The Lower Mount of Mars

The Lower Mount of Mars, also called Mars positive or Mars active, lies on the thumb side of the palm between the Mount of Jupiter and the Mount of Venus, inside the origin of the life line. The tradition claims for it aggression, physical courage, initiative and a readiness for conflict, the active counterpart of the upper mount's endurance.

As with every element of the scheme, the claim is the tradition's and there is no evidence for it. It is worth adding that palm creases do have a genuine medical significance in one narrow respect: certain patterns, notably the single transverse palmar crease, occur with raised frequency in some chromosomal conditions including Down syndrome, and dermatoglyphics is a real if limited field. That fact is sometimes cited as though it supported palmistry generally. It does not; it concerns crease formation in embryonic development and says nothing about character or future events.