12 Sinsal Dictionary

The character “sal (殺)” can make these stars sound entirely negative, but their twelve names are closer to military and everyday metaphors for phases of an annual energy cycle. General Star·Saddle Star have traditionally been considered favorable, while the meanings of Traveling Horse·Canopy have broadened over time.

People whose year branches share a Three Harmony group have the same arrangement of the 12 symbolic stars. Rather than judging a chart on their own, these stars serve as a reference that adds another layer to the Five Elements·Ten Gods reading: “this branch also carries this quality”.

The 12 symbolic stars are organized around Three Harmony (samhap, 三合) — a relationship in which three earthly branches form a group associated with one element. Military terms in names such as Robbery Star·Captivity Star·General Star connect to accounts of their use in traditional divination to assess when and where to position and move troops.

Today, these names are interpreted in everyday terms. Robbery Star's theme of loss becomes competition and contests, Traveling Horse becomes travel·business trips·overseas activity, and General Star becomes leadership and responsibility.

First, find the Three Harmony group of your birth year's branch. In·O·Sul form the Fire group, Sa·Yu·Chuk the Metal group, Sin·Ja·Jin the Water group, and Hae·Myo·Mi the Wood group. Earth Star sits on the group's first branch, General Star on its middle branch, and Canopy on its last. The other nine positions follow the earthly-branch sequence.

For someone born in an In·O·Sul year, Hae (亥) is Robbery Star, Ja (子) is Captivity Star, Chuk (丑) is Heaven Star, In (寅) is Earth Star, Myo (卯) is Peach Blossom, Jin (辰) is Moon Star, Sa (巳) is Exposure Star, O (午) is General Star, Mi (未) is Saddle Star, Sin (申) is Traveling Horse, Yu (酉) is Six Harms, and Sul (戌) is Canopy. If this person's day branch is Sin (申), they have “Traveling Horse in the day branch”.

Some schools also read the stars using the day branch instead of the year branch. Seowoon calculates them from your birth year's branch, and the table below displays that rule directly from our calculation engine.

Robbery Star (geop-sal, 劫殺) — a position of taking and losing. It represents competition, contests, and resilience in a crisis. Captivity Star (jae-sal, 災殺) — a position of sudden events. It represents the ability to respond to change. Heaven Star (cheon-sal, 天殺) — energy from the heavens. It represents matters beyond your control, intuition, and faith.

Earth Star (ji-sal, 地殺) — a position where the ground shifts. It represents the start of a move into a new environment. Peach Blossom (nyeon-sal, 年殺) — the same position as the Peach Blossom star. It represents charm and popularity. Moon Star (wol-sal, 月殺) — a position of blockage and dryness. It represents the patience to endure and build strength.

Exposure Star (mangsin-sal, 亡身殺) — a position of revelation. It represents hidden things coming to light and a flair for drawing attention. General Star (jangseong-sal, 將星殺) — the general's star. It represents leadership and authority. Saddle Star (banan-sal, 攀鞍殺) — a position of mounting the saddle. It represents finding your place and enjoying stability.

Traveling Horse (yeongma-sal, 驛馬殺) — the horse of a relay station. It represents travel·business trips·moving·overseas activity. Six Harms (yukhae-sal, 六害殺) — six kinds of harm. It represents hurt feelings in relationships and discernment about people. Canopy (hwagae-sal, 華蓋殺) — a floral canopy. It represents energy that deepens in solitude through scholarship·art·religion.

Traditionally, General Star·Saddle Star were considered favorable, while Robbery Star·Captivity Star·Heaven Star·Exposure Star·Six Harms called for caution. Traveling Horse·Canopy·Peach Blossom can be favorable or challenging depending on the era and occupation — they can be strengths in work involving frequent travel or interaction with people.

The same star can work differently depending on which Ten God its branch represents relative to your Day Master, and whether its element is needed or excessive in the chart as a whole. Modern myeongri generally avoids judging a star as favorable or unfavorable by its name alone.

Because the 12 symbolic stars are assigned from the year branch alone, everyone born in the same year shares the same arrangement. A single star offers little basis for declaring someone's destiny — the balance of the Five Elements, the Ten Gods, and ten-year and annual cycles come first. Symbolic stars add another layer.

Claims such as “having this star means disaster” are usually exaggerated. A more useful approach is to learn which positions appear in your chart and recognize the areas of life and times they relate to.

People often say “more harmful stars mean a harder life”, but all twelve positions are assigned for every chart. What differs is which of those positions your branches occupy. The interpretation depends more on the Ten Gods·elements involved than on how many stars appear.