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
The heart line runs across the top of the palm, below the fingers. It is read for emotional life, attachment and how you love. Palmistry attaches meaning to its length, depth and breaks — none of which has been shown to predict anything.
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.
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 that mechanics, not by temperament.
What the numbers say
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.
Everything above is checkable. Everything in the sections before it is tradition. Keeping the two apart is the difference between reading about a practice and being sold one.
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
The rarest version. 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 the heart line is read
Runs across the top of the palm, below the fingers. Timing runs along its length, so a mark near the start is read as early life and one near the end as late.
No line predicts whether a relationship will last. What the reading offers is vocabulary for how you attach.
Marks along a line — islands, breaks, forks, stars — modify it wherever they sit. They work the same way on every line, so they are explained once rather than repeated: the full table of marks is on the main palmistry page.
Worth being clear about
No line predicts whether a relationship will last. What the reading offers is vocabulary for how you attach.
Other lines
Life line
Vitality, physical constitution and major changes of circumstance.
Head line
Thinking style, concentration and how you make decisions.
Fate line
Career, direction and the degree to which life feels externally shaped.
Sun line
Recognition, creativity and public success.
Marriage lines
Significant partnerships.
Money triangle
The ability to hold on to resources.