Astrologers study the horoscope of their clients and advise them to wear specific gems to deal with the malefic effect of their stars. Their aim too is to strengthen certain centres of the brain through the effect of the gems on the fingers. In palmistry to the present author has seen the beneficial effect of metals and gems, the details of which are given below.

Astrology believes that there are nine planets which affect a man's destiny. Various gems are supposed to strengthen the effect of these planets, ruby is for the Sun, pearl for the moon, coral for Mars, emerald for Mercury, topaz for Jupiter, diamond for Venus, blue sapphire for Saturn, hessonite for Rahu and cat's eye for Ketu.

Mounts and Gems

Most of the writers on palmistry have named the mounts on the palm, seven in number, after seven planets. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Moon and Venus.

(Fig. 13/1)

(Fig. 13/2)

(Fig. 13/3)

Some of them call. Aggressive Mars as the Rahu place and the Defensive Mars as the Ketu place (See Fig. 13/1), but most of the palmists have the area of Mars into the following three divisions.

The area between the Mount of Mercury and the Mount of Luna or the Moon has been called upper Mars, but the present author has described it, according to its peculiarities, as the Defensive Mars. The area between the Mount of Jupiter and the Mount of Venus is called Lower Mars, which I have because of its peculiarities, called the Aggressive Mars.

The area in the middle of the palm is called the Plain of Mars (See Fig. 13/2). I feel that this is the proper division of the area of Mars because it takes into account the peculiarities of the planet.

Rings with various gems help to strengthen the mounts of the palm, because of their auspicious effect, but wearing a blue sapphire is not without risk. I advise my clients to wear emerald instead because the emerald and the blue sapphire both have an element of Vayu, but there is no danger in wearing the former whereas the blue sapphire is not without risk of harm.

For the under-developed mounts of the palm the following gems should be worn, as explained in the succeeding paragraph.

If the Mount of Jupiter is under-developed or the index finger is short, a topaz should be worn in a ring. But for a defective Saturn, an emerald is the right Stone.

It must be stressed here that the Mount of Saturn is generally depressed, but the finger connected to it, the middle one, is usually long. The depressed mount should be considered a developed one. If the middle finger is long and the Mount of Saturn is developed it should be taken to be over-developed.

If the Mount of Mercury is under-developed or the little finger is short, an emerald should be worn, an emerald again if the Defensive Mars is under-developed; if the 'Aggressive Mars or the Plain of Mars is under-developed, a coral, if the Mount of Luna is under-developed a pearl and a coral if the Mount of Venus is underdeveloped; a ruby if the Mount of Apollo is under-developed.

Astrology believes that a diamond should be worn to accentuate the effect of Venus, but according to the theory of pancha tattavas (five basic elements of the universe) a diamond has jal-tattva (water) as its dominant element. But according to palmistry the Mount of Venus is connected with one's sexuality which is connected with the agni Mttva (fire element). Coral has the fire element as its dominant constituent which is more appropriate for strengthening the Mount of Venus.

I have suggested that emerald and diamond should be worn in place of the blue sapphire because my experience of palmistry supports the view that these are better stones than the blue sapphire. The reason why this should be so has been explained above. An astrologer can say what stone you should wear after he has studied your horoscope and you should follow his advice.

One can ask the question that in case many mounts on the palm are under-developed should one wear many stones to offset their effect. The answer is that one should wear not more than two stones. If more than two mounts are defective, one should wear coral to strengthen the mounts which are fundamentally hot and emerald to strengthen those which are cold in nature.

Hot and Cold Mounts

If you draw a vertical line on the palm to divide it into two parts, the one towards the thumb represents the element of heat (See Fig. 13/3-A). The only area in this part which represents the element of cold is that of the Mount of Saturn (See Fig. 13/3-B) and that comprises only a small percentage of this part of the palm.

The half of the palm towards the little finger represents the cold element (See Fig. 13/3-C), but a small portion of it, occupied by the Mount of Apollo or the Sun (See Fig. 13/3-D) represents the element of heat.

The area with the element of heat represents the conscious. In other words it is connected with action and the area with the element of cold is concerned with thought (sub-conscious). In other words, persons whose half of the palm towards the thumb is more developed, are better suited to manual action and those whose other half of the palm is more developed are more given to thinking. They are adept at making plans.

Weight of the Stones to be worn

According to the division of the hand into two parts, as explained above, if one of the mounts in the area represented by heat is under-developed, a stone weighing about 500 mg. should be worn -- a topaz for the Mount of Jupiter, a coral for the Aggressive Mars, the Plain of Mars or the Mount of Venus and a ruby for the Mount of Apollo or the Sun.

If two of the hot Mourns are under-developed, a coral weighing 700 mg. should be worn; in the case of three such mounts a coral weighing 900 mg. and for four a coral with a weight of 1200 milligrams.

If only one of the cold Mounts is under-developed a stone weighing 500 mg. should be worn to offset the defect. If the Mount of Saturn, the Defensive Mars of the Mount of Mercury is defective, an emerald and a pearl in case the Mount of Luna is under-developed, should be worn. If more than one cold mount is under-developed, an emerald weighing 700 mg should be worn. If more than two mounts are involved, the same stone weighing 900 mg. and if four are involved, one weighing 1200 mg. should be worn.

If you wear a stone to strength the planets, it should so set in the ring and its posterior touches the skin of the finger on which it is worn.

The Touch of Metals

Precious stones being costly, not everyone can afford to wear them. The touch of metals can, in their place, offset the evil influence of the hand lines or mounts.

It is an old belief that the touch of iron has a cooling effect and copper heats up. If, therefore, hot mounts are under-developed, one should wear copper rings in place of coral, ruby and topaz. If, on the other hand, a cold mount is under-developed, an iron ring is the thing to wear.

Finger on Which Gem/Metal is to be worn

If only one gem is to be worn it should be worn in the ring finger of the active hand. If two gems are indicated, hot gems or copper should be worn in the middle finger of the active hand and gems with a cold effect or iron should be worn in the ring linger of the active hand.

Let it be repeated that those who write with the right hand have that hand as the active One and those whose writing is done by the left hand have the left as the active hand.

Auspicious Day on Which a Gem or Metal should be worn

The day connected with the mount which is under-developed is the day on which the person concerned should wear the appropriate stone/metal after having prayed to his favourite deity. For example, a person with an under-developed Mount of Apollo or the Sun should wear the ring on a Sunday. For one with an under-developed Mount of Luna or the moon should wear the ring on a Monday. Likewise for the rest of the mounts.

Those who do not want to wear a ring, should wear a copper bangle to increase the effect of the hot planets and iron bangle to give a fillip to the cold planets.

Balance is the Key

A person whose all the mounts are developed need not wear any gem/ metal. If all the mounts are not developed, a balance should be maintained by seeing that all the mounts are equally developed. A balance between the power of the mind and of the body leads to good fortune. Such persons can take to the use of digital postures to remove the defects of the lines of the palm.