Study
The words on the screen, from the floor up.
You do not need to learn Chinese characters. We start with what Saju is, what the four boxes are, and where “I” sits. Hard words come later, in kitchen speech.
Ch. 01
What is Saju?
Saju is not a philosophy exam. It is a table: the date and hour you were born, written in four boxes.
Why write it down? Because the ‘weather’ of that hour is different for each person. Someone born on a hot midday and someone born on a cold midnight do not get the same table, even in the same year.
It is not a star sign that stamps “you are a Leo.” It is not a blood type. It is not tarot.
This site looks at those four boxes and writes, in plain words: you were born this kind of person.
KeepSaju = four boxes for your birthday and birth hour.
Not thisNot today’s luck, not lottery numbers, not “you will marry this year.”
Ch. 02
Four boxes. That is the whole chart.
There are four boxes: the year, the month, the day, and a two-hour watch.
Why two hours? The old clock cut the day into two-hour seats. 2 p.m. sits in the 1–3 p.m. box.
On the screen they usually sit like this: hour on the left, then day, then month, year on the right.
- Hour — the two-hour watch. If you do not know it, we leave this box empty.
- Day — the birthday. This is where we find “I”.
- Month — the strongest seasonal force.
- Year — the air of the house you inherited early.
KeepUnknown hour: we leave the hour box blank. We do not invent it.
On screenIf the table says the hour is unknown, or the cell is empty, you did not enter a time.
Ch. 03
Look at a practice picture first
Words alone get muddy. Below is practice: 15 July 1990, 2 p.m. It is not your chart.
The gold box is the birthday. Look at the top letter in that box first.
Hour of birth
을
미
을미
Birthday — you
신
사
신사
Month of birth
계
미
계미
Year of birth
경
오
경오
- Hour of birthBirth hour. 1–3 p.m. 을미.
- Birthday — youBirthday. 신사. Top letter 신 is this person’s I.
- Month of birthBirth month. 계미. High summer.
- Year of birthBirth year. 경오. 1990.
If the small line under a column says “Metal · Horse” (금 · 말), that is not a new word. It is 경오 unpacked.
경’s weather is metal, so the site writes 금. 오’s animal name is Horse, so it writes 말. Two notes side by side. Do not read them as one word.
Each box — year, month, day, hour — gets a pair: one top letter + one bottom letter. There are sixty pairs, reused in a loop. You do not have to memorise them. The site counts. Here we only follow why this date became these four pairs.
- Why the year box is 경오
- Each year has a fixed pair. 1990 sits on 경오 in that list.
- The Saju year turns at 입춘 (early February), not 1 January. July is safely 1990.
- Why it also says Metal · Horse
- Top letter 경 = metal. Bottom letter 오 = Horse. Weather + animal nickname.
- Not a zodiac forecast. Not a word called 금말.
- Why the month box is 계미
- Months turn at solar terms, not on the 1st. 15 July is high summer: bottom letter 미.
- The month’s top letter is looked up from the year’s top letter. A 경 year + 미 month is 계미.
- Why the day box is 신사
- Days walk the same sixty pairs, one per day. 15 July 1990 lands on 신사.
- It is not the year box (경오). They are not always the same. The top letter 신 is I.
- Why the hour box is 을미
- 2 p.m. sits in the 1–3 p.m. watch. That watch’s bottom letter is 미.
- The hour’s top letter is looked up from the day’s top letter. A 신 day + 미 hour is 을미.
Keep금 · 말 unpacks the year box 경오. The marked top letter 신 is I.
Not thisYou do not need to learn the sixty pairs or do the arithmetic. The site does.
Ch. 04
Why each box has two letters
Each box is two rows. Top is a sky letter. Bottom is an earth letter. The craft names are 천간 and 지지. “Top letter / bottom letter” is enough for now.
There are only ten top letters: 갑 을 병 정 무 기 경 신 임 계.
There are only twelve bottom letters: 자 축 인 묘 진 사 오 미 신 유 술 해.
We say them as a pair. Top 경 + bottom 오 = 경오.
On screenSmall letters under a column like 경오 mean top+bottom said together.
Not thisYou do not need to read Chinese. The site shows Korean (and your language) with them.
KeepOne box = one top letter + one bottom letter.
Ch. 05
Where am I?
The top letter of the birthday box is “I”. Its name is 일간 — day + top letter.
Think of your name in a classroom. Every other letter gets a nickname relative to you: same force, presses me, feeds me.
In the practice picture, I is 신. 신 is metal. We read it as a fine, sharp force that cuts and keeps. It does not mean “you work in steel.”
The bottom letter of the birthday is the seat beside you — close to the daily body. Old books call it a spouse palace. That is a seat, not a wedding date.
Keep일간 = top letter of the birthday box = I.
On screenIf the page says “일간 신”, it means this I is 신, metal — as in the practice picture.
Ch. 06
Wood fire earth metal water — five weathers
Every letter carries a weather. Five of them. Not lucky colors. Not “wear red this year.”
- Wood
- Grow and push.
- 갑, 을, and bottom letters 인·묘.
- Fire
- Bright and hot.
- 병, 정, and 사·오.
- Earth
- Hold and gather.
- 무, 기, and 진·술·축·미.
- Metal
- Cut and keep.
- 경, 신, and 신·유.
- Water
- Flow and cool.
- 임, 계, and 해·자.
They feed each other and they press each other. Like rock-paper-scissors.
Feed: wood feeds fire → fire leaves ash and thickens earth → earth bears metal → metal gathers dew → water grows wood.
Press: wood splits earth, earth dams water, water kills fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood.
KeepThe five elements are weather, not a lucky color.
Ch. 07
Ten top letters — like faces
Your 일간 is one of these ten. Same wood, different grain: 갑 is a great tree, 을 is a vine. You do not have to memorise the list. Find yours.
- 갑
- A great tree, a post. Stands up and makes a path.
- 을
- Grass, a vine. Bends and holds on.
- 병
- The sun. Lights a wide room. Hard to hide.
- 정
- A candle, a kitchen flame. Warm up close.
- 무
- A mountain, a bank. Blocks and holds.
- 기
- Garden soil. Gathers and grows.
- 경
- Ore, iron. Sets a shape first.
- 신
- A needle, a jewel. Thin and sharp. The I in the practice picture.
- 임
- A great river. Travels far.
- 계
- Dew, rain. Seeps and feeds.
Ch. 08
Twelve bottom letters — hours and months
Bottom letters also carry animal names. Rat, ox, tiger… These are not star signs. “Your animal year is unlucky” is not this site’s method.
Birth hour is one bottom letter. 2 p.m. is 미, the 1–3 p.m. seat.
- 자
- Water. 11 p.m.–1 a.m.
- 축
- Cold winter earth. 1–3 a.m.
- 인
- Wood. 3–5 a.m. The Saju year can open here.
- 묘
- Wood. 5–7 a.m.
- 진
- Damp spring earth. 7–9 a.m.
- 사
- Fire. 9–11 a.m. Bottom letter of the practice birthday.
- 오
- Midday fire. 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
- 미
- Hot summer earth. 1–3 p.m. Bottom letter of the practice hour and month.
- 신
- Metal. 3–5 p.m.
- 유
- Metal. 5–7 p.m.
- 술
- Dry autumn earth. 7–9 p.m.
- 해
- Water. 9–11 p.m.
Not thisNot “your zodiac animal has a bad year.”
Ch. 09
Nicknames for the other letters
This is the part that panics people. Breathe.
Other letters get nicknames relative to I. There are ten, so they are called 십신 — ten names. It does not mean a god came down.
Not a job title. “You have 정관, so you will be a civil servant” is wrong.
Five houses first. Easier.
- Same as me
- 비겁. The other I. Company, comparison, sometimes a shove.
- What I put out
- 식상. Speech, making, a leak of force.
- What I handle
- 재성. Means, a field, a grip. Not “money will arrive.”
- What presses me
- 관성. Eyes, duty, a thing that must be done. Not a rank.
- What feeds me
- 인성. A roof, rest, study. Not a scolding to work harder.
Inside a house there are often two forks: 편 (oblique) and 정 (named). For now, that is enough.
Ch. 10
When you see this word on the page
Do not memorise. Open this list when the reading uses the word.
- 비견
- Same force. The other I.
- Not a headcount of siblings.
- 겁재
- Same force, with a grabbing feel.
- Not a thief coming.
- 식신
- What I put out easily. Speech, making.
- Not a job name.
- 상관
- What I put out with an edge. A sharp mouth.
- Not your boss.
- 편재
- Means that flow.
- Not a windfall.
- 정재
- Means that sit in the hand.
- Not a deposit arriving.
- 편관
- Pressure from an angle.
- Not a rank, the army, or prison.
- 정관
- Named duty. A must-do with a shape.
- Not a promotion.
- 편인
- A sudden roof. Feed without warning.
- Not an accident forecast.
- 정인
- Even feed. Spine, rest.
- Not “study more.”
Keep십신 are relationship nicknames, not job titles.
Ch. 11
The weather of the month you were born
Of the four boxes, the month is the strongest. Midsummer heat can run the table. Midwinter cold can run it.
That month may feed you or press you. Feed is 득령. Press is 실령.
In the practice picture, I is 신 (metal) and the month is 미 (hot summer earth). Metal on heat can look short of breath. That is weather, not “you are unlucky.”
If you see 조후, read: the felt weather of the table — cold, hot, dry, damp.
- 월령
- The month’s force. Strongest season on the table.
- 득령
- The month matches or feeds I. The season is kind.
- 실령
- The month presses I. You sit against the season.
- 조후
- Cold, hot, dry, damp. Not a lucky element.
Not thisNot “your lucky god is fire, wear red.”
Ch. 12
One way this is not the civil calendar
1 January is not the Saju new year. The year turns at 입춘 — usually early February.
Born on 1 February? The year box may still be last year’s. This site counts by solar terms, not guesswork.
Months also turn at seasonal gates, not on the 1st. For now, remember: the calendar and the chart are a little different.
KeepThe Saju year turns at 입춘, not 1 January.
Ch. 13
Words this site will not use
A word you saw on YouTube may be missing here. That is not a bug. It is another school.
- 도화 · 역마 · 귀문
- 신살 names from another school. We do not use them.
- One lucky 용신
- We do not stamp “your god is fire.” We speak weather.
- Stars, tarot, MBTI
- Other tools. They do not replace Saju.
Not medical, legal, or investment advice. Interpretive counsel.