Luck Cycles
What are yearly luck and monthly luck, and how do you read this year's fortune?
As of · Edited by Sajunyang · about 2500 characters
One-line answer
Yearly luck (歲運) is the fortune for a year, created when that year's stem and branch meet your chart, and monthly luck (月運) is the fortune for a month, created by that month's stem and branch (by solar terms). A New Year fortune converts the yearly stem and branch into Ten Gods relative to your Day Master to read the year's theme, and finds where change will happen by checking whether the yearly branch combines or clashes with the branches of your natal chart. 2027 is the Jeongmi (丁未) year, the Year of the Goat.
How do you read the yearly luck?
① Convert the year's stem into a Ten God relative to your Day Master. The Jeong Fire (丁火) of 2027 is Hurting Officer for a Gap Wood Day Master, Direct Officer for Gyeong Metal and Direct Wealth for Im Water, so the year's theme differs from person to person. ② Look at how the year's branch (Mi Earth in 2027) relates to the year, month, day and hour branches of your chart. With Chuk Earth it is a clash (Chuk-Mi), with O Fire a Six Combination (O-Mi), with Hae or Myo a Three Combination (Hae-Myo-Mi). ③ Look at the relationship with your Luck Pillar as well. The Luck Pillar is the background; the yearly luck is the event on top of it.
The yearly luck changes at Ipchun (February 4, 2027). Strictly speaking, a 'this year's fortune' read in January is still the previous year's luck.
Why does monthly luck change at the solar terms rather than on the 1st of the month?
The months in Saju are divided by solar terms. The In month (the first month) begins at Ipchun, Myo at Gyeongchip, Jin at Cheongmyeong, Sa at Ipha, O at Mangjong, Mi at Soseo, Sin at Ipchu, Yu at Baengno, Sul at Hallo, Hae at Ipdong, Ja at Daeseol and Chuk at Sohan. That is roughly the 4th to 8th of each solar month. In a monthly luck reading, 'March luck' means not the solar month of March but the span from Gyeongchip to Cheongmyeong.
Sajunyang's 12-month fortune graph and its love, reunion, career and exam timings score each of these solar-term months. They weigh what the month's Ten God means for that theme (for example, in love, the months of Wealth, Officer and Output stars are when connections come in) together with the combinations and clashes with your natal chart.
What is the difference between a zodiac fortune and a personal Saju New Year fortune?
A zodiac fortune looks only at the relationship between the single Year Branch character and the yearly branch. Millions of people with the same zodiac animal get the same fortune. A personal Saju New Year fortune includes all eight characters, the year's stem and branch, and the Luck Pillar you are passing through now. Even among people born in the Year of the Goat, a different Day Master makes the theme of 2027 completely different. Use the zodiac fortune as an introduction and the Saju New Year fortune for actual planning.
The 12 months of Saju and their solar terms (solar dates vary by about a day each year)
| Month Branch | Starting solar term | Approximate solar date |
|---|---|---|
| In (寅) | Ipchun (Start of Spring) | February 4 |
| Myo (卯) | Gyeongchip (Awakening of Insects) | March 6 |
| Jin (辰) | Cheongmyeong (Clear and Bright) | April 5 |
| Sa (巳) | Ipha (Start of Summer) | May 6 |
| O (午) | Mangjong (Grain in Ear) | June 6 |
| Mi (未) | Soseo (Minor Heat) | July 7 |
| Sin (申) | Ipchu (Start of Autumn) | August 8 |
| Yu (酉) | Baengno (White Dew) | September 8 |
| Sul (戌) | Hallo (Cold Dew) | October 8 |
| Hae (亥) | Ipdong (Start of Winter) | November 7 |
| Ja (子) | Daeseol (Major Snow) | December 7 |
| Chuk (丑) | Sohan (Minor Cold) | January 6 |
FAQ
- Is Samjae (the three-year misfortune cycle) part of yearly luck?
- Samjae is a folk custom that groups three years based on the Three Combination of your zodiac animal (Year Branch), and it is separate from the yearly luck reading of Saju theory. Sajunyang does not use Samjae.
- How is today's fortune calculated?
- The day's stem and branch (the daily energy) are converted into a Ten God relative to your Day Master, and the combinations and clashes between the day's branch and your natal branches are added to produce a score. Sajunyang's 'Today's Fortune' works this way.
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See 2027 zodiac fortunesGood to read together
- What are the 10-year Luck Pillars, and how is the starting age calculated?
- What is the difference between a zodiac fortune and my Saju New Year fortune?
- Is the zodiac animal based on Lunar New Year or on Ipchun? What animal is an early-February birthday?
- What are the combinations, clashes, punishments, destructions and harms in Saju, and what happens with each?
This article is reference material summarizing traditional Saju theory and does not replace medical, legal or investment judgment. Our calculation standards are published at About Sajunyang.