The day pillar: the 60 combinations of Saju

In Saju, the Korean astrology of the four pillars, the day of birth holds a special place: it is the one that represents you. Your day pillar pairs an element with an animal, among sixty possible combinations. This page explains how it is read and how to find it, and gives you access to all sixty portraits.

What is the day pillar?

A Saju chart has four pillars: the year, month, day and hour of birth. Each pillar brings together two signs. On top, a heavenly stem, one of the ten elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, each in a yang or yin version). Below, an earthly branch, one of the twelve animals. Eight signs in all, hence the Korean name 사주팔자, “four pillars, eight characters.”

The ten stems and twelve branches pair up in a fixed order: the sexagenary cycle, which forms 60 combinations, from 甲子 to 癸亥. In this reading, the day pillar represents the person themselves: its stem is your birth element. Its branch is traditionally called “the spouse palace”: it speaks of your intimate life, your home, what you lean on most closely.

How do you find your day pillar?

Your day pillar is calculated from your date of birth, in the Chinese calendar of days. This calendar doesn’t depend on months or years: it moves forward continuously, one pillar per day, and has repeated the same cycle every 60 days for centuries. So all you need to know is which pillar matches the day you were born.

The time matters if you were born late in the evening. Many Saju schools start the day at 11 p.m., with the hour of the Rat; others change it at midnight. Local solar time, which differs from the time on your watch depending on place and season, can also shift the boundary. The simplest option: the free opening of the SOLO reading calculates it for you.

The 60 day pillars

Click on a pillar to read its portrait.

How do you read a pillar page?

Every page follows the same thread. First the birth element, the top stem, which sets the overall tone. Then the animal, the bottom branch, which serves as the seat. Next comes the relationship between the two, named by one of the ten gods of Saju, such as the frame or gentle expression. Finally, the stems hidden in the branch and the nayin, a traditional poetic image.

Keep in mind that the day pillar isn’t the whole chart. Thousands of people share the same one, born 60 days apart or years apart. What sets them apart is the other three pillars, the balance of the elements and the stage of life. So read these pages as a starting point, an image you may or may not recognize yourself in.