What the four pillars mean
Saju (사주) is the Korean name for the East Asian birth chart also known as BaZi. Your birth year, month, day and hour each become a "pillar" written as two characters: a heavenly stem (甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸) and an earthly branch (子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥, the twelve zodiac animals). The stem of the day pillar is your Day Master, the character that represents you; everything else in the chart is read in relation to it.
Two details separate a real chart from a rough one. The month pillar changes at each solar term (for example, the year begins at Ipchun around February 4, not on January 1), and the hour pillar uses true solar time for your birthplace, not clock time. This calculator applies both.
How to read your result
- This year's sentence is the one-line theme the engine derives for you for the current year, from the relationship between the year's characters and your Day Master.
- Area grades (wealth, love, career, health, people) are 1 to 5. They combine the Four Pillars reading with the Purple Star Astrology chart computed from the same birth data, so a 5/5 means both methods agree.
- Next three years shows the direction of the following years so you can plan rather than react.
Frequently asked questions
- What is saju?
- The Korean Four Pillars birth chart: eight characters derived from your birth year, month, day and hour that describe your nature and the flow of each year. Millions of Koreans check it at New Year and before big decisions.
- Is this calculator accurate?
- The chart is computed by the Dagil Saju engine with solar terms and true solar time. Most free charts skip both, which can shift your month or hour pillar.
- What if I don't know my birth time?
- Tick the box. You still get the year, month and day pillars, your Day Master and this year's reading; only the hour pillar is left out.
- Is my birth data stored?
- No. The date is sent to the Dagil Saju API to compute the chart and the result comes straight back. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.