THE Line of Destiny, otherwise called the Line of Fate (i-i,, Plate XI.) is naturally one of the most important of the principal lines of the hand.

Although one may never be able to explain why it is, this line undoubtedly appears to indicate at least the main events of one's career.

It may be found on the hand even at the moment of birth, clearly indicating the class of Fate or Destiny that lies in the far distant future before the individual.

In some cases it may look faint or shadowy, as if the path of Destiny were not yet clearly defined, while in other instances almost every step of the road is chiselled out with its milestones of failure or success, sorrow or joy, as the case may be.

That some human beings seem to be more children of Fate than others has been admitted by almost all thinkers, but why they should be so has been the great question that baffles all students of such subjects.

There are some who appear to have no Fate, and others who seem to carve their Destiny from day to day.

I have seen hundreds of cases where every step of the journey was indicated from childhood, to the grave; others where only the principal changes in the career were marked in advance. There are, again, others where nothing seemed decided, and where the events indicated by the Line of Fate appeared to change from year to year.

The why and wherefore of such things may be impossible to fathom, but there are so many mysteries in Life itself that one more or less does not seem to matter.

Some of the greatest teachers and philosophers have come to the conclusion that Fate exists for all. In the 17th Article of Religion in the Episcopal Church it is stated, and in no uncertain manner, that "Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God." All through the Bible the Destiny of nations and of men is clearly laid down, and from the first chapter of Genesis to the last page of Revelation the trials, tribulations, and pathway of the Jews was prophesied and predicted ages in advance.

Thousands of years before the birth of Christ, it was foretold in Holy Writ in what manner He should be born, and in what manner He should die. It was predicted that a Virgin should conceive and that a Judas should betray,;and that both were necessary "that the Scriptures might be fulfilled".

In more recent ages thousands and thousands of predictions have been fulfilled, and all point to some mysterious agency that underlies the purpose of humanity, and that nothing from the smallest to the greatest is left to blind chance.

It may be that the Soul - in being part of the Universal Soul of all things - -knows all things, and so through the instrumentality of the brain writes its knowledge of the Future in advance.

To the mysteries of the mind there are no limits. Medical science has, in late years, gone so far as to prove that there must be an advance growth or change in the brain cells years before action or change in character become the result of such development. For all we know, every deed in our careers is the result of some such mental change, and as there are more super-sensitive nerves from the brain to the hand, it may then follow that such changes and subsequent actions in our lives may be written in our hands even long years in advance.

It may be, then, that to all living beings there is a Destiny "that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will".

I would, however, humbly suggest that each of us endeavour by knowledge to find what our Fate may be, and like loyal workmen accept whatever the task should prove, and so carry it out to the utmost of our ability, willing to leave the final result to the Master that thought fit to employ us in the working out of His design.

All such questions as these the student of this subject must settle in his own mind, for when he or she once broaches this study of Fate, he will be assailed on all sides, and the student must be prepared to give "an answer for the faith that is in him".

In studying the hand it will be found that the Line of Fate may rise from the following distinct positions:

Plate XI. The Line Of Destiny And Its Modifications.

It may rise from and out of the Line of Life (2-2, Plate XI), straight up from the wrist (1-1, Plate XI), from the Mount of the Moon (3-3, Plate XI), or from the middle of the palm.

The following is the meaning of these principal positions: