The Twelve Life Stages and Other Stars
The twelve stages of the Day Master's energy as it grows and wanes (the Twelve Life Stages), and stars such as the Nobleman (천을귀인), the Blade (양인) and the Void (공망).
The Twelve Life Stages (12운성): the life of an energy
This sorts the stage that the Day Master's energy is at in each branch into twelve steps, likened to a human life. Taking the Day Master as the standard, Halmeoni looks at the lower character of each of the four pillars one at a time (bongbeop, 봉법), and uses the method in which the stages run in order for yang stems and in reverse for yin stems (eumpotae, 음포태). On the chart card they appear in the lower row of each pillar, together with the Ten God.
| Stage | Image | Common reading |
|---|---|---|
| Birth (장생) | Being born | Strength to start anew, learning |
| Bath (목욕) | Being washed | Curiosity, style, easily unsettled |
| Coming of age (관대) | A coming-of-age ceremony | Confidence, drive |
| Prime (건록) | Receiving an official post | Standing on one's own, stability |
| Peak (제왕) | The highest time | At the strongest, taking the lead |
| Decline (쇠) | Beginning to tilt | Experience, stepping back a pace |
| Sickness (병) | Falling ill | Delicacy, much thinking |
| Death (사) | Stopping | Stillness, depth |
| Tomb (묘) | Putting away | Gathering and storing |
| Severance (절) | Being cut off | Cutting off and starting afresh |
| Conception (태) | Conceiving | The seed of a new plan |
| Nurture (양) | Being raised | Growing under care |
Twelve Life Stage table for the ten Day Masters
Each Day Master begins Birth at a different branch, and yang stems step through the branches in order (子·丑·寅…), while yin stems step through them in reverse. The table below lists, for each stage, the branch at which each Day Master reaches that stage; it was filled with Halmeoni's calculation rule (eumpotae).
| Stage | 甲 | 乙 | 丙 | 丁 | 戊 | 己 | 庚 | 辛 | 壬 | 癸 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth (장생) | 亥 | 午 | 寅 | 酉 | 寅 | 酉 | 巳 | 子 | 申 | 卯 |
| Bath (목욕) | 子 | 巳 | 卯 | 申 | 卯 | 申 | 午 | 亥 | 酉 | 寅 |
| Coming of age (관대) | 丑 | 辰 | 辰 | 未 | 辰 | 未 | 未 | 戌 | 戌 | 丑 |
| Prime (건록) | 寅 | 卯 | 巳 | 午 | 巳 | 午 | 申 | 酉 | 亥 | 子 |
| Peak (제왕) | 卯 | 寅 | 午 | 巳 | 午 | 巳 | 酉 | 申 | 子 | 亥 |
| Decline (쇠) | 辰 | 丑 | 未 | 辰 | 未 | 辰 | 戌 | 未 | 丑 | 戌 |
| Sickness (병) | 巳 | 子 | 申 | 卯 | 申 | 卯 | 亥 | 午 | 寅 | 酉 |
| Death (사) | 午 | 亥 | 酉 | 寅 | 酉 | 寅 | 子 | 巳 | 卯 | 申 |
| Tomb (묘) | 未 | 戌 | 戌 | 丑 | 戌 | 丑 | 丑 | 辰 | 辰 | 未 |
| Severance (절) | 申 | 酉 | 亥 | 子 | 亥 | 子 | 寅 | 卯 | 巳 | 午 |
| Conception (태) | 酉 | 申 | 子 | 亥 | 子 | 亥 | 卯 | 寅 | 午 | 巳 |
| Nurture (양) | 戌 | 未 | 丑 | 戌 | 丑 | 戌 | 辰 | 丑 | 未 | 辰 |
Because yang and yin run in opposite directions, the stages of two stems cross over at the same branch. For 甲, 亥 is Birth, but for 乙, 亥 is Death. There is also a method in which yin stems simply use the table of their paired yang stem (yangpotae, 양포태); under that method, 子 is Death for a 辛 Day Master, the same as for 庚, whereas in Halmeoni's method it is Birth. This is why, for a yin Day Master, the Twelve Life Stages may come out differently from other sources.
The Twelve Life Stages of the example chart
For someone born in Seoul on 25 August 2001 at 00:50 (辛巳·丙申·庚申·丙子), looking at the four branches from the Day Master 庚 gives the following.
| Position | Branch | Twelve Life Stage for the Day Master 庚 | By that pillar's stem (for reference) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year branch | 巳 | Birth (장생) | Death (사) by 辛 |
| Month branch | 申 | Prime (건록) | Sickness (병) by 丙 |
| Day branch | 申 | Prime (건록) | Prime (건록) by 庚 |
| Hour branch | 子 | Death (사) | Conception (태) by 丙 |
Halmeoni uses only the method of looking at the four branches from the Day Master (bongbeop). There is also a method of looking at each pillar's branch from that pillar's own stem (geobeop, 거법), which is noted for reference in the right-hand column, but it does not appear on the chart card or in the reading. In this chart both the month branch and the day branch are Prime, so the energy of standing on one's own strength appears twice, in the season and underfoot. That is the same reason the structure came out as the Prosperity structure (건록격). "Death" on the hour branch 子 is only a name for the stage at which energy stops and grows still.
Luck Cycles and years also have Twelve Life Stages. Looking at which stage the Day Master is at in the lower character of that Luck Cycle or year, you can gauge whether your energy is filling up or settling down in that period. For example, for a 庚 (gyeong) Day Master, 巳 (sa) is Birth, so the period when 巳 comes in is read as a time of fresh growth. For a man with the example chart, the current 甲午 Luck Cycle is Bath and the 癸巳 Luck Cycle from 2027 is Birth; by year, 2026 丙午 is Bath and 2027 丁未 is Coming of age.
Even if the names of the stages (Sickness, Death, Tomb, Severance) sound frightening, they do not mean actual illness or death. They are only a figure of speech that likens the flow in which energy rests and is put away to the course of a life.
Other stars
There are also nicknames attached when a particular character is present. The Twelve Spirits (12신살), attached in turn to the twelve branches based on the zodiac animal, are covered separately in the next article; here are the stars that are read from the Day Master or the day pillar.
| Star | Based on | Common reading |
|---|---|---|
| Nobleman (천을귀인) | Day Master | A person who helps in hard times |
| Blade (양인) | Day Master (yang stems) | Blade-like strong force, decisiveness |
| Void (공망) | Day pillar (일주) | An empty spot, what does not take hold as much as you intend |
| Peach Blossom, Travelling Horse and Canopy (도화·역마·화개) | Day branch (일지) | The Peach Blossom (년살), Travelling Horse (역마살) and Canopy (화개살) of the Twelve Spirits, read from the character of the birth day |
Stars are closer to a seasoning in a saju (Four Pillars astrology) reading. Do not judge good or bad from a single star; read it together with the Day Master, the elements and the flow of the Luck Cycles.
Tables for finding the stars
The Nobleman is attached when the two branches set for each Day Master are in the chart. For 甲·戊·庚 Day Masters they are 丑·未, for 乙·己 Day Masters 子·申, for 丙·丁 Day Masters 亥·酉, for a 辛 Day Master 寅·午, and for 壬·癸 Day Masters 巳·卯. The Blade exists only for yang Day Masters and is the branch right after the Prosperity position (녹): 卯 for 甲, 午 for 丙 and 戊, 酉 for 庚, and 子 for 壬.
The Void is the two branches left without a partner in the ten-day group (순) that the day pillar belongs to. When the ten heavenly stems are paired once round with the twelve earthly branches, two branches are left over, and those two are the Void. Halmeoni takes the day pillar as the basis and looks for the Void in the other three branches.
| Group | Day pillars in it | Void |
|---|---|---|
| 甲子 group | From 甲子 to 癸酉 | 戌·亥 |
| 甲戌 group | From 甲戌 to 癸未 | 申·酉 |
| 甲申 group | From 甲申 to 癸巳 | 午·未 |
| 甲午 group | From 甲午 to 癸卯 | 辰·巳 |
| 甲辰 group | From 甲辰 to 癸丑 | 寅·卯 |
| 甲寅 group | From 甲寅 to 癸亥 | 子·丑 |
Finding stars in examples
In the example chart (day pillar 庚申), the only star found is the Void. 庚申 belongs to the 甲寅 group, so 子·丑 are the Void, and the hour branch 子 falls on it. 庚's Nobleman branches 丑·未 and its Blade 酉 are not in the chart, and neither are the Peach Blossom (酉), Travelling Horse (寅) or Canopy (辰) read from the day branch 申.
Someone born in Seoul on 10 January 1985 at 10:30 (甲子·丁丑·己酉·己巳) is different. The Nobleman 子 of the Day Master 己 is in the year branch, and read from the day branch 酉, the month branch 丑 is the Canopy. The Void is 寅·卯 of the 甲辰 group that 己酉 belongs to, and they are not in the chart. In the Twelve Spirits read from the animal 子, the day branch 酉 becomes Peach Blossom (년살, also 도화); since this is already included in the Twelve Spirits, it is not written again as a star in the reading material.
Common misunderstandings
- Sickness, Death, Tomb and Severance in the Twelve Life Stages mean illness or death: they are only names that liken the flow of energy to a life. "Death" is read as a time of stopping and deepening, and "Tomb" as a time of putting things away.
- Birth (장생) means a long life: Birth is only a name for the stage at which energy begins to grow anew; it has nothing to do with lifespan.
- With the Void, matters in that position come to nothing: the Void is only a clue for reading a position as one where things do not take hold as much as you intend; it does not mean that the family or matters of that position are absent.
- With the Nobleman, someone will always help: it is read only as room for receiving help. Not having it does not mean you cannot receive help either.
- The Blade is a star of quarrels: as a blade-like strong force, it is seen as prone to collisions when it goes too far, but it is also read as the power of decisiveness and drive.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Peak (제왕) the best stage? It is only the stage at which strength is greatest, not a ranking of good and bad. When Peak falls on a Day Master that is already strong, it is sometimes read as a reminder to watch for excess.
- Do the Twelve Life Stages go into the strength calculation? They do not. Halmeoni calculates Strong (신강) and Weak (신약) from the weight of the Ten Gods alone, and uses the Twelve Life Stages as a reference that shows the mood of each pillar.
- What if there are no stars at all? That is common. Stars are like a seasoning, so even without them the backbone of the reading (Day Master, strength, structure, favourable element) stays the same.