What this calculator actually computes
Saju (the Four Pillars of Destiny) turns a moment in time into eight characters: a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch for the year, month, day and hour of your birth. Our calculator does that conversion from the solar calendar you know into the sexagenary cycle the tradition uses, then derives everything else from those eight characters. Nothing is randomised — the same birth data always produces the same chart, because a saju chart is a calendar fact, not a draw.
What you enter and what you get back
You enter a birth date and, if you know it, a birth time. The reading returns your eight characters laid out as four pillars, your Day Master (the stem that stands for you), the distribution of the Five Elements across the chart, the Ten Gods that describe how each character relates to your Day Master, and the twelve life-stage cycle. On top of the raw chart, each section comes with written interpretation rather than bare symbols.
How to read your result
Start with the Day Master. It is one of ten stems and it represents you — everything else in the chart is read in relation to it. Next look at the Five Element counts: an element that appears often describes a strong, sometimes excessive tendency, while a missing or rare element often points to the qualities and seasons that bring you luck precisely because you need more of them. Only then read the Ten Gods section, which names the areas of life each relationship governs. Reading in that order keeps the chart from looking like an abstract grid.
Questions people ask
If you do not know your birth time, the reading still works — you simply lose the hour pillar, which mainly speaks to later life and inner life, and the other three pillars remain valid. If your birth falls near midnight or near the start of a solar term, small differences can move a pillar, which is why the calculator resolves the calendar conversion rather than rounding. And a chart is a description of tendencies, not a verdict: it tells you where your natural pressure and ease sit, and leaves the decisions to you.
What Each Part of the Chart Shows
| Part | What it shows | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| Year | Roots, childhood | 庚午 Companion/Direct Officer · Bathing |
| Month | Parents, work | 辛巳 Rob Wealth/Seven Killings · Growth |
| Day | Self, spouse | 庚辰 Self/Indirect Resource · Nourishing |
| Hour | Children, late years | 癸未 Hurting Officer/Direct Resource · Capping |
| Day Master | Reference point | 庚, yang Metal |
| Void 空亡 | "Hollow" seats | 申 · 酉 |
| Luck 大運 | Ten-year current | 庚辰, from age 3 |
Worked Example: 15 May 1990, 14:30, male (solar)
Enter that data and the calculator returns: year 庚午 (Companion/Direct Officer, phase Bathing), month 辛巳 (Rob Wealth/Seven Killings, Growth), day 庚辰 (self/Indirect Resource, Nourishing), hour 癸未 (Hurting Officer/Direct Resource, Capping). Day Master 庚, yang Metal; void branches 申 and 酉; first luck pillar 庚辰 from age 3.
Reading starts from the Day Master. 庚 is unrefined metal, hard and not yet shaped, traditionally read as valuing principle and decision. Born in 巳, the doorway into summer, it stands in the heat: metal given form under pressure.
Companion in the year and Rob Wealth in the month put peers and rivals on stage often, which cuts both ways. The hour's 癸 is the urge to express outward. Void 申 and 酉 are Metal seats like the Day Master, read as ground filled by experience. A chart maps tendencies, not fixed outcomes.