I heard the term "saju" for the first time in the drama Family's Honor. And since I have no will to make another vile post, I present you work of a lady, who talks about saju.
Here:
In studying Oriental philosophy, you will learn that ancient people
understood the universe, the earth, nature and human beings under a
certain philosophical thesis that had a lot in common.
The Five Oriental Studies
•命 (Four pillars) : study of time
•相 (Face/palm reading)
•占 (Divination) : I Ching
•醫 (Oriental medicine) : study of human body
•仙 (Zen) : meditation
•風水 (Feng shui) : study of space
•相 (Face/palm reading)
•占 (Divination) : I Ching
•醫 (Oriental medicine) : study of human body
•仙 (Zen) : meditation
•風水 (Feng shui) : study of space
In understanding all natural phenomena, the sequence of time and
human relationship, ancient people have classified them on the basis of
yin and yang and the five elements. The 10 heavenly energies and 12
earthly energies were examples. There was a universality of the binary
numeral system along with the five elements philosophy. One year was
divided into 12 months, or 24 subdivisions of the seasons, 12 ancient
hours in a day, day and night, sun and moon as natural phenomenon of yin
and yang, and five directions (north, south, west, east and center).
The same applied to human body, the balance of yin and yang is
considered with respect to qi (breath, life force or spiritual energy)
and blood. Qi denotes yang and blood yin. The five yin organs (liver,
heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys) and yang organs (gall bladder, small
intestine, stomach, large intestine, urinary bladder) are reviewed to
keep the body healthy. Even the causes of disease are classified into
six, i.e wind, cold, hot, water, drought and heat as external causes;
and anger, happiness, worry, sadness, fear and shock as inner causes.
When it comes to the acupuncture meridian system, they classified the
front of the body as yin and back of the body as yang. They believed qi
(yang) and blood (yin) circulate through the 12 major meridians in the
body, the yin meridians run through the front body and yang meridians
run through the back body, then they assigned each organs to 12
meridians respectively.
From ancient books, we could find that they associated saju with
health aspects by reviewing the five elements and their harmonious
relationships.
If the five elements are harmonious, people would live a happy life.
If yin and yang (blood and qi) are messy, people are not healthy.
Now let’s review some examples of saju and the health aspects in view of the five elements.
When the wood does not have proper water energy there can be blood
disease. The earth without fire energy can cause lack of vitality. The
metal with water energy but without fire can cause asthma. When jeong
fire is too dry, it can cause sputum, while dry byeong fire may cause
atopic diseases. The tumor can be caused by the congealed fire and metal
elements in the branches. The weak kidney is caused by the weak metal
and water elements and the stomach diseases are caused by the conflict
between water and earth elements.
The terrestrial branches are also reviewed in connection with body, respectively.
Ja is a disease related to genital organs or pain in the lower
abdomen, Chuk is stomach, In is shoulders, arms and legs, Myo is eyes
and hands, Jin is back and chest, Sa is face and teeth, O is heart, Mi
is spleen, Sin is respiratory system, Yu is liver and lungs, Sul is back
and lungs, Hae is head and liver.
When the wood day master has many metal letters in saju, there is
high tendency of weak liver and gall bladder. The person could have
headaches and the eyes are bleary. Hemiplegia, stroke and neuralgia may
occur when the wood is hurt by the metal.
The fire day master with many water letters or water combination in
saju may cause heart and small intestine diseases. Acute or chronic
shock and pain in the chest are related symptoms.
The earth day master with many wood letters or sitting on the wood
combination may cause spleen or stomach damage. Dry skin and indigestion
are frequent symptoms.
The metal day master with many fire letters or sitting on fire
combination could mean lungs or large intestine damage. Asthma, cough
and hemorrhoids are the possible symptoms.
The water day master with many earth letters or sitting on earth
combination could indicate kidney or urinary bladder diseases.
Backaches, diarrhea, prostate, and menstrual pain are related symptoms.
When the five elements are not in harmonious position, it is also related with the emotion of the day master.
When the wood is too strong or too weak, it can cause anger, when the
fire is not balanced, it can cause a lot of emotional ups and downs,
the earth can cause anxiety, the metal can cause sadness, frustration
and pessimism, and the water can cause fear and panic
See the diagrams to show the circulation of five elements in Oriental medicine.
Saju - Pillars of Fate:
Saju is often considered an occult theory. Peeking into one’s life
through the window of saju, readings based on the heavenly and
terrestrial signs as dictated from one’s birthday, may sound strange to
those who don’t have previous knowledge of oriental philosophy.
Moreover, understanding the concept of this particular oriental theory ―
the yin and yang, and the relationship between the five elements ―
cannot be explained in short, simple phrases.
Nevertheless, it is still possible to read into the patterns found in
history by analyzing historical figures’ saju, and can even formulate
plausible solutions to current events by using the patterns and logic of
the theory.
To begin, there are four “Heavenly Stems” and four “Terrestrial
Branches” that comprise one’s saju, which are read through the yin and
yang of the “Five Elements” of the universe. The stems represent the
energies that a person should receive at birth (the ideal distribution),
while the branches show what an individual is actually born with
(realistic expectations).
From among these eight stems and branches, we can find the most
representative sign of character that makes up a person, which is called
the “Day Master.” The Day Master is always derived by the stem of the
birth day, while the month branch dictates the season and environment
that the person was born in, which rules his or hers life path overall.
For example, if a person’s Day Master is wood, their life and
character would vary depending on which month they were born in. A wood
Day Master in a season of fire is different from a wood Day Master in a
season of metal (to clarify, summer is a fire season, while autumn is a
season of metal). When applied logically to nature, the condition of the
bark on a tree varies depending on the time of year, which is why a
person with a particular Day Master would be different depending on
their season of birth. Certain elements and environments are
complementary, so a person’s core energy will be stronger when paired
with its own season.
Other than the Day Master, there are four other “Stars” that
constitute a person’s social and human relationships network, which are
each assigned to an element. The five star categories are, in order,
“Day Master,” “Expression,” “Money,” “Career” and “Knowledge.” Because
each of the elements is arranged in a cyclical order, the Day Master
dictates the elements for each of the following stars.
The fact that saju has only four pillars signifies that human beings
are not perfect, because the five elements cannot all be satisfactorily
represented. So, a billionaire may not be happy with his love life, or a
scholar might fall into despair for lack of social recognition. This
explains why people seem to thirst for what they don’t have; they are
seeking a balance within their saju.
Saju tells of a person’s inner self, making it possible to see the
outlines of one’s past, present and future. However, though we can
calculate the chances of an outcome, we cannot predict fate.
Due to this, when saju provides an answer for the future, it is often
distrusted. Yet, people continue to search for the key to their inner
selves, ultimately choosing subjectively whether the answers they find
are true or not. But because people do not look to saju for answers
until they have fallen, it can lead to a muddled mindset and approach.
The four stems and four branches are not set in stone. The assigned
elements at birth may be reinforced or weakened as time passes, while
others are revived or damaged only when confronted with certain
energies. Though reading one’s fate in saju cannot be tested as a
guarantee for any person, it continues to offer certain insights into
the lives of many.
More here.
Photo from here.
