As described in “Meaning of rings on fingers“, wearing rings in general can portray a subconscious feeling that a person either feels constraint or feels a need for a boost with regards to the traits that relate to the finger onto which the ring is on. To understand the meaning of wearing a ring on the ring finger, let’s look at the traits that are associated with this finger:

Ring Finger Traits and corresponding Ring finger Ring Meaning
Before getting into the traits of the ring finger, it’s worth noting that many palmists who would place significance on rings on all the other fingers, wouldn’t consider the presence of a ring on the ring finger to be of any strong significance. This is mostly because the meaning of wearing a ring on this finger has been affected by years of tradition of placing the engagement and marriage ring here, regardless of whether it “feels right” to wear a ring on this finger or not. With the lack of tuning in to what feels right intuitively, the subconscious meaning of ring wearing on this finger is effectively nullified. It’s just what’s done, so people do it. Having said that, there are times, especially in unmarried folk, when a ring on the ring finger may “feel right” here and in these cases it may relate to the ring finger traits. Here are the traits that are linked to the ring finger in palmistry:

• Emotions: The ring finger is the “emotional finger” which may be why it is chosen as the finger on which a marriage ring is placed. If we think of rings as a restriction or constraint, a ring on the ring finger may indicate holding yourself back from pursuing other romantic partners once you have one strong emotional romantic bond. As palmist Johnny Fincham puts it “the ring places restrictions on the heart’s yearnings”. If you look at the ring as a “strengthener” rather than a “restricter”, a ring on this finger may sometimes convey that the individual feels they need support and strength where it comes to their emotions. A ring can be either a “restrictor” or a “booster” or “support”. If we look at it as abooster on this finger, it may be found in single people who really, REALLY want to be in a relationship; by wearing a ring on this finger, it is almost like they are boosting their romantic emotions, or need extra support for all their emotions, in the hope it will help them find a partner.
• Individuality: It’s possible that if a person’s sense of individuality is felt to be restricted, they may express this subconsciously by wearing a ring on the ring finger. On the other hand, it could indicate a desire to boost their sense of uniqueness and individuality if they are feeling a bit run-of-the-mill.
• Creativity / Artistry: There is a very strong link for the ring finger with creativity and artistry, and a ring on this finger could relate to constrictions or a need for strengthening in these fields.
• Performing: The base of the ring finger is the “performer / entertainer zone”, so a ring on this finger may relate to constraints or a need for support in performing / entertaining.
• Risk-taking / sense of adventure: Someone who wants to be more adventurous and strengthen that part of them may subconsciously put a ring on this finger. On the other hand, if their natural risk-taking, adventurous nature is muted for some reason, say if someone is holding them back, they may express this feeling of restriction by placing a ring on this finger.

Wearing a ring finger ring on the left vs right hand:
The left hand relates to a person’s personal, private life (eg. at home, with a spouse or with family) and the right hand relates to the public life (eg. at work, in society etc).

So wearing a ring on the ring finger on the left hand indicates that it is within the person’s private life that their feelings of restriction or desired support are being felt, whereas if the ring finger ring is on the right hand, the issues are likely to be taking place in their public life.

Examples of situations where people may wear a ring on the ring finger

• The guy who deep down wants to sleep with several women but who is restricting himself to one loving relationship.
• The girl who really, really, REALLY wants to be in a relationship but is still single.
• The artist who is experiencing an artistic block (=restriction) and/or wants to support and strengthen his creativity.
• The girl who is told to conform but who has a strong sense of individuality within her that’s bursting to get out.
• The singer who longs to sing in front of people but is too shy to actually do it (=constraint).
• The man who is in a “sensible job” but longs to be an actor. He feels constraint because he doesn’t allow himself to do drama classes and be on stage where he would like to be.
• The girl who goes on a reality tv show as a contestant because she’s crying out to perform, show off her individuality and take the adventurous risk of being on tv.
• The gambler who likes to take risks but is being held back from indulging in gambling due to his loved ones begging him not to do it. (=constraint).
• The guy who really wants to go on an epic adventure but holds himself back from doing it because he has responsibilities and stuff holding him back (=constraint).

Middle Finger Traits and corresponding Middle finger Ring Meaning
The middle finger represents the following:

• Duty & Responsibility: People who wear rings on the middle finger may feel constrained by their duties and responsibilities. This may be responsibility to work, family, religion, school or even to “do what society tells me I ought to do” (e.g. act in a certain appropriate, politically correct way, study hard at school, do your chores, commit to things and follow through, be mature about things, be sensible, be tidy and organized, be “green” and care for the environment, get married by a certain age, have kids, be loyal, get a certain kind of job etc).
• Feelings towards “respected ones” in society, society’s rules and ideas of what the responsible, sensible thing we “should” do is: By “respected ones” in society, we’re talking about people parents, grandparents, teachers, elders, religious leaders and bosses. Wearing a ring on the middle finger may mean feeling restricted by a “respected one” who tried to enforce their will onto you, ramming their opinion down your throat. Wearing a ring here could either be a sign of feeling restricted by respected people, or could be a sign that you need support and strengthening to stand up for what *you* believe, even if respected society disagrees with what you want to do. In some cases there can be something of a rebelliousness related to people who wear a middle finger ring. An example of this is YouTuber Alfie Deyes who has long worn a middle-finger ring and who has gone against what society told him to do by sticking to his guns and not going to university after finishing school, and choosing an unconventional way of making a living by making silly, fun youtube videos instead of a conventionally “secure” and “safe” job. A common thing such people may say is stuff like “Go after your dreams, no matter what anyone else says!” Artists, musicians, actors, youtubers, enterpreneurs and people who have gone along riskier or less conventional paths, may often be seen to wear middle finger rings. Examples include Kristen Stewart), Drew Barrymore, Angelina Jolie, Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson and youtubers: Mimi Ikonn, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Jenna Marbles.
  In this context of sticking to your own opinions and standing strong in the face of what others say, perhaps it is not surprising that the middle finger is used as an insulting body language signal expressing a dislike of something others have said or done.
  Because of the link of the middle finger to respected ones in society like our parents, palmist Robin Lown suggests that some people who wear a ring on the middle finger are sometimes found to have unresolved “mother issues” or “father issues”.
• Feeling towards people around you: Some hand readers would suggest that a ring on the middle finger may be linked with a fear of being alone. It’s as if the ring strengthens the feeling that you have people around you.
• Seriousness: The middle finger is “the finger of seriousness”. Perhaps someone who wears a ring here wants to strengthen the impression that they are serious people and want to be taken seriously.
• Other possible meanings: The middle finger also relates to knowledge (education, academia, learning), organizational skills & attitude towards the environment and ecology. A ring on the middle finger could signify a feeling of constriction or a desire to strengthen any of these traits.

Wearing a middle finger ring on the left vs right hand:
The left hand relates to a person’s personal, private life (eg. at home, with family) and the right hand relates to the public life (eg. at work, in society etc).

So wearing a ring on the middle finger on the left hand indicates that it is within the person’s private life that their feelings of restriction or desired support are being felt, whereas if the middle finger ring is on the right hand, the issues are likely to be taking place in their public life.

Examples of situations where people may wear a ring on the middle finger

• The person who refuses to get a 9-5 job like society demands and takes the more enterpreneurial, unconventional route of earning a living.
• The anarchist whose main ethos is to rebel against authority.
• The rebel who refuses to follow their parents demands of them to join the family business or do a certain job. Alternatively a ring on the middle finger may signify contempt for being forced to do something they don’t want to do (=ring’s constraining nature), although they may still be at the stage where they’re still allowing themselves to be constrained.
• The YouTube vlogger who reaches out to people of the internet to share his life with them because deep down, there may be a fear of loneliness, and the more people he shares his life with, the less likely he is to be lonely.

As mentioned in “Meaning of rings on fingers“, wearing rings in general can show a subconscious feeling that a person either feels restriction or need support in the traits related to that finger. To understand the meaning of wearing a ring on the index finger, it’s helpful to look at the traits that are associated with this finger:

Index Finger Traits and corresponding Index finger Ring Meaning
The index finger represents the following:

• The “Self” & self-esteem: Wearing a ring on the index finger can reveal a desire to strengthen your self-esteem and self-confidence. People who wear index finger rings may be in situations in their life where they really need to gather a lot of self-confidence to keep going. Deep down they may feel shy or lacking in confidence but try to hide this and get over it. Sometimes the focus on building the self may exhibit itself as self-absorption and other times it may present itself as someone becoming egotistical. The bigger the ring or the more elaborate (e.g. with large gemstones), the bigger the ego-strengthening that may be perceived. On the theme of the index finger representing “The Self”, sometimes wearing a ring on the index finger may be done as a subconscious attempt to try and understand ourselves better, such as when seeking out what we want to do with our lives.
• Ambition: The index finger is the finger that relates to ambition. Wearing a ring here may be a subconscious attempt to strengthen that ambitiousness. A ring on the index finger can sometimes be found on people with a strong need for power and recognition.
• Leadership: In palmistry, the index finger is to do with leadership. It’s interesting to note that in portraits of famous leaders in history (and also in their spouses who needed to bolster their self-confidence to be with strong leaders), they often wore large rings on their index fingers, as if to support them in their leadership skills. See examples of such leaders in the pictures below. If you hover over the image it’ll tell you who the person pictured is. At it’s extreme end, “strong leadership” strengthening can come across by being overly bossy or controlling over others to get things done your way.
• Spirituality: If you ever see Esther Hicks channeling Abraham hicks, you’ll notice that as she talks, her index finger is often sticking out. According to palmistry this fits with the index finger’s link to spirituality. Since most people in the world today are more likely to be preoccupied with physical life rather than spiritual life, and since those who are spiritual tend to already have confidence in their spirituality so do not need extra strengthening in this area, it is rare that wearing a ring on the index finger has a spiritual meaning, but technically, it could signify a subconscious attempt to strengthen a person’s link with their spirituality, with their inner voice and with the “God within”.

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Wearing an index finger ring on the left vs right hand:
The left hand relates to a person’s personal, private life (eg. at home, with family) and the right hand relates to the public life (eg. at work, in society etc).

So wearing a ring on the index finger on the left hand indicates that it is within the person’s private life that their self-esteem, leadership skills and / or ambition are being strengthened, whereas if the index finger ring is on the right hand, bolstering is taking place in their public life.

Examples of situations where people may wear a ring on the index finger

• A freshly appointed king, queen, CEO or manager who feel a need to boost their self-confidence and their faith in their leadership ability.
• The wife who is feeling low self-esteem and makes up for it by bossing her husband around.
• The celebrity with millions of fans who is ambitious and/ or is a bit self-orientated and / or likes being in a position of authority and recognition. It could also be the celebrity who needs extra support for their self-esteem eg. needing others to give them praise to affirm they are loved and appreciated, and thriving on the feeling of getting a round of applause. You’ll find index finger rings are quite common in actors, models, presenters, youtubers, singers and celebrities in general. (Seen on Jennifer Lopez here, Ashley Olsen Of the Olsen twins, Angelina Jolie, JennXPenn, Kate Moss)
• The celebrity facing public accusations or shaming of some kind and needs to strengthen his self-esteem. I found it interesting that YouTuber Alex Day who was faced with self-esteem-wearing claims in a scandal in 2014, wore a larger than usual ring on his index finger (seen here), although even before the allegations he did wear a more subtle index finger ring (seen here) and that still makes sense because it seems to fit with his ambitious, leading personality. Note the ring is on his right hand – the hand relating to attitudes towards the public.
• The person who is in the process of trying to overcome shyness or self-confidence issues and is focused on personal development.

Skeptics may argue that it doesn’t matter which finger you put a ring on – all the fingers are the same. But it’s interesting that sometimes a ring just doesn’t “feel right” on a certain finger but it does feel comfortable and “right” on another. This feeling of “rightness” of a worn ring is what hand reading works with.

In hand reading each finger has specific qualities associated with it, so in general, if you wear a ring on a finger, the ring can have one of two effects on a finger:

• a.) Strengthening / Supporting: A ring can indicate a subconcious desire to support & strengthen the qualities associated with that finger.
• b.) Restricting: A ring on a finger may reveal a feeling of being restricted in the qualities associated with that finger.

Before talking about what each finger ring represents, let’s look at what “no rings” indicates:

What if someone doesn’t wear rings?

Some people cannot stand the feeling of rings on their fingers at all or just have no desire to wear them.

For the more mild version of non-ring wearers, who just don’t particularly feel like wearing rings but don’t have a strong aversion to them, according to some hand readers, not wearing rings can indicate that there is no need for extra support / strengthening of any of the finger-traits. It can also mean that the person does not feel restricted in any of the finger-related traits.

If the feeling is more of a “I can’t STAND wearing rings!” it may indicate something a little different. It may suggest that this person really, really values their freedom, more than the average person. They want to feel free and unrestricted, not tied down to anything. In other words they may really appreciate and feel a need for the feeling of freedom in their life.

Does size of ring matter?

Yes. According to hand reading, the bigger the ring worn, the stronger it’s related meaning.

What does a ring on a specific finger mean?

• Ring on thumb meaning
• Ring on index finger meaning
• Ring on middle finger meaning
• Ring on ring finger meaning
• Ring on little finger meaning

References

All the information in this article is learned from the following sources:
- Lown. R. 2014. Class notes from the Palmistry Course at the College of Psychic Studies
- Clifford. F. 2002. Palmistry 4 Today. (Book: on Amazon.co.uk ; on Amazon.com)
- Clifford. F. 2012. Rings on our fingers. Heaven and Earth Workshops (online article)