Saju explained
Four pillars, eight characters, one complete chart
Saju is Korea's way of reading the Four Pillars of birth. Here is what the chart calculates, what a reader interprets and why one symbol never tells the whole story.
What you can explore
Four Pillars
The year, month, day and hour each become one stem-and-branch pair.
Day Master
The heavenly stem of the day pillar is the reference point for reading the chart.
Five Elements
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water describe relationships and change within the chart.
How a birth date becomes eight characters
Each of the four pillars contains a heavenly stem and an earthly branch. Together they form the eight characters often called palja in Korean and bazi in Chinese. The day stem is called the Day Master because the rest of the chart is read in relation to it.
Why balance matters more than counting
The Five Elements are not five personality scores. Season changes which elements are supported, and the stems and branches can combine, generate or control one another. A useful reading explains those relationships rather than declaring that one missing element is bad.
What the ten-year cycles mean
The major cycles, called daeun in Korean, place the birth chart next to a changing ten-year sequence. They are used to discuss when a pattern may become easier to express or harder to ignore, not to guarantee a specific event.
Frequently asked questions
Is Saju the same as Bazi?+
They share the Four Pillars and stem-and-branch framework. Saju is the Korean name and tradition, with its own vocabulary and common reading practices.
What is the most important part of a Saju chart?+
The Day Master is the main reference point, but it cannot be interpreted well without the season and the other seven characters.