Significance of The Left and Right Hand
Though there are debates on which hand is better to read from, both have their own significance. It is custom to assume that the left hands shows potential in an individual, and the right showed realized personality. Some sayings about the significance include "The future is shown in the right, the past in the left"; "The left hand is the one we are born with, and the right is what we have made of it"; "The right hand is read for men, while the left is read for women"; "The left is what the gods give you, the right is what you do with it"; "The right hand is read for right-handed people, while the left is read for left-handed people". The choice of hand to read is ultimately up to the instinct and experience of the practitioner.
- Left The left hand is controlled by the right brain (pattern recognition, relationship understanding), reflects the inner person, the natural self, the anima, and the lateral thinking. It could even be considered to be a part of a person's spiritual and personal development. It is the "yin" of personality (feminine and receptive).
- Right As opposites are, the right hand is controlled by the left brain (logic, reason, and language), reflects the outer person, objective self, influence of social environment, education, and experience. It represents linear thinking. It also corresponds to the "yang" aspect of personality (masculine and outgoing).
Read more about this topic: Handanalysis
Famous quotes containing the words significance of, significance, left and/or hand:
“I am not afraid that I shall exaggerate the value and significance of life, but that I shall not be up to the occasion which it is.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Of what significance the light of day, if it is not the reflection of an inward dawn?—to what purpose is the veil of night withdrawn, if the morning reveals nothing to the soul? It is merely garish and glaring.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“How have you left the ancient love
That bards of old enjoyed in you!
The languid strings do scarcely move!
The sound is forced, the notes are few!”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“Do not be discouraged, if in a thousand instances you find your kindness rejected and wronged, your good evil-spoken of, and the hand you extend for the relief of others, cast insultingly away; the benevolence which cannot outlive these trials of its purity and strength, is not like the self-sacrifice of him, who went about doing good.”
—C., U.S. women’s magazine contributor. American Ladies Magazine, pp. 331-4 (July 1828)