Also called: Half-moon · Moon of the nail · Chand ka nishan

Where on the hand: At the base of each nail, just above the cuticle. Largest on the thumb and progressively smaller toward the little finger, where it is often invisible.

What it looks like: A pale, opaque crescent at the nail's root, its curve echoing the cuticle line.

The lunula is read as a vitality gauge. Small but clearly visible on the thumb — and ideally on index and middle too — is the normal healthy state. Absent moons read as a delicate constitution; excessively large ones as over-activity. In Indian Samudrik each finger's moon carries a separate fortune.

Western reading: Western practice reads the lunula purely as a vitality and circulation gauge.

Read with care: The thyroid and heart associations of very large lunulae are traditional doctrine; lunula size varies enormously between healthy people.