Reading a Chart by Example — Three Real Calculation Results

The three people below are not real. Their birth dates were chosen to illustrate a point. The results are drawn with the same calculation engine and the same screen components that show the free result when you enter your own birth date, so what you see here matches what you would get.

The free screen shows the four pillars, the day master and the strength of the five elements. Whether the day master is strong or weak (strong / weak chart) and which element is therefore needed (the balancing element) belong to the paid report, so they are not shown in these examples either.

Each example is read in the same order. First find the day master — the heavenly stem of the day you were born — among the four pillars. Then look at the strongest and weakest elements in the bar, and finally lay the season of the birth month over them. If the letters are unfamiliar, start with Stems, Branches and Day Pillars — How to Read the Letters.

The imagined birth is 1988-09-17 11:00 (solar calendar). The chart has the year pillar 戊辰 (mu-jin), month pillar 辛酉 (sin-yu), day pillar 乙亥 (eul-hae) and hour pillar 辛巳 (sin-sa).

The heavenly stem of the birth day is the day master — here Yin Wood (乙) (Wood). The one-line temperament Saju Link attaches to each day master reads: A vine — flexible grass. It bends with circumstance to keep moving, and it does not snap.

In the element bar the largest share is Metal at 56% and the smallest is Fire at 4%. The day master's element is Wood, yet the strongest element is Metal. The day master's element and the strongest element can differ — that is the point of this example.

The season of the birth month is Metal, the same side as the strongest element. How the season pushes an element up is part of the strength calculation, and the method is described in Balancing Element — The Energy Needed Now.

The stems hidden inside the day branch (亥) are 戊 · 甲 · 壬. Hidden stems count towards the strength of each element, so if you only count the eight visible characters the bar may look inconsistent.

For this example, further entries worth reading are Yin Wood (乙), The 乙亥 Day Pillar and 亥 — the branch of the Pig.

The imagined birth is 1969-04-04 13:00 (solar calendar). The chart has the year pillar 己酉 (gi-yu), month pillar 丁卯 (jeong-myo), day pillar 己酉 (gi-yu) and hour pillar 庚午 (gyeong-o).

The heavenly stem of the birth day is the day master — here Yin Earth (己) (Earth). The one-line temperament Saju Link attaches to each day master reads: Field soil. It takes in whatever comes and grows it, tending rather than displaying.

In the element bar the share of Water is 0%, which means it is practically invisible in the bar. Saju Link points out such an element separately as the weakest one. The largest share, by contrast, is Metal at 31%.

The season of the birth month is Wood. The day master's element (Earth), the strongest element (Metal) and the season (Wood) are all different from one another, which makes this a good example for reading the three separately.

The year branch (酉) corresponds to the animal Rooster. The animal is only one of the eight characters — the year branch. More is in Where is the Zodiac Sign in Saju?.

For this example, further entries worth reading are Yin Earth (己), The 己酉 Day Pillar and 酉 — the branch of the Rooster.

The imagined birth is 1990-07-21 14:00 (solar calendar). The chart has the year pillar 庚午 (gyeong-o), month pillar 癸未 (gye-mi), day pillar 丁亥 (jeong-hae) and hour pillar 丁未 (jeong-mi).

The heavenly stem of the birth day is the day master — here Yin Fire (丁) (Fire). The one-line temperament Saju Link attaches to each day master reads: Candlelight. It burns quietly and long, and warms those closest first.

The day master's element, the strongest element and the season all gather on the side of Fire. In the element bar the share of Fire is 52%, and the smallest, Wood, has 4%.

A heavy lean to one side does not by itself say good or bad. Whether the lean is a burden or a strength for the day master is decided separately through the strong / weak judgement and the balancing element — the criteria are published in Balancing Element — The Energy Needed Now, and the judgement itself is in the paid report.

The stems hidden inside the day branch (亥) are 戊 · 甲 · 壬.

For this example, further entries worth reading are Yin Fire (丁), The 丁亥 Day Pillar and 亥 — the branch of the Pig.

Enter your birth date and time in Saju Reading and you get a result built the same way as these examples. The values you enter are not kept on our servers — the method is described in A method that does not store the entered information.

To lay today's day pillar over your chart, use Today's Fortune.