Fate line (also line of Saturn or career line; an Oordhva Rekha in Indian palmistry): a vertical line running up the middle of the palm from near the wrist toward the base of the middle finger. It is read for your working life and the circumstances you were given, which one Western view holds you can reshape through your own effort.
Where is the fate line?
Look at the centre of your palm. The fate line, if you have one, runs upward through the middle of the hand, crossing the head and heart lines on its way toward the middle finger. That finger is linked with Saturn, so the line is also called the line of Saturn.
It can start low near the wrist, on the outer base of the palm, or inside the life line. It may be long and clear, faint in places, or broken into pieces.
What if I have no fate line?
Many people have no clear fate line. One reading sees an easygoing spirit who takes things as they come, with a life that is not mapped out in advance. Another sees a mind open to influences other than the circumstances it was born into. The line has been missing on the hands of people who did very well in life, and present on people who did not, so its absence is not read as a lack of success.
What does it mean where the fate line begins?
The starting point is one of the most discussed features of the line.
- At the wrist: responsibility taken on early, and a steady job or calling from a young age.
- From the life line: a path that begins close to family, with relatives having a strong say at first.
- From the Mount of Luna (the outer base of the palm): a gift for performance and drama, and a pull toward the occult.
- Inside the Mount of Venus (the ball of the thumb), crossing the main lines: a path deeply bound up with family affairs.
What does the shape of the fate line mean?
The Indian readings in this table come from the rising lines as a group, read by the finger each one heads for. Where the Indian texts give no reading for a feature, the table says so.
| What you see | Western reading | Indian reading |
|---|---|---|
| Long, clear and unbroken | A working life on an even keel, though not a promise of wealth | A prized upright line: the strength to support many others |
| Reaching the base of the middle finger | The line's usual full course | Rising to the head of your chosen calling |
| Bending toward the index finger | Fulfilling your deepest ambitions | A talent for counsel and positions of trust in public life |
| Ending under the ring finger | Success through art | Wealth, influence and the respect of people in power |
| Ending under the little finger | Success through business or speech | Renown through gold and jewels |
| Stopping at the head line | A setback from an error of judgment; a reminder to take big decisions slowly | Not read separately |
| Stopping at the heart line | Serious troubles in love | Not read separately |
| Fading, then returning | Your drive toward a goal resting for a while, then waking again | Not read separately |
What do breaks, islands and squares mean?
A break in the fate line is read as a change of work or surroundings. The wider the gap, the longer the uncertain stretch is said to last. When a parallel piece of line takes over early, the change is read as one for the better. An island, a small oval loop, is read as a trying stretch that is gentler than a break, lasting as long as the island is long. A small square on the line marks a risky time together with protection through it.
What are the sun line and the other rising lines?
The fate line is not the only vertical line. The sun line, also called the line of fortune or of Apollo, rises toward the ring finger and often shows only above the heart line. Where the fate line is read as your own personality at work, the sun line puts the stress on help from beyond yourself. It is tied to learning, eloquence and standing. The good promise of a fate line is said to show in full only when a well-formed sun line runs beside it. A rising line toward the little finger is read in Indian palmistry as renown through gold and jewels, whether you trade in them or own them.
How do Indian and Western palmistry read the fate line differently?
Western palmistry treats the fate line as one named line: the events of your working life. Classical Indian palmistry, the Samudrika tradition, groups all upright lines together as the Oordhva Rekhas, the rising lines, and reads them for your place in society. Each is read by the finger it climbs toward. A rising line toward the index finger is linked with high office and counsel. One toward the middle finger, the Western fate line, with leading your profession. One toward the ring finger with wealth and influence. The sage Samudra is said to have held that even one perfect rising line lets a person support a great many others. The two traditions treat these lines in much the same way.
Should I read the fate line on my left or right hand?
The two traditions answer differently. The Indian rule reads a man's right hand and a woman's left. Western writers read the right hand, with an exception for left-handers, and treat the other hand as your inherited nature and the active hand as how you have developed. A sign found on both hands is read at full strength, and on one hand at half. Read more about left and right hands.
Questions about the fate line
Does the fate line decide my future?
Traditional texts also made forecasts from this line; Rekha leaves those out. One Western view reads the line as the circumstances you inherited or were handed by others, which can change when you assert your own direction strongly enough.
Is it bad to have no fate line?
No. It is read as an easygoing life that is not planned in advance, and a mind open to many influences. The line has been absent on the hands of very successful people.
Can my fate line change?
Yes. Palmists hold that lines like this one can change over time, fading and reappearing, and that some can be shaped by force of character.
See your own fate line, read two ways
Rekha reads your fate line from a photo of your palm, names exactly what it saw, and shows the Indian and Western readings side by side.
Palmistry is a tradition, not a science. These readings are for reflection and entertainment.