Glossary

Saju Glossary: Key Four Pillars Terms Explained

Plain definitions of the core Saju (四柱) terms — from Ilgan and Ohaeng to Daeun and Yongsin — each linking to a deeper lesson.

Saju(四柱): A Korean way of reading a person from the year, month, day, and hour they were born — the four pillars.
Palja(八字): The eight characters your four pillars are made of — two per pillar, a Heavenly Stem on top and an Earthly Branch below.
Cheongan (Heavenly Stems)(天干): The ten characters (甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸) that make up the top row of a chart. They stand for what comes from heaven.
Jiji (Earthly Branches)(地支): The twelve characters (子丑寅…) that make up the bottom row of a chart. They stand for what comes from earth, and the zodiac animals come from them.
Ohaeng (Five Elements)(五行): Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Each one feeds the next (相生) and holds another in check (相克).
Ilgan (Day Master)(日干): The top character of your Day Pillar. It stands for you, and every other character in the chart is read against it.
Sipsin (Ten Gods)(十神): The ten names for how each character in your chart stands to your Ilgan — covering work, money, relationships, and what you make.
Daeun (Major Luck)(大運): Ten-year stretches that shift the balance of elements in your chart, showing when to push and when to hold.
Seun (Yearly Luck)(歲運): How a single year runs, read on top of the ten-year cycle you are in.
Wolun (Monthly Luck)(月運): How a single month runs, inside that year.
Yongsin (Key Element)(用神): The element your chart most needs to come into balance. It points to the work, places, and people that suit you.
Jijanggan (Hidden Stems)(地藏干): Stems hidden inside each Earthly Branch, underneath the character you can see. They are counted in the reading too.
Jeolgi (Solar Terms)(節氣): The 24 points that split the year by where the Earth sits against the Sun. This is the astronomy Saju is built on — months turn at these points, not on calendar dates.
Myeongsik (Birth Chart)(命式): Your birth chart in full — the four stem-and-branch pairs for the moment you were born.
Yuksip-gapja (Sexagenary Cycle)(六十甲子): The 60 stem-and-branch pairs that run in a fixed loop and start over every 60 years — the backbone of the East Asian calendar.
Wood (木)(木): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Fire and holds Earth in check; Water feeds it and Metal holds it in check.
Fire (火)(火): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Earth and holds Metal in check; Wood feeds it and Water holds it in check.
Earth (土)(土): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Metal and holds Water in check; Fire feeds it and Wood holds it in check.
Metal (金)(金): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Water and holds Wood in check; Earth feeds it and Fire holds it in check.
Water (水)(水): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Wood and holds Fire in check; Metal feeds it and Earth holds it in check.
Gyeokguk (Structure)(格局): The name for whichever force the whole chart is built around. The engine picks one of sixteen.
Four Pillars(四柱): The Year, Month, Day and Hour pillars. Year is read as roots and early life, Month as family and working life, Day as yourself and your partner, Hour as later years and children.
Combination & Clash(合沖): Two characters either pulling together into a bond (combination) or striking against each other (clash). The engine looks for eight kinds in all.
Yongsin theories(用神論): Four ways of deciding which energy a chart most needs: Balancing (strengthen the weak, restrain the strong), Climate (balance the chart’s heat and cold), Mediation (bridge clashing elements) and Remedy (cure the chart’s imbalance).
Day Master Strength(身強身弱): How much support your Day Master has inside the chart. Three checks decide it — whether it holds the month, whether it stands on friendly ground, and whether the rest of the chart backs it up.
True Solar Time(眞太陽時): The time told by where the sun actually stands at your birthplace, not by the clock. A time zone makes a whole region share one clock, so the reading shifts by your longitude — and that shift can change the Hour Pillar.

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Glossary

Saju Glossary: Key Four Pillars Terms Explained

Plain definitions of the core Saju (四柱) terms — from Ilgan and Ohaeng to Daeun and Yongsin — each linking to a deeper lesson.

Saju(四柱): A Korean way of reading a person from the year, month, day, and hour they were born — the four pillars.
Palja(八字): The eight characters your four pillars are made of — two per pillar, a Heavenly Stem on top and an Earthly Branch below.
Cheongan (Heavenly Stems)(天干): The ten characters (甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸) that make up the top row of a chart. They stand for what comes from heaven.
Jiji (Earthly Branches)(地支): The twelve characters (子丑寅…) that make up the bottom row of a chart. They stand for what comes from earth, and the zodiac animals come from them.
Ohaeng (Five Elements)(五行): Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Each one feeds the next (相生) and holds another in check (相克).
Ilgan (Day Master)(日干): The top character of your Day Pillar. It stands for you, and every other character in the chart is read against it.
Sipsin (Ten Gods)(十神): The ten names for how each character in your chart stands to your Ilgan — covering work, money, relationships, and what you make.
Daeun (Major Luck)(大運): Ten-year stretches that shift the balance of elements in your chart, showing when to push and when to hold.
Seun (Yearly Luck)(歲運): How a single year runs, read on top of the ten-year cycle you are in.
Wolun (Monthly Luck)(月運): How a single month runs, inside that year.
Yongsin (Key Element)(用神): The element your chart most needs to come into balance. It points to the work, places, and people that suit you.
Jijanggan (Hidden Stems)(地藏干): Stems hidden inside each Earthly Branch, underneath the character you can see. They are counted in the reading too.
Jeolgi (Solar Terms)(節氣): The 24 points that split the year by where the Earth sits against the Sun. This is the astronomy Saju is built on — months turn at these points, not on calendar dates.
Myeongsik (Birth Chart)(命式): Your birth chart in full — the four stem-and-branch pairs for the moment you were born.
Yuksip-gapja (Sexagenary Cycle)(六十甲子): The 60 stem-and-branch pairs that run in a fixed loop and start over every 60 years — the backbone of the East Asian calendar.
Wood (木)(木): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Fire and holds Earth in check; Water feeds it and Metal holds it in check.
Fire (火)(火): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Earth and holds Metal in check; Wood feeds it and Water holds it in check.
Earth (土)(土): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Metal and holds Water in check; Fire feeds it and Wood holds it in check.
Metal (金)(金): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Water and holds Wood in check; Earth feeds it and Fire holds it in check.
Water (水)(水): One of the Five Elements. It feeds Wood and holds Fire in check; Metal feeds it and Earth holds it in check.
Gyeokguk (Structure)(格局): The name for whichever force the whole chart is built around. The engine picks one of sixteen.
Four Pillars(四柱): The Year, Month, Day and Hour pillars. Year is read as roots and early life, Month as family and working life, Day as yourself and your partner, Hour as later years and children.
Combination & Clash(合沖): Two characters either pulling together into a bond (combination) or striking against each other (clash). The engine looks for eight kinds in all.
Yongsin theories(用神論): Four ways of deciding which energy a chart most needs: Balancing (strengthen the weak, restrain the strong), Climate (balance the chart’s heat and cold), Mediation (bridge clashing elements) and Remedy (cure the chart’s imbalance).
Day Master Strength(身強身弱): How much support your Day Master has inside the chart. Three checks decide it — whether it holds the month, whether it stands on friendly ground, and whether the rest of the chart backs it up.
True Solar Time(眞太陽時): The time told by where the sun actually stands at your birthplace, not by the clock. A time zone makes a whole region share one clock, so the reading shifts by your longitude — and that shift can change the Hour Pillar.