The Warrior Line

I mentioned briefly in my initial column that the hands of Tim Matheson (Animal House, The West Wing) revealed a double life line. Some call this the general, or the warrior line. People with lines like this tend to stand up for what they believe in. They have what some refer to as an outspoken tendency. If a colleague is under attack at work, people with such a line would speak out. If you work in a union shop, look for it in the right palm of your grievance officer. I imagine Jon Stewart of The Daily Show might have one when I hear him take the US administration to task for corruption in email erasure.

The double life line or warrior line curves parallel to the life line. This is the long line extending from the midway point between the base of the thumb and the base of the pointing finger. The life line curves down and around under the base of the palm, swerving back towards the base of the thumb before hitting the wrist. This line purportedly indicates the number of years you have to live.

The warrior line curves about one nail’s length inside of the life line, closer to the thumb. The line usually does not duplicate the length of the life line. Rather, the warrior line becomes prominent in the years that one is actually likely to exercise the powers of the double life.

I was at an event the other night at the Karpeles Library, organized in downtown Santa Barbara by folks who wanted to increase public awareness of the Cuban Five. These are five gentlemen whom James Petras-member of the Bertrand Russell Tribunal against repression in Latin America-feels should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. They infiltrated US-backed militant Cuban exile groups who were planning terrorist acts against Cuba, and warned the Cuban government of potential bombs that were about to go off.

They saved many lives, and then they got caught. The Cuban Five are now in jail after having undergone a political trial which some have compared to that of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in its use of the courts for political reasons, and the conjuring up of similar charges. Prison law has been violated in the length of time each of the Five has been kept in solitary confinement. Wives have not been allowed to visit.

While Salim Lamrani spoke to a small group who had gathered at the library to hear about the book he edited on the subject (Superpower Principles: U.S. Terrorism Against Cuba), I found myself wondering about his palms. My guess is that Salim’s palms sport a warrior line, a second line curving alongside the life line, closer to the thumb.

I used to interpret that line as indicating a closeted existence, as many palmists do. For example, once a young woman who had a warrior line explained to me that she snuck out of her house and visited her boyfriend at night. Another woman said she knew exactly what I meant, that she has had a vegetarian lover for nine years. For the same amount of time, she snuck out to McDonalds to eat meat behind her lover’s back.

I would have interpreted the line in Salim’s case to indicate his strong conviction. That he should speak out against wrong and should encourage others to speak out for what is right. It’s almost as if he is guided by a higher life, a second life, a larger than life force, hovering above his own; dedicating his individual life to something greater than his own existence, which is a quality to be admired. As Nadine Gordimer says in “Humanity as Justice,” the last essay in Salim’s book (which also includes an article by the lawyer who is defending the Cuban Five and seeking appeals); human beings claim to have attained a higher form of life through evolution. People such as Salim-and those with the second life line or general/warrior life line-are striving for higher forms of life on the planet.

They are to be commended and supported.

For more on the book, see www.commoncouragepress.com, or email info@commoncouragepress.com.

Batya Weinbaum lives in Carpinteria and is available for personal palm readings. Call (216) 233-0567 to schedule your appointment.