Alissa
This question is quite relevant, and comes up in almost every single palm reading you will ever do, especially if that person has never had their palm read by you before.
"Which hand?" the sitter, invariably, asks (and then smacks down the appropriate palm, often stiff as board).
When reading for the primary purpose of divining the sitter's present life and conditions, you will read their "dominant" hand. This is the hand which shows the traits, aspects, and events that have shaped *this* individual's life.
The non-dominant hand I call the "parents' hand," as it is an amalgamation of the influences and teachings of the sitter's parents that have thereby also acted to shape the sitter's life. It's like reading how the sitter's parents' lives have effectively combined to shape the life of their offspring. (Talk about a difficult task, if you ask me. Maybe someday I'll be up to reading the non-dominant hand, but I know I'm not ready yet!)
Some people say, "But I use both hands!" To these, I usually ask to see the hand they either write with the most or that they eat with. That usually helps them figure it out.
Another word on the presentation of the hand when reading. When a sitter presents their hand to me in the manner I described, palm up with great stiffness, I take the person's hand in both of mine, smile and turn it over, perhaps cupping the palm just a bit to encourage a more bowl-like shape to the hand. Next, I often find myself "petting" the top of the hand (really I skim my fingertips over the top of their hand once or twice) as I begin to analyze their hand shape. This is the moment when I start to "go in" to a sitter's hand for the first time, and the "petting" gesture also acts to help drop tension.
If they don't relax a bit upon touch and it's excessively stiff still, I will massage the hand gently .. just enough to break up the stiffness, but not in a sensual manner. Usually, a sitter is eager to be compliant, and as soon as they realize you want them to relax their hand, they try to do so.
Palm reading, because it involves at least a nominal amount of touch (no matter what your own personal reading style), will spook some folks. Some prefer to have a greater bodily distance from their fellow man and/or aren't big on touching, especially strangers. To hold a peron's hand is to put yourself in another person's "intimate space". Be respectful of their other body language, if they lean back while you read or what have you, while reading if they need to regain their own "personal space" equilibrium.
Upon first touch, you will notice immediately if they hot or cold hands, wet or dry, calm or nervous. And, they will begin to feel you for the first time as well. I find that when I read, although I have naturally cold hands they warm up quickly, and my hands will stay warm if I continue reading palms throughout the day (like at an event). This warmth has a calming effect on most of my sitters that is nice for me to experience as well.
One last point on the presentation of the hand by the sitter : take note of how they display their fingers to you, if they are open or closed. Fingers held tightly together indicate a closed personality, and probably one that would consider themselves "introverted." Those who display their fingers apart, especially if held loosely and with little tension, speaks to a more confident and extroverted nature.
On a rare occasion, you will find a sitter with a palm that naturally closes in on itself -- almost to the point where you have to foricibly keep the fingers drawn back in order to see the palm -- once you get them to relax their hand to it's "normal" state. These folks are private to the extreme, they often fear that you will find out their secrets, and are naturally the type who close themselves off.
"Which hand?" the sitter, invariably, asks (and then smacks down the appropriate palm, often stiff as board).
When reading for the primary purpose of divining the sitter's present life and conditions, you will read their "dominant" hand. This is the hand which shows the traits, aspects, and events that have shaped *this* individual's life.
The non-dominant hand I call the "parents' hand," as it is an amalgamation of the influences and teachings of the sitter's parents that have thereby also acted to shape the sitter's life. It's like reading how the sitter's parents' lives have effectively combined to shape the life of their offspring. (Talk about a difficult task, if you ask me. Maybe someday I'll be up to reading the non-dominant hand, but I know I'm not ready yet!)
Some people say, "But I use both hands!" To these, I usually ask to see the hand they either write with the most or that they eat with. That usually helps them figure it out.
Another word on the presentation of the hand when reading. When a sitter presents their hand to me in the manner I described, palm up with great stiffness, I take the person's hand in both of mine, smile and turn it over, perhaps cupping the palm just a bit to encourage a more bowl-like shape to the hand. Next, I often find myself "petting" the top of the hand (really I skim my fingertips over the top of their hand once or twice) as I begin to analyze their hand shape. This is the moment when I start to "go in" to a sitter's hand for the first time, and the "petting" gesture also acts to help drop tension.
If they don't relax a bit upon touch and it's excessively stiff still, I will massage the hand gently .. just enough to break up the stiffness, but not in a sensual manner. Usually, a sitter is eager to be compliant, and as soon as they realize you want them to relax their hand, they try to do so.
Palm reading, because it involves at least a nominal amount of touch (no matter what your own personal reading style), will spook some folks. Some prefer to have a greater bodily distance from their fellow man and/or aren't big on touching, especially strangers. To hold a peron's hand is to put yourself in another person's "intimate space". Be respectful of their other body language, if they lean back while you read or what have you, while reading if they need to regain their own "personal space" equilibrium.
Upon first touch, you will notice immediately if they hot or cold hands, wet or dry, calm or nervous. And, they will begin to feel you for the first time as well. I find that when I read, although I have naturally cold hands they warm up quickly, and my hands will stay warm if I continue reading palms throughout the day (like at an event). This warmth has a calming effect on most of my sitters that is nice for me to experience as well.
One last point on the presentation of the hand by the sitter : take note of how they display their fingers to you, if they are open or closed. Fingers held tightly together indicate a closed personality, and probably one that would consider themselves "introverted." Those who display their fingers apart, especially if held loosely and with little tension, speaks to a more confident and extroverted nature.
On a rare occasion, you will find a sitter with a palm that naturally closes in on itself -- almost to the point where you have to foricibly keep the fingers drawn back in order to see the palm -- once you get them to relax their hand to it's "normal" state. These folks are private to the extreme, they often fear that you will find out their secrets, and are naturally the type who close themselves off.
