사주 · Glossary
Saju terms, in plain English
A Saju reading is full of named stars, stages and patterns. Here’s what each one actually means, in one line, with the Korean name next to it so you can look it up anywhere else.
Day Masters
- Yang Wood (甲)갑목
- The tall tree: purposeful, upright and steady.
- Yin Wood (乙)을목
- The climbing vine: adaptable and quietly persistent.
- Yang Fire (丙)병화
- The midday sun: warm, open and impossible to hide.
- Yin Fire (丁)정화
- The candle flame: close, focused warmth that notices everything.
- Yang Earth (戊)무토
- The mountain: solid, calm and hard to move.
- Yin Earth (己)기토
- Garden soil: practical, nurturing, making things grow.
- Yang Metal (庚)경금
- Raw metal: strong, blunt and decisive.
- Yin Metal (辛)신금
- The fine jewel: refined, exacting and sensitive.
- Yang Water (壬)임수
- The open sea: big-picture, restless and adaptable.
- Yin Water (癸)계수
- Morning dew: intuitive, private and easy to underestimate.
Stars and characters
- Companion characters비겁
- The ones that stand for you and people on your level: independence, peers and competition.
- Output characters식상
- Expressing yourself, making things and being seen. In a woman’s chart, also children.
- Wealth characters재성
- Money, opportunity and what you manage. In a man’s chart, also a partner.
- Officer characters관성
- Duty, status and structure. In a woman’s chart, also a partner; in a man’s, children.
- Resource characters인성
- Learning, support and the people who back you, often parents.
- Friend star비견
- More of your own element: independence and people on your level.
- Rob Wealth star겁재
- A competitive twin of you: drive, rivalry, and money other people have a claim on.
- Eating God star식신
- Appetite, craft and enjoying life. Talent that comes easily.
- Hurting Officer star상관
- A sharp tongue and a gift for performing. Talent that pushes against rules.
- Indirect Wealth star편재
- Big-swing money: opportunities, deals and risk.
- Direct Wealth star정재
- Steady money that’s earned and kept.
- Direct Officer star정관
- Reputation, rules and doing things properly.
- Seven Killings star편관
- Pressure and tests: the demands that toughen you up.
- Direct Resource star정인
- Support, learning and being looked after.
- Indirect Resource star편인
- Intuition and unconventional thinking. Learning things sideways.
- Peach Blossom도화
- The romance star. You get noticed without trying.
- Red Beauty홍염
- A quieter pull that people find hard to put their finger on.
- Travelling Horse역마
- Restless in a settled life. Movement tends to suit you.
- Canopy star화개
- A deep, inward, artistic or spiritual streak.
- Hanging Needle현침
- A sharp eye and a sharp tongue. Precise hands, and words that can cut.
- Helpful element희신
- The element that props your chart up when a year brings it.
Life stages
- Birth stage장생
- A fresh start, with new-beginning luck and energy on the rise.
- Bath stage목욕
- The restless, self-conscious teenage stage: charm and changeability.
- Coming of Age stage관대
- Energy dressed up for the world, confident and keen to be seen.
- Prosperity stage건록
- Standing on your own two feet and earning your own way.
- Peak stage제왕
- Energy at full strength.
- Decline stage쇠
- Just past the peak: seasoned rather than weak.
- Sickness stage병
- A sensitive, slowed-down stage. It sounds worse than it is.
- Death stage사
- Not literal: energy that has gone still and turned inward.
- Tomb stage묘
- Energy stored away rather than spent.
- Severance stage절
- Clean breaks and starting over.
- Conception stage태
- Potential that hasn’t taken shape yet.
- Nurture stage양
- Things growing quietly before they show.
How the pieces meet
- Six Harmony육합
- Your day animals pair up naturally. It’s the best single sign in a match.
- Three Harmony삼합
- Your animals belong to the same group of three, so you pull in the same direction.
- Clash충
- Your animals sit opposite each other: strong pull, strong friction.
- Six Harm해
- Nothing blows up, but small things get under your skin and pile up.
- Punishment형
- Less arguing, more knots. Obligations tend to get tangled.
- Resentment pair원진
- Irritation that shows up for no reason. They didn’t do anything, and yet.
- Ghost Gate귀문관살
- The overthinking star. A short reply becomes a three-hour theory at 1am.
- Same animal복음
- You run on the same setting. Easy to understand, easy to get stuck together.
- Stem combination천간합
- One of five pairings that bond on sight. It’s the strongest attraction in the system.
- Stem clash천간충
- Your Day Masters sit opposite each other. Lots of spark, not much calm.
- Generating cycle상생
- Your elements sit in a feeding order, so one of you naturally supports the other.
- Control cycle상극
- Not a fight. It’s how fire tempers metal: one of you gives the other shape.
- Same element비화
- You share instincts and pace, and the same blind spots.
- No special tie무관
- Nothing pulls you together or apart here, so it comes down to you two.
- Element balance오행 상보
- How much of what one chart lacks, the other one has.
- Half harmony반합
- Two of the three animals in a group. It pulls the same way as the full set, with less of the force.
- Seasonal set방합
- Three neighbouring animals that lock together and flood the chart with one element.
Chart patterns
- Partner’s seat배우자궁
- The animal under your Day Master: the spot in a chart kept for the person you share a life with.
- Doubled pillar간여지동
- Both halves of the day pillar are the same element, so its energy runs at full volume.
- Commanding pillar괴강
- One of only five day pillars with this name, known for forceful, all-or-nothing energy.
- White Tiger pillar백호
- Traditionally intense: high stakes, dramatic turns and a strong will.
- Rivals competing for money군비쟁재
- Lots of Companion characters and little money to share, so what you earn attracts other people’s hands.
Cycles and timing
- Start of spring입춘
- When the Saju year begins, in the first week of February rather than on 1 January.
- Three rough years삼재
- A three-year stretch known for bumps. Better for steady steps than big launches.
- Robbery period겁살
- Losing out through other people, so guard your money and agreements.
- Trap period재살
- Feeling boxed in: slow progress and obstacles to work around.
- Heaven period천살
- Timing that’s out of your hands, so plan and prepare rather than push.
- Starting period지살
- A green light for beginnings: moves, launches and fresh starts.
- Peach Blossom period도화살
- Being noticed, with the attention and complications that come with it.
- Moon period월살
- Low tide. Energy dips, so finish things rather than start them.
- Disgrace period망신살
- Hidden things coming out, so watch what you say and share.
- General period장성살
- Authority and leadership. A time to step up.
- Saddle period반안살
- Rewards and rest after earlier effort.
- Travelling Horse period역마살
- Movement: travel, relocation and a change of scene.
- Six Harm period육해살
- Small, repeated frictions, so care and precision pay off.
- Canopy period화개살
- Retreat, study and reflection, with old ties coming back around.
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