Long or deep
A single deep line is traditionally read as one defining relationship.
Short horizontal lines on the edge below the little finger
The marriage lines in palm reading
In palm reading, the marriage lines are short horizontal lines on the edge below the little finger. They are read for significant partnerships — a tradition, not a tested prediction.
- Crease
- Minor missing on many hands
- Cheiro, 1916
- Ch. VIII Signs relating to Marriage
Cheiro, Palmistry for All, 1916.
Short or faint
Several lines are read as several significant attachments — not necessarily marriages.
Breaks and markings
A forked ending is traditionally read as separation.
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Anatomy, not divination
What is actually known about the marriage lines
How they form
Small creases on the edge of the palm, formed by skin folding at the joint below the little finger.
What they physically are
They are simply where the hand creases at the ulnar edge. Their count has no established relationship to anything.
What the evidence says
The number of these lines varies widely and changes with age as skin loses elasticity — which is a problem for any system that counts them as relationships.
Primary source
What Cheiro wrote about the marriage lines
“Only the clearly formed lines relate to marriage, the short ones to deep affection, or marriage contemplated, but never entered into…”
Cheiro, Palmistry for All (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916), chapter VIII, “Signs relating to Marriage” — 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 marriage lines
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.
One deep line
Read as a single defining partnership.
Several fine lines
Read as several significant attachments. Not a count of marriages.
A line forking at the end
Traditionally read as separation.
A line curving downward
Read as outliving a partner — a grim traditional reading with no basis whatsoever.
No visible lines
Common, and meaningless. Skin creasing at the palm edge varies enormously.
Where are the marriage lines on your palm?
Short horizontal lines on the edge below the little finger. Islands, breaks and forks on the marriage lines are read with the same table of marks as every other line.
Highlighted: the marriage lines, which are short horizontal lines on the edge below the little finger.
Worth being clear about
These do not count marriages or predict divorce. The number of lines varies with skin creasing as much as anything.
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. “Palm Reading Marriage Line: Number, Depth and Forks.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/palm-reading/marriage/
For Wikipedia
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