Some think it's a gimmick to get money. Some think it's an art that only the lucky know how to use. No matter the opinion, most people have driven past a giant "Palm Reader" sign and wondered what their own hands could tell them about their lives.
Lucy Parris, known as Madam Lucy, is a psychic in Chandler. She has works out of her home and has been reading palms for more than 25 years. "Your hands tell a story," Parris says, adding that simply tracing a line on someone's hand isn't a full palm reading.
Parris says that a major part of palm reading is touching other people in order to feel their energies. "[Psychics] aren't open to everyone's thoughts all the time. You have to be welcomed in." This happens the moment a person comes in seeking advice and reaches out his or her palm for Parris to hold and scrutinize, she says.
Parris shares the art with her daughter-in-law, Paula Parris. Paula Parris says that palm reading involves looking at the past, present and future, and giving advice from there. "Nothing is set in stone," she says, adding that palm reading can give people advice on more than just love or relationships.
The lines in people's palms change throughout their lives, says Lucy Parris. One of the things lines can represent is the people in one's life, she says. "The lines that are braided, those are the people that are involved in your life, the people that you are very close to. As time goes on, the lines in your hand may disappear just like the people in your life move on or die," she says.
Lucy Parris also says that palm reading and psychics are not a modern invention. "It's a human gift that's been in this world forever."
Marriage and family studies sophomore Dani Sweeney says she has had her palm read twice, but that her results weren't very detailed. "Basically, you sit down, show the palm reader your hand, and the lines on your palm supposedly signify aspects of your life," Sweeney says.
She said she was told she would have a long life and a successful marriage. "Just the basics," Sweeney calls it.
Journalism and public relations sophomore Krista Hinz got a similar "long and successful marriage" reading when she had her hand examined by a palm reader on Mill Avenue. However, Hinz's reading was more detailed. "She said I would have three kids and that I would have one true love," Hinz says. "And she said there was a negative influence in my life."
Hinz says that the palm reader explained she could tell this because of Hinz's aura - a healthy aura is clean, while Hinz's was a muddied green and purple. "She said the people around me were negative but that I would get through it," Hinz adds.
Sweeney first got her palm read when she was 12 years old. She went again recently to see if there would be a difference in what the palm reader told her. "There really wasn't," Sweeney says. "They just tell you what you want to hear."
Hinz, however, has more faith in her results. "As cheesy as it is, I think there's some validity to it."
Hinza adds that was nervous before she had her palm read. "I was scared. I thought she might look at it and tell me I would die in two years."
In the end, she says the reading did help her with her life. "She did try to sell me on other stuff, like classes for my aura, but it helped me to put things into perspective and think about the people around me," she says.
While they came away with different opinions, both Sweeney and Hinz would advise other people to have their palms read. "Why not?" Sweeney says.
Hinz says to go just for fun, even if you don't believe in it. "Even if it's a hoax, you'll get a kick out of it," she says.
Reach the reporter at: amanda.fruzynski@asu.edu.
