Dermatoglyphics is the study of the skin ridges in our hands. The word is made up of two parts — “derma” meaning skin and “glyphs” meaning carving. When we talk about Dermatoglyphs we are mainly concerned with the fingerprints, though on some hands there are glyphs to be found on the palm itself.

Your fingerprints are fully formed 16 weeks after conception, a full 5 months before you enter the world, and they will never change.

Each fingerprint is composed of between 50 and 100 lines. Though no 2 fingerprints are exactly alike, prints can be classified into one of 4 major types: the whorl, the loop, the arch and the tented arch. There are also 2 subtypes of the whorl. The peacock looks exactly as the name suggests, like the eye on a peacock tail feather. The composite resembles a yin/yang symbol, 2 loops swirling around each other.

In general, a preponderance of a particular type of fingerprint can tell you about the basic temperament of the subject. A formula for determining the karmic life purpose by mapping out the number and type of print along with which finger(s) it falls on was developed by Richard Unger of the International Institute of Hand Analysis in Sausalito, CA.

A common occurrence of a glyph on the palm may be found between the fingers. A loop between the Mercury and Apollo fingers is called the Loop of Humor. Having this loop indicates a subject with an optimistic outlook and a good sense of humor. A loop between Apollo and Saturn is called the Loop of Seriousness. People with this loop exhibit common sense and may feel a great sense of responsibility in their lives.

Less common is a loop between Saturn and Jupiter. Called the Rajah Loop, it was once thought that this marking indicated descent from royal lineage. One author has renamed this mark the Loop of Charisma. It can be viewed as a mark of executive ability.