The Five Elements
오행 — the five elements — are the fundamental forces that flow through all things in Korean cosmology. Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. Your birth year determines your element, which shapes the quality of your energy and the nature of your destiny.
금 · Metal
years ending in 0 or 1
Metal people are strong-willed and clear in their convictions. They cut through confusion like a blade and hold firm when others waver. Their challenge is learning when to bend.
수 · Water
years ending in 2 or 3
Water people flow around obstacles rather than fighting them. Their intelligence is lateral and intuitive — they find the path no one else sees. Their challenge is finding stillness.
목 · Wood
years ending in 4 or 5
Wood people grow toward the light and bring others with them. Naturally creative and expansive, they generate ideas the way trees generate leaves. Their challenge is knowing when to stop growing.
화 · Fire
years ending in 6 or 7
Fire people illuminate every room they enter. Their passion is contagious and their energy limitless — until it is not. Their challenge is sustaining what they ignite.
토 · Earth
years ending in 8 or 9
Earth people are the ground everyone else stands on. Reliable beyond measure, they give others something solid to build on. Their challenge is remembering that they too need tending.
How elements interact
In saju reading the five elements don't exist in isolation — they generate and control each other in a cycle. Wood feeds Fire. Fire creates Earth. Earth contains Metal. Metal holds Water. Water nourishes Wood. Understanding these cycles is the art at the heart of saju.
A skilled 점쟁이 reads the balance of elements across all four pillars of your chart to understand where you have strength, where you face resistance, and where unexpected fortune may be hiding.
내 원소를 알아보다 · Discover my element