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Saju vs. Western astrology

Both read your birth. They just look at very different things.

The short version

Western astrology reads where the sun, moon and planets were in the sky when you were born. Saju reads the calendar itself: the year, month, day and hour of your birth, each written as a pair of characters from a 60-step cycle, and the balance of five elements those characters make.

Side by side

• What it reads. Astrology: planet positions in the zodiac. Saju: four pillars of time, eight characters in all.
• Your main sign. Astrology: your sun sign, set by the month you were born. Saju: your core sign, set by the day you were born, one of ten.
• Building blocks. Astrology: twelve signs, ten planets, twelve houses. Saju: ten stems, twelve animal branches, five elements.
• Birth time. Both get more precise with it. Saju without an hour still reads three of four pillars.
• Timing. Astrology uses transits. Saju uses ten-year big luck cycles and each year's element.
• Compatibility. Astrology compares two birth charts (synastry). Saju compares two sets of pillars, called gunghap.

Why the five elements matter so much

In Saju almost everything comes back to Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. A chart full of Fire with no Water reads very differently from a balanced one. Missing elements are seen as lifelong gaps, and the people around you can fill them. That's a big reason Koreans pay attention to compatibility: the right partner brings what your chart lacks.

Can you use both?

Plenty of people do. Your sun sign and your Saju core sign often tell overlapping stories from different angles. Saju tends to feel more personal because it changes with the exact day you were born, not just the month.

Read more

• What is Saju?
• Saju compatibility (gunghap)
• Saju of 200 K-pop idols