Society for the Study of Physiological Patterns

The Society for the Study of Physiological Patterns is a prominent British palmistry organization founded around 1945 by Noel Jaquin (1893-1974) and Beryl Hutchinson to further the science of hand analysis. The society arose amid the vacuum created by the demise of the Cheirological Society of Great Britain at the end of the 1930s, and many former members of the Cheirological Society joined the new organization. It differed from the older organizations in that it included a place for related occult interests such as astrology, graphology, and phrenology.

As a young man, Jaquin had studied with William G. Benham, the prominent palmist and author of The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading (1900). He later developed his own approach to palmistry based upon the idea that the shape of the fingers, palms, and nails, and the texture of the skin were the primary elements indicative of the personality traits of the individual. By the 1930s he concentrated his studies on the fingerprint and the five major patterns, the loop, whorl, arch, tented arch, and composite (a subfield of palmistry called dermatoglyphics ). He published his initial findings in two books, The Hand of Man (1933) and The Signature of Time (1940). Jaquin, in particular, was an amazingly productive author and reportedly was the only palmist ever invited to work with Scotland Yard on their investigations. In addition, both Jaquin and Hutchinson worked in the field of medical palmistry, their findings being published in Jaquin's book, Hand and Disease (1926), and Hutchinson's Your Life in Your Hands (1967).

The Society for the Study of Physiological Patterns has grown into an international organization with members throughout the English-speaking world. It is headquartered at 39 Larchwood House, Baywood Sq., Chigwell, Essex 1G7 4AY, United Kingdom.

Sources:

Campbell, Edward D. The Encyclopedia of Palmistry. New York: Perigee, 1996.

Hutchinson, Beryl. Your Life in Your Hands. London: Sphere, 1967.

Jaquin, Noel. The Hand of Man. London: Faber, 1933.

——. The Hand Speaks: Your Health, Your Sex, Your Life. New Delhi: Sagar Publications, 1973.

——. The Human Hand—The Living Symbol. Bombay: Taraporevala, 1958.