Hand reading has long suffered from a lack of peer review (or argument, if you prefer). Imagine if chemistry had to be invented almost from scratch again and again by each individual researcher. And yet, to some degree at least, that is the state of affairs in the world of palmistry. I do believe that in the age of the Internet, this will be the last generation of hand readers for whom this is the case. With this historical perspective in mind, with several hundred pages of downloaded material in my hands and in my mind for the last few weeks, with a light touch (I hope) and sharp scalpel, I probe into the body of PDC.

General Review
www.pdc.co.il is a large and important body of work. As such, it stands on its pedestal, begging for commentary and critique. But before I start agreeing and disagreeing with Holtzman, I would first like to commend him and all his colleagues for creating such a professional and stimulating web site. It is clear that Holtzman has investigated hands quite thoroughly and has a firm grasp of what the hands reveal about personality infrastructure. Further praise is warranted for the general appearance of the site and the numerous photographs that accompany the traits being described. I had no trouble seeing what Holtzman was talking about.

While firmly grounded in the analytic, Holtzman can wax philosophic with the best of them. Read with me as I quote him on hardness and softness in hands:

"A golf ball and a ping pong ball are almost identical in size, yet consider the distance each will travel when struck with the same force. Coal and cotton will burn, but how much longer and how much more heat will the coal produce than will an equal volume of cotton. In these examples we have all that needs to be known about hardness and softness in terms of energy potential."

That being said, I do have my opinionated critique to offer, including commentary on grounds of philosophy, emphasis and specific PDC interpretations. Lengthy and detailed remarks will soon follow, but for now I would like to say that sometimes I just love this website and other times it drives me crazy.

Holtzman can be eloquent and insightful, and often is. PDC stands to move the behavioral sciences (and the field of hand analysis in particular) forward. But, at other times, Holtzman seems convoluted and pedantic. It is as if, against the advice of his professors, A.H. has decided to do his Ph.D. thesis on the therapeutic value of palmistry and he wants to show them how wrong they are. At these times, PDC loses touch with the inspirational / positive potential inherent in each person and instead becomes a list of deficiencies.

Arnold, how would you tell someone of his Compulsive Personality Disorder or her Inverse Guilt Syndrome? You are a master of language. What can be done with an Undefined Self? Is there a gift associated with a whorl on the Moon or is Cognitive Distortion the whole story? Must everything be maladjustment due to early childhood programming?

I can hear Holtzman's disclaimer from the other side of the planet: this is information for the utilization of professionals; it is meant to be clinical. But, I object. Language is important for interpreter and recipient alike. I want to hear the good news along with the challenge side of things. Pretty much everything in hands has its up side and down. Is it not what you do with what is in your hands that makes hand reading the fascinating subject it is?

While I am still fired up, what's this nonsense about not responding to questions from other hand analysts? More than one hand reader has reported their disappointment on this score. Dismissed peons of palmistry! Begone. I am trying to have a serious discussion here. This posture is particularly ironic since, in his introduction, Holtzman bemoans the difficulty he has faced getting his views accepted.

"Consider that the therapist has in PDC a diagnostic tool which delivers, almost from the start, information which, at the best of times, is garnered only after a period of years. Clearly, we have here extraordinary leverage for those who identify with short-term therapy programs.

Yet for all this there is a discernable hostility which the conservative establishment of professional behavioral specialists direct at the very concept of Psychodiagnostic Chirology. There are many reasons for this not the least of which requires having to adapt to references to the human psyche which are, in effect, a language apart from everything studied in academia and experienced in clinical work."

Is Holtzman 'projecting his hostilities' towards those lower on the societal ladder, stomping hand readers' tender fingers (and feelings) while reaching pleadingly upward for a hand from the professionals who already have earned society's sanction?

I meant this only half seriously, Arnold. But, just for the moment, let's say A.H. is projecting, and projecting is shown by the such-and-such marker in hands. What other markers ameliorate this trait? Which accentuate it? Are ameliorated projectors better writers, poets, artists? Better therapists? What are the degrees of projection-itis? How do you measure all this? My guess is that A.H. knows how to handle these issues but didn't want to complicate things at his Ph.D. thesis review. Too bad.

Specific Markings: Commentary

PDC: Comprehensive Overview
PDC, when stripped of its clinical wrappings, is actually not that different from most other hand reading systems.

PDC breaks the hands down into four quadrants, the vertical axis being the mind - body axis and the horizontal axis representing the conscious - unconscious. Unusual shapes and markers are indicative of some defect / special affect in the specified zone. Nothing particularly new here, nor should it be. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But Holtzman's genius and his fatal flaw (if I may stray into hyperbole) is in his clinical extrapolation of the four quadrants. It is not so much that PDC opens new territory. Rather, it is the way PDC mines old territory with its clinical fine toothcomb that yields interpretations that go beyond the traditional approaches of other palmistry systems.

I particularly enjoyed reading Holtzman's discussion of the Apollo / Mercury quadrant as representative of a person's "conception of personal worth". [Paraphrasing:] Early on, a child learns cause and effect: if it wants something it can exert an effort to get it and that effort may or may not be worth the prize. If things are given to the child too easily, the child's evaluation of the future is unduly distorted. As an adult, they may never organize themselves sufficiently to produce the outcomes desired. If, at the other extreme, the child learns he cannot muster the resources to gain the goal, no matter the energy expended, the same person as an adult, still feeling inadequate to the challenge, may try to overly manipulate others to get his or her wants fulfilled. In both cases we have an inaccurate evaluation of the possibilities inherent in reality.

These few pages may be the most insightful description of Mercury issues I have ever read. In one fell swoop Holtzman provides a framework for understanding:
The short Mercury finger (inaccurate self picture in the IIHA system),
The low set Mercury (issues of abandonment, again in the IIHA system),
The sharply bent upper Mercury (trust issues, IIHA),
The crooked Mercury finger (manipulation),
The bowed Mercury (suspicion),
and other markings too numerous to mention.

However, setting aside philosophical differences for the moment (I'm guessing Holtzman would have at least as much trouble with the IIHA Soul Psychology vs. Personality approach as I do with the childhood trauma at the root of just about everything approach of PDC), where are the positive possibilities here - or are there none save recovery and canceling out of negative traits?

Isn't everyone challenged to develop an appropriate self image (behavioral scientists included)? Most Mercury fingers are at least a little funky. How do we weigh the effect of such markers? And if we could weigh all the traits together, what therapeutic approach is recommended? Arnold, what if it is you or I with a 10% inaccurate self image, or 20%? Should we seek therapy? How would this affect the rest of our life story?

Following the same track, all sharply bent upper Mercury owners exhibit some trust issues, but one owner is constantly in abusive relationships or none at all and another is seeking greater release during meditation with relationships working out just fine (more or less). What is the PDC position on this? Maybe these questions are outside the PDC purview. After all, PDC as defined in the Comprehensive Overview, is a map to the psyche for use by professionals. But my stance is that it is a map for everyone and maybe here we just agree to disagree.

In all fairness to PDC, Holtzman does say that with the same condition, behavior can vary enormously, that one person's incorrect self-evaluation, for instance, can yield a sense of hopelessness and cause another to become an overachiever. "The same Negative Oral Fixation may be the source of enormous motivation to succeed." Bravo! Despite the italics and the bold print used in the last quotation, where is the discussion regarding this or any other marker on the positive potential inherent in each pair of hands?

Sublime Markings of Creativity
Here they are. Since I repeatedly scold Holtzman for leaving out the good news, it is only fair to point out that this is not 100% true. Here Holtzman enumerates three indicators for creativity to be found in hands:
A deeply curved head line,
An enlarged (bulging) Moon, and
Any line, clear or broken, connecting the Moon quadrant to the Jupiter / Saturn quadrant of the palm.
No argument here, other than to remark, is there anything else good in hands?

Mercury Finger: Waisted Lower Section - The Negative Oral Fixation
Holtzman shows a clearly delineated photograph of a little finger with the lower third (base phalange) markedly waisted and proceeds to declare "the attitudes, behavior, and indeed the history of this individual will invariably be as described below." [italics mine] Good, I like confidence in a researcher.

Titled 'The Strivings for Control and the Fear of Impotence,' A.H. asks us, the readers, to imagine what it would be like as a young infant whose needs for food, warmth, etc. are in some way neglected.

"The infant records three circumstances which become ingrained, perhaps permanently, in his subconscious mind and which constitute his first, original and entirely comprehensive reference to himself [as follows]

1. That he is inherently vulnerable
2. That he is utterly impotent
3. That he will know no safety or security

[In sum,] Dependency is equated with impotence…it cannot but inspire the individual to strive for controls." [Some paraphrasing used]

Most palmists treat the twelve phalanges (or zones as we have arbitrarily labeled them at the IIHA) as distinct realms of behavior/talent/orientation. The upper (nail) phalange represents the abstract, philosophic level of the finger in question; the lower zone represents the most physical. Body/mind/spirit; solid/liquid/gaseous; id/ego/superego - these and other trinities are descriptors often employed by hand readers to analyze the three realms of each finger. Going further, the key words for Mercury being Communications and Inquiry, upper Mercury denotes abstract communications and abstract inquiry: it is the zone of brainstorming, marketing theory, eloquence, etc. -- all Mercurian traits in their abstract form. Similarly, middle Mercury is associated with communications and inquiry into the practical realm: business strategies, negotiation skills, etc reside here. Other systems tie the twelve zones to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, with a wide range of interpretations offered and theoretically defended.

For instance, lower Mercury is the Zone of Scorpio in the Bevy Jaegers system and the Zone of Aquarius according to Dylan Warren-Davies (encompassing such divergent areas as computer skills and sexuality). Terry Dukes (Chinese Hand Analysis) takes a different and much more complex approach founded upon a different philosophic base. I lean Jaegerish here. At the IIHA we treat lower Mercury as a zone associated with sexuality and intimacy: a waisted lower Mercury represents inhibition in this area.

But wait. A waisted lower Mercury on a straight, full sized, healthy looking Mercury finger shows some sexual inhibition. But with a healthy enough heart line and an absence of other key markers I would probably not even mention this in a reading (unless the lower Mercury zone were super attenuated compared to the other lower zones - as is actually revealed in the PDC photograph). Further, what about the height of the lower Mercury zone. If it is short and waisted (compared to the zones above and across), I am much more inclined to weigh the degree of inhibition as significant; maybe even to the level of a dominant trait.

My point is this: Holtzman does not treat this marker in context and apparently feels no need to (remember his opening remarks). His conclusions are independent of the presence or absence of any other markers in the hand, therefore we have no method to gauge the overall importance of this marker and its place in the owner's life. Is the narrowing lower Mercury harmonious or disharmonious with the rest of the personality, and, assuming disharmony, what role does this sexual inhibition [IIHA system] or dependency = insecurity / search for controls [PDC system] play in the larger story of the person's life? I do believe this is an important point.

Back to the positive…Dependency and control, hmmm. I think I can take something from this, Arnold. It is not too great a leap to connect control and dependency issues to the sex and intimacy zone. I can imagine a lower Mercury, the weakest and smallest of the twelve zones, being an indicator of one who feels controlled by and resistant to an intimate level of connection. However, with an Air shaped hand, Earthy lines and a flat heart line compared to a Water hand and a curved heart line -- never mind. Issues of dependency and control. I think I'll try it out this way the next time it comes up in a reading. Thank you Mr. Holtzman.

What about a hand with an enlarged lower Mercury? At the IIHA, we treat this (in context, of course) as indicative of the sexual display type, peacocks strutting their stuff on the beach or in the office. Perhaps they too have issues of dependency avoidance and are using their sexual bravado to gain a certain control. PDC's treatment of the enlarged lower Mercury is 'promises unfulfilled': a person's whose mother was very available, then was not. As an adult, they are attracted to partners who ultimately reject them. An interesting perspective - I'll see how it plays out in my readings.

There may be another way I can employ the PDC approach within the context of my own understanding of Mercury issues. At the IIHA, poorly formed Mercury fingers may also indicate issues of surrender. Someone who surrenders too much too often is at risk of losing control of his or her life and is subject to bad treatment from mates and others (like the long suffering spouse of an alcoholic). Conversely, someone who surrenders too little or not often enough may never let anyone over the moat and through the castle walls (a life of isolation). Of course, the rest of us, masters of surrender that we are, only surrender when appropriate, never too much or too little, always just right - including surrender to the still voice within. Let's see: Injured-Surrender-Reflex-Associated-With-Traumatic-Enforced-Dependency Syndrome: ISRAWTED. Hmmm, what would be the "cure"? Inquiry and communications, naturally. "I have been hurt before Mary/Bob, but I am willing to take a step closer. Let's talk some more." Thanks again to PDC for opening my eyes to a greater possibility.

Mercury Finger: Narrowed Middle Phalange - The Negative Anal Fixation
I said earlier that at times, Holtzman could be convoluted and pedantic. Read the following PDC description of the narrowed middle phalange of the Mercury finger (The Negative Anal Fixation) and see what you think:

"The child discovers, to its enormous dismay, that the degree to which he, or she, is emotionally vulnerable is the degree to which his or her capacity to give is greater than that which he or she is allowed to receive. The child handles this threat to its security and well being by conditioning its mind, in effect, conditioning its attitudes in all matters of relationships to accommodate this low level of belonging. By 'needing' less he, or she, may now comfortably suffice with less.

If we examine the child in its new psychical format, as it were, we shall not be able to say that [its] true and original needs and drives are reduced. After all, its energy resources have not been reduced. Nothing can touch these. But the child has successfully removed his, or her, attitude from these energy resources. In other words, the attitude patterns attuned to all that concern relationships become dislocated from that (energy) program which should alone have undertaken the design of these attitude patterns. There is no longer any unity or harmony between the child's (and later the adult's) most fundamental needs and drives and the defensive cerebral discipline which must remove, or at the very least minimize, its emotional vulnerabilities."

Again, disregarding philosophical differences, I find A.H. at his best when I can figure out what he is saying without having to read through it three times slowly. If the Mercury finger is representative of a person's evaluation of the energy necessary to get one's needs met (as discussed earlier in the Negative Oral Fixation and in the Comprehensive Overview), then why should the middle phalange in particular reveal this new level of insight into the psyche? Is it that a narrowed disharmonious mental section equals a disharmonious cerebral discipline? I don't think this is what PDC is saying, but I am at a loss to see the reasoning here.

To my way of thinking, a concave middle Mercury indicates poor business sense or negotiation avoidance (at least most of the time), the degree of which is indicated by the context of the rest of the hand. This can range from paying too much for a used car to grossly inappropriate power balances in a relationship (or, in its advanced form, to someone who has learned from mistakes like these and is now improving in this arena). I come to this conclusion for reasons given earlier: as the zone of practical inquiry and communications, inhibitions here (concave shape) equals inhibitions of communications and inquiry regarding tangible factors. Using the same reasoning, an enlarged middle Mercury equals the business strategist, negotiations expert (at least in potential if not in application). I am not sure what the PDC algebra looks like in this respect.

PDC says a bulging middle Mercury is Abandonment Anxiety, an interpretation we reserve at the IIHA to the significantly low set Mercury finger. Again, what is the basis for the PDC evaluation of this trait being in the middle of Mercury? Maybe Abandonment Anxiety is shown here; but if so, why? I wonder what you other hand readers out there think about Abandonment Anxiety - please don't leave me out here all alone, send me your commentary.

That being said, I did enjoy the PDC rendition of Abandonment Anxiety even if I think it belongs elsewhere.

The Flat Venus, Knots of Order, and the Murderer's Thumb
Many PDC interpretations ring quite true to my way of thinking and, I suppose, to many other hand readers as well. That the flat Venus reveals a decreased sexual responsiveness (regardless of its origins in early childhood or elsewhere) is standard in palmistry books. Likewise, PDC's interpretation of the knots of order as indicative of intellectualization, rationalization and perseverance would not set off any alarms at a hand reader's convention.

In his discussion of the knots of order, A.H. is clear, precise and downright elegant, and further, he gives good news and bad news examples. Perseverance can be an advantage when one is following through on one's goals, a disadvantage if one has difficulty letting go when appropriate. Good. I only wish A.H. would apply the same principle elsewhere.

Of course, A.H. does apply the same principle elsewhere (just not often enough to suit my taste). In his discussion of the Murderer's Thumb, we find the upside and the down. Up = commitment to goals, a constancy of execution best utilized when there is work equal to the energy available for doing work; Down = the obsessive possibility that results when the extreme determination shown by this marker is underemployed. Excellent! Not only does PDC give the full range of possibilities, it tells what the key factor is that leans the interpretation one way or the other. Clearly, Holtzman knows how important it is to create the context for interpretation, however, for the life of me I can't understand why so much of PDC leaves out this absolutely critical piece.

The Simian Crease
Being the proud owner of a simian crease, I enjoyed the PDC description of the "sudden and radical adjustment" inclination of those with this marker. Having left behind a more corporate existence over twenty years ago for the life of a hand reader, I can only agree with Holtzman's description (although Holtzman says most with the Simian Crease only think of such 180 degree turnarounds without living them out). My own experience with Simian Crease owners is that they are extremists of one type or another, often living both ends of the 180 degree line at the same time; like a surgeon who enjoys mountain climbing or the business executive vacationing in rural Borneo. Of course, the Simian Crease has much more to offer than just the above, but PDC only gives it a little time - selfishly perhaps, I would have loved to read more.

Conic to Pointy Tips - Splitting
Other PDC interpretations overlap standard views but take a different slant. Splitting is one such area. PDC treats this finger tip type as "normally associated with children who have yet to learn how to manage with ambivalence." I kind of agree and kind of disagree.

Holtzman concludes (quite eloquently I might add) that Splitters are moody and that, depending upon degree, this can elevate to a disabling condition, as in Borderline Personality Disorder. Well, OK. They may not be the only moody personnel on the planet, but I agree that they can be particularly good at it when they get going - all right, I admit it - sometimes they can become hysterical (fanatical?). But where is the upside possibility; the poetic, divinely inspired, idealist (some might say utopianistic) possibility? I just read the enlarged shoe-box shaped hands of a philosopher type whose exaggerated pointy tips startled me. Certainly, his "moodiness" created problems in all his relationships (the ones he hadn't managed to destroy as yet). But wouldn't his conic / pointy side think it was the overly mental philosopher who was the problem? Just how much of his "fanatic" edge should he give up? Should he keep taking Prozac until his tips turn square?

Yes, conic to pointy tipped persons can be overly sensitive (compared to square and spatulate tipped persons, that is). But what if a Splitter wrote a book (a book of poems probably) condemning squares as incapable of rose smelling and UFO communicating, implying that they were disastrously boring lifeless droids, and that spatulates were too busy to really appreciate the inner realms? Viva la difference, I say! Each type's challenge, as I see it, is to become the advanced version of its own type. Can't motivated Splitters learn to anchor and be realistic without losing their more etheric charms? Can't advanced squares boogie down with advanced Splitters? Why not?

P.S. Holtzman does not seem to be in love with Spatulate tips either. He states that "the individual [identifies] an ideal circumstance as a legitimate expectation and immediate imperative," an eloquent expression of Spatulate's tendency towards impatience and unrealistic demands on self and others. But Arnold, what about Spatulate's originality and inventiveness? I know you know this, but not a single mention?

The Moon Whorl: Cognitive Distortion, The Red Moon: The Compromised Self, and The Hollow Moon: The Depletion of Original Self References
I have a similar critique of Holtzman's treatment of the Moon. On the challenges and problematic factors, I think he is right on the money. But where is the good news possibility?

Starting with the Moon whorl (Cognitive Distortion), Holtzman describes a child's "enormous emotional significance in whatever has proven to be his, or her, central focus of interest." When eventually, "the adults prevail" and this investment is shattered, the Moon whorl person is left "vacant of motivation". Combined with PDC's description of other Moon markers, this captures the essence of (-) Moon: stagnation, alienation, disillusionment in the IIHA system (I haven't read it described elsewhere as such: other palmists of the world, do you treat Moon disorders in similar fashion?)

In the IIHA system, the Moon whorl is a high point, a potential Life Purpose indicator. At their best, Moon whorl owners use advanced Moon awareness (self enlightenment skills) to help those who have lost meaning in life due to lost contact with their inner / Moon side. It is the mark of The Spiritual Teacher, The Life Coach. Moon whorl owners face the life-scale assignment to mine this possibility and bring it to the surface. Not a word in this direction from PDC.

Likewise, with a red Moon: The Compromised-Self Syndrome. "The Compromised Self Syndrome is manifest as a lifestyle wherein the individual has long deferred to the patterns of thought and behavior of another." And again with the Hollowed Moon: "This person has learned that his spontaneous responses to his environment had no validity."

Absolutely!

A.H. states the challenge perfectly. To access (+) Moon attributes, the owner of a red Moon must descend into their sub-basement, do battle with these exact demons as described by PDC, and if possible, return (not without wounds) to life intact and more conscious than ever before; perhaps to become a Life Coach, etc. as described above. I have seen this outcome numerous times and seen its one-half good news one-half bad news outcome even more often. But, in this case, PDC is like my television set: Plane crashes - details at 6. Still, the (-) possibility is so well put, I think I'll make use of Holtzman's description in my own readings.

The Short Saturn Finger: The Self Undefined
PDC states that the short Saturn finger indicates "A lack of definition to some degree in most areas where choice is normally an extension of the singular self." Holtzman goes on to offer a brilliantly concise and expertly crafted example of this possibility. He asks us to imagine one woman (with a normal Saturn finger) as meeting, say, fifty eligible men over a course of time. This group she narrows down to six or seven serious suitors, of which, two or three may be considered as possible marriage partners. The opposite extreme is the short Saturn finger woman, who accepts twenty to twenty five suitors out of fifty, considering ten (completely dissimilar types) for marriage. The problem: what are the criteria (if any) to be taken into account?

I like it. I like it a lot. Clear, cogent, captivating. Holtzman at his best.

To me, the short Saturn finger has always been an indicator of rebelliousness, a distaste of rules and regulations (a person short of normal Saturn traits of responsibility and accountability, etc.) On some more disharmonious hands we have the biker dude or dudess of the old Hollywood movies, wreaking havoc on some innocent shopkeeper in rural New Mexico, enjoying themselves at someone else's expense. On other hands, the trait seems more like the misunderstood anti-hero ala James Dean (Mel Gibson?), his motorcycle jacket a symbol of the eternal quest for unfettered freedom in an unfree world. I now have a new way of talking about the short Saturn finger, one I can use constructively in a reading. If I can get one insight out of a new palmistry book, I consider it a huge success. PDC has given me several, all with excellent potential to flesh out a reading. Thanks again, A.H.

Hard and Soft Hands: The Bohemian Spread

I also learned something new reading Holtzman's discussion of the behavioral development of the child in his sections on consistency and the wide finger spread. That hands range from super soft to hard as a rock is readily apparent and has been analyzed in many palmistry books. It is a trait I always check when I read someone's hands and one I wish I knew when I only have a set of handprints to work from. Benham's treatment of a Jupiter dominant hand with consistency ranging from soft (lacking the energy to put his ambitions into action) to springy (the best possibility here) to hard (possibilities of hardened, tyrannical views) helped me in my early palmistry years to understand the value of combining hand traits together. The power is in the linkage, between the lines, so to speak.

I find Holtzman's analysis equally compelling. He as at his eloquent best (remember the golf ball and cotton analogy), not only in his description, but also in his recognition of a continuum of expressions covering a wide range of possibilities. A.H. asks us to follow as he describes the progress of an infant to an adult, a process he likens to hands firming up over time. Paraphrasing:

The process is marked by a transfer of allegiance from others to the self, a gaining of one's own reference points, a consolidation of the self (italics mine). Extremes either way, hard or soft, are problematic [hard = rigid, soft = they invariably undergo a lengthy process of emotional preparedness for the unpleasantness of translating will into effect].

Likewise with the Bohemian Spread. In "You Know That's A Child In Front Of You When…", Holtzman describes this person as having a "manner of attitudes and behavior more in symmetry with a child's mind than with an adult's" with symptoms ranging from "a careless manner of dress" to "the charm, effervescence and curiosity of a child." The intelligence, talent and basic temperament of the owner modify expressions of this trait. Yes! That's what I want, Arnold. This plus that minus this and you have an example of…

Inhibitions: A Spectrum of Neurotic Styles, The Exhibition Factor: The Other Side of Inhibition
Echoing the above theme, I enjoyed Holtzman's combining hand consistency and flexibility factors with short and long upper zones. I would have loved to see a distinction between fingers (short upper Apollo on a flexible hand, say, vs. short upper Saturn), but I quibble. PDC sees short uppers in general and always if on Saturn as indicative of four types of inhibitions depending on flexibility and consistency as follows: [Paraphrasing]

1. With very hard and very inflexible hands = inability to accept authority
2. With medium flexibility and hardness = inability to surrender to closeness
3. With very flexible and soft hands = inability to take initiatives
4. With super flexible and marshmallowy hands = inability to take any responsibility in life

Conversely, with elongated uppers we have four exhibition tendencies of the same type. For instance, with very hard and inflexible hands, long uppers indicate the same inability to accept authority found in short uppers, but now the person is likely to act out their rebelliousness. Quickie summations of the other possibilities:

   2.  With medium flexibility and hardness = no compromise on receiving their due
   3.  With very flexible and soft hands = overly demonstrates their affections
   4.  With super flexible and marshmallowy hands = looks upon some guru as their god

Again, examples 1, 3, and 4 make sense to me; the reasoning behind #2 seems more obscure.

The Jupiter Finger: Waisted Lower Section - The Blind I, Narrowed Middle Section - Social Incommunication
In similar style to the way PDC describes Mercury as the primary mother experience, extracting an expanded perspective into this mainstay of traditional palmistry, the PDC definition of Jupiter as indicative of the primary father experience opens interesting doors. According to PDC, "A stressful and deficient father-experience will later promise very stressful and troubled social interactions."

Since the Jupiter finger's condition reveals "the image of the person as it is projected to those beyond himself," [as constructed in childhood based upon the father connection], Jupiter deals with a person's identification with station, ideals, goals, and prizes. When the lower zone of Jupiter is waisted, we have an instance of the absent father expressed in adulthood as the person who cannot seem to fit in anywhere. In the case of the narrowed middle zone of Jupiter, again we find the absent father causing adult distress of a similar nature.

At the IIHA, we like to call Jupiter by his Greek counterpart: Zeus - he sits on his thrown in the sky, taking in his kingdom, lightening bolts at the ready. The emphasis is on issues of power and authority. Maybe PDC is correct, maybe Jupiter issues are related to one's relationship with one's father (and hence to the world outside the home). But if A.H. were here in my office right now I would ask him how he explains the changes that take place in one's hands over time? In my experience, zones can change shape and proportion; they can increase or decrease their bends and warps; they can add or subtract vertical or horizontal lines; etc. If all Jupiter problems are daddy related, how is this possible? Also on my list of twenty questions for Mr. Holtzman: what about the difference between the three zones of Jupiter? PDC seems to treat shortages in any of these as more or less the same.

Case Studies
Interesting tidbits abound in the PDC Case Studies section, including pieces of PDC's definition of the different Heart Line types. I wish there was more information presented here, but maybe by now there is (I keep getting faxes sent by students and hand readers who just read Holtzman's Hillary Clinton expose or some other new article appearing on the web site). Holtzman is nothing if not prolific, so any complaint that he has left out important details seems a bit impatient to even my own Spatulated Finger Tips. I have never completely agreed with other hand readers' Heart Line interpretations (PDC's seems, at least in what little I have read, to be especially at variance with my own system), and would love at some point to debate the pros and cons of different views on Heart Lines.

Before I put an end to this review, rather than visit each Case Study, I would just like to mention three of the more salient features presented here yet not seen elsewhere on the web site: