How to Read Lifetime Saju
To read lifetime saju, ① build the Four Pillars from your exact birth date and time, ② identify your Day Master (you), ③ examine the balance of the Five Elements, ④ use the Ten Gods to explore different areas of life, and ⑤ use ten-year periods to understand timing.
1. Information You'll Need
You'll need your birth date (solar or lunar calendar, and leap-month status if lunar), birth time, and birthplace. Birthplace is used to adjust to true solar time, while gender determines whether your ten-year periods move forward or backward. The year and month pillars change at specific solar-term boundaries, so your birth time is especially important if you were born near one.
2. Building the Four Pillars
Convert your birth year·month·day·hour into a stem-and-branch pair each, giving you four pillars and eight characters. Using a saju calendar calculator is more accurate than working them out by hand.
| Pillar | Calculated from | Common associations |
|---|---|---|
| Year pillar (yeonju, 年柱) | The year beginning at the Start of Spring solar term | Ancestry·early-life foundations |
| Month pillar (wolju, 月柱) | The month defined by solar terms | Parents·social life, season (the basis for the chart's pattern) |
| Day pillar (Ilju, 日柱) | Day of birth | You (Day Master) and your partner seat (day branch) |
| Hour pillar (Siju, 時柱) | Time of birth (true solar time) | Children · later years · fruition |
3. Your Day Master = you
The heavenly stem of your day pillar (your Day Master) represents “you”. The other seven characters are all read in relation to it. That is why the same element can mean different things depending on your Day Master.
4. Look at your element distribution
Count how the eight characters fall across Wood · Fire · Earth · Metal · Water, noting which elements cluster and which are missing. More than the counts alone, this helps you assess the balance between what supports your Day Master and what draws on its strength.
5. Read life's roles through the Ten Gods
The Ten Gods divide the relationships between your Day Master and the other characters into five groups, each split into yin and yang for ten in total. Which groups are prominent and where they sit offer insight into your money, work, and relationships.
| Category | Relationship to the Day Master | What it represents in life |
|---|---|---|
| Peer (Companion · Rob Wealth) | The same element as you | Your own strength, siblings · peers · competition |
| Output (Eating God · Hurting Officer) | The element you generate | Expression · talent · creations |
| Wealth (Indirect Wealth · Direct Wealth) | The element you control | Money · practical sense |
| Officer (Seven Killings · Direct Officer) | The element that controls you | Career · reputation · discipline |
| Resource (Indirect Resource · Direct Resource) | The element that generates you | Learning · documents · care |
6. Ten-year periods and annual cycles
Ten-year periods describe the broader currents that shift every ten years. Annual cycles follow each year's stem-and-branch pair. Your first period's starting age is calculated from the days between your birth and a nearby solar term. The periods move forward or backward depending on your sex and whether your birth year is yin or yang.
| Ten-Year Periods | Annual Cycles | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Ten years | One year |
| How it is calculated | One step at a time, forward or backward from the month pillar | That year's stem-and-branch pair |
| What it reads | When the broader landscape of your life shifts | Areas of life highlighted that year |
7. Reading your early, middle, and later years
One method maps the pillars (year → month → day → hour) to stages of life. Another follows the ten-year periods you actually pass through. Ten-year periods give more specific timing — showing which Ten Gods themes begin at which ages.
8. When you do not know your birth time
Your chart is read using three pillars (six characters), leaving out the hour pillar. Your Day Master and ten-year periods can still be calculated, so the broader patterns remain readable. Only the areas associated with the hour pillar, such as children and later life, are less specific. This is how Seowoon calculates your chart when you select “Time unknown”.
Frequently asked questions
At what age does my first ten-year period begin?
It varies from person to person. Divide the number of days between your birth and a nearby solar term by three to find the starting age of your first ten-year period. Your sex and whether your birth year is yin or yang determine whether to count toward the next solar term or back to the previous one.
Which birth date applies if I was born between 11 p.m.~1 a.m. (the Ja hour)?
Schools differ on whether the Ja hour begins the next day (Jo-jasi) or the date stays the same until midnight (Ya-jasi). If you were born during this window, check which method was used.
How do I enter a birth date in a lunar leap month?
Select the lunar calendar and mark the leap month option. Since the chart uses solar terms, your month pillar follows the solar term for that date, even in a leap month.
What is the difference between a lifetime saju reading and a saju calendar?
A saju calendar is a calculation tool that converts your birth date and time into eight characters. A lifetime saju reading interprets those eight characters along with your ten-year periods.
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