"We make our fortunes and we call them fate." - B. DISRAELI.

THE line of Saturn is the fourth Main line which receives the Current, and is frequently called the "line of Fate." Upon first thought, it may not be apparent why fatality, good or bad, has been ascribed to this line, but the claim is justified in various ways. The line of Saturn rises at the base of the hand and runs upward toward the fingers ; and, according to our hypothesis, the Current which passes into it does so on its return from the brain where it has been sent from the end of the Life line. The line of Saturn thus reads from the bottom upward and the scale indicating the various years of life will be found in Chapter IV (The Age Of The Subject - Age As Indicated On The Lines). According to this scale the period of childhood is the extreme lower part of the line, and old age is recorded by it on the Mount of Saturn. From the line of Saturn health difficulties are not read, nor is anything shown concerning the general make-up or constitution of a subject such as is indicated in other lines that we have considered. It does indicate the course of the subject through life from a standpoint of material success, and shows whether he must make his own way, whether he will have a hard time, or whether things will apparently come easy to him. It will also locate his most productive periods.

This is what the older palmists had in mind when they named the line of Saturn "Fate or Destiny," as it is generally taken for granted that one whose life runs smoothly must have luck in his favor. In these cases it has not always been remembered that such a subject may have had every qualification which would enable him to merit success, and that he has achieved it because he has worked, and because success has been deserved. Combined with a good line of Saturn, there may be health, brains, determination, ambition, and similar qualities, and in that case the presence of these qualities accounts for the good line of Saturn, which consequently indicates that the subject will get through the world comfortably and successfully. A combination of such forces as the above, if wisely and faithfully used, produces so-called luck, and most of the persons who are pointed out as particularly fortunate, or lucky, attribute their success primarily to brains, health, energy, ambition, and kindred allies, and not to blind chance, luck, or fate. There is, however, some magic glamour around the words "fate" and "luck," which seems to speak of results achieved without effort, and this has always been the goal toward which the eyes of lazy folk are turned.

Such people are ever ready to account for their failures by saying, "Others are lucky, I am not," but this should be followed by the further explanation that most often the "lucky" subject is a worker and the "unlucky" one is not. Day dreamers expect luck to reach down and touch them with a magic wand. Those who are called lucky say that the magic wand is industry. In many cases luck consists in having the foresight to seize opportunities. "Unlucky" persons tell of chances they have passed, and console themselves by saying that luck was not on their side. In the majority of cases, it would be more proper to say that foresight and perseverance were not. This much moralizing I beg to introduce here, because I wish it distinctly understood that I do not believe in blind fate or chance.

In the beginning of a study of the line of Saturn, or line of Fate, I wish to give my definition of that word and to assure you that we are not to plunge from a treatment of the hand which has thus far proceeded entirely under laws of cause and effect into one which deals with chance. The line of Saturn is a wonderful line, its revelations are accurate and important, but we shall find causes for all the effects we see upon it. On every line of Saturn, we note periods when everything is propitious for the subject. These are the harvest periods of his life. At such times we find good health, the presence of mental powers such as discernment, will, ambition, and various good companions which he may turn to his account, or which he may leave unused. During these periods, life is easier for the subject. He is well and in possession of his full powers. He works with less effort, and, in superstitious parlance, he is "lucky" and "fate" is on his side. Many persons take advantage of these periods of greatest possibilities and "make hay while the sun shines." Others pass such times in enjoyment and laziness, confident that "luck is with them," and will never leave.

When the powers begin to wane luck is not so constant in attendance ; it takes more effort to accomplish the same results, and finally all kinds of effort fail to produce anything considerable. At this time the cry is raised, "luck has gone." The truth is that the subject has passed his harvest period and has slept his golden moments away. The opportunities placed before him have not been seized ; he has taken his pleasure during the time when he should have worked hardest, and by the law of compensation he must toil to make up for it. "You cannot eat your cake and have it too"; you cannot waste your harvest days and be "lucky." He who has worked through his productive time may rest when powers fail. The laws of cause and effect are present in the line of Saturn, or Fate, as everywhere else. It is only after much observation of this line that it is possible to state what can actually be told from it. The superficiality which has been shown in its treatment has served principally to disgust sensible persons.

Why the line shows these matters, which are so obviously beyond the consciousness of the individual, can only be explained on the already stated hypothesis, that the lines are the life map of every person, placed before him in order that he may be guided to the achievement of his best results.

The line of Saturn, when strong, emphasizes the Saturnian traits, especially if the line be deep on the Mount, and these traits are wisdom, soberness, and the faculty of seeing life from its serious side. The fact that these balancing qualities are present in some degree with a good line may account for the success in old age which comes to one with a strong line on the Mount. Saturnian traits are energy and frugality, as well as studiousness and the ability to think, and these qualities will do much to make a life successful. The Saturnian has a penchant for explorations in the earth, and has from this natural love been led to discovering gold, silver, coal, and other mine treasures. He has found gas and oil wells, and thus, through following his natural inclinations, " fate " has been said to be with him, and the Saturnian has for these reasons been called the "child of fate." The greatest part that fate or luck plays with humanity is to give one person more brains and a better type than another, and this has been sometimes called the " accident of birth." In these cases the subject will also have the best Saturn line.