Onychomancy or variously onuchomancy, onychomantia, onycomancy, onymancy (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

''onychos'', '

fingernail A nail is a claw-like plate found at the tip of the fingers and toes on most primates. Nails correspond to the claws found in other animals. Fingernails and toenails are made of a tough protective protein called alpha-keratin, which is a polymer. ...

', and ''manteia'', '

fortune-telling Fortune telling is the 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 identical w ...

') is an ancient form of

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...

using fingernails as a "

crystal ball A crystal ball, also known as an orbuculum or crystal sphere, is a crystal or glass ball and common fortune-telling object. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying in particular. In more recent times, the cr ...

" 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 Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific practice of fortune-telling through the study of the Hand#Areas, palm. Also known as palm reading, chiromancy, chirology or cheirology, the practice is found all over the world, with numerous cul ...

). 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 claim ...

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 Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

s, reflexology points, astrological interpretations of planets and

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

. 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 The Major Arcana are the named or numbered cards in a cartomantic tarot pack, the name being originally given by occultists to the trump cards of a normal tarot pack used for playing card games. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-ca ...

, 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 Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simila ...

s (earth, air, fire and water),

Yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

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 Divination Pseudoscience

Interpretation

References

See Also