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By Abraham Cruz
Daily Bruin Contributor
Palm readers and the people associated with predicting the
future have been stigmatized in pop culture as being frauds,
phonies, or even plain old creepy.
For people who are wary or pessimistic about having their palms
read, carnival fortune tellers, gypsies in traveling circuses and
television personalities like Miss Cleo just don’t cut the
mustard nowadays.
It is for these reasons and more that palmist Marion Gale has
created “The Girl Deck” in easily identifiable purple,
and the accompanying male-version, “The Love Deck,” in
blue.
These decks of cards are not the typical “Will I be rich
and famous?” or “Who will I marry?” fortunes;
instead, these decks offer insight to a person’s character
based on the shape, texture and contours of his or her hand.
According to Gale, these cards differ from traditional Tarot
cards because Tarot is more symbolic.
“”˜The Girl/Love Deck’ is based more on
psychology than on mere symbolism,” Gale said.
Over 20 years ago, Gale was introduced to modern scientific hand
reading, also known as hand psychology and hand analysis, and
studied it thoroughly, even editing three books on the subject.
Unlike the powers of crystal-ball- wielding spiritualists,
Gale’s deck of cards comes from a long history of palmistry
in the Far East and more modern psychological hand readings,
including the study of skin ridges, in the American scientific
community.
Gale’s motivation for the creation of these cards is to
expose the public to modern palm reading and to dispel the popular
stereotypical views of palm reading.
“I believe my card decks will introduce the subject to a
new generation of young people who will realize the significance of
what’s in their own hands,” Gale said.
“I want young people to take it seriously when they see
that the cards actually work, and hope they will go on to take hand
reading a step further, truly into the 21st century,” she
added.
Over the course of three years, the cards were tested and
re-written by Gale to achieve the highest level of
accuracy.Â
“I felt it was important to be honest yet positive,”
says Gale. “There are obviously some features that I had to
leave out of these decks but some of these will be covered in
future decks.”
The cards were made specifically to be easy to use, requiring
very little or no experience to read an interested party’s
hand.
There are four main categories from which to analyze a
person’s overall personality: Love & Romance, Career
& Money, Character, and Personality. The cards are read by
analyzing the writing (dominant) hand, according to the length of a
person’s palm and fingers, the positions of fingers,
fingerprints, texture and contours of the palm, and various other
factors.
Carla Salas, a third-year English student, tested “The
Girl Deck” on herself. After matching the features of her
hand to the corresponding cards, Salas received a profile of her
personality. She was pleased overall with the positive and
sometimes amusing results the cards yielded.
“It’s surprising that (the cards) were right on for
the most part,” Salas said.
Joseph Alvarez, a third-year English and Chicano studies
student, tested the male version, “The Love
Deck.”Â
“At least I know I’m not going to die soon or be a
complete failure, like what those other fortune tellers say,”
Alvarez said.
“For one description … when the cards talked about how I
approach relationships and how I feel about them when I’m
(involved) with someone and when I’m not, (the cards)
described my mental state perfectly,” he added.
“The Girl/Love Deck” will not reveal if that perfect
guy or girl is in the immediate future, but the decks do promise to
reveal some interesting insights to a person’s life.
Gale is very optimistic about the value of the cards.
“I believe that hand reading is about to go through a
virtual renaissance in America … My card decks can contribute by
introducing young people to the subject,” Gale
said. “There has never been anything like these
decks.”
HAND-READING CARDS: For more information log on
to www.readmyhands.com.