Executive Committee
The IHRA is organised by some of the most experienced and respected hand readers from around the world, all of whom have had over 30 years experience in hand analysis and palm reading. Established since 2019 as an over-arching association for professional handreaders, we have coordinated and integrated our various teaching styles to create a pathway for newcomers to become highly-qualified professional handreaders.
You can find out more about us below.
About Us
The original Chirological Society was founded in London by Katherine St Hill in 1889 and was the first Society of its kind anywhere in the world to investigate all aspects of chirological analysis, publishing its own journal, 'The Palmist's Review' in the period from 1892-1901. The Society initiated a system of courses and examinations and also functioned as a professional body to safeguard the public from charlatans and imposters but became inactive after the War and had completely folded by around 1925. See more here: The Chirological Society
The Society for the Study of Physiological Patterns (SSPP) was founded in 1945 by the English handreader Noel Jaquin with an especial emphasis on looking at the significance of the patterns of the hands from a medical diagnostic and psychological point of view. The SSPP was led by Beryl Hutchinson from around 1956 through to the early 1980's with Peter West and Mary Anderson being key figures in the group through the 1990's. Many of the world's best handreaders, such as Johan Hjelmborg, were members of the society. The SSPP finally closed in c2005. See more here: SSPP
The Cheirological Society was re-started in London in 1975 by Terry Dukes, with Dylan Warren-Davis being the Secretary for much of the 1980's. Christopher Jones became the Society Secretary in 1989 and the 1990's was perhaps the most productive period for the Society with well written journals being produced four times a year, a plethora of new study works and publications and regular research conferences ('Advanced Study Group' seminars) in the period from 1990 to 1997. With a cassette-based postal course students from around the world - such as Talma Brill in Israel, Birgita Birath in Sweden and Jenni Hirsch in South Africa - were all able to study handreading by correspondence course with Christopher Jones. Having established an active and dynamic teaching program, it was in this period that many, now highly-regarded, professional handreaders began their studies, including Johnny Fincham, Lynn Seal and Felicity Booth.
After the Cheirological Society folded in 1999, the first online handreading study group was established by Hidde Wallaart and Christopher Jones in 1999 as the Handreading Cyber Cafe. This forum allowed for the meeting with many different handreaders from around the world and spawned many new groups and chirological endeavours. For instance, Martijn van Mensvoort submitted his first research projects on Autism and the Hand for evaluation at the Handreading Cyber Cafe. Lynn Seal was the moderator and admin for this group (and many others!) until it folded after Microsoft stopped its online Communities webspace around 2005.
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On 27th May 2019, Handreading International was started by Christopher Jones and Felicity Booth as an online study group using the Facebook platform, bringing back together many long-standing professional handreaders such as Johnny Fincham and Lynn Seal. And it is these four core members of the old UK Cheirological Society who have established the International Hand Reading Association.
Biography
1991 - present
Felicity Booth (MA) completed a beginner's course with the UK Cheirological Society in 1991 and quickly progressed to being one of its foremost analysts working on a pioneering research project into the significance of the Major Water line in 1996. With degrees in Economics, Material Culture, Design and Teaching, she has worked as a university lecturer and teacher. With over 30 years of hand reading experience, she has been teaching chirology online since 2019. Her main field of research is health issues in the hand.
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1986 - present
Johnny Fincham (BA) began his studies of handreading with Dave Gillon in 1986 with the Cheirological Society and under Christopher Jones' tutelage, became only the third person to achieve the Society's Higher Intermediate Diploma. An innovator, raconteur and highly experienced handreader, Johnny has worked in the field professionally since the early 1990's and has written over eight popular books on handreading. His contributions to the Advanced Study Group Conferences in the period from 1990-1997 helped develop the systems of handreading in use today.
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1989 - present
Lynn Seal began learning traditional palmistry in 1989 with Beleta Greenaway, exploring every palmistry book she could find. In 1994, she enrolled with the Cheirological Society tutor Christopher Jones to study five-element hand analysis. Since 1999, Lynn has managed numerous online discussion groups about handreading, connecting with leading hand analysts worldwide. With over 30 years as a professional reader and teacher of hand analysis and tarot, she has featured in radio interviews and magazine articles. Lynn spent years reading scientific research papers about hands, and books such as the FBI's “Science of Fingerprints”. These days, since retiring in 2024, she prefers a good novel.
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1983 - present
Christopher Jones (MA Oxon) first encountered handreading through the Cheirological Society in 1983, studying with Dylan Warren-Davis. In 1984, he was authorised to teach cheirology and by 1989 was appointed Society Secretary. As secretary, he was the most active handreading tutor in the 1990's and taught many hundreds of people personally and internationally by correspondence course. During the period 1989-1994, he wrote 15 study books on handreading, including definitive guides to the History of Handreading and the Science of Handreading, based on his researches in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. With a Master's degree in Philosophy and Theology, he has the ability to explain the most arcane aspects of chirology with a clarity and structure that makes it easy for others to assimilate. He is the foremost chirological teacher of his generation.
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Web: www.handreading.nz
