expectations of relationships that end up a disappointing reality. Most Libras prefer to be married. A marriage license may be a legally binding contract, but it doesn’t guarantee love.

 

Winnie the PoohWinnie the Pooh (Libra) tries to find balance in his life by “think, think, thinking”. Somehow, he always manages to get a pot full of honey for himself. Christopher Robin (Aquarius) knows what’s best for everyone. Winnie lives in the hundred-acre wood with his friends, Piglet (Gemini), Rabbit (Virgo), Roo (Sagittarius), Tigger (Leo), and Eeyore (Capricorn).

Everyone has Libra, Venus, and a 7th house in their astrology. Deep down, we know what’s honest, true, and fair. Most of us have ethical and moral values and boundaries. We also know right from wrong and fear the consequences of our betrayals. It’s easy to analyze, rationalize, and compartmentalize our bad habits and behaviors. “Laws keep honest people honest”, “Locks keep honest people out”, and “Contracts are only as good as the people who sign them” are aphorisms that describe Libran logic.

Historically, when the outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transited the sign of Libra, forces of good and evil clashed as we tried to find a balance between optimism, pessimism, tolerance, prejudice, progress, and regress. There was not much social or political stability during these periods.

While the planet Neptune (Pisces) transited the sign of Libra from 1942 to 1957, Nuclear weapons began proliferating. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  President Truman instructed the Atomic Energy Commission to produce an even bigger `Hydrogen Bomb’. The United Nations began blossoming. International cartels became firmly established. The European Common Market was recognized. The civil rights movement flourished. Group psychology became popular. The World Council of Churches was established. Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini, founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was the first American citizen canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

The art world went through dramatic changes.  Allen Ginsberg became a popular poet writing, “I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”. When Neptune left Libra in 1957, the bestselling novel was Peyton Place   focusing on sexual intrigue in a small town. People born between 1942 and 1957 tend to be overly idealistic in relationships.  They must learn to harmonize, compromise, and sacrifice.

While the planet Uranus (Aquarius) transited the sign of Libra from 1968 to 1975, the spirit of our nation shifted from optimism to pessimism. Faith in progress turned into disillusionment with national institutions and world progress. This period was marked by useless popular inventions like the “pet rock”, giant platform shoes, and shag haircuts. Punk Rock, along with primal therapy and streaking became popular. The Supreme Court legalized abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy (Roe vs. Wade). Governor Wallace, a racial bigot from Alabama, announced that he would be running for President on the newly formed American Independent Party ticket. He threatened to repeal the “so called civil rights laws”. Meanwhile, the most popular show on TV was a comic satire about a racist named Archie Bunker. Diplomat Henry Kissinger approved the financing of clandestine CIA activities in Chile aimed at preventing the election and inauguration of Salvador Allende as Marxist President. Patty Hearst was kidnapped and brainwashed by the Symbionese Liberation Army. A military junta deposed Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

While the planet Pluto (Scorpio) transited the sign of Libra from 1971 to 1983, growers and pickers finally reached a settlement that ended a nearly ten year grape boycott (led by Cesar Chavez). Farm workers finally had bargaining power. This time marked the official beginning of the environmental movement. The Supreme Court upheld busing as a way of integrating schools.  An assassination attempt left presidential candidate George Wallace paralyzed from the waist down. Prime Minister Idi Amin slaughtered over 300,000 Ugandans and alienated his country from the rest of the world. Violence in Ireland forced Britain to seize control of Northern Ireland and suspend the Protestant controlled parliament. An arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization terrorized the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich. In 1975 South Vietnam crumbled, bringing an end to the Vietnam War. Because of the Karen Ann Quinlan case, `right to die’ rulings were enacted all across the USA. The serial killer “Son of Sam” was finally put away after terrorizing the male and female population of NYC. Religious fanatic Jim Jones got his followers to commit suicide. John Lennon was murdered.

John Lennon - Imagine

John Lennon 1940 – 1980

“Imagine there’s no country,

It isn’t hard to do.

Nothing to kill or die for,

And no religion, too.

Imagine all the people.

Living life in peace”