Onychomancy or onymancy (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''onychos'', '

fingernail A nail is a protective plate characteristically found at the tip of the digits (fingers and toes) of all primates, corresponding to the claws in other tetrapod animals. Fingernails and toenails are made of a tough rigid protein called alpha-k ...

', and ''manteia'', '

fortune-telling Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle ...

') is an ancient form of

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

using fingernails as a "

crystal ball A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly used in fortune-telling. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying through crystal gazing. Used since Antiquity, crystal balls have had a broad reputation with ...

" or " scrying mirror" and is considered a subdivision of

palmistry Palmistry is the pseudoscientific practice of fortune-telling through the study of the palm. Also known as palm reading, chiromancy, chirology or cheirology, the practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those w ...

(also called

chiromancy Palmistry is the pseudoscientific practice of fortune-telling through the study of the palm. Also known as palm reading, chiromancy, chirology or cheirology, the practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those w ...

). As with palmistry, the contradictions between different interpretations and the lack of evidence for the predictions have led onychomancy to be viewed as a

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

by academics. It consists of gazing in bright sunlight at one's own fingernails or another person's fingernails that often are coated in oil and then interpreting the "symbols" that appear on them. In medieval times onychomancy was performed by gazing at the fingernails of a prepubescent (unspoiled) boy. The symbols are interpreted in relation to chakra points, reflexology points, astrological planetary interpretations or tarot card representations. The fingers on which symbols appear and the position of the symbols on the fingernails are interpreted as indications of health conditions, changes in fortune and wealth, the character of the person being "read" and other typical subjects covered by divinations. A separate subdivision of onychomancy interprets personalities based on the artificial nails the person has chosen to wear.

Interpretation

Practitioners of onychomancy relate patterns observed on the fingernails with

chakra A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...

reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...

points, astrological interpretations of planets and

Tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

. Furthermore, stimulation of the fingers by rubbing or massage is believed to have beneficial effects on the related body part(s). Chakras: The hands are supposed to represent the central chakra points. For example, the base of the nail corresponds to the root chakra. This point also corresponds with the reproductive organs in the reflexology systems, hence massage of the base of the nail is believed to stimulate the reproductive organs. It is also believed that the longer the nails are the larger the crown and 3rd eye chakra regions are and hence the more intuitive and receptive the person. "Growing your nails out is like getting a bigger satellite dish for better reception. They literally pick up on the vibrations around you." Astrology: Each finger is "ruled by one of the planets" in the astrological system; the thumb is Mars (and the head), the index finger is Jupiter (expansion of consciousness, philosophy), the middle finger is Saturn (restriction of consciousness, discipline), the ring finger is Apollo (pleasure and creativity), the small finger is Mercury (communication, exchange of ideas). Reflexology: Massage of any of the fingers is believed to stimulate the sinuses, while the thumb also relieves headaches, the index finger is believed to stimulate the hair, and the small finger is believed to stimulate the ears. Tarot: Each of the ten fingers is assigned a card from the Major Arcana, and each pair of fingers (right and left thumbs, right and left index fingers, etc.) are assigned another tarot card. Broken nails are interpreted as reversed cards. The appearance of a pattern on a finger would be equivalent to that card being drawn in a tarot card reading session. A subdivision of onychomancy, called ''Kikimancy'', relates the shape of the nails to the

classical element The classical elements typically refer to Earth (classical element), earth, Water (classical element), water, Air (classical element), air, Fire (classical element), fire, and (later) Aether (classical element), aether which were proposed to ...

s (earth, air, fire and water),

Yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

and personality types. Kikimancy considers not only the natural nail but also the choice of artificial nail as indicator of personality traits.

References

{{Authority control

Interpretation

References

See also