Mount of Venus
The largest mound on the hand, at the base of the thumb.
Palmistry
Palm Mounts in Palmistry
The mounts are the fleshy pads of the palm, named after classical planets: Venus at the thumb, Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo and Mercury below the four fingers, Mars in two places, and Luna at the base opposite the thumb. Traditional palmistry reads a raised mount as emphasis in that area of life.
Where is each mount on the hand?
| Mount | Location | Traditionally read as |
|---|---|---|
| Mount of Venus | It is the largest mound on the palm, filling the area between the thumb and the arc of the life line | warmth, physical vitality and appetite for life |
| Mount of Jupiter | Directly below the index finger, above the point where the life line and head line begin | confidence, leadership and the wish to be taken seriously |
| Mount of Saturn | Directly below the middle finger, between the Jupiter mount under the index finger and the Apollo mount under the ring finger | seriousness, patience and a private, self-sufficient streak |
| Mount of Apollo | At the base of the ring finger, between the Saturn mount below the middle finger and the Mercury mount below the little finger | appreciation of beauty, expressiveness and enjoyment of making things |
| Mount of Mercury | At the base of the little finger, the outermost of the four finger mounts | communication, quickness of mind and skill in negotiation or trade |
| Mount of Mars | Lower Mars sits between the thumb and the start of the life line | |
| Mount of Moon | On the outer edge of the palm toward the wrist, opposite the Mount of Venus at the thumb base | imagination, receptiveness and an attraction to travel or water |
How are the mounts assessed?
By comparison rather than in isolation. A reader looks at which mounts stand highest relative to the others, and traditionally considers firmness as well as height.
The physical reality is that mount prominence largely reflects muscle and fat distribution in the hand, which varies with build, grip strength, manual work and age. A bricklayer and an office worker will show different mounts for reasons that have nothing to do with temperament, and that alone should set how much weight the readings deserve.
Why are the mounts named after planets?
Palmistry borrowed its naming from the same classical astrological framework that assigns qualities to planets: Venus for affection, Mars for courage, Mercury for communication. The names carry the symbolism rather than any connection to the planets themselves. Our numerology and astrology page covers how these systems borrowed from one another.
Questions people ask about palm mounts
What are the mounts in palmistry?
They are the fleshy raised pads of the palm, named after classical planets. Venus sits at the base of the thumb, Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo and Mercury below the index, middle, ring and little fingers respectively, Luna at the base of the palm opposite the thumb, and Mars in two separate places with a plain between them. Traditional palmistry reads a prominent mount as emphasis.
How do you tell if a mount is developed?
By comparing the mounts with each other rather than judging one alone. Look across the pads beneath all four fingers and notice which stands highest. Traditional readers also press gently to assess firmness. Mount prominence largely reflects muscle and fat distribution, which varies with build and manual work, so the comparison is symbolic rather than diagnostic.
Which mount is the most important?
Traditional palmistry does not rank them, though Venus and Luna receive the most attention because they are usually the largest and sit opposite each other. Readers often compare those two as a pair. Since none of the mounts carries predictive information, importance reflects the reader habit rather than any property of the hand.
What does a flat mount mean?
Traditional palmistry reads a flat mount as that quality being less emphasised rather than absent, and classical sources generally present this neutrally. Some modern writing frames flat mounts as deficiencies, which reflects the tone of the writer. Since mount height is largely muscle, a flat mount is a structural feature rather than a statement about character.
Can mounts change over time?
Yes, more readily than the hand shape. Muscle bulk, weight and skin all change with age, activity and manual work, and the mounts change with them. This is worth knowing, because it undercuts any reading presenting the mounts as a fixed map. A hand that does heavy work for a decade will show different mounts at the end of it.
Why are there two Mars mounts?
Traditional palmistry splits the Mars symbolism across two areas: Lower Mars above the thumb inside the life line, and Upper Mars on the opposite edge below the Mercury mount, with the Plain of Mars in the hollow between them. Sources disagree about the naming and about which is which, which indicates how settled this part of the tradition is.