Long or deep
Reaching across to the index finger is read as idealism about relationships and generosity in them.
Runs across the top of the palm, below the fingers
The heart line in palm reading
In palm reading, the heart line runs across the top of the palm, below the fingers. It is read for emotional life, attachment and how you love — a tradition, not a tested prediction.
- Crease
- Major one of three formed before birth
- Cheiro, 1916
- Ch. VII The Line of Heart as indicating the Affectionate and Emotional Nature
Cheiro, Palmistry for All, 1916.
Short or faint
Ending below the middle finger is read as a more self-contained emotional style.
Breaks and markings
A chained or broken line is traditionally read as emotional upheaval, though chaining is extremely common.
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Anatomy, not divination
What is actually known about the heart line
How it forms
One of the three major flexion creases, formed before birth. It lies where the fingers fold against the palm.
What it physically is
It is a flexion crease: it exists because the skin has to fold when the fingers curl. Its position is set by those mechanics, not by temperament.
What the evidence says
Chaining along the heart line is present in a large share of hands — common enough that reading it as emotional turbulence would apply to most of the population.
Primary source
What Cheiro wrote about the heart line
“The Line of Heart relates purely to the affectionate disposition, in fact, to the mental side of the love nature of the subject.”
“The Line of Heart should be deep, clear, and well coloured.”
Cheiro, Palmistry for All (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916), chapter VII, “The Line of Heart as indicating the Affectionate and Emotional Nature” — 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 heart 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.
Ending under the index finger
Read as idealism about relationships and high expectations of a partner.
Ending under the middle finger
Read as a more self-focused approach to love — practical rather than romantic.
Running straight across the whole palm
Read as intense, all-or-nothing attachment.
Chained along its length
Extremely common. Traditionally read as emotional turbulence, which given the frequency says more about hands than about people.
Curving sharply upward at the end
Read as expressiveness — someone who says what they feel rather than showing it indirectly.
Where is the heart line on your palm?
Runs across the top of the palm, below the fingers. Islands, breaks and forks on the heart line are read with the same table of marks as every other line.
Highlighted: the heart line, running across the top of the palm, below the fingers.
Worth being clear about
No line predicts whether a relationship will last. What the reading offers is vocabulary for how you attach.
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. “Heart Line Palm Reading: Broken, Forked and Chained Lines.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/palm-reading/heart/
For Wikipedia
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