About the author
John Bottrill Ph.D. is a former
professor - author of learned papers in Psychology and several books.
Apart from writing and genealogical
research, he enjoys renovating houses, furniture and paintings. He currently lives in Spain with his partner
and a naughty cat, called Porage.
Information about living in Spain can
be found at http://smallholdinginspain.blogspot.com.es.
Historical information about the
Boterel family (the original spelling!) can be found at www.bottrillfamilyhistory.com
All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed without
permission, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review
purposes.
©2013
Copyright John Bottrill
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Foreword
Chapter
1 Party Palmistry
Two
painful experiences - importance of gin
Chapter
2 Your hand and your personality
Personality
and change - will - logic - worry -decision - the boss - what type are you?
Chapter
3 How sick can you get?
Congenital
weaknesses - mental - liver - heart - nails - circulation - breathing -
digestion - rheumatism - the dreaded piles – ethical considerations
Chapter
4 A fortune in your hands
Work
or luck - determination - outside influences- health - the hand of a rich man -
the hand of a poor man - success after 40 - financial disaster
Chapter
5 Your future career
Control
yourself - and others - outside influences - health - energy - character -
ambition - teaching - business - arts/science - medical - manual – religion
-
travel
Chapter
6 Death and its markings
Natural
- illness - accidents - psychological impact - should you tell? - suicide -
violent death - longevity
Chapter
7 Love, marriage, and sex
What
type are you? - lines of influence -deviation - masturbation - breakups -
adultery - divorce - sterility - children - passion - pleasure - union -
housewife - disappointment - celibacy and its horrors - vice
Chapter
8 Psychic power in your hand
Psychic
ability - innate - learned - psychic type - E.S.P. - magic - mysticism -
intuition - clues
Chapter
9 Your hand and social graces
Conformity
- role playing - getting along with others- the Bohemian - manipulation - the
persuasive psychopath
Chapter
10 The born leader
Napoleon
- politics - powerful friends -independence - will - influence - success - fame
-ambition
Chapter
11 Imagination and Dreaming
The
key to success and failure - overactive imagination – strong interest in sex - too
much of a good thing - the dreamer – controlling habits
Chapter
12 A fondness for travel
Money
- curiosity - job - the born traveller - successful and unsuccessful journeys -
signs of travel - dates - probable and predestined events
Chapter
13 Palmistry in everyday life
Your
boss's weak points - a difficult husband – sum people up – success at
interviews - the conman and the gambler
Chapter
14 How to go about reading hands
Palmar
types – hair – colour – nails – fingers – lines - - signs - age
CHAPTER I
PARTY PALMISTRY
My
interest in palmistry began in my teens - a mere curiosity until my mother
pitch-forked me into a public reading.
It happened in a restaurant at a table shared by my family and a
middle-aged couple. The two women hated
each other so, when the conversation turned to children, my mother started to
boast of her son's abilities.
"Yes, my son's good at reading hands. Aren't you, John?"
Utterly embarrassed, I speared a pea
– as you would.
"Really?" snapped the
other woman, seeing the possibility of spiking mother's guns. "Well, see what you can make of mine,
dear."
Since the floor refused to open and
swallow me, I bared the few shreds I knew.
“You’ve got a long life line, though that doesn’t mean you’ll have a
long life,” I added hastily. Her husband
in turn speared a pea. “And, er, you’re
strong willed.”
"Is that all?" demanded
the woman peremptorily.
"Uh, well ..... you're much
misunderstood ......"
Her eyes gleamed as she glared at
her husband, an unexpected victim.
"Yes, that's certainly true."
There was a frigid silence, and
everyone busily speared peas.
I decided I’d better learn more -
much more.
* * *
But
history tends to repeat itself. Many years later, I was at a party in Toronto.
It was 11pm. and the party was beginning to liven up. I felt that contented glow which comes from
slightly too much gin and good company.
But dismay! Here came that
portly woman who had been smiling vaguely at me all evening. I retreated to a corner and hid behind a
rubber tree. But she was not
deceived.
"I've got you at last, you naughty
thing," she cooed. “Mary told me
you're a palmist - is that right?"
Cornered, I muttered something non-committal, but she was not to be put
off that easily and waved a plump hand in front of my face. "Oh, do tell me what you can see."
"You're comfortably off and on your
second husband. You're full of energy,
used to getting your own way, and enjoy flirting. Hm...I see you've had to consult a
gynaecologist."
Now she was flustered and it was my chance
to recognise an old friend on the other side of the room and make excuses,
leaving her to wonder how it's done.
How is it done? Each of the
things I told her was obvious from one short look at the hand. Other things need a more detailed
examination, and a full reading involves prints, checking, a written report,
and several days. But all you want to
know in such a situation is how to give a short commentary at a glance.
Let me point out first of all that there
are two ways of reading hands. One way
is second nature to those who are psychic - to them things are just
obvious. There's nothing to be learnt,
except by practice, and any instruction book is a waste of money for them. (This book's supposed to be more
entertaining than instructive, so it's a good buy even for psychics.) The other way is to learn the various
pointers and marks of the hand, and to read it as if it were a letter in a
foreign language which has to be translated. Chapter 14 will give you some idea
of the sort of things palmists look for and what they may mean. The rest of the book looks at particular
topics with examples I've come across (with false names, of course).
At first when you're practising, it's best
to use sympathetic friends. Keep a
bottle of gin handy - it's amazing how sympathetic it makes friends, and of
course your good self! Most beginners
rely too much on their own hands, which is a mistake because they have
preconceived ideas about themselves. We
all tend to see ourselves as we would like to appear, rather than as we are.
* * *