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
The marriage lines short horizontal lines on the edge below the little finger. It is read for significant partnerships. Palmistry attaches meaning to its length, depth and breaks — none of which has been shown to predict anything.
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.
Anatomy, not divination
What is actually known about the marriage lines
How it forms
Small creases on the edge of the palm, formed by skin folding at the joint below the little finger.
What it physically is
They are simply where the hand creases at the ulnar edge. Their count has no established relationship to anything.
What the numbers say
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.
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 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 the marriage lines is read
Short horizontal lines on the edge below the little finger. Timing runs along its length, so a mark near the start is read as early life and one near the end as late.
These do not count marriages or predict divorce. The number of lines varies with skin creasing as much as anything.
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
These do not count marriages or predict divorce. The number of lines varies with skin creasing as much as anything.
Other lines
Life line
Vitality, physical constitution and major changes of circumstance.
Heart line
Emotional life, attachment and how you love.
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.
Money triangle
The ability to hold on to resources.