By Janet Shin

We all want to live a healthy life. It doesn’t always mean physical health, but mental soundness as well as social integrity. At the beginning of the year, everybody makes various resolutions in the hope of improving their lives. How to kick it off meaningfully is everybody’s concern. Meeting a new boyfriend or girlfriend, getting a stable job or just being healthy may be examples of universal wishes to brighten one’s life. In the meantime, to quit smoking, to diet and to study hard are some of the most frequent resolutions for the New Year. They are easier said than done, though.

Quite often, I am asked to say words of blessing at the time of the Lunar New Year holiday. I try to forward my best wishes based on people’s saju. It is definitely a better way of giving a true blessing and I want to share the efficacy with as many people as possible. If you want to give more than words of blessing to your closer friends, you may also buy some lucky gifts that can enhance their fortune. It only requires their birth year, month, day and time to read the saju, or four pillars of destiny, and figure out what the day masters are. The day master is a stem of one’s birth day. It is either yin or yang, and one of the five elements. So it can be one of 10 heavenly stems, as below.

● Yang wood ― “gap,” represents a big tree

● Yin wood ― “eul,” represents a flower or vine tree

● Yang fire ― “byeong,” represents the sun

● Yin fire ― “jeong,” represents a flame

● Yang earth ― “mu,” represents a mountain

● Yin earth ― “gi,” represents a field

● Yang Metal ― “gyeong,” represents a rock or a gemstone

● Yin metal ― “sin,” represents jewelry

● Yang water ― “im,” represents the sea or a lake

● Yin water ― “gye,” represents rain or a stream

Here is the saju of a 53-year-old man. His was born on Dec. 10, 1960, at 5 a.m.

He was born with yang water day master, which represents the sea or lakes. His birth month is also yang water, in addition to other water elements in the time stem and year branch. So overall, he has lots of water energy. The water element oozes cold qui in its property and signifies wisdom and intelligence. He had actually worked for an educational broadcasting station and used to be a journalist. Now he is in the interior design business for libraries and reading rooms. He kept changing occupations which were seemingly stable and prosperous. It was because of his weak career star and earth energy. He also lacks wood and fire elements. Being involved with interior design, he handles great deal of wooden materials, flooring and light fixtures and feels happier and peaceful.



Due to the clash between his day and time branches, his reality is not as tranquil as he wants. He has been driven to the point of defaulting many times and is struggling to find a way out of the verge of bankruptcy. The clash in his saju is between the metal and wood elements. When it comes to body organs, the wood stands for the nervous system, liver and gall bladder, and metal is the respiratory organs, lungs and large intestine.

In addition to reading his saju, I advised him to quit smoking immediately and take care of his health. He needs regular checkups and especially an endoscopic examination of the large intestine. As another expedient, I recommended he put some flowers and small trees in his office. Quitting smoking is one of the most desired New Year’s resolutions to improve his fortune.

New Year’s resolutions are sometimes realistic but many times, they are not carried out. Try to make them realistic as well as fortunate for your life in compliance with the teaching of your saju.

Information: Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny?” For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com, contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars.”