Long or deep
A long line is read as thorough, analytical thinking that likes to finish a thought.
Runs across the middle of the palm
The head line in palm reading
In palm reading, the head line runs across the middle of the palm. It is read for thinking style, concentration and how you make decisions — a tradition, not a tested prediction.
- Crease
- Major one of three formed before birth
- Cheiro, 1916
- Ch. II The Line of Head or the Indications of the Mentality
Cheiro, Palmistry for All, 1916.
Short or faint
A short line is read as quick, practical thinking that prefers to act.
Breaks and markings
A sloping line is associated with imagination, a straight one with practicality.
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Anatomy, not divination
What is actually known about the head line
How it forms
The second major flexion crease, also complete before birth.
What it physically is
Runs across the palm where it folds when gripping. Depth reflects how much the hand is used, which is why manual workers often show deeper creases.
What the evidence says
Whether it starts joined to the life line varies between populations, which makes it a population difference, not a character one.
Primary source
What Cheiro wrote about the head line
“A Line of Head is like the needle in the compass, without a true knowledge of which it is impossible to grasp the “direction of the subject.””
“The Line of Head is more frequently found connected with than separated from the Line of Life.”
Cheiro, Palmistry for All (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916), chapter II, “The Line of Head or the Indications of the Mentality” — read the original text.
Cheiro was William John Warner (1866–1936), the best-known palmist of his day, who read for famous clients and took his pen name from cheiromancy, the old word for palmistry. The anatomy above is what can be checked; this is what the tradition says.
Versions of the head line
Where it starts, where it ends and what it does on the way — these are what a reader actually looks at, and they differ from line to line.
Joined to the life line at the start
Read as caution and a strong family influence on early decisions. Often described as the most common configuration.
Separate from the life line
Read as independence and early self-direction. The wider the gap, the more impulsive.
Sloping steeply toward the wrist
Read as imagination dominating over practicality — associated with creative work.
Running straight across
Read as literal, structured thinking. Practicality over invention.
A writer's fork at the end
A split ending is traditionally read as the ability to hold two viewpoints — associated with writing and analysis.
Where is the head line on your palm?
Runs across the middle of the palm. Islands, breaks and forks on the head line are read with the same table of marks as every other line.
Highlighted: the head line, running across the middle of the palm.
Worth being clear about
This line says nothing about intelligence, and any reader who claims otherwise is selling something.
Other lines
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Head Line Palm Reading: Long, Short, Sloping and Forked.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/palm-reading/head/
For Wikipedia
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