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Chiromancy or cheiromancy, (Greek cheir (χειρ), ?hand?; manteia (μαντεία), ?divination?), is the art of characterization and foretelling the future through the study of the palm, also known as palmistry, palm-reading, chirology or hand analysis. The practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those who practice chiromancy are generally called palmists, palm readers, hand readers, hand analysts, or chirologists.

Palmistry can trace its roots back to Indian (Hindu) Astrology (known in Sanskrit as Jyotish) and Roma (gypsy) fortune tellers. The Hindu sage Valmiki is thought to have written a book, whose title translates in English as "The Teachings of Valmiki Maharshi on Male Palmistry", comprising 567 stanzas, more than 5,000 years ago. From India, the art of palmistry spread to China, Tibet, Egypt, Persia and to other countries in Europe[citation needed]. Palmistry came to China in around 3,000 B.C.[citation needed] It then progressed to Greece[citation needed] where Anaxagoras practiced it. However, modern palmists often combine traditional predictive techniques with psychology, holistic healing, and alternative methods of divination.

The practice of chiromancy is generally regarded as a pseudoscience. It should be noted that the information outlined below is briefly representative of modern palmistry; there are many ― often conflicting ― interpretations of various lines and palmar features across various "schools" of palmistry.