A plain guide
What is saju?
Saju is the Korean name for the Four Pillars, a way of reading a birth date that grew from East Asian calendar traditions. It pictures a person through the five elements and the twelve animals, and it is read today the way many people read a personality type: as a prompt for reflection.
What the word means
Saju means four pillars. Each pillar is a pair of signs taken from the calendar: one for the year, one for the month, one for the day and one for the hour of birth. Together they make eight signs, which is why saju is sometimes called the eight characters.
In English it is often called the Four Pillars of Destiny. We prefer Four Pillars: the tradition is a language for describing temperament, not a forecast.
Stems and branches
Each pillar has a top half and a bottom half. The top half is one of ten stems. The bottom half is one of twelve branches, the same twelve animals as the zodiac calendar, from the Rat to the Pig.
Ten stems and twelve branches combine into a cycle of sixty pairs. The calendar has counted days, months and years through this cycle for a very long time, so every date has its own pair.
The five elements
Every stem and branch belongs to one of five elements. Each element comes in a yang form, outward and steady, and a yin form, inward and adaptive. Ten stems are simply the five elements, each in two forms.
The elements relate in two gentle cycles. In the feeding cycle Wood feeds Fire, Fire feeds Earth, Earth feeds Metal, Metal feeds Water and Water feeds Wood. In the shaping cycle each element gives form to another, the way a riverbank shapes a stream.
Your Day Master
The stem of your day pillar is called your Day Master. Many readers treat it as the center of the chart: the part that pictures you, while the other pillars describe the setting around you.
Because there are ten stems, there are ten Day Master types, from Yang Wood, the Great Tree, to Yin Water, the Rain. Only your birth date is needed to find yours.
Saju and Western astrology
| Saju | Western astrology | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | The calendar cycle of stems and branches | The positions of the planets |
| Main lens | Five elements, yin and yang | Twelve zodiac signs |
| Your core type | Day Master, from your birth date | Sun sign, from your birth date |
| For a full chart | Birth date and hour | Birth date, time and place |
Western astrology starts from the positions of the planets at birth. Saju starts from the calendar cycle of stems and branches. Both use a birth date, both describe temperament, and many people enjoy reading the two side by side.
Sajuveil does exactly that: your Day Master and a daily reading from saju, alongside your Sun sign and life path number.
How to read it kindly
Saju works best as a mirror, not a verdict. Read your type for the parts that ring true, keep what helps, and let the rest go. No sign is better than another, and every element has its season.
For entertainment purposes only. Not a substitute for professional advice.