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Photo courtesy Robin Gile
Do you know a murderer's thumb when you see one?
Hint from a local palmist and author: The murderer’s thumb is thick, bulbous at its upper joint and bends back markedly.
Not everybody with a murderer’s thumb has killed anyone, Robin Gile, Albuquerque co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Palmistry, says. But looking at a hand is one way to size up people in social situations.
"The stalker is an addict," Gile said. “A stalker would have some aspect of a break in the headline, and some line dropping into the mound of the Moon.”
Other indications of a stalker might be a high mound between the Mercury (little) finger and the Apollo (ring) finger. There may be darkness or shadowing in a depression under the Apollo finger.
There could be a very narrow gap between the headline and the heartline, but Gile also said people whose headlines and heartlines are one singular line aren’t generally stalkers.
What you look for may depend on the situation. According to Gile, the non-dominant hand rules emotional and romantic bonding. If you’re networking on business, you might be more interested in what the right hand says about keeping agreements and contracts.
One simple way to size up a hand is to look at the angle between the thumb and the forefinger when the thumb is fully extended. If the angle is approximately a right angle, you’re talking with someone who’s “fine, firm and generous,” Gile said. If the angle is wider, it indicates “a person who has a problem with boundaries or gives dramatically more than they can afford.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Palmistry is richly illustrated with drawings that make simple palmistry understandable for those of us who lack Gile’s years of experience.
Gile is an Illinois native, but he’s been in Albuquerque since the early 1970's. After years of studying palmistry, he became a full-time professional palmist in 1984. Albuquerque remains the home base for our now-local writer, and he continues to travel a multi-state circuit for shows and private clients.
Local friends know the writer as an avid advocate for scooters years before current gas prices made them popular. Albuquerque the Magazine featured Gile and his scooter in an April 2009 article, “On the Road”, about alternative transportation.
He is dedicated to animal care with the same quiet determination he brings to palms. Gile works quietly on local projects from turtle rescues to worm farming for gardeners.
But his interest always returns to the hand.
Gile is available to sign copies of his book most Wednesday afternoons at Albuquerque’s Crystal Dove bookstore, 525 Central Ave. NE.
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