What are the rarest palm lines?

Which palm lines are rare?

Only two unusual creases have been counted in real hands: the simian line and the Sydney line. For every other “rare” line, the old palmistry books describe it but never count it. This table sorts what is known from what is only said.

“No figure” means we found no study and no book that counts it. Lists online that call a line “1 in 1,000” give no source, so we don’t repeat them.

Is the simian line rare?

It is unusual, not rare. A simian line is one straight crease across the palm in place of separate heart and head lines. MedlinePlus, the US National Library of Medicine’s encyclopedia, says it appears in about 1 in 30 people, and that males are twice as likely as females to have it.

Single studies give other numbers, because they count palms, not people, and look at one group. A 2019 study of 636 palms of students in Addis Ababa found it on 6.3% of them. That spread is normal for crease studies.

A simian line is usually a normal variation. On its own it is not a diagnosis, and doctors look at it only together with many other signs. For any worry, see a doctor. The simian line guide gives the medical facts first, then what the books read.

What is a Sydney line?

A Sydney line is a head line that runs all the way across the palm to its outer edge, while the heart line above it looks normal. Doctors first described it in Sydney, Australia, in 1968, which is how it got its name. It is a medical name, so the classical palmistry books don’t use it.

It has been counted, and the numbers vary by group:

• 1.9% of palms in a 2022 study of 1,664 palms at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia.
• 3.5% of palms in the 2019 Addis Ababa study.
• 9% in an earlier study in Sydney, as the 2022 paper reports it.

Doctors noted it in studies of some conditions, such as Down syndrome. But it also turns up in healthy students in these studies, so a crease by itself says nothing about your health. A palmist would read it as a very long head line.

Is a double head line rare?

It is uncommon, and nobody has counted it. A double head line is two separate head lines across the middle of the palm, one above the other. Cheiro’s Palmistry for All (1916) only says it is “as rarely found” as one line right across the hand.

He reads it as a mind with two sides, able to carry a great deal of mental work. Don’t confuse it with a fork, where one line splits at the end. The double head line guide shows how to tell them apart.

Can a palm have no head line or no heart line?

Yes, but a palm with no head line at all is the rarest form the books describe. William Benham (The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading, 1900) wrote that he had seen a head line missing only once. He saw many more hands without a heart line.

Before you decide a line is missing, check for one crease across the palm. Benham classed a single crease in the head line’s place as a head line, with the heart line absent. Most “missing” lines turn out to be a simian line, or a faint line hidden by poor light.

Which minor lines are uncommon?

Cheiro’s Palmistry for All names a set of smaller lines that many palms don’t show. He gives no counts for any of them. We give his readings in our own words, and leave out his harsh ones.

Girdle of Venus

A curved line above the heart line, often in broken pieces, from the base of the index finger round to the little finger. Cheiro reads a highly strung, imaginative nature. He says he never found it to mean the crude things other writers claimed.

Intuition line

A curve on the outer palm, from under the little finger down towards the mount of the Moon. Cheiro says it is seldom found outside a few hand types, and reads a sensitive, intuitive nature. He also credits it with dreams that come true; no line can foretell events.

Ring of Solomon

A small curve round the base of the index finger. Cheiro counts it among the marks of an interest in mysticism. In a photo it is easy to mistake for the creases at the finger’s base.

Double life line and double heart line

A second line running just inside the life line is the line of Mars, which Cheiro calls the inner life line: the double life line. Two heart lines side by side are also uncommon; the double heart line is read for a capacity for deep affection.

Cheiro also names a ring of Saturn under the middle finger and calls it “very seldom found”. His reading of it is a forecast of harm, so we don’t repeat it.

Are the mystic cross and the M on the palm rare?

Nobody knows. No book and no study we could find counts either one.

The mystic cross is a small X between the heart and head lines, usually under the middle finger. Cheiro reads it as an interest in mysticism, not a power. The M is made by the heart, head, life and fate lines meeting, so it is not a separate line at all. The M on the palm guide shows why some hands show a full M and others don’t.

Why do rare-line lists online disagree?

Because almost none of them cite a count. Three things make the claims spread:

1. The books describe, they don’t count. Cheiro and Benham wrote from their own hand readings, with words like “seldom” and “rarely”.
2. Studies count palms in one group. The Sydney line ranges from about 2 to 9 in 100 palms, depending on who was studied.
3. Photos mislead. Side light, a bent palm or a shadow can make one line look like two, or hide a faint one.

So treat any “only 1% of people have this line” claim as a guess unless it names its study.

Does PalmSays read rare lines?

No. The PalmSays app traces the heart, head, life and fate lines on your photo and measures your hand type and fingers. It has no rules for the simian line, the Sydney line or the minor lines above, and it marks a line it can’t see clearly instead of guessing. For a rare line, your own eyes in daylight are the best check, with the lines on your palm guide beside you.