(60) How to Read Marital Harmony (Gunghap 3)

By Janet Shin

``Gunghap,'' one of the most frequently consulted subjects in saju, deals with the relationship of a couple. It can be about a relationship between two parties who start a business together, or that of an employer and employee who work together.

Gunghap tells about the compatibility of a couple through saju. Though gunghap often causes conflict when it is not good for a couple in love, people still rely on it because Korean marriages are centered around families rather than just the couple themselves.

Instead of just relying on gunghap, or simply denying it, let's continue our exploration of how gunghap applies to celebrity couples.

Below are the saju of Gil, a member of the Korean hip-hop group Leessang, and Park Jung-ah, a member of the girl group Jewelry. They recently announced that they have been dating for a year.

Gil was born with the energy of eul, yin wood, and Park was born with the energy of gye, yin water.

Gil, born in the month of knowledge star and taking root in myo wood, shows flexibility with a eul wood-flower-personality.

Gil also has strong expression stars (jeong-sa fire elements) in the year pillar. It doesn't have a career star (metal element) that restrains wood, so we can tell he is not a person who is suitable for a rigid organization where he must follow the rules. Also, he must be a thoughtful person as he has ample knowledge stars. And though he might be seen as incorrigible to others, he is a man with politeness and will care for others a lot.

Park is born in the month of in-wood, with an expression star and lots of knowledge stars. While she has too much of cold elements (metal and water) in her saju, her in-wood, which includes warmth inside, must be an important factor to lead her fate in a better direction.

A man with warmth in his saju would be an appropriate partner for her fate in terms of gunghap.

Then, what do we have to understand in order to judge the gunghap of a couple?

First, we must look at the relationship of their day masters. As we have studied in previous columns, there are compatibilities between two stems, shown below (yin and yang)

Gap wood (+) and Gi earth (-) Eul wood (-) and Gyeong metal (+) Byeong fire (+) and Sin metal (-) Jeong fire (-) and Im water (+) Mu earth (+) and Gye water (-)

Then we look at the relationship of the branches to see whether they have combinations (bindings), clashes or penalties.

As mentioned, the ten stems are intangible forces from heaven, so they are formless and ideal, while the 12 branches are substantial elements made from the 10 stems. The branches tell about reality, such as pain, pleasure and worries.

If there are clashes between the branches of saju of a couple, their marriage life could have a lot of conflicts and might end up divorce.

If there are combinations (bindings) between two, they will not be happy as they will have too much anxiety. When the branches are bound to each other, people can't use those elements at their convenience.

If there are conflicts, there could be a lot of challenges, but actually their marriage lives could also be filled with pleasure, especially in terms of their sexual relationship.

Last but not least, we need to look at one very important factor in gunghap, which is the ``God blessed element.''

Below is a chart to show the ``God blessed element'' for individual day masters. This element surpasses all other fortune or misfortune in its influence.

Go and check your day master and whether your spouse (boyfriend or girlfriend) has this ``God blessed element'' in their saju. When it is located in the month, day and time branches, it is the most effective.

In the saju of Gil, we can see sa and myo, both which are the ``God blessed elements'' for gye water, day master of Park.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea. She is the author of ``Learning Four Pillars.'' She offers saju courses to all who are interested. For more information, visit her Web site (https://blog.naver.com/janet―shin) or email janetshin@hotmail.com