In divining truth from someone’s hand, you learn a lot from a simple glance if you know where to look. It can reveal whether or not your man is emotionally unavailable or distant and save you some potential heartbreak.

If you’re in a relationship with an emotionally detached man, it might not seem obvious. You might have been together for a while and think you’re falling in love, but you’re unsure if he feels the same. His behavior might be hard to read. In this case, taking a quick look at his hands — specifically, the lines on his hands — will give you a good idea about whether or not he’s truly emotionally unavailable.

The lines on your palm will change based on life experiences and your ability to heal and overcome emotional challenges. While the lines might indicate your guy is currently emotionally distant, that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to work through these issues in the future.

Here's the strange way a guy’s hands can reveal if he’s emotionally distant.

1. His heart line is short and straight

Of the lines on your palm, the most significant line for emotional connectivity is the heart line. The heart line is the uppermost of the major lines on your hand, running typically from below your little finger toward the center or even the opposite edge of the palm. There are quite a few variations on this line, but it will typically end somewhere near your first or second finger.

This region of your hand indicates how much you feel and how you express those feelings, which is why it’s important to note when trying to determine whether or not your man is emotionally available for you.

Since your heart line is your emotional “flow” line, it indicates your ability to regulate and deal with your emotions. Having a straight or short line is quite significant. When someone has this type of heart line, it’s called an Earth-type line, which means they are not focused on emotions. The shorter this line, the less the person feels overall. And if their heart line is quite straight, they lack expressiveness, which means you won’t see a lot of declarations of affection from this person.

This is, in a way, a “James Bond” heart line. It shows a man on a mission. He leaves feelings out of the equation and likely isn’t interested in pursuing an emotional connection at this time.

2. He has a “low-set” heartline

The closer to the middle of a palm the heart line runs, the deeper they’ve buried their emotions. Usually, this indicates some event in the past created a need for them to keep those feelings deeply stuffed down.

People with low-set heartlines will take longer to connect since their emotions are “buried.” If your guy has this line in his palm, it means he may not be emotionally distant so much as unwilling to open up to you. He won't trust you right away, but with time and consistency from you, he’ll feel comfortable and safe.

3. There are breaks in the heartline

A healthy heart line extends across the palm in a single line. However, Sometimes breaks suggest periods of emotional trauma and pain that cause an actual “break” in the continuity. Occasionally, there can even be multiple breaks in the line. These breaks can be considered problematic for a relationship because they indicate unresolved emotional pain.

Men with these breaks may not have the ability to be in a healthy emotional relationship and may wind up being emotionally distant or emotionally unavailable. To overcome this, they need to face and address the problem. Until they are willing to do the work to heal from their dilemma, they’ll have trouble making a healthy emotional connection with anyone.

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4. He has “dropping crosses”

If there are “x” shaped marks or “crosses” beneath his heart line beneath the Apollo (ring) or Mercury (little) fingers, these signs indicate he feels unsupported emotionally.

Dropping crosses shows there may have been relationship issues, either in the past or still ongoing that make him feel he can’t turn to anyone for help. He may feel withdrawn and emotionally distant because he doesn’t feel as though anyone can support his emotional needs. In this instance, being there for him and helping him learn to trust you will make him feel like he can lean on you and connect more healthily.

5. There are “islands” in the heartline

These marks appear as “bubbles”, or round, circular marks along the heart line. They indicate a period of emotional strain, though it comes from many issues and doesn’t simply suggest a romantic one.

If there are islands on his heartline, he will distance himself emotionally because trying to get close to someone is too painful for him. He may attempt to keep things light and casual between the two of you but will not be able to form an emotional bond until he does the work and addresses the past hurts that caused the islands.

The more islands in the heartline, the more complicated the emotional strain. Whether he’s grieving someone he lost to death, a breakup, a situation in his life, or even a falling out with a friend or family member, he’ll pull away from new connections to lessen the pain. Though islands remain on the hand, the good news is he can heal if he is willing to do the work.

6. He has a small Venus mount

The Venus mount is the rounded pad of your palm directly next to your thumb. This part of the hand is critical in palmistry because it signifies your “giving energy.” This portion of the hand can indicate whether or not someone is introverted or extroverted, but in this case, it can also show how much emotional energy someone has to give.

The Venus mount should be puffy— but not overly so — and should have good elasticity when squeezed, meaning it returns to its original shape pretty well.

When this mount is small on someone’s hand, it’s a sign of reduced giving energy. Someone with a small Venus mount will be emotionally distant because they can’t give more of themselves in a relationship. This may be due to stress or difficulties in their life that are pulling their emotional energy away.

7. There is a Mercury “challenge” line across his palm

This mark is a line that runs diagonally across the hand from the Mars mount just above the thumb toward the Mercury mount beneath the little finger. The stronger this line, the more difficult your man may have to try to get intimate with you on an emotional level.

The challenge line suggests he may struggle with trusting people and will appear emotionally distant. The challenge line is common on people’s hands, and I would estimate five out of ten hands I’ve seen have carried it. So, while it may indicate your guy is currently struggling to connect or trust you, it doesn’t mean he won’t.

As with any marking on a palm, these are signs of hurt or emotional pain in the past, but if he’s willing to put in the effort and heal from his trauma, he will still have the ability to bond with people in the future.

These signs don’t mean your man will never trust or open up to you, it means you need to be aware of the potential issues that come from emotional pain and the problem of him being emotionally unavailable for you. If you’re in a relationship with a man who carries any of these marks, you’ll have to work hard to overcome these emotional connection issues.

It may seem like a big challenge, but putting in the effort will reward you both with a deep, intimate connection to each other.